Time to catch up

My legs were pretty stiff on my gentle jaunt around South Cave this morning, after yesterday's half marathon followed by a six-hour train journey up to Yorkshire.

I've delivered my three workshops for the day, which went really well and am now sitting in a coffee shop in Brough, waiting for the first of the three trains that will take me home.

I've been reading about intrinsic motivation again in my gaps between workshops.

I do think it's so true that the world, at least the western world, is changing towards being more motivated by autonomy, mastery and purpose rather than by profit alone. At least it's true for individuals.

Now it's up to businesses and government to recognise this and catch up with the rest of us.

Fun at the Half

I really enjoyed pacing the 2 hour 20 minutes runners in today's Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon. My knee held up really well and the weather was perfect.

My legs are a little stiff as I'm about to head for the train to take me up to Brough for the three workshops I have to deliver tomorrow.

It's just a shame that I'll miss the Harriers festivities with free champagne for Half Marathon helpers at a local hostelry this evening.

It's amazing what a difference I find that it makes running just a little bit slower and being there to help others achieve their goal, rather than me pushing for my running goal.

I actually find it far more satisfying. I think I helped quite a few runners achieve their goal. Surely that has to be better than just me!

The perfect place

I ran my last gentle mile before tomorrow's half marathon this morning. I quite cleverly, I thought, managed to nip out between the rain showers.

Along with my running, the other reasonably regular action I take that really helps to focus and motivate me is my morning journal, where I do a brain dump of everything in my head for about 15 minutes with good old fashioned pen and paper.

I don't often do my journal on a Saturday, but this morning I felt that my head was rather full of "stuff" and that it might be useful to just get it all out onto paper.

This morning what came up when I was writing was the same old answer that I often come up with at times when I'm feeling tied up in knots.

What I wrote was, "What do I need to let go of? I need to let go of this not being the perfect place to be right now."

I don't know how many times when I've been struggling with something in my head, that this came up as the answer, and it's always completely liberating.

I also don't know why I forget that this is the answer. Somehow, if I just saw it written somewhere it wouldn't be enough. I seem to have to go through the process of finding it within myself.

But when I do, I feel lighter, happier and peaceful.

The old running and journal combo does it again!

Sixteen years

Feeling a little tired today after eleven and a half hours of driving and delivering three quite challenging workshops in the last 36 hours.

Today, Nicky and I are celebrating sixteen years of being together with a nice lunch out.

Then it's building my strength up to run the Tunbridge Wells Half-Marathon on Sunday.

Oh yes, and I also ran two gentle miles this morning in daylight again. Very nice.

The joy of the M25

I'm in Preston having completed a six hour drive from home. Oh the joys of two and a half hours on the M25.

A gentle mile-and-a-bit run this morning, but I'm not sure whether there is a pavement on the road my hotel is on, which could be a bit dicey for my 420th mile run in the dark tomorrow morning at 6.00 a.m.

Tomorrow I'm co-facilitating three 90-minute workshops to groups of 40 attendees in a curtained off area of a canteen, which will be in use.

Could be interesting.

I hope the journey home tomorrow night is speedier than my journey up here.

The questions behind the question

I'm still at home as the Lytham St. Annes trip is now later tomorrow.

As it's half-term I've been getting up quite a bit later and running in the daylight. This morning I did a 5K.

I was thinking on this morning's run about the work I do with helping people paint inspiring visions of what their career and life could look like.

I realised that the most important questions are not about "What do you want?", but the questions that come after that.

Questions such as:

"What are you settling for?"

"Why that and not something else?"

"What will that give you?"

and

"What's really important about that?"

Lots of adventure

This morning I had to run to pick up the car from where we left it yesterday, following a slightly boozey engagement party. Strangely enough it was only a tenth of a mile longer than my usual quick run.

It's half term, the hours of daylight are noticeably lengthening, March is just around the corner and we've just booked a holiday in Italy, which is all very exciting.

I watched a video last night of me being interviewed about coaching, which wasn't half as excruciating as I expected it to be.

I'm now waiting to hear if I have to head up to Lytham St Annes at short notice later today to deliver three workshops tomorrow.

Lots of adventure, which is good.

Stroking the ground

Seven miles, my longest run since I clattered my left knee ice skating. Although it is still sore, I was pleased to complete half of a half marathon and at a minute per mile faster pace than I will have to do for the whole distance next Sunday.

My family are always telling me how heavy I am on my feet. Apparently they always know when it's me coming down the spiral staircase into our kitchen/dining room, because the staircase shakes.

So as my knee still isn't perfect, I decided during this morning's run to see if I could land a bit softer when I was running.

