Choose possibility

A complete year.

I did run on New Year's Eve last year but I've never really counted that. But whichever way you look at it, I have now run at least a mile on every single day of 2010. A cause for celebration I feel.

So, how have I celebrated it so far?

I ran just over 5 miles this morning, which is the furthest I have run since I don't know when. And it was absolutely fantastic.

My thought on this morning's run was that I always have a choice. I can choose possibility or I can choose being right at someone else's expense.

If you add up how many times I choose possibility over being right, I am still somewhat lacking in the good column, but it is always a choice.

I also think that if I make an effort to consciously choose possibility at the beginning of a conversation, a meeting, a day, a month or even a year, then I have more of a chance of success. Not guaranteed, but better odds.

So, for 2011 I choose possibility.

I'm intrigued to know how I do in choosing it and what difference it makes to my life.

Bye 2010. It was nice knowing you.

It's just a line

With only two more runs to complete a year of running at least a mile every day for a year, my mind seems to be focused on the achievement of the goal.

While I was in the shower this morning I thought of my finish line of achieving my goal, completing my 365th consecutive daily run of a mile or so, and I realised that it isn't a finish line, it's just a line.

Isn't that actually true of all goals and objectives? When you have reached your target in the past, can you remember a time when you then thought, "That's it now. I have no other target to aim for, no ambition, no vision or objective"?

My guess is that when you reach that point, you have pretty much given up on life and are preparing for the downhill drift into oblivion. Blimey, that sounds a bit dramatic, but at least I know what I mean.

Part of the fun of life is to have challenges, goals, targets, objectives and especially inspiring visions to aim for.

So while I can enjoy my self-created game of trying to complete a mile of running every day and feeling like I'm about to cross the finish line, once I get across it I know I'll be aiming for the next line with excitement.

Don't get me wrong, I'll celebrate crossing the line in two days and I will thoroughly enjoy the achievement, but it will be time to change the game for more fun and capers.

Thoughts on achievement

Nine days left to complete the full house of running a mile each day of 2010.

As I suspected, the elements have reconfirmed my belief that when you get close to achieving a goal, your commitment does tend to get tested that little bit more. It's good for the character to dig in and plough on through.

What I like about this goal is that it is purely about a sense of achievement. Goals that involve material possessions often fade into insignificance once you have achieved them, and you're on to the next one. Non material achievements generally have staying power.

I can still remember winning the 100 yards, 220 yards (showing my age I know) and triple jump at school sports day when I was 12, and completing my first marathon in 1988. I also clearly remember the birth of all three of my children.

Anyway, I haven't achieved the year yet, and it's always worth remembering that nothing in this world is guaranteed, apart from death and taxes so they say.

So, time to stop dwelling on the achievement that I haven't yet achieved and to put my energy and my presence back into today, which is definitely here now.

All that glitters...

at the moment, is probably ice!

When you've had snow, like we've had in sunny(?) Tunny Wells, there are three phases of weather conditions.

The first is always the snowfall, which can be quite light and at other times, like recently, can be varying degrees of heavy. I really enjoy running in this phase, although I have learned that long running tracksters are preferrable to shorts when the snow is deeper than your ankles. There is that magical feel of the white, white world, the crunch under foot and the world is beautiful.

I also love how people change personalities in heavy snow conditions. People stop trying to achieve at all costs, and start to open their eyes and minds to what's going on around them, and start talking to each other, even offering to help each other, which is fabulous.

If you've been one of those people who has had to spend the night in an unheated train or stuck in your car, trying to get home in heavy snow, I quite understand that you may well have a different perspective on the gift of a heavy snowstorm, and I quite understand.

The second or third phases of snow are interchangeable. Once the snow is on the ground, temperatures can then rise fairly quickly, and you go into the slushy phase. This isn't quite as fun for me. Everyone puts their community spirit back in the cupboard with the sledges, and cranks up the "strive at all costs" -ometer.

From a running perspective, soggy, cold socks and feet are not quite so magical as the white winter wonderland.

The third phase, which can often be the second phase, like it is now, is when the snow stops, but the temperatures remain cold or even get colder and the snow on the pavements and seldom-used roads compacts into ice. This is where we are now.

This morning I ran late, well after daylight, so it was challenging but fairly easy to choose my footing, although a lot easier when I stay away from my usual routes that are a little off the beaten track.

However, running in the dark, albeit with a headtorch, in these conditions, can require concentration, and anything that is dark, shiny and glittery usually indicates a severe health hazard unless you are wearing skates rather than trainers.

What I find interesting is that as I get closer to my biggest goal of my run a mile every day experiment (the goal changed from 1 month, gradually to a whole year), new challenges crop up to test me.

In the past I may well have caved in and thought that this isn't meant to be, and I should stop resisting. But my attitude has changed.

I now see these tests as opportunities to stretch myself, come further out of my comfort zone, and enjoy the challenge!

The dreaded treadmill

Yesterday and this morning I've run my mile and a bit on a treadmill, not something I relish I have to say, but needs must.

I have been in Inverness since Sunday afternoon where it is EXTREMELY cold and snowy, and my hotel is on a dual carriageway with no pavement, and the car park is completely packed with icy snow, plus a few cars.

I didn't fancy skidding round and round a car park in temperatures of minus 5 to minus 12 celsius.

Fingers crossed that I will be on a plane heading back to Gatwick this afternoon and back to running on small road, trails and golf courses by tomorrow.

Only 24 more days to complete my full house of running a mile every day of 2010!

Fun in the snow

Even more snow than yesterday this morning, a good 5 or 6 cm (2 inches I'd guess), which made it even better to run on. When the snow is reasonably thick and quite new I can be pretty confident it won't be icy, and I can run properly rather than tiptoeing along.

I'm still running in shorts, which is not a problem as my legs are plenty warm enough from being constantly in motion (that's a surprise, isn't it). However it's quite cold when my back foot flicks snow up my calf, but it's still fun.

I cut across the local golf course this morning, which was beautiful. The other advantage of the snow is that although I went out a good 45 minutes before sunrise, the white ground and trees illuminated everything beautifully.

Oh yes, almost forgot, today is the first day of my twelfth month of a mile each day.

Hooray!

The running grandfather

I'm still managing to run without my head torch so far, even though I'm heading out about 45 minutes before official sunrise these mornings. It's a little on the gloomy side but visibility is still there, but that may change any day.

What has changed, and has added a definite extra spring to my step is that I became a grandfather on Sunday. Gorgeous little Amelie was born to Toby and B after a challenging 36 hours for them.

I have seen Amelie twice now and I managed to have a cuddle with her last night for the first time. Just wonderful!

What has this got to do with running you may ask?

Apart from the extra spring in my step I mentioned earlier, I feel even more lucky to be out there running every morning as a grandfather. I do feel truly blessed.

I'm also aware that my own father missed out on becoming a grandfather by six weeks. He knew he was going to be one but he didn't quite last until the momentous occasion.

I should celebrate by entering another marathon or something equally challenging.

I feel immensely proud to be a grandfather, and prouder still to be a running grandfather!

The children know

I've let two weeks slip by again since my last blog entry.

As I count the number of days left to complete my year of running a mile every day, and tallying my total number of consecutive days, I'm also wondering if this will be the day when I will become a grandfather.

It's all very exciting.

I do love small children. They are perfect examples of what it's like to live in the present moment. No regrets or embarrasment of things that they wished they hadn't done, and no worries or concerns about the future, whether they will make a mistake or get hurt.

And the funny thing is that we were all like that when we were little.

If that is the case, which it plainly is, then there is nothing new for us to learn about being present to our every experience of life rather than wasting our time regretting and worrying.

If there's nothing new to learn, surely it must be easy to release the accumulated and non-productive skills of regretting and worrying.

What would be left is the joy and excitement of each new experience, which every moment clearly is.

Glorious opportunity - they have no shoes

I was feeling tired, as in not properly awake yet, when I started my run this morning, and thought that I'd probably cut my run back from the 2 miles I've done for the past few days.

However, I pushed away any negative thoughts and just concentrated on my physical feelings, my breathing and my surroundings.

Within minutes I was coming up with ideas for a possible taster workshop that I've been invited to propose for a local business forum, and I also wrote, in my head, my 60-second pitch for tomorrow morning's breakfast networking meeting.

As a result I was inspired to push on and run two and a half miles, then couldn't wait to get back and make a note of my new ideas.

One of the things I remembered was the story of the 2 marketing scouts sent to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying,

SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES

The other writes back triumphantly,

GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO SHOES

Amazing what a difference one's outlook can make.

Good vibrations

Another two-miler this morning.

The autumn leaves are just beautiful at the moment.

This morning my mind went back to my thoughts of connection from my weekend run and how quantum physicists now tell us that everything on the planet is made up of vibrating energy. I know, fairly deep stuff for 7.00am plodding along a path.

Anyway, if we are indeed all vibrating energy, that does explain how someone in a good mood or a bad mood can change the energy of a room as soon as they walk in, without even opening their mouth.

What this means to me and my value of connection, is that it's not actually what I do that creates connection with others, but who I am actually being. Being energised, inspired, excited, loving, compassionate, interested can't fail to create some sort of connection.

