Slow Jamz

Whenever my curious non-running fat ass, good-for-nothing, gonna die of a heart attack at age 30... friends inquire about my love of running, the WHY, I always delve into this philosophical diatribe describing how the grind of running is applicable to all aspects of life. I must admit that when I was first asked this question, I carefully crafted an answer not out of the goodness of my heart but because of the insecurity that I wouldn't appear to be woke or intellectual. The longer I habitate (Autocorrect is telling me this is not a word, but I am woke and intellectual, so this is now a word) this boi (or chica, him/her/it, again I am WOKE) we call earth (I just thought I'd add another clarification to make this difficult to read because I am WOKE) (I cried myself to sleep last night to the tunes of my own voice because I hate myself so much) (Target is having a really good sale on AirPods right now which I highly recommend taking advantage of if you can financially justify such a purchase and the benefits derived from such a product outweigh the financial hit you would incur from purchasing such an item) I realize that there is beauty in insecurity and like an ugly baby turned beautiful (I have always been beautiful, stop looking at me), greatness ensues.

If you didn't have an aneurysm reading the first paragraph, let's continue! 

When in doubt, GO SLOW! That is the advice I will always give to anyone starting off running. If you don't, you will quickly burn out and/or injure yourself. You have to focus simply on building a foundation, a springboard, that will propel you towards whatever you want out of running. An emotional high, that initial call to action, is all fine and dandy but that will eventually go away. To do so, stop comparing yourself to others, throw your ego out the door and truly evaluate where you stand at the current moment. Failure to understand oneself is a vast oversight that destines you to underachieve in most situations, well before you even take that first step on the starting line. It is absolutely human nature to set a desired outcome and immediately expect said result, but Burke, Virginia, wasn't built in a day. When I was infatuated by lifting in my college days, I would eat like Dwayne Johnson... without lifting or training life Dwayne Johnson. Ya boi got #THICCCCC in all the wrong ways (I probably undersold the amount of C's required to captivate my true #THICCNESS level). You hear it all the time, but humans are stupid and need the constant reminder not to compare. That is where you will reach your true potential. As great Kendrick Lamar once said, "I pray that my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower, so I can fuck the world for 72 hours". More relevant, he also said, "Sit down, bitch, be HUMBLE".

Assuming you are smart enough to comprehend that humbling yourself in any and all situations, not just running, will allow for a plethora of treasures to be unearthed, let's move to training philosophy. Most leading running experts (I'm not an expert, but I'm flattered) recommend the 80/20 guideline, which means 80% of your mileage should be easy, the other 20% being high-effort. This is where society, especially America, has a lot to learn. Humans have a very finite amount of energy, both mental and physical, that needs to be allocated strategically if you're looking to maximize your potential. Going too hard for too long will only dispatch long-lasting residual effects downstream which will limit your true max potential. Conversely, you find that holding yourself back and working efficiency (Work smarter, not harder) will allow your ceiling to slowly expand towards the heavens. It seems so counter-intuitive that your potential grows exponentially the more you embrace the slow and trust me, it is a constant battle fighting my ego to actually live by what I preach, but #science supports it. America, with its constant "Go! Go! Go!", pulp ya til every last bit of juice is savagely squeezed out of ya work culture. "Pulp ya"? Is that even correct? Imma pulp ya tonight, babe ;) Okay, sorry. ANYWHO, if you get yourself in a work environment that abides by this philosophy that leads to the inevitable abyss of burnout, RUN (Running is always the answer). You deserve better than to be treated like a side-chick where no foundation is being built but rather just being used to the fullest extent and once you've hit your breaking point, you'll be tossed in the trash like the sloot you are. Have the self respect to treat yourself like a main chick, you deserve it. 

I could go on and on about this, but I know that listening to me is taxing and definitely part of the 20% "Hard-effort" category, so I'll just leave you with this: slow tf down. There is so much beauty in everyday life that we are blind to when we are in the hard grind. The ease brings clarity and growth. Without clarity, how do you even know the road you're on is the right path? It's funny because when Covid-19 hit and the lockdowns were established, I was bordering on insanity. I was stuck in the inverse philosophy of going 80% hard and 20% easy, which was essentially akin to me constantly poking my eyes out so I had zero vision. Now my self-confidence is soaring, I actually know what I want from this funny lil thing we call life and I can't wait to share this new found clarity with my loved ones. You pass so many alluring roads along the way when you're running too fast. Our life on earth is short, so why rush it?