Anticipating fun

On my last run of January this morning I realised that I've now completed 61 months of running at least a mile each day, something that hadn't appeared on my radar until then.

It was snowing when I ran. I think possibly it was the first time in two years that I've run in the snow.

As I was sitting drinking my tea before I ran, the anticipation of going out running in the snow was really quite exciting, and as it was daylight for a change I wasn't really nervous about ice or slipping.

I don't know if it's my imagination but it seemed that it brought out loads of runners. I caught up with, and ran a little way with, two friends, and as we ran another friend came the other way and we crossed paths.

I think that we're all children at heart, and I for one, still find it exciting when snow comes along and I imagine that my run will be more fun because of it.

I'm looking forward to when we get a good blanket of snow on the ground, when I can don my Yaktrax and hear that crunch of running through the snow, and the eerie silence that thick snow brings with it.

By the way after my post yesterday about the best two days, I had a great day. I'm glad I didn't manage to wish it away too quickly.

The best two days

I found myself wishing away the last couple of days of January this morning, caught myself and then stopped and examined what I was doing.

I know that a lot of people find January hard. 

The excitement of Christmas is over, the credit card bills from Christmas are coming in, it's dark and it's cold and the thought that it's going to be like this for at least another five or six weeks is depressing. Colds and flu are everywhere, and even if you are well it feels like everyone around you is sneezing, coughing and/or complaining.

But what if you knew that these last two days of this month were the last two days you had left to live?

After you got over the initial shock and the feeling sorry for yourself, wouldn't you realise that these two days ahead of you were the best two days of your life? After all, they are your one chance to do whatever it is you still want to do. 

You have the chance to live and savour every moment, every experience, every interaction with another human being, with nature, to be completely present to the miracle that is life.

It's funny how considering death can bring these things into perspective, when all those things I just wrote in the sentence above are true right now even if these aren't the last two days of your life.

It seems a shame to waste any day of your life by wishing it was gone soon when you have no idea how many days you do have left.

As Steve Jobs once said, "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life." 

Practice for life

I ran a training session on coaching skills for a group of secondary school teachers yesterday.

One of the exercises they liked best was one on comfort zones. 

After we all discussed and agreed what a comfort zone was, I had one group think of what keep us all in our comfort zones, another group came up with the benefits of stepping outside our comfort zones, while a third thought of what helps us step outside our comfort zones.

There was a lot of conversation around this exercise, and I think it made them realise where they'd been critical of some students staying in their comfort zones and then blaming others for why they stayed there, that in a way the teachers have been doing the same thing.

We all stay in our comfort zones because it's safe and we're unlikely to experience failure, be embarrassed or feel stupid.

When we think about it we realise that growth, excitement, new experiences and realising that we can do things we didn't previously think we could, happens exclusively outside our comfort zones. 

And yet it's still hard. The pain of stepping out and facing our fears is greater than the pain of staying where we are.

But there are things we can do to help ourselves and help others leave their comfort zones - make it safe, find role models, find people that believe in us and don't think we're failures just because we fail at something.

Getting out of bed while the world still sleeps and running a mile every morning takes me out of my comfort zone every single day.

It's great practice for life! :)

The power of the streak

I've been lucky in the last five and a bit years since I started my mile each day experiment. There have been very few days when I've run when I've not been feeling good. In fact there have been more days when I've struggled a bit with a physical injury than when I've actually felt ill.

This morning was one of those rare mornings when I didn't feel in full health and I ran with a couple of tissues in hand to deal with my nose that was running quicker than my legs.

I like it that I still push myself to do it even when I don't really feel up to it.

I'm fully aware that there will be a day (perhaps tomorrow or maybe ten years from now) when I actually can't physically run that day.

But for now the power of the running streak, knowing that I've now run for 1,855 consecutive days without missing one, keeps me going. After all, what if I had decided not to run this morning and then felt better tomorrow.

I know I would have felt disappointed that I had given up just for that moment of self pity.

And now, even though I don't feel great, I still get a lift knowing that despite the way I felt I pushed through it and have added that extra day, and still going strong(ish).

The hat and the missing gloves

I've thought for a long time that I need to wear gloves when I run and it's a bit cool. This morning I didn't have my gloves with me so I had to run without them.

I did have a woolly hat with me so rather than wear it on my head I put one of my hands in it, and when the other hand got cold I moved the hat to the other hand.

Eventually I got bored moving one hand into the hat and then the other hand, back and forth, so instead I just carried the woolly hat in one of my hands.

I learned a couple of things from this morning's run .

I learned that I don't have to have gloves to run when it's a little cold. In fact I can run without gloves when it's zero or 1 degree.

