Burnin' In Me

I am not new to running, but the last time I made a serious go of it was four years ago when I trained my body to get through the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon.  At the time, I didn't control what I was eating, built distance too quickly, ended up with shin splints and finished at 2:18 (not too shabby, considering I had to stop and go number two halfway there (let's keep it real people)).  I swore I wouldn't do it again:

"13.1 miles is too far okay."

Image credit: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Pepe_the_King_Prawn

Four years later, I've signed up to do it again.

This time, though, I'm being smart.  I started training over the summer (that's right...I started a year in advance); a good move when starting from zero.  I set some goals: 5k easy by October and 5 miles easy by January.  The class I'm taking to get me seriously ready starts in March, so I'd like so be up to 7 miles easy by then.  I say "easy" with a wink and a nod.  A mile is far, so I have respect for a person getting time on their legs no matter how far or how fast they go.  

I also have lost weight (20 pounds in six months), and that's made a big difference in my speed.  I'm finding a 9-minute mile to be the norm, whereas before, my goal was 10-minute miles (again, an excellent speed!  Have you noticed that I detest implicit (and obviously explicit) distance/time shaming?).  

So, I'm feeling good, running five days a week, eating better, and have a sub-2:00 half in my sights.  

Yikes.  That's the first time I've put that goal in writing.

...

Anyway.  Besides being smart about training, I have a not-so-secret weapon: tunes, baby.

Most people like music.  Many people who work out, especially during cardio, need music.  I'm one of those people.  One song in particular has been like an anthem, pushing me forward when I feel like I can't do it:  John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)."

"Yes.  It is my epic feathered hairdo that inspires your miles."

Image credit: http://thistotallyhappened.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-parr-st-elmos-fire-man-in-motion.html

Let's address the MAN part of the song right away.  I am a WOman, and thus, it would seem, might feel left out or even dissed by the manly focus.  This is not true.  I don't need a song to talk about me being a hardcore woman, specifically, in order to get into it.  It needs to speak about baddassery, period, and if I connect, I connect.  In fact, I sometimes like to be in touch with my masculine side, which is not any weirder than encouraging men to be in touch with their feminine sides (though it does feel weird to type).  

Okay.  Back to the song.  First, St. Elmo's Fire is a weather phenomenon that occurs during a thunderstorm:  

Back in the day, when sailors saw it, they thanked their lucky stars, or, more accurately, St. Elmo (or Ermo or Erasmus), who was the saint of Mediterranean sailors,  It was good mojo for them.  (Read more about it here: What is St. Elmo's Fire?)

John Parr's song seems to focus more on the secondary title, "Man in Motion."  As the song begins, we've got a guy who's taken the straight path his whole life, but then, something happens that makes him change course.  He's not a rebel: he's playing "the game," but suddenly the stakes are much higher; he's a prisoner, "tryin' to break free," and now there's a second person "you," who is on the same path.

The third verse is what really gets me:

"Burning up, don't know just how far that I can go (just how far I go)
Soon be home, only just a few miles down the road
I can make it, I know I can
You broke the boy in me, but you won't break the man"

AHH!  Are you kidding me, John Parr??  This verse is MADE for a running person, especially a running person who's had a bad attitude about it for much of her life.  Believe me, in the song, it's much more like, "You broke the boy in me, but you won't BREAK THE MAN!!!!" I defy anyone to not feel pumped up with a lyric that's best represented in writing in all caps, italics, and bold.  

What's interesting in this song is that there's a chorus, of course, with the same basic melody, but the words are different each time.  It starts with illusions of flying eagles and a fast car, then moves to climbing the highest mountain (Everest, right?) and crossing the wildest sea (I'm going to go with the Southern Sea by Antarctica on this one):

"Iceberg! Right ahead!"

Image Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ARL6j3saws

...and it ends with banners flying and music playing; "Feel like you're back again," full of hope.  Ah yes: hope.  The audacity of it.

I have to say, though, that the song's interlude rivals the above-mentioned verse in sheer pump-a-person-upness.  You're running along, riding high, a WO"man in motion," and all of a sudden, THIS:

"Just once in his life...a man has his time. And my time is now...I'm coming alive!"

You are STRAIGHT KILLING ME, John Parr!  This is it, folks.  A cheesy 80's song has buoyed me when I needed it most.  I am coming alive.  Listen to the song and get it on your rotation.

Lyric credit: http://www.metrolyrics.com/st-elmos-fire-man-in-motion-lyrics-john-parr.html