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).