The other thing I discovered was that just holding my hat loosely in my hand warmed my hand up. I didn't have to cover my hand with it.

What are the even bigger lessons here?

One big lesson is that I often make decisions that things are just the way they are, and then I never question those decisions again. 

I decided one time that as it was a bit cool I'd better wear gloves. I then interpreted that decision to mean that I must always wear gloves now whenever it's a little cold. This morning I discovered that this isn't true.

How many other decisions have I made, and I'm now living with the results of those decisions, even though they're not actually true?

Another lesson I learned this morning was that when I want to protect myself, my usual approach is to put some sort of shield or screen, that serves as a barrier, between me and the outside world, in this morning's case a pair of gloves.

But I found that just by holding something (my woolly hat) loosely without putting anything between me and the outside world I was just fine.

What could the implications of these two bigger lessons be to me, and to you?

A shift of focus

Last night I helped out as a support coach with my local beginners and intermediate runners group, which I do fairly regularly.

I jogged walk with two of the newer runners last night, one of whom only started with the group two weeks ago and the other who ran a bit last year, but it was her first time back after six months off running due to injuries.

What I loved about it was that both of them did incredibly well. We were jog/walking but they both ran continuously for long periods of time before taking walk breaks and I was very impressed. They were both happy too.

Sometimes it can be more rewarding helping others feel the satisfaction of improving at, and learning to enjoy, running than focusing on your own run.

Do you ever find that?

And isn't that also true not just in running?

Running to extraordinary achievements

I love what I do to earn my crust.

Twice this week I've met people I would never have come into contact with if I didn't work in the coaching arena.

One of them is from a very privileged background but is trying to do something really worthwhile to help others to create exciting new businesses. 

The other came from an incredibly troubled background and is currently almost single-handedly reducing the opium production capability in Afghanistan, the world's biggest producer.

What has this got to do with running?

Only that both of them are runners. One of them runs now, whilst the other used running as one of the ways to turn his life around to be the inspiration it is now. I know that because he told me this morning.

To find out more about him read: James Brett: An inspiration.

Running and extraordinary achievements appear to go hand in hand.

Keep on running!

Being open and ready

I enjoyed running in a temperature of +1 degree C this morning. Only a couple of degrees warmer (if you can call it that) than the last few days, but those two degrees gave me more freedom.

The two degrees meant I was able to rotate to one of my older pairs of running shoes this morning as it wasn't so critical for my shoes to have the best tread on them in case of slippery conditions.

They also meant that I had more options of which route to choose, instead of not being able to consider any routes that have a downhill stretch on a smooth surface, which can be hairy because there might be ice.

Those two degrees also gave me more flexibility in what I chose to wear to run in today, although I discounted the shorts and tee-shirt because I'm still a bit of a wimp when it's anywhere near freezing.

Tomorrow it's due to be freezing again.

It just shows that you always need to be open to, and ready for, new possibilities and new opportunities to expand what you're doing at the moment.

Even possibilities that are fleeting and then gone, are there to be capitalised on if you're in a place of openness and readiness.

What do you need to do to be open and ready for new possibilities and opportunities today?

All that exists right now

These cold days and nights remind me of that part of a marathon where the excitement of the start has passed, you feel like you've already run a long way, there's still a long way to go to the finish, there are no supporters along this stretch and you're feeling tired. All you really want is to stop and have a rest now.

Yet the only thing you must do is just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Don't think about how far you still have to go. Just think about getting to that lamppost up ahead. Then when you reach it, see that next lamppost, that's the one you need to get to now.

The focus is on this next mile and on this very next step.

By all means think about what it will be like crossing that finish line, but push all thoughts of how you're going to do it and how hard it's going to be out of your mind.

This mile and this step are all that exists right now.

Anything is possible

After my challenging run of yesterday I was reminded again this morning of the miraculous power of rest and recovery.

The first time I realised the amazing power of rest was a few years ago on a running club tour.

I had just run 20 miles in a day, including going up and down cliff paths.

I'd finished but I could hardly walk at the end of it. That night at dinner, and when I went to bed, every muscle in my body ached, crying out for rest. 

I knew that night that there would be no possibility, even if I wanted to, of joining the runners the next day. And believe me there was nothing I wanted less than to run the next day. I would definitely have a leisurely stroll with my poor aching body, with the walking contingent.

What astounded me was that after starting to walk for a little while the next morning, I couldn't help it but I had a desperate urge to join the runners, and I ended up doing just that.

I even ended up running strongly for several miles.

This all goes to prove two things.

