Word Power

The coach of my training group has suggested that we each pick a word as a sort of mantra for the year. Several of the chosen words are "moment," "push," "balance," "endure," and "believe." I considered "prance" to remind me to lift my feet like a prancing pony instead of striking my heels on the ground and also that triathlons are, afterall, supposed to be fun. Then "accept" came to mind, as in accept where I am in my life, but there wasn't much motivation in that word. Next possible choice was "strive," but it, too, didn't seem quite right, so I've settled on "stride." "Stride" can signify working toward my goals, and it rhymes with "glide" and "pride," also words that will encourage me. And it's kind of a play on words because it contains the letters "tri." Another reason is that it makes a strong chant, "S-T-R-I-D-E, stride, glide," or "S-T-R-I-D-E, stride, pride," to replace the "1-2-3-4" that currently runs through my head as I run. Hey, someone I know runs to "Here comes Peter Cottontail," and she's a gazelle.