And as a byproduct, I also stand a good chance of doing things that come from that positive way of being that will help the connection even more.

If I'm trying to promote my business, which will work best?

A desperate attempt to win a person over as a new customer, communicating that desperation energy, or an energised, inspired, compassionate and interested desire to connect with that other person, purely for the joy of connecting?

Wow, what a great way to start my day this morning!

I'm not on my own!

I ran a two-miler this morning, as I enter my 11th month of my original one-month experiment, and an excellent 5K on both Saturday and Sunday.

Both of my weekend runs were great because I somehow managed to engage my creative part of my brain on both days.

One of the thoughts that I had was that although connection is one of my five key values, and I know that I really enjoy making a difference with others, I'm really not very good at asking others to help or make a difference to me.

This was actually quite a thunderbolt.

I do love the fact that I can learn something really fundamental about myself at any time.

This realisation was also a real eye opener when I came to look at my own life circumstances.

How many times have I gently explained to a client that being a success doesn't mean you have to do it all on your own, and that almost all successful people have a support team behind or beside them?

I wonder what difference that might make to my life?

Day 300 - the habit's ingrained

My 300th consecutive day of running at least a mile completed.

It feels fantastic. Although the days are drawing in and the temperature has been dropping, it's great to still be out there.

It's my daily dose of physicality and movement, which I have realised over the years are so important for me to be the best I can be.

I read an article earlier this week saying that it takes an average of 66 days of repeating a desired practice to turn it into a habit. I do seem to have created that habit.

Anyway, the question I asked myself on my run this morning was "What will make today a great day?" The answer I came up with was to honour my values of fun, adventure, connection, movement and expression.

I'm off to have a great day now.

Right tools for the job

It's been a while since I've posted an entry. Still running, with 294 consecutive days under my belt, just lacking the spark to write about it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed my run this morning. It was really cold with the first ground frost of the season. But although it was the coldest run of the week, I'd retrieved my thermal tops and woolly hat from the attic yesterday, which really made a difference.

There's definitely such a thing as the right tools for the job, and this morning I had them!

I met a young lady who served me coffee this morning, who apparently goes running every single morning at 4.30 am for an hour. I was really impressed and inspired.

It was great meeting someone who is doing something similar to me, only earlier and further, and who lives and runs within a mile or so of my house.

Hats off to you (woolly ones right now) Sabina!

Who's doing my thinking?

I ran all of 2 miles this morning. I've been doing my basic 'mile and a third' so much recently that even the extra kilometre felt quite different.

I had so much chatter going on in my head this morning. No, I'm not losing it - I'm talking about that little voice we all have in our heads.

If you're now going, "What little voice?" That's the one I'm talking about.

Anyway, it was great to push that internal chatter off centre stage and concentrate on my breathing and my internal physical feelings. Such a relief.

Running is the best way that I have found to calm my mind and to regain some clarity of direction, of purpose, of vision, and of what really needs to be done next.

I thought how interesting it is that sometimes I can't seem to be able to choose my own thoughts. So if I'm not choosing them, then who is?

Now that's even more interesting.

And what is the purpose behind the chatter?

My best guess is that it's my subconscious mind telling me that I need to step back, that maybe things aren't working perfectly as they are right now. It's also an opportunity for me to refocus on, or even recalibrate, what perfectly looks like.

Once again, running is the best way I know to achieve this.

Some days it's a struggle

Having said before that my daily run had become almost 2nd nature, I've been finding it a real struggle over the past week or so firstly to get myself out the door in the morning and then to actually get into the run.

I've never come back and felt worse for having run or regretted going, but unusually it has almost been a neutral feeling on what it has added recently.

Still, the good thing is that after 266 consecutive days of running it would be a big decision to decide not to go because I don't feel like it.

I was thinking though this morning that it goes against all recommendations to run every single day without a day off, and yet here I am still running in old running shoes with split uppers and no inner soles, injury free right now. I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying this.

The lick of the pony

I was staying in North Wales this past weekend. After a 5-hour drive through the Friday night traffic, I got up on Saturday morning, pulled on my gear and went out for a couple of miles to explore.

Once again my morning run completely set up my fabulous day.

I followed a trail that led through a kissing gate into a field where I unfortunately startled two small ponies.

I carried on running and talked to them calmly, at which point the smallest of them, which I later discovered was 4 months old, started trotting after me. I carried on talking to it and stopped, and it came up to me and started licking my arm. It was absolutely delightful.

As well as putting a huge grin on my face, I knew this would make my 13-year old daughter's day, if not weekend.

She went down to the field and fed the ponies carrots twice on Saturday and again on Sunday until we left Wales to journey home.

What a delightful experience, and, once again, thanks to my mile each day.

It made my local mile and a bit seem quite mundane this morning, but I know that my run every day is the stuff of extraordinary possibilities!

St. Paul's Cathedral

My minimum mile and a bit this morning.

A nice sunny morning, although very wet under foot after a cloudburst overnight.

I'm glad the sun's out as my Mum's heading up to St Paul's Cathedral this morning as she has been invited to attend a service to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

It's interesting all the attention she has received lately since the story became known that she was one of the Bletchley Park codebreakers during the Second World War. As my Dad was a spitfire pilot, the pair of them would have been soaking up the attention if he had still been alive.

This morning my youngest daughter asked to take a copy of an article on my Mum that was in the paper to school for her history lesson. How the past and future entwine.

How appropriate then to quote one of my favourite of Winston Churchill's sayings, "This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure."

Two-thirds of a year

Today I completed my 244th consecutive day of running a mile each day and started the first day of my 9th month of doing it. In my book, I make that two-thirds of a year in the bag.

It doesn't seem at all bad when my original experiment was to see if I could possibly do it for 31 days.

It also doesn't matter that this morning my legs felt quite heavy, my left knee ached a little, I felt a twinge in my right quadricep muscle, and that I ran 1.3 miles about a minute and a half slower than I did a week or two ago.

What matters is that I am still doing it.

What matters is that every day I do it again, I am stretching what I believed I could do nine months ago, even further.

What matters is that every day I do it, I arrive home, pretty much every time, feeling better than I did when I left.

Nicky asked me this morning what would happen on 1st January, and I honestly don't know.

I don't know whether I will have still run every day to that point. Even if I have, I don't know whether I will want to carry on.

Having said that, right now I can't imagine making the decision to stop, at least without another challenge, experiment or adventure to replace this one.

Anyway tomorrow's another day and, I hope, another mile!

Secret of sustainable energy

I didn't get home until 1.30 this morning after a total of 8 hours driving (there and back), in appalling weather and traffic conditions, to see my son's band, Burning Shapes, compete in a competition. Very satisfied though as they've won the right to support The Stranglers and Mumford & Sons in 3 weeks time in front of over 6,000 people.

Due to my commitments I still had to get up pretty early this morning, so it was quite surprising that after a reduced amount of sleep and some stressful driving yesterday, I posted my fastest mile and a bit I think I've run this year!

I put it down to the fact that I was still energised from last night's excitement, having accepted the adventure that was offered. This recent adventure discovery is really interesting and enlightening.

In a time when much of the talk, and concentration, is on our limited global resources and the challenge of sustainability, it's inspiring that the energy we generate by tapping in to our own values and taking steps to satisfy them is completely renewable and therefore endlessly sustainable!

How to transform a day

Not for the first time, my morning run completely and utterly transformed my day today.

I woke up with an unusually negative frame of mind this morning and found it really hard to drag myself out of bed.

As a result I got up late, drank my tea and did a couple of small jobs on my laptop before pulling on my running things, thinking that not even my run would be able to shake me out of my downer.

How wrong could I have been!

I set out on my 3-miler with the question in my head, "What was it that has had such a negative effect on me since this time yesterday?" I just left the question "out there" while I tuned in to my breathing, the process of running, and the scenery that I encountered.

Now, I've done a lot of work on values, particularly my own, over the last 8 or 9 years of being involved with coaching. However, somewhere along my route this morning, it hit me that one of my core values is adventure.

I have uncovered the value of adventure for many clients over the past few years, but it had never occurred to me that it is a key value of mine.

But when it hit me, and hit me it did, this morning, it all made sense. My value of adventure has recently been suppressed. I also realised that knowing this, I have an opportunity to find out what I could do to increase my experience of adventure in my life.

And my day was turned on its head. Yet again, I returned energised, excited and my day totally transformed.

Choosing what is

I chose to run a little longer this morning, just over 4.75 miles, which was really nice.

While I was running I thought about how I have been frustrated over the past few days, since my holiday, that I seemed to have been freewheeling and not taking actions that reflected moving towards the objectives that I want to achieve.

Then the thought occurred to me that while I was being frustrated and trying to work out why it was, and what I could do about it, I was resisting the situation as it is. Another thought occurred, "what if it is OK that I have been freewheeling, and yet I still do want to achieve my objectives?"

As soon as I thought this I felt immediately lighter, which was why I actually decided to extend my run.

When I resist what is, I seem to only be able to concentrate on the situation that I don't want. When I choose it exactly the way it is, I am able to let it go and move on to what I choose next.

The funny bit is on the last road I ran on before I got home, I went past a van that announced "Choice Vehicle Rentals" on its side, so I knew I'd found the right topic for today's blog!