One is that rest is a miracle cure. Give it the chance to work its magic by getting plenty of sleep. It can literally take years off how you feel over night.

The other thing is that our minds are constantly telling us that it's not possible for us, but that's only part of our mind, the one that likes to play it safe.

Do what you can to quiet it and you may hear another part of your mind that will tell you that anything is possible.

And it is...

The inner saboteur

After last Sunday's successful long run, I was feeling quite positive about this morning's slightly longer run.

Not only didn't I have any sign of the cold that seemed to be starting just as I headed out last week (the run seemed to miraculously clear it) but this week I even managed to get my Camelbak working (I couldn't last week) and took it with me so that I could rehydrate on the go.

All things were looking good. After all I was only adding another mile and a half, and what's more I decided to mix in a minute's walk after every nine or ten minutes today too.

Who knows why it happened but I struggled big time again today. I even started out very very easily.

The only thing I can think of is that once I'd got the first couple of miles over, I just couldn't resist checking on both the time and the distance and calculating my average pace, and I kept doing that for the rest of my run.

Now I've been running for many years and I know that you shouldn't consider pace, unless it's to make sure that you're at least two minutes per mile slower than race pace on a long training run, so why oh why did I keep looking at my Garmin?

It may not have been anything to do with my pace, but I'm still amazed that I committed such a schoolboy error, and absolutely knew I was doing it even while I did it.

The only thing to do is to remove the temptation so it's not possible to do it, so next week, my longest run before the half marathon, I will run without my Garmin and just take an ordinary watch. It's a bit like putting all the sugary food in the dustbin at the start of a diet.

Is there a temptation you need to remove so that your inner saboteur can't stop you from achieving your goals?

The windows of opportunity

I read a review recently about a head torch that has two separate bulbs, one that shines a powerful narrow beam clearly showing the way ahead when you run in the dark, and the other that spreads the light wider showing what's in your peripheral vision.

I really like this concept, and the fact that they are separate emphasises the importance of both perspectives in the rest of your life.

It's really important to have a clear focus of where you're going. If you've only got a beam that shows everything ahead and in your peripheral vision equally clearly, there is too much distraction & temptation to veer off course.

But if you're only focused on the path ahead, blocking everything else from your view, you're missing the opportunity to enjoy your journey more. 

It's often what you see from the windows to either side that enhances your journey. Stopping at a viewpoint to really take in the scenery before continuing your journey can be time well spent.

So focus clearly on where you want to get to, to achieve the success you want, but make sure that you take in the scenery along the way to make it more fun. 

It can even open up new ideas for future destinations.

Lessons from a tree

After a very stormy night, on my run this morning I picked up several people's bins that had blown over, some of them in the road, and I had to climb over a tree that had fallen right across an unmade road that I run down (or up) regularly.

I like being out and about while the rest of the world is still asleep in their beds.

It was an extremely windy and wet night and yet only one tree from the many on my route this morning, had actually blown down.

I guess trees that get blown down must either be more exposed, or have weaker roots or less flexibility than the rest.

The ones that survive and continue to thrive must be the ones that have other trees around them, have strong roots and are able to move and flex with the wind.

You never see the roots when you look at a tree but without them the tree wouldn't be standing. 

Without roots, the tree wouldn't be able to give us the oxygen we need to survive. It wouldn't be able to provide us and other animals with the shelter and shade that help us, and it wouldn't provide somewhere for birds to build their nests and roost.

As usual there's a parallel with us and trees.

If you want to thrive, and even make a difference to others, you need to work on your roots as much as you do on what you show the outside world.

You need flexibility to thrive because life will throw stuff at you from any and all directions, sometimes gently testing you, while at others questioning the very strength of your roots right down as deep as they go.

Lastly, the more you surround yourself with a loving and supportive network you will also be able to weather life's storms better,

Easier than we think?

In 2012 I managed to write a blog post every day for three months. Since then I haven't managed to write so consistently. I've often thought that I want to write something and then not come up with anything to write.

Nine days ago I decided that I wanted to post something every day again, just because I believe that the practice of writing every day is good for my writing. So it's for my benefit more than for anyone who might happen to read my posts.

What I'm curious about though is what has changed from my prolific writing period in 2012, to the wilderness since, and now to my new regular writing habit.

What's funny is that nothing's actually changed. I'm not suddenly inspired where I wasn't before. 

The only difference is that I've decided to write every day and I've set a trigger for the habit. I do it after I've done my early morning run, after I've showered and once I'm dressed and have a cup of tea ready.

That's it.

I still have no idea most mornings what I'm going to write, but that doesn't seem to matter. All that matters is my decision to write and me sitting down and starting.

