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.