What if it isn't all about me?

Day 228 of running a mile each day today. I also calculated on this morning's run that this is my 20,223rd day alive. Not sure whether that's scary or not? I guess it is what it is.

I'm back into my local routes again now after our week in Cornwall, running round the spectacular Nare Head. I think I slightly overdid it as I was so excited by the amazing scenery and it was extremely tough terrain with some brutal climbs.

This is where I have to be careful of running every day without a day off. It seems to be important to scale back for a day or two after doing one or two tough runs. There was a point on holiday where I had an ache in my right leg for a couple of days in a similar place where I suffered a stress fracture a few years ago, which was a slight worry.

On my run yesterday I came up with a blog title of "It's not all about me". It came from thinking about a recent coaching session I conducted where I asked a couple of questions and when I didn't get answers that matched the format I expected, I tried the questions in a different way, rather than being curious about the answers I did receive and continuing from there.

So yay, I celebrate my failure to remain curious!

It is an interesting perspective or question though, "What if it isn't all about me?"

Stuff my Dad taught me

A 5K run in the sunshine again this morning.

It's the second time in a couple of weeks that I've thought about my Dad on my morning run, even though he's been dead now for nearly 32 years.

What came up for me were the things I have learned from him, even if some of them I'm still only learning now. It just goes to show that your influence and effect on others is not just in the moment but can impact them forever.

Some of the key things my Dad has taught, and is still teaching , me are:

- not to worry. It can actually be bad for your health;

- not to smoke. It's definitely bad for your health;

- a good laugh, especially with Morecambe and Wise and Tommy Cooper, makes you feel good and connects you to others;

- honesty, truthfulness, loyalty and politeness are important;

- family is very, very important;

- do what you love to do. Life can be short.

No conditional love

Best run I've had in two or three weeks this morning.

I went a bit later, the weather was, and still is, just glorious, I did just over 5K and the sweat was pouring off me. I love that.

I spent a great evening last night with 3 other really inspiring coaches and the conversation was truly uplifting. That was what was going through my head on my run this morning.

There were several great reminders for me, such as that as a coach my job is just to hold the space for my client, and that there is no such thing as conditional love, there is either unconditional love or it isn't love.

I am excited about what this day will reveal.

Secret of success

The gaps between my posts seem to be growing.

This morning during my 2-miler I was thinking about why my experiment of running a mile each day, initially for a month, has been so successful, when this wasn't the first time I'd tried to see if I could run every day.

Here are the main reasons I think that it has worked for me this time:

1. By calling it an experiment, it has lessened the potential negative impact of failing. An experiment, by its very nature, has an associated link to the phrase "trial and error", which I love. How much more empowering it is to make an error and then try something a little different as opposed to failing, and possibly labeling yourself a failure.

2. By setting the challenge at something I knew I could achieve and yet was also quite a stretch. I knew that I could run a mile once, even though I had a groin strain when I started, I could hobble round, however slowly. I also knew that I could run it again on another day. I didn't know that I could definitely do it every day for a month.

3. The challenge was easily scalable. I went from "I've done my month" to "let's see how long I can keep it going?" Still very much an experiment with no pressure.

4. I didn't announce it to the world initially, thereby increasing the (self-inflicted) pressure of expectation, but I did tell several people close to me, so there was also some accountability. It felt like I could fall over (metaphorically, as well as literally) but not extremely hard and flat on my face.

5. The longer the experiment has continued, the more I have faced different challenges to keeping it going, and have overcome them, but as with the run it has been one small step along the path at a time. I have also combined the increasing confidence with increasing my sharing of what I'm doing. It's now on Facebook and my web site, and the Facebook page also comes up on the first page of a Google search, if you type in "a mile each day".

There's got to be lessons from this experiment that I can use in other areas of my life. After all, running is such a great metaphor for life!

Wisdom of your body

Completed my 200th day of running at least a mile each day. This morning it was 5K again.

Another glorious morning, and a relatively quiet week ahead with the family having left for sunnier climes (hopefully for them).

While I was running this morning I was thinking of what I could write in my blog today and as usually happens when I'm trying to think of something, my mind goes round in circles and doesn't come up with the goods.

However, if I let go of trying to think of a solution and get present to my body, my breathing, how my legs feel, how I feel inside, an idea nearly always comes to mind, as it did this morning.

It reminded me of when I was on my coach training and they taught us that our intuition is an extremely powerful feeling (think of your gut feel, or when you feel that your heart isn't in something).

In fact they also taught us that our intuition, usually in our guts or stomach but can be anywhere, is never wrong. The only mistake we make is misinterpreting the feeling sometimes, and that comes from lack of use. Like any muscle that you stop using, you have to practice and build it up gradually.

So anyway, my gut says that I'm going to have a good day today, and it's usually right.

Made her smile

Day 199 completed (I think it's day 199 anyway). Ran 5K this morning.

It felt like quite hard work. We were out last night but I was the designated driver so it certainly wasn't anything to do with drinking too much. Just one of those days. Still, there wouldn't be any highs without the lows to balance them.

I ran past a lady just coming down her path to the pavement who wasn't looking particularly happy, and I gave her a smile and a cheery "Good morning". She smiled back, which was fun.

It's a game I enjoy playing when running in the mornings.

I think that most people must be quite surprised when encountering a happy runner. They usually seem to be pleasantly surprised, and it always gives me a feeling of having brightened their day.

So good morning to you, whoever you are as you read this blog, even if it isn't now the morning.

Doubts are traitors

2 miles this morning and 5K yesterday in the drizzle, which I really enjoyed.

Only 5 days to my 200th consecutive day of running a mile. It seems an age ago when I decided to experiment to see if I could do it every day for a month.

I enjoyed meeting up with a friend for coffee this morning who reminded me again about the Shakespeare quote, "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt".

It's such a great quote and so very appropriate as creating awareness of how much our (and my) avoidance of failing at all costs, impacts us (yes, and me) is one of my pet crusades.

The perfect kick start

Two miles this morning but boy did I find it hard to drag myself out of bed, force myself into my running gear and push myself up the drive to get started. But as always it was exactly what I needed to kick start my day!

I think I've said before that no matter how many times it's been a real struggle to get out there and run, I can't remember one single time when I regretted the run once I was back home.

They used to say "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", but I think a mile a day is far more beneficial and keeps the doctor, psychiatrist and a number of others away.

Screw Work, Let's Play

I can't believe it's been a week since my last posting on here.

Three early morning runs before 6.00 a.m. this week, I've completed my 6th month and started month 7, and today was my 183rd consecutive day of running, so definitely over half a year under the belt.

I received my latest book from Amazon yesterday, it has an interesting title, "Screw Work, Let's Play". I'm looking forward to seeing what gems it contains.

One family birthday lunch party followed by a BBQ and then listening to a band in some private woods tomorrow. Sounds like a fun day.

Now if I can just squeeze in a mile or so in the not too early morning...

Turn off the GPS

Ah Friday. The weekend is here.

My GPS device clocked that I took 36 minutes to run 1.34 miles this morning. Actually, it thought I'd run 1.39 miles. I really must remember to turn it off after I've finished my run and before I water the plants in my back garden!

I'm loving the heat, I have to say.

It's been a good week with cheques in the bank, meeting a couple of new coaching prospects, catching up with several old colleagues and clients, school governor stuff, a potential gig for my new band and even England squeezed through in the World Cup to torture us again this weekend in the next round.

My older daughter will be here in about an hour for a belated Fathers' Day visit.

The weekend is looking exciting.

Thanks for the compliment

Apart from a "just over 4-miler" on Sunday, I'm still languishing at running the minimum one and a bit miles most days.

I accompanied my Mum to a flag raising ceremony yesterday to celebrate the start of National Armed Forces and Veterans Week. She has become quite a local celebrity since the article, on her involvement as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park in the 2nd World War, came out in the local paper a week or two ago. She jokes that it's only taken her 85 years to become famous.

I find it interesting that my Mum's reaction is very similar to that of several participants in a workshop I ran last week, feeling uncomfortable when being complimented or acknowledged. The old conditioning of "you mustn't show off" is firmly ingrained in our psyche.

However, playing it down or refusing to accept a compliment is a bit like refusing a gift that someone has gone to the effort of choosing and buying for you. Accepting the gift is not only polite but also makes the complimenter feel good for pleasing you.

This is also a reminder for myself, by the way.

THE most important skill

As predicted yesterday morning was my earliest ever mile and a bit, which preceded a very long day in London, running a workshop to a great group of people.

Back to normal sort of hours for this morning's mile and a bit.

I had an excellent meeting with the organiser of the UK Design for Change schools contest this morning. I'm looking forward to helping him promote and support the project.

I'm still having to climb in and out of my car through the front passenger side as a result of my entanglement with the oil tanker on Tuesday. Tomorrow I get to swap my car for a courtesy car from the body shop, so that will be good.

On my run this morning, my thoughts went back to yesterday's workshop, and how THE most powerful thing I have learned and used (no, not always) is focused listening while suspending my own agenda. It really is the one skill that could make the biggest difference to all areas of the world today.