It's actually very much like my mile each day habit, which today is at a count of 1,841 days. I had no idea how long I would do it for when I started, apart form my initial experiment to see if I could do it for 30 days. 

I just decided to do it not knowing where it's taking me, and I revalidate that decision each day.

Maybe that's just how life works? Perhaps it's easier than we often try to make it?

Mistaking the fuel for the fire

I've never come back from a run and wished I hadn't done it. 

I've sometimes felt tired, especially after a particularly long run, but I always have a sense of achievement in having completed my daily mile and the rest of my day is better for it.

However, sometimes when I'm on my run I can slip into the mindset of just get this over with, it's another chore on my list of things to do today. 

When that happens I don't make the most of my run, which is such a powerful source of gratitude and creativity for me when I allow it to be.

Have you ever got caught in the trap of being really busy running round doing a lot, having lost sight of why you're doing it in the first place? You're frantically trying to get to the end of the task, or the day, chasing a feeling of satisfaction and that you've spent your time well today?

Me too, and frankly it's a waste.

When I'm running or doing activities in my day, it's an opportunity to actually enjoy doing the activities, noticing what I'm seeing, hearing, feeling, maybe even tasting and smelling. A chance to notice opportunities or possibilities to enjoy the activity even more, or even think of what's important about this task to me.

For me possibility is like the fire that keeps my day and my life alive. Alive to why I'm doing the tasks and activities.

The doing of the tasks, all that busyness, is just the fuel that keeps the possibility alive.

No point in frantically collecting and loading that fuel when you don't have a fire to put it to use.

An easier way to improve your form

On my long run yesterday as the run progressed and tiredness started creeping in, I noticed how my running form worsened. 

I was picking my feet up less, starting to feel an ache in my left shoulder and I realised that I was hunching and rounding my shoulders.

I tried to concentrate to lift my feet a bit higher, stretch my head and neck upwards and push my shoulders down and back but still keep them relaxed.

The only thing is that it's difficult to force yourself to do all those things when you are feeling steadily tireder as the miles and the time go by.

I've come across this scenario before, and I've found that the forced changes I describe above don't actually work that well.

When you first notice your loss of form, whether that's from an ache in your shoulder, your feet barely clearing the ground or whatever triggers your initial awareness, there is a better way to manage it.

Just notice whatever catches your attention most, perhaps it's your feet barely clearing the ground. 

Then give yourself a score from 1 to 10, where 10 represents the perfect amount of foot clearance and heel lift, and 1 represents your toes scraping the ground as you bring your back foot forward.

Then don't try to change anything, just be aware of your score and keep monitoring it to see if it stays the same or changes.

I pretty much guarantee that without trying to increase your score it will gradually rise, and without the pressure of trying to change it.

Race to the Stones

I did my longest run in the last ten months this morning and the best thing about it was that I didn't struggle.

The last two long runs I've done I found really tough and almost hobbled the last few miles.

I'm feeling encouraged because it's now six weeks until the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon and I'm within two miles of the distance.

The other good thing is that yesterday I got excited when I discovered the Race to the Stones, a 100km ultra marathon held over two days in July. 

Six months isn't long enough for me to prepare for an ultra, having not done a marathon for almost eight years and not even up to running a half marathon yet.

However, if I aimed for the one in July 2016 that would be perfect. So this morning's run made me feel more positive and that the Race to the Stones could be on the cards.

I have always hankered after doing an ultra marathon. I'm not sure why when I've generally found marathons so tough, but theres's something about an ultra that calls me.

I'm not particularly interested in going the triathlon route, at least at the moment, but an ultra is different. It's pure running and that's what I do.

The other thing is that 100km equates to just over 62 miles and I will be 61 by the time July 2016 comes around.

It feels like the right challenge at the right time to me.

Here's looking at you

On my run this morning I noticed a phenomenon that happens nearly every time I pass or see another runner, and sometimes even when I pass someone walking.

It's the looking good phenomenon.

I don't know if it's involuntary, but it certainly feels like it, that I find myself pulling myself up taller, perhaps kicking my heels up behind me a bit more and increasing my pace a little, or even a bit more than a little. :)

My need to look good takes over and overrides common sense such that I change the way I'm running. And it doesn't just happen in my running.

So is the looking good phenomenon a positive contribution or is it negative?

I think that it's actually both positive and negative.

It's positive because it can help me to raise my game, challenge myself a bit more than I might and can lead me to succeed in something that I wouldn't have done.

But at other times the same looking good can stop me doing things that I want to do because of my fear of looking like a fool, of maybe being laughed at or pitied.