Running for cats

In the past I have been known to do my early morning 1.3 miles and then run on to the nearest Sainsbury's Local to buy essentials for breakfast.

This morning I ran that very same route, but not for my, or my family's, breakfast. No, this morning the little white cat that has somehow adopted our house as its principal place of residence had run out of cat food, which we finally succumbed to buying for it a month or so ago, after resisting for even longer.

I have to admit that it is the first time I have run to buy cat food for a cat that I don't actually own, but who's to say it will be the last.

I've worked out that I will probably have to do my run at 4.45 a.m. tomorrow morning to stand any chance of fitting it in. That will be a nice challenge. At least it's not winter and it should even be light bv then.

How to feel lucky

Another sunny cool morning, another mile and a third.

I read a great article yesterday in one of the national newspapers on how to be lucky.

This proved very useful to me today when a large oil tanker, which I had thought was parked, plowed into the side of my car while I was waiting to get round a van who was blocking my route on a petrol station forecourt.

After I climbed out of the passenger side door (mine was no longer able to open more than a few inches), I thought that I could easily feel very unlucky at that point in time, or I could choose to feel lucky that the accident wasn't much worse, particularly if it had taken place on a fast moving road.

I chose to feel lucky, and you know, it worked!

MapMyRun & Crowded House

My mile a day route has now been measured on MapMyRun at 1.34 miles, actually a little longer than I originally thought, which is a good thing.

MapMyRun is kind of a new discovery. I say kind of because I have looked at it before but never really used it. I have now downloaded the iPhone version onto my iPhone (strangely), and have also ordered an armband so that I can run with my iPhone. That should be interesting.

I have to mention that I went to see the fabulous Crowded House last night, not for the first time I might add, and they were superb. I was actually almost as sweaty as I am after a run. I absolutely loved it. If you get a chance, do go and see them.

The photographs are here!

As I had a bright and early breakfast networking meeting this morning at 7.00 a.m. and then had to catch a train to London soon afterwards, I bit the bullet and headed out for my mile at 5.30 this morning.

It was a very slow run this morning as I took my camera with me and stopped to take various snapshots along the way to show the sites I see on my most often used route.

I have posted the shots up on Facebook on Run a mile each day 4th June photos.

I want to finish today's post with a quote from The Path of Least Resistance, one of the best books I've read so far this year, and I've read quite a few really good ones.

The quote is, "By your presence on this planet, you make possible creations that would otherwise not be possible."

You can now subscribe

I just found the subscribe widget and have added it to my blog for those of you who wouldn't want to miss one of my postings.?

Ran a really enjoyable 5K with Nicky this morning, before breakfast again. We managed to run in the only cloudy bit of the day, after the early morning glorious bright start and before it got even hotter when the sun intensified.

Did you know it is National Running Day in America today?

One of my thoughts I had today was to encourage those of you who are following the Run a mile each day Facebook page to post photos of sights you come across on your daily runs.

I guess I should probably start the ball rolling.

Run a mile each day on Facebook

Another day, another month, another mile. Month six here I come.

Feeling a little stiff today, but not from running, from gardening yesterday. Now, for those of you who know me well, that is not something you would expect to hear from me ever.

I managed to fit this morning's run and a quick jaunt into town and back on my bike before the predicted rain arrived.

I'm enjoying seeing the number of people who like my Run a Mile Each Day Facebook page steadily expand, particularly as many of those who are following the page don't appear to even have a direct connection with anyone else I know. That's quite fun.

Nicky said this morning that her morning mile was now in the same league as her morning shower. She just doesn't feel right, or ready for the day, until she has done both.

I know exactly what she means.

5 months, Greece & Glenn Miller

That's five months completed. Not bad as the original plan was to see if I could do one month running at least a mile every day.

It's a bit chilly this morning. I found myself thinking that I don't like this temperature, and then thought, "what a waste of energy to not like the temperature"!

It reminded me of an incident on a holiday about 15 years ago on a Greek island. We had rented mopeds and gone on a long ride exploring the island in shorts and tee-shirts. We were a good half an hour's ride from home when the clouds rolled in, the rain bucketed down and the wind picked up, and it settled there for the day.

I can still remember riding back on the winding coastal roads, chilled to the bone and making myself think, "it's beautifully warm, just soak up that warmth."

In my experience, no matter how hard I try I have never been able to change weather that I don't like. It is very frustrating to rail against any external factors in my life that I have no ability to change or even influence.

So this morning I let the temperature go and enjoyed the scenery that I run past most days. It really is rather lovely and I am lucky to live in such a beautiful spot.

Anyway, enough about that and back to listening to Lionel Richie, Duffy, Eva Cassidy and now Glenn Miller that have been playing on my iTunes while I've been typing this. Eclectic, don't you think?

Traffic, elephants & a nearly milestone

Up early to do a supermarket shop this morning so the run got put back to lunchtime, which meant a very wet blowy jaunt round the local lanes of just over two and a half miles.

Showing my age here, but I was reminded of the 60's hit "Hole in My Shoe" by Traffic, which contains the line "all that I knew was the hole in my shoe that was letting in water". Very appropriate today as I can fit four fingers of my hand into the hole in the upper of my right Asics trainer.

There is also a line in the same verse of the song that goes "I looked in the sky where an elephant's eye was looking at me from a bubblegum tree." My, those drugs were strong in the 60's.

Tomorrow should be (barring the fickle finger of fate) my 150th consecutive day of running at least a mile every day. Feels like another milestone.

Nike got it right

Nothing like a 5K in the rain before breakfast to spark an appetite. It was actually really nice. I can't think of a better way to start the day.

I'm sitting at my desk with Crowded House blaring out at me from my iTunes and getting really excited about going to see my favourite band again in a couple of weeks.

I feel great today and am also excited about several projects that have been in the background but are all starting to slowly start moving.

There's something about moving, isn't there. That's what I love about running. No matter how you feel when you're stuck, whether at work or at home, just the process of getting your body moving on a run generates energy and starts that important initial momentum.

Nike got it so right when they said "Just do it".

Game of 2 halves

Wish I could shake off this cough that has followed on from last week's cold.

I have only been doing the minimum distance apart from a gentle 5K I did with Nicky on Sunday. I think that the October marathon is looking very unlikely right now, and yet the vision of an eventual ultra still remains strong. Who knows exactly what and when, but it doesn't feel like it matters right now.

I did some preparatory work on foot toughening on Monday, walking barefoot on the stony beach - really quite painful.

Today has been like the proverbial football (soccer) match, a game of two halves. I was struggling with a problem that needed to be resolved today and couldn't see a way through this morning. The result - reduced energy, feeling of me on my own against the world, inspiring vision evaporated, only able to see two to three feet in front of me.

By this afternoon, I had taken the problem apart piece by piece and addressed each small chunk individually and dealt with it. Result - energy supercharged, I'm back in alignment with the rest of the world, excited by the endless possibilities (and heard some positive news about a new business opportunity), and I'm now physically looking across the tops of the trees at the vast and amazing sky from my desk.

Talk about the power of the inner game being so much more critical than the external one. I think so!

Happy Birthday Cyd!!

Commitment & acknowledgement

This mile each day game has been fun over the last week and a bit.

If I had not challenged myself to see how long I could sustain running at least a mile every single day, I'm sure that I would have missed 3 days of my mile in the last week.

Firstly, I would have decided that I didn't have enough space in my hand luggage for my flight to Holland to fit my running shoes, shorts, tee-shirt, socks and Garmin GPS device. And yet I found room, and I had an absolutely gorgeous run of three and a half miles in the forests of southern Holland. Thank you Lieke.

Then, I was running a training programme in London 2 days last week and knew that when I left my hotel in the morning, I wouldn't be back until well after 10.00 pm. So I managed to get out and hit the road before 6.00 a.m. each day. That wouldn't have happened either, had it not been for my commitment to the mile each day experiment.

I'd also like to acknowledge Toby for his commitment to the experiment. Realising that you haven't done your run at 11.50 p.m. whilst brushing your teeth, getting ready for bed, and yet still going out and doing the mile anyway, I take my hat off to you.

Bluebells to Holland

I've been rather remiss as I haven't blogged now for a week.

Is blog a verb as well as a noun?

This morning, Nicky and I diverted from our usual circuit to go into the woods just down the road from our house and search out the bluebells. We found them, although we had to climb (sort of run) a horrifically steep hill to get to them. I find it amazing how a mass of bluebells can have such an ethereal, magical quality to them.

If you haven't gone out and taken a run, or walk, in some woods that contain bluebells, I urge you to do so in the next few days, while they are at their most magnificent.

Tomorrow I won't be able to do my morning run as I am due to catch a 7.25 am flight to Dusseldorf and am spending the day in Holland. I'm told that there is a forest very near to where I'll be, so I'm hoping to do my mile in the forest.

Magic, awe & distraction

Ran on my own this morning. Put in a fairly pacey (for me) 3 miles, which was fun. I checked a couple of times whether I was pushing myself but I wasn't. It was like I was running automatically on duracell batteries. I almost couldn't help it. Interesting.

Two thoughts came up for me on this morning's run. The first was how children so easily see magic and have a sense of awe and wonder about them. Do we just grow out of it and see reality as adults, or do we lose the ability to look with a sense of awe and to see magic, although it is still there?

I strongly suspect the latter, because every now and then I get glimpses of magic and also feel that sense of awe. It's amazingly powerful and hugely uplifting. We could all thrive rather than survive a lot easier by suspending our cynical minds and getting back in touch with magic and awe.

The other thought I had was how we usually see the quality of being distracted as a negative trait. But what if we were intent on a goal, a challenge and we were confronted by someone who could benefit from our help or assistance? Is the most positive thing to do, ignore it and keep focused on our goal or is it to allow ourselves to be distracted and lend a hand?

Human relationships are often just as important, if not more so, than the goal. So maybe the ability to be distracted is not such a bad thing?

Amazing what I think of when I'm running!

Secrets, washing-up & MJ

Really enjoyed my run this morning! Had a nice chat with Nicky for our mile and a bit, particularly about the news we heard this weekend, which is amazingly exciting, but I'm unable to reveal as I'm sworn to secrecy for a couple of weeks. After that I did another three miles, which was also lovely.

I realised on this morning's run that I can still do Beachy Head in October, whatever anyone else says, however professional they are, or what authority and experience they have. If my goal is to run it (with a smattering of walking) and have a fabulous experience, it is absolutely in my own power and my hands (or possibly legs).

As it's Bank Holiday Monday today, I have had a great chill out morning, including what I refer to as disco washing-up, which involves just me in the kitchen with my iTunes turned right up doing the washing up and clearing up. I know it sounds weird but I love it.

The origins of disco washing-up are from my time living in Vancouver in the 80's, when a bunch of us used to get together after a meal, and we would throw plates, cutlery, pans from the "washer" to the "dryer" to the "putter away" in time to very loud music. We borrowed it from a scene from the movie "The Big Chill".

I also had a strange experience when a Michael Jackson song came on. I suddenly brimmed up with tears. Music is such a powerful communications channel. I could plainly hear through Michael Jackson's voice his pain, passion and also beauty. It hit me straight in the chest and knocked me sideways for a good couple of minutes.

I just love music. Sometimes just listening to it allows me a level of self-expression that I find it hard to access in other ways.

Blimey, I think I've drivelled on enough for about a week's worth of postings, so time to sign off.

Running for breakfast

I've just realised that this morning's run completed my 4th month of running every day for at least one mile.

This morning I ran my mile and a bit with Nicky and then continued on to Sainsbury's Local to buy milk and bread for breakfast. I quite like it when I can mix my run with a practical purpose.

I need to solve a problem with my backpack though. When it's got 3 pints of milk in and a couple of loaves of ciabatta, it bounces from side to side, which interferes with my natural arm swimming.

Nicky did really well this morning as she had already run 3 miles last night with Sarah's Runners.

Today I have emerged from my flat few days, which is great. The world once again is my lobster, as they say.

Flat lining

I'm finding it harder to find something different to say about running a mile each day.

Today I ran five and a half miles and I'm pretty shattered. That doesn't feel like it bodes well for bigger challenges, but then again I know that we all go through cycles of good and bad days, or even weeks. I guess today is one of my dips.

Having conversed again with coach "Mad Dog" Mike Schreiber, I also feel rather flat because he believes I need to do a lot more groundwork before considering a marathon. Mind you after this morning, I think he could well be right.

"Mad Dog"

Today I have been conversing by email with "Mad Dog" Mike Schreiber, who, I believe, is based in Mexico and was Matt Beardshall's on-line coach for his coast to coast run described in "Life on the Run".

I think he is questioning my sanity of aiming to run a marathon in October when currently on a mile a day. I'm very interested to hear what he has to say.

I do know that he thinks that barefoot running is a current fad and makes no sense, but what do I know, I haven't actually tried it yet and I'm not particularly ready to leap into something that leads to an injury.

One of my main reasons for starting the mile a day challenge was to find something sustainable, that gets me moving, which in turn gets me flowing and helps to create possibility in my world.

Hopefully I'll be in touch with "Mad Dog" again in the next few days.

Day 110

Day 110 of running a mile each day.

I ran marginally under 4 miles this morning. Nicky ran her mile and a bit in one second under her fastest time. I then ran a pretty quick (for me these days) 2.7 miles.

Once again the weather was fabulous, possibly even nicer than the past few days. It felt quite fast and I felt good this morning.

The only thing I've noticed is that if I'm pushing myself speedwise, I lose the creative thoughts and ideas that I otherwise get.

Talking to myself

Yesteray I ran 10km for the first time in many months, probably six. It wasn't easy and yet it was also really enjoyable.

There is nothing like pushing myself, stretching myself (no, not that type of stretching - I'm terrible at doing that), challenging myself, with the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and body, and the sound of birdsong in my ears (as well as my own breathing and the occasional traffic noise when I venture near roads).

I also talk to myself out loud when I run. It could be the first, or possibly more advanced, sign of madness, but is a leftover from pre-iPhone times when I used to run with my mobile phone strapped to my arm, connected by earphones, recording my thoughts and ideas.

Note to self - I really should find a device that allows me to strap my iPhone to my arm so I don't look quite as demented when I'm out running in public.

The challenge is on!

Well, I've done it now. No, not my mile, although I have done that too. I have finally bitten the bullet and entered the Beachy Head marathon scheduled for this October.

So there go all my platitudes about just enjoying running for its own sake and not needing a bigger goal to motivate me. While it's true that I DO just enjoy running for its own sake and all the benefits it gives me, I have also realised that I also love a challenge.

The mile each day was definitely a challenge when I started it, but it has now stopped being that challenge. In fact I said some days ago that I'm now more likely to miss brushing my teeth than my daily run, and yesterday I almost did exactly that. I got my run done first thing in the day as usual, and was working at home all day, suddenly realising at lunchtime that I hadn't brushed my teeth. Disgusting I know, but that's how it was.

I could feel the excitement in my stomach as I logged on to Runners World and submitted my application.

So, the challenge is on. I guess I might be running a few more longer runs than one mile over the next few months. The other challenge of course is to keep running a mile each day right up to and including Beachy Head.

Ordinary + extra = extraordinary

Another minimum mile and a bit this morning.

Have had fun with my friend Steve's jet wash this morning blasting everything that wasn't sparkly clean.

I've just read about a 74-year-old Irish lady who hopes to complete her 100th marathon by this October. She did her first aged 49 and is planning 5 marathons between now and October.

Yet another person who is, by all accounts, ordinary and yet adds that bit extra to make herself extraordinary.

I wonder what my bit extra is?

Coincidences times 2

Just the bare minimum run this morning.

Been up to London today, which gave me a chance to delve a bit deeper into "Life on the Run: Coast to Coast". I now feel I was a bit too hasty in my initial judgement of the book yesterday.

I still think it's quite pricey for such a small book and the layout would not be my chosen design, but I have to say that I'm warming rapidly to the content of the book.

The part about one of the adventurers pleading with his colleagues to give him a new song to sing because he had "High on a Hill Stood a Lonely Goat-Herd" from the Sound of Music going round his head in a loop while at the top of one of the fells, really made me laugh.

That in turn triggered another memory for me of Toby (my son) singing exactly that same song solo on stage at Wimbledon Theatre probably about 20 years ago in the stage production of the show with Christopher Plummer.

The other coincidence I've only just realised is that Matt Beardshall and his colleagues were running (and cycling in 1 case) the exact same route that my brother-in-law and his colleagues are walking as I write this.

Cat alarm

Just under 2 miles this morning and back to the long tee-shirt, brrrrrr.

The cat that seems to have adopted us woke me up first when it jumped on our bed (3am), when it jumped off again (5am), when it scratched at the front door to go out (5.30am - it decided not to go out), when it scratched again to go out (6am - I ignored it) and when it scratched at the door of our spare room (6.15am - someone else got up). My alarm went at 6.30am. Oh joy!

I have now received and have started to read "Life on the Run: Coast to Coast" by Matt Beardshall. My initial impression is that it's a lot shorter than I expected for the price and I'm also not sure of the book design and the writing style, but it's early days and the jury is still out.

I've also received 3 other new books, delivered in their Amazon package on our door step. I do love getting new books!

Barefoot ouch!

Left knee a little sore this morning but only a very minor niggle.

I may have to rethink my barefoot running ideas for a while, apart from maybe on grass. My 13-year-old daughter encouraged me to run with her down to the end of the road and back yesterday, while I was wearing flip-flops. I immediately saw it as an opportunity to kick off said foot apparel and test out my barefoot running skills.

My style was tentative at the best, and pretty much tiptoeing when it came to crossing the handful of driveways. I can certainly see why it's almost impossible to run with a heel strike when you're barefoot

I think my idealistic vision of the joy, freedom and fun of barefoot is much further off than I had imagined.

100 days, 173 miles, 33 hours

100 days, 173 miles and 33 hours is my tally following this morning's glorious sunny run.

Our first breakfast of the year sitting out in the sunshine in the back garden and also the first time my shorts have seen the light of day this year.

I enjoyed my day living in happy valley yesterday and being a beacon. Today's intention is to be kind wherever possible and to start really trying out positive affirmations.