The first type of looking good is OK. Let it raise your game, have a bit of fun, and enjoy the fun of pushing yourself a little to look good.

However, the second type is not good. It is damaging, stifling and limits your fulfilment and possibilities. Don't let it take control of you.

By the way, did I say that you're looking great today!

Colour, balance & connection

When I was young I always wanted everything to be black and white. It just made everything simpler because then I knew what was the right thing to do. I liked everything to be very clear and therefore easy to make decisions.

Over time I began to realise that black & white doesn't really exist in the real world. Although I like black & white photography, it can portray moods and depth incredibly powerfully, it doesn't show reality.

If you were to see the actual scene that a black & white photo represents, it will definitely have colour in it. On dark stormy days, or even at night with my running head torch, I can always find colour.

I used to also struggle with the question of whether I was a people person, which I definitely was in my youth, or someone who likes his own company, which I have grown into latterly. But I still love being around people too.

With the insight that there are always many colours and shades of colour (including black & white), I've realised that I am both a people person and someone who enjoys being alone.

Running has been key to me finding this realisation that life is all about balance, because I love to run alone and I also love to run with other people.

Running with others allows me to connect with them and get to know them. Running alone allows me to connect with myself and get to know who I am. Both add incredible value to my life.

Running has also led me to realise that connection is one of my core values.

Experiments and possibility

Yesterday my daily visioning experiment came unstuck, but that's why I like experiments, they don't carry the same burden of the threat of failure. 

By their very nature experiments conjure up an image for me of lab technicians in white coats trying different approaches and constantly adjusting them to move closer to the result they want. There is no failure just new learning and progress.

Looking back on yesterday I know why it didn't quite work. It was right when I chose my 5 actions for the day. I remember feeling at the time that they would be challenging to get through, especially as one of them had the word complete in the title and it's been a more complex task requiring more thought and time than I had anticipated.

I love the word possibility, it goes well with experiment. When I state an intention to be a possibility for something, it says that it is something that's possible but not definite. It recognises the fallibility of being human. 

If you're like me when you state a firm commitment and you fail to honour it you feel bad and a bit hopeless. Being a possibility for something acknowledges that you can be it but there is also a chance that you may not always live up to that hight standard.

In hindsight I realise that as soon as I wrote my actions yesterday and imagined my success, one of the feelings I had was that it would be very difficult. At that point my feeling of possibility evaporated. 

Today I intend to choose my actions keeping my possibilities intact.

Daily Visioning

A recent habit I've taken on and am trialling at the moment is built on the ideas of daily to do lists and visualising completion of goals.

The problem I've always had with to do lists is that I can often start with a list as long as my arm, work on it all day and find at day's end that the list is longer than when I started. Very disheartening, extremely frustrating and demoralising.

Visualising completion of goals works on the principle of taking you into the future and imagining yourself having successfully completed your goal, imaging what you will see, hear and feel when you are successful.

I love the goal visualisation technique, but I'm not great when it comes to working towards something over a long period of time before I reach success.

I tend to start questioning my ability to see things through. Doubts and distractions start to creep in and can often knock me off course.

I've therefore decided to combine the daily to do list but only taking between three and five tasks, that if I complete, or even make progress on, I will have deemed it a successful day and will feel suitably satisfied and pleased with myself. 

I then imagine at the end of today, having completed or made progress on my three to five tasks, what I will see, hear and feel, having been successful.

So far so good. The closeness of the vision of my success works well, pulling me past all distractions and potential deviations, and I'm starting to clock up successful days.

Watch this space for future reports or developments.  

Stacking habits

My friend John Rice's blog post about New Years habits reminded me about the technique of stacking habits, which involves creating a new habit by attaching it to an existing one. 

An example of this could be doing a meditation session every morning after you've brushed your teeth until it becomes embedded as a habit.

This technique really does work.

Even though I'd forgotten what the term stacking habits meant, I realised reading John's post that it is something I have done for the past five years now.

The way I've managed to achieve running a mile each and every day for over five years is by attaching it to my habit of getting out of bed, and although the time I get out of bed has changed (i.e. got a lot earlier) in the past five years, that connection between the two habits has been absolutely vital in me keeping it going.

Does this mean that stacking habits is essential both when you're establishing a new habit and also ongoingly after it has become a firm habit?

I believe that (for me anyway) I would not have got the mile each day habit going if I had not made this attachment, so the answer to the establishing question is a resounding yes.

As far as keeping the habit going, I have kept my running stacked with my getting out of bed now for 1,832 consecutive days, so is it necessary?

I don't actually know because putting the two together has (funnily enough) become a habit in its own right. 

It's now so entrenched that I know it works and that's the way I like it.