Ordered 4 books on Amazon yesterday with some birthday vouchers, so I'm quite excited about receiving them in the next week or three, and yes, one of them is about running.

I've got a crazy hair-brained idea at the moment - I wonder if I could run the Beachy Head marathon barefoot? I might have to let that one simmer for a few days.

Happy beacons

Day 99. Went out much later, and on my own, this morning after my early business breakfast club.

I ran past Happy Valley and the Beacon, which got me thinking.

What would it be like to live in Happy Valley? I know for certain that the sun doesn't always shine there.

What an inspiring thing a beacon is, showing people the way, lighting their path!

Maybe that's why I find running uplifting?

So, my intention for today is to be a beacon for others and to spend my day in my own hypothetical happy valley. What fun I hope I'm going to have.

Running is possibility

After my run this morning I was remembering back in 1987 (a couple of careers ago) when I made the jump from a permanent IT role into a freelance one.

I knew then that if I hadn't been doing my lunchtime runs in Regents Park that I most definitely wouldn't have had the courage, the belief, the energy and the vision of possibility to take the leap and the risk.

So if I hadn't run, my life would look very different to how it does now. Running definitely helps me look at the world through the lenses of possibility.

Brushing teeth and money

A couple more miles this morning, dodging the potholes and across the deserted golf course. Haven't seen the almost-barefoot runner in the Vibram Five Fingers again although I'm keeping my eyes open.

My five miles yesterday morning don't seem to have had any ill effects, even in my worn out running shoes with little to no cushioning or stability support.

It's funny but I would almost rather not brush my teeth now than forfeit my morning run.

Only three more days until my 100th consecutive day of running a mile, assuming I can negotiate any obstacle that may arise.

I started an enquiry this morning about my relationship with money. What I found interesting was that I realised it is very similar to some early relationships (about 40 years ago now) with rather unreliable girlfriends.

I wonder what the impact of that is?

Rosie's off again

Easter behind me, my 55th birthday too, and my 96th day of running a mile each day. In fact I totaled just over five and a half miles this morning and my legs felt it.

I can't believe that Rosie Swale Pope is off again, this time running 27 marathons in 27 days around England and Wales to raise money for children's hospices.

1st day of 4th month

OK. This feels like a milestone.

Today was my first run of my fourth month of running a mile each day, so if a mile each day was a business I would have achieved my target for Q1 of 2010. After tomorrow I will have completed over a quarter of the days in the year. I had never really worked out before that the 4 quarters of the year have 90, 91, 92 and 92 days respectively (assuming it's not a leap year).

A beautiful, if cold, morning and I really enjoyed the respite from the fairly constant rain of recent days.

I'm looking forward to a fun, family-oriented Easter and birthday weekend.

Rabbit in the headlights

I don't think I'm the only one who gets this occasionally because some of my clients have described something similar, but I was awake last night at 3.00 am with "night terrors", feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. I can only describe it as feeling like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. It's really hard to get back to sleep when I get this.

I did finally get back to sleep but when I woke up this morning I used my two most trusted techniques for picking me up for the day. I spent a good twenty to thirty minutes with pen and notebook doing a complete brain dump of everything I was thinking and feeling in the night, what I was thinking and feeling then and how I was going to approach my day.

After my journalling I followed it up with running my mile with Nicky, followed by a couple of pacier miles on my own.

I now feel fired up, energised and inspired for the day ahead, even if it is still blowing and raining outside.

Oh, and that was day 90 by the way. 3 months completed!

Tank almost on empty

I felt a strong desire to go out for a run yesterday evening just before it got dark, so I squeezed in a couple of miles. Nicky and I then did a couple more this morning.

I upgraded my Running Log Free for iPhone to the full Running Log version, which allows me to enter 2 different runs at different times on the same day. It cost me a huge 59p to buy the full version. These iPhone apps are fantastic and cheaper than a cup of coffee.

My initial energy this morning has now waned and there is not a lot left in the tank. Sometimes it's OK to just accept it and go with the flow, you then get the opportunity to enjoy it.

Acceptance is the first and most important step to happiness.

a machine built to run

Nicky is now on her last few days and then she will have completed her 40 days running a mile each day for Lent. She is wondering whether to keep it going after her 40 days.

I've now done 85 days, or 138 miles, or 26 hours of running. I'm looking forward to next Thursday when hopefully I will be starting month 4 of running a mile each day.

I'm beginning to get itchy feet again to increase my running or to commit to a new challenge. It occurred to me that the marathons that I have run in the past all seem to have been triggers for other significant events opening up in my life. Once that thought entered my head it feels like I may be on a slippery slope.

The title I thought of for today's post comes from yet another quote from Christopher McDougall's "Born To Run". The full quote goes something like, "we're a machine built to run - and the machine never wears out. You don't stop running because you get old... you get old because you stop running."

Interesting!

Riding a bike in the drizzle

I added just over two extra miles to Nicky's and my "mile and a bit" again, which gave me a total of three and a half miles this morning.

Got out on my bike, to get to and from a client appointment, for about four miles after a misunderstanding about who needed the car. I really enjoyed it even though it started drizzling pretty much as soon as I left home. Putting aside all environmental arguments, I prefer being on the bike than in the car apart from in extreme weather conditions.

Running - a metaphor for life

Yet another gentle mile (and a bit) round the block. It was cool but I had the feeling that a beautiful day lay just over the horizon. Time will tell.

I finally finished reading Rosie Swale Pope's "Just a Little Run Around the World" this morning. I really recommend it, it is such an inspiring story. I didn't realise that she had to do the last 32 miles of the run on crutches because she had developed two stress fractures in her hip!

What did I say about grit and determination the other day!

A quote from the book: "My run became much bigger than me; it became a metaphor for life. It made me see that everything in life is an adventure and a miracle, whether it's running across a glacier or boiling water to make a cup of tea."

I agree with Rosie. I have often seen my running as a great metaphor for life. And the gratitude I feel when I do run, that I can, that I am physically able to do it and that I appreciate it, does make me feel very lucky indeed.

The spirit of the adventurer

It's day 79 today and Nicky and I ran just over 2 miles after our adopted cat woke us up early. Nicky has done brilliantly as today was day 31 of her 40 days running for Lent. That's the second time in the last week that we have extended our mile and a bit.

When I got my iPhone I downloaded a free application called Running Log, which I really like and its very simple. It allows me to enter my distance, which I get from my GPS device, the time I took and the time of day I ran. It takes seconds to enter.

I went back and entered all my runs since January 1st and it's great to see number of rest days zero, and also it's now saying total time running just over 24 hours, which feels quite a fun statistic. Although my little runs don't take that long, in total I have spent an entire day and night running. I like that.

We watched the last part of the Eddie Izzard documentary last night of his 43 marathons in 51 days. What a fantastic example of mind over matter and overcoming adversity he is in the way he dug so deep to finish that incredible challenge!

What made it even better last night was the bit where Rosie Swale Pope came out and ran a bit with him. I have almost finished reading her book "Just a Little Run Around the World" at the moment, which I can highly recommend.

Eddie and Rosie both really inspire me and are made from a similar mould. They both have a liberal sprinkling of grit, determination and an inability to accept the limitations that a "normal" person would. There's something of the historical British adventurer spirit going on there.

I wonder where that lies in me and how I access it?

Not a lot to report

Day 77 and not a lot to report. Nicky and I extended our usual daily circuit today making it a 1.75 mile route.

Ticked off, or at least passed the baton on, 12 tasks from my to do list today, although I did scribble down a list of some 26 items this morning. I knew I would never complete all 26, so 12 is pretty good, I feel.

A trip to London tomorrow, which should be fun.

Cut the fat, cut cancer risk

Did three and a half miles this morning, for the first time in 10 days. I really enjoyed it.

It's also been great bombing round T Wells on my bicycle today going to coaching sessions, and a school governors' meeting this afternoon. It was so warm I only needed a shirt and a gilet, which was great.

Another "Born To Run" quote today is "one in seven cancer deaths is caused by by excess body fat" according to Dr. Robert Weinberg, a professor of cancer research at MIT and discoverer of the first tumor-suppressor gene. "The math is stark: cut the fat, and cut your cancer risk."

Now I know that this applies largely to diet, but exercise will also play a huge part in reducing body fat.

New Facebook page

After struggling a little working out how to do it, I eventually managed to get a new Facebook page up - "Run a mile each day".

Completed day 75 of a mile each day this morning.

When the weather's like this sometimes it seems a shame to go so early and miss the warmth of the sun, but it does work so well to get the day off to a great start. Running later would somehow be trickier in helping the rest of the day flow.

Another couple of quotes from "Born To Run" - "Nearly all runners do their slow runs too fast and their fast runs too slow... So they're just training their bodies to burn sugar, which is the last thing a distance runner wants."

The second quote is "The way to activate your fat-burning furnace is by staying below your aerobic threshold - your hard-breathing point..."

So that seems to confirm that my running with Nicky, below my aerobic threshold, is actually good for me. Not that I would consider myself a distance runner at this point in time!

Everyone is built for running

Great weekend with lots of great family connecting, a very early run (6.15 on Saturday morning), a beautiful sunny and pretty warm one (Sunday at 8.40), and a sunny and not quite as warm one this morning, but still gorgeous.

I believe I'm at day 74 now, and I can happily say that all is well.

2 great quotes from "Born To Run" today. "Everyone is built for running", and "You don't stop running because you get old... You get old because you stop running."

I agree with the philosophies expressed in both of these quotes but I also realise that some may not agree with me.

Just got to the bit in "A Little Run Around the World" where Rosie is leaving Siberia for Alaska after almost 2 years running and some incredible experiences.

A mile or a marathon a day?

I watched the first of half of the documentary "Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man" on television last night.

Last summer Eddie ran 43 consecutive marathons around England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, having never run before, on less than 6 weeks training.

It certainly put my 1 mile each day into perspective. The only thing is that I believe that what I'm doing adds to my daily life, whereas what Eddie Izzard did obviously took over his entire life and was his life, at least for the period of his adventure.

Still, it was very impressive and also inspiring.

I do seem drawn somehow to these acts of endurance that go beyond what we commonly believe can be done, Rosie Swale Pope's run around the world being another example.

For me it was a case of just another day, another mile (and a bit).

Oh, and was yesterday the best day of my life? Only time will tell, but setting the intention definitely made it more enjoyable, and who knows, maybe seeds were planted that will grow into something bigger than ever imagined.

The best day of my life

I heard the story of a football manager (don't know his name) who started each day by saying "today is the best day of my life". Apparently the story was told by this manager's chairman, who went on to say that everyone loved this guy because he was so positive and so uplifting to be around. He was always open to new possibilities and opportunities.

I thought of this story and quote in the shower this morning and decided to take on the intention that today is the best day of my life.

I've run my mile, with Nicky, which was my 70th consecutive day of running and Im just preparing to go up to London to meet a couple of friends, who are ex clients and ex colleagues respectively.

I'm intrigued to know what the day might bring and know that it is completely up to me to be open to it being the best day of my life.

Celebrate small achievements

Back to a mile and a bit a day. My right heel feels fine again and the run felt quite easy and smooth this morning.

I'm reading Rosie Swale-Pope's "Just a Little Run Around the World" at the moment. Apparently she woke up in her bivvy tent in Poland one morning with 5 foot of snow on top of her and the tent. She then had to burrow her way out. I can't believe how pragmatic some people can be in such extreme conditions, although I guess you don't have a lot of choice in those circumstances.

There are vague rumours that it might even warm up a few degrees in a few days time. I'll believe it when I feel it!

It's funny how the day numbers become meaningless now after nearly 70 days. The milestones are now in number of months or in hundreds of days.

In my coaching experience we take our small step achievements for granted and far too lightly and only notice when we fail. I have to remind myself that I'm still running my mile every day and have done so now consistently since 1st January.

I think Im going to celebrate and brew myself a large cafetiere of coffee and have a couple of biscuits. Yay!

Day 67 - and all's well

Nothing much to report today.

Another sunny morning. Another very cold morning. Spring can't be that far over the horizon now, surely?

My right heel is very slightly sore today. Nothing to worry about but something just to observe.

I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait to try some barefoot running, although I will definitely have to adjust the route to go completely barefoot. All my current favourite routes involve some quite rocky, uneven and stony parts.

Day 66 - another extra mile

Although I didn't post to my blog yesterday, I did still run my mile.

Today I ran a mile with Nicky and then did an extra couple myself, so I completed just over three and a half in total, my highest for a good couple of months.

Another absolutely gorgeous morning, cold but glorious. There was a bird in our back garden, just as I was waiting for my GPS device to find a signal, doing the most beautiful singing. It really did lift both our spirits even higher than they were.

Very pleased that we knuckled down yesterday morning and cleared most of the rubble from under our floor to allow it to dry. Three sorties to the tip then followed, and then a warm glow of satisfaction from a job well done.

My Rosie Swale Pope book arrived from Amazon yesterday and I've already read the first two chapters. What an amazing, inspiring and yet ordinary (I guess that's where extra- ordinary comes from) woman she is.

I'm dumbfounded as to how little publicity she received for such an incredible feat!

Wrong-footed shoes

I stretched my run to just over 2 miles this morning, the first time I've done that since I had plantar fasciitis and ditched my running insoles. It felt really good.

Admittedly I was a bit later this morning as I had to attend my monthly business networking group, which is always fun but does mean leaving home a lot earlier than usual.

As I was running on my own this morning and going a bit further I tried to concentrate on feeling the ground beneath my feet, which I can do a lot easier with worn down running shoes and no insoles. It made me think of the parallel with helping people to fully experience each moment of their lives through coaching rather than numbing themselves from the present moment.

Every bit of life, the highs and lows add value if we allow ourselves to raise our awareness. They all teach us lessons about how we live our lives and what is really important to us.

On the topic of worn down shoes, a guy called David Smyntek, who is a runner and physical therapist specialising in acute rehabilitation, decided to conduct an experiment to see if he really should replace his expensive running shoes every 300 to 500 miles, as the running shoe industry was telling him. So when his shoes wore down on one side he swapped shoes and continued to run 5 miles a day wearing his worn down shoes on the wrong feet. He experienced no problems whatever.

Makes you think, doesn't it.

By the way I've now run over 100 miles since the beginning of the year.

Day 63 - but day 2 under the floor

I've lost track of how many days I've done. If today's the 4th and I've done 31 and 28 days in the previous 2 months, then that must mean today was day 63.

The days are still not getting warmer.

My little toe seems to be OK and healing up nicely.

The plumber fixed our leak last night, so we have running water, as well as heat, again now. It did make me realise how much we take for granted with our running hot and cold water literally on tap, light, heat and cooked food at the flick of a switch or turn of a dial. It's all so easy and I'm so completely helpless without it.

I wonder what would happen if I was immediately transported to an environment where none of that existed, where I had to walk, or run, miles to the nearest well to get water to drink, wash or clean and where I had to build a fire from scratch to cook my food and keep warm?

Would I adapt and survive or would I just feel helpless, sorry for myself and give up?

It's been my second morning under the floorboards, this time emptying the buckets of water and also trying to remove some of the rubble that is covering the wet earth that is below. A lot more rubble removal to be done, which is quite hard due to the restricted access and the limited room to manoeuvre under the floor. Then we need to get some equipment down there to dry it all out.

An eventful few hours

Is it my imagination or is it getting a little bit colder each morning? No frost, no sun but quite a chill wind when we hit the streets at 7.15.

An eventful night and morning in the Barclay Phillips household. Nicky woke me at 1.30 a.m. to say that she could hear water leaking under our bathroom, so I had to shut off the mains water and make sure the heating didn't come on in the morning.

This morning, after we ripped up the flooring I was under the hall and bathroom, amongst the rubble, identifying leaks and strategically placing buckets while we wait for the plumber.

At least we know that we can have the heat on now, even when our water is shut off.

I did wonder when I wrote that life was good yesterday whether I was tempting fate. But then again, life is always about challenges. It's a bit like a steeplechase, one of those ones with water jumps as well as hurdles.

Oh yes, I've just remembered that I slipped and fell down our spiral staircase leading down to the kitchen when I got up to make tea this morning. I sliced open a small bit at the end of my little toe on my right foot, but at least I didn't break it, like I did in 2004 when it stuck out at 45 degrees.

And now, as I write this, the sun comes out.

Life is still good!

Run to be healthy

“Humans really are obligatorily required to do aerobic exercise in order to stay healthy, and I think that has deep roots in our evolutionary history… If there’s any magic bullet to make human beings healthy, it’s to run.” So says Dr. Daniel Lieberman, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University.

Well that's reassuring. He probably doesn't mean just a mile, but hey it's a start, and I have run 61 of them. Actually, according to my running log I've run just over 98 miles since the start of the year. It doesn't sound too bad like that, I think.

An absolutely stunningly beautiful sunny morning this morning, even colder than yesterday but without the ice underfoot. I have to say that there is no comparison between warmer and wet, and cold and sunny. Give me beauty every time.

Another thing I love about running, especially when you get away from traffic, is the feeling of space. I'm still getting that feeling now, sitting at my desk looking out over our back garden, over the tops of trees to a huge expanse of beautiful blue sky.

Everything feels right with the world.

Day 60 - another milestone

First day of my 3rd month of running a mile each day. I never expected to get this far when I started the experiment 59 days ago.

It was great running in sunshine again this morning after not seeing it for a while, although we had to step very carefully as it was still icy at just after seven o'clock this morning.

A bit late posting this as I've been in London today and I haven't worked out whether I can do this on my iPhone yet.

I loved the Winter Olympics men's ice hockey final last night, so much so that I missed the celebration drink for the half marathon helpers. Oh well, Winter Olympics only comes once every four years.

Yay for Canada! It's great having dual citizenship as my countries got 15 gold medals between them (GB you did let the side down slightly on that score).

Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon

Ran to my local Sainsbury's and back today, almost 2 miles.

That was after helping out with the TW Half Marathon earlier this morning. The weather was appalling for the runners but still nearly 1800 of them finished, so congratulations to all of them.

I got it wrong before, I was in the drop out car and not the sweep car. Commiserations to the three who we picked up in the drop out car, who unfortunately sustained injuries en route, so we had to ferry them back to race HQ. Not that I want to give the impression that running is dangerous at all.

Kelly Holmes was brilliant. She started the race and was still there to applaud every runner across the finish line.

About beasts, running and life

Ah, Saturday morning means weekend, means getting up a little later.

I still haven't pushed myself beyond the one mile yet, the weather is not enticing enough or there's too much to do. I have any number of reasons, but the truth is I'm not inspired enough yet to do it.

Since finishing Born To Run, I can't get inspired either by the novel I'm reading, so I've ordered Rosie Swale Pope's book about running round the world solo. I'm looking forward to receiving that some time next week.

Do you reckon I might have tendencies that could be bordering on the obsessive (Nicky you don't need to comment on this one) at times? It does seem that when I get enthusiastic about an idea, it percolates everything I do. Maybe that's just what being passionate is?

I do tend to see running, and my experiences when I'm running, as a fantastic metaphor for life as a whole. For example, the following quote from Born To Run (for a change):

“You can’t hate the Beast and expect to beat it; the only way to truly conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it.”

That's just so relevant to any aspect of life. Along the lines of "what you resist, persists", and that you can only change a situation once you accept that it is as it is, and then choose to change it.

Day 57 - why I do it

I am definitely beginning to notice the lighter mornings. The fact that it's not raining certainly helps, but the early morning run is still a game of attempting to dodge the puddles.

Two days ago I was writing about it being hard to get going even after 55 days, but now I'm feeling that running a mile is just something I do in the mornings, I don't even really think about it. It's like brushing my teeth.

How can I have changed my thinking so quickly? Maybe tomorrow it will be a struggle getting going again?

What is it I'm trying to prove with this mile each day experiment? I've forgotten.

Actually, I don't know that I'm trying to prove anything. First and foremost I was just trying to see if I could actually run a mile every day for a month.

Now I know that I can, I'm just curious as to how long I can keep it up for. Also, I'm curious as to what I discover, if anything, from continuing the experiment for as long as I can.

I wonder why I always try to find a purpose? Running is something that I know nourishes me, my body, my mind and my spirit, so doing some of it ever day makes sense.

I watched Jill Bolte Taylor's TED talk - "A Stroke of Insight" again yesterday. I never fail to be inspired by this video, no matter how many times I've seen it, and it brings me back to what I have eluded to in a previous post about running and connection.

Running somehow temporarily disables my logical left side of my brain that relates to the past and the future, and that sees me as a separate entity. It engages my creative right side of my brain that lives in the present moment and that recognises that I am just part of an energy force that encompasses everything I can see, hear, feel, taste and touch.

This helps me feel that it is never just me alone. I am always a part of something way bigger. I find that uplifting, empowering, reassuring and inspiring.

And how I got here from how I started this post, I have absolutely no idea.

Oh well.

8 weeks completed

It's Nicky's and my 15th anniversary today, so lunch out, and a glass or two of wine no doubt.

I have volunteered to be part of the support team for the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon this Sunday. Apparently, I will be in the sweep car picking up any runners who are struggling and need a lift to the finish, although hopefully everyone will make it to the finish and feel justifiably proud.

It will be great to see the inspirational Kelly Holmes again. She will be starting the race, and cheering people on. She's one amazing, and incredibly nice, lady!

Nicky asked me yesterday whether I'd be able to run the half marathon now. I haven't run anything like that distance for at least a couple of years, so the answer is probably not, at least without injuring myself.

However, I am starting to feel an urge to stretch my mile a bit further, maybe just every once in a while. I'm not sure why. I suppose half the fun of my mile each day challenge is that it's a challenge.

At the moment I'm in my comfort zone, and it's usually good to stretch that comfort zone. The trick is to stretch it whilst keeping my running easy, light, smooth and FUN!

““Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don’t give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go. When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooooth. You won’t have to worry about the last one – you get those three, and you’ll be fast.” - excerpt from Born To Run

Day 55 - churning along

Nearly 8 weeks, but I guess the next milestone is 5 days from now when I start month 3.

It's funny that even when you're in a routine, having done something every single day for 54 days, you can still think "I really don't fancy going out, it looks grey and damp and I feel a little tired". How easy it would be to decide to give myself a day off, even when I know I'd regret it later.

But then again as a friend said to me recently, "can you recall any occasion when you came back from a run and regretted it?" I can't think of one, no matter what the weather was like and how I felt. And yet, the brain is a funny thing. Why does it try to sabotage me so often?

“Maybe the ancient Hindus were better crystal-ball-gazers than Hollywood when they predicted the world would end not with a bang but with a big old yawn. Shiva the Destroyer would snuff us out by doing… nothing… Withdrawing his hot-blooded force from our bodies. Letting us become slugs.” excerpt from Born To Run

The natural born runner

Are all GPS devices inaccurate?

We're running exactly the same circular route every day at the moment, sometimes one way and sometimes the other. Why then does my Garmin Forerunner 101 vary in the distance it says we're covering by about 5%?

It's not that important, but when you're trying to encourage someone who is trying to get into running and you know they have run a bit faster today but your GPS device says it's slower, it's not that helpful.

On the running in old trainers without insoles front, my plantar fasciitis is definitely getting better. I have to concentrate to identify any remaining soreness. I tell you it's working!

Today's quote from "Born To Run" is "a Natural Born Runner - someone who ran for sheer joy, like an artist in the grip of inspiration".

Now that's something to aspire to.

You live up to your own expectations

"this ninety-five-year-old man came hiking twenty miles over the mountain. Know why he could do it? Because no one ever told him he couldn't. No one ever told him he oughta be off dying somewhere in an old age home. You live up to your own expectations..."

Another quote from my book of the decade (so far) - Born To Run.

That's my goal in life - to be that 95-year-old hiking over mountains because I don't know any better. But for now it's just day 53 in my run a mile each day programme.

While I was in the shower this morning, I worked out that I have already lived more days than my Dad did. He died at the age of 54, my age now, but I am already closer to my 55th birthday than he ever got.

When I look at it like that, each day is a blessing, each run is an incredible blessing. I feel so lucky and privileged to have been given the ability and the freedom to just lace up my shoes and be in motion with nature and the elements.

Blimey, I'm coming over all profound!

So anyway, my expectations? To love life, the people and experiences I encounter from day to day, and to stretch myself physically, mentally and spiritually a little more each day.

How long for? Who the hell knows but it's a stunning journey while it lasts.

Day 52 - fun and play

Wet and cold today. I do love this country and our variety of weather, quite often all in the same day.

This is the 4th day that I've run with Nicky on her "Run for Lent" initiative. For me running is not about competition, it is about fun and connection. When running with someone else, it is a great opportunity to share and connect, and when I run on my own it is an opportunity to connect with myself and with nature.

Sounds a bit "woo woo" I know, but running is the closest I've ever got to a meditative state. Most of my best creative ideas come to me when I'm running, particularly when it's just me and nature.

But the key for me is running should be about joy, fun and inspiration. When I get to pain, suffering and struggle, I know that I'm doing it wrong.

Sunshine and frost

A glorious morning, still cold, but just gorgeous.

Headline on this week's edition of "The Week" magazine = "Is exercise a waste of time?"

Are they having a laugh?

Surely the inspiring performance of Amy Williams last night at the Winter Olympics will inspire many, many people to get up off their backsides and just go out and get their breath flowing and their blood pumping in any way they choose.

The older I get, the more I know the power of exercise, and I'm so thankful for learning to love the joy, fun, camaraderie and energy that exercise gives you, back when I was at school.

It's got to be more effective, more powerful and certainly less damaging than anti-depressants or the way most of us choose to positively alter our mood.

Day 50 - The wonderful foot

Apparently, "Leonardo da Vinci considered the human foot, with its fantastic weight-suspension system comprising one quarter of all the bones in the human body, a "masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.""

"No wonder your feet are so sensitive..... They're self-correcting devices. Covering your feet with cushioned shoes is like turning off your smoke alarms."

Both above quotes come from the wonderful "Born To Run" book I mentioned yesterday.

As I was working at home all day yesterday, I wore slippers (I can't believe I finally bought bedroom slippers!) around the house. I noticed this morning that my mild plantar fasciitis was slightly worse, so today only socks will grace my feet unless I leave the house.

I'm becoming more and more fascinated with the whole barefoot movement and think I'll do some research.

Anyway, 50 consecutive days of running. That feels like a milestone (pardon the pun) that is quietly satisfying.

And by the way, I can't believe it was trying to snow again during this morning's run!

Day 49 - seven weeks done!

My goal to run at least 1 mile each day for the month of January 2010 has now expanded well into February with 7 weeks completed.

It feels quite inspiring to think that I have run a mile every day of the new decade so far.

How long can I sustain this?

What will I learn from it?

I have already (almost) run through a cold, a groin strain and the dreaded plantar fasciitis (I think). Right heel is still a little sore but significantly improved. Interestingly, I threw my orthotics (customised inner soles for those non runners among you) away and am using an old pair of trainers with no inner soles at all.

Have been totally inspired by "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall, an absolutely amazing book.

Not going much beyond a mile at all at the moment because of the injuries, but hoping to stretch it out a little further soon.