I have tried in the past to see if I could think of tiptoeing while I run, with little success.

This morning I came up with the thought of stroking the ground.

What was interesting was that when I tried to make my feet stroke the ground, it didn't really work, and even created stress and tightness in my shoulders.

What did work was imagining what it would be like for my whole body if my feet were simply stroking the ground, and also becoming aware of how close or far I was from that ideal.

Just being aware of where I was without trying to force anything was the most effective strategy.

It didn't work all the time but it was certainly the most effective approach I've found so far.

Gooey and idealistic

Back home again and a couple of miles under my belt in the fog this morning. I quite enjoyed the eerie feeling of running in the fog in the dark with the strange glow that my head torch created.

I have discovered from Daniel Pink's book that apparently I am a Type I and my "behaviour promotes greater physical and mental well-being. So that's good, isn't it.

It was funny how yesterday morning I posed the question, "Is it because I'm an idealist and lack realism?"

Later in the day I discovered that Mr Pink thinks I don't lack realism, which is also very reassuring.

He says, "Some might dismiss notions like these as gooey and idealistic, but the science says otherwise. The science confirms that this sort of behaviour is essential to being human - and that now, in a rapidly changing economy, it is also critical for professional, personal, and organisational success of any kind."

So, it looks like I might be on the right track after all. :oD

Discovering the obvious

I've just completed my last one and a half miles in Brough, or South Cave to be precise, as I'll be heading home this evening.

I managed to find three different routes although they were all out and back rather than circuits, which I generally prefer.

It occurred to me while I was on my way back to the hotel this morning, that I asked several people if there were circuits to run and if there was a map of the local roads when I first arrived here three days ago, but it never occurred to me to look on Google maps.

It's quite funny when the completely obvious hits you several days after it would have been really useful.

The trick now is to be really pleased that I can use that information to my advantage next time I'm here, or on my trip to Manchester next week, rather than dwell on how hopeless I am for not thinking of something so obvious in the first place.

I do feel really pleased and happy.

Is that because I'm an eternal optimist?

Is it because I'm an idealist and lack realism?

I don't know for sure, but I am pretty sure that one of the reasons is because I start my day with a run!

Goals that attain mastery

Even harder to get out of bed at 5.30 this morning to run, but nevertheless I managed 1.4 miles and explored a new route on my Brough adventure.

I read something new about goals today in Daniel Pink's "Drive". I've never been entirely comfortable with the concept of goals that are imposed by others.

Here's a couple of things that I read:

"Goals that people set for themselves and that are devoted to attaining mastery are usually healthy. But goals imposed by others - sales targets, quarterly returns, standardised test scores, and so on - can sometimes have dangerous side effects."

"Goals may cause systematic problems for organisations due to narrowed focus, unethical behaviour, increased risk taking, decreased cooperation, and decreased intrinsic motivation. Use care when applying goals in your organisation."

Interesting ideas. Whilst increased risk taking is not always a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, unethical behaviour, decreased cooperation and decreased intrinsic motivation are always a bad thing, I would suggest.

Maybe that's why my mile each day seems to work.

And the mastery I am attaining is probably the mastery of my side that is tuned to possibility, over my side that is concerned with negative and self-critical internal dialogue.

What was that outside force?

Enjoyed my 1.7 mile run in Brough this morning and then delivered first module of Leading in Tough Times three times.

Brough is a lovely small town in East Yorkshire, and I must have seen two cars during my early morning recce. I also can't speak highly enough of the Cave Castle Hotel, where I'm staying for the next couple of nights. It's really charming.

Anyway, I was reminded of Newton's first law of motion today, whilst reading Daniel Pink's book Drive.

"An object in motion will stay in motion, and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside force."

I'm wondering, what is the outside force I used on myself at 5.30 this morning to move the object that is my body, that was most definitely at rest, into a state of motion?

Because one way or another, that object was definitely in motion within fifteen minutes.

Was it my alarm, the cup of tea, or the determination to stretch 410 days to 411?

Or d, all of the above?

Another adventure

It's going to be a very low mileage week compared to last week, firstly because although my knee is way better, it's still not completely OK, and could take several more days until it's a hundred percent.

Also, I'm off to Hull for work in about an hour so I'll be exploring new running routes, hopefully, over the next few days, but also with earlier starts to my day.

I did say that adventure was one of my values, didn't I.

It will be a case of a brand new place (to me), new running routes, and new people (I'll be leading workshops to 45 people I've never met before).

I think my values of fun, connection, movement and self-expression will also come in useful.

Can running heal?

My knee felt slightly better this morning but certainly not up to fifteen miles, so I decided to plump for two.

I have two running goals at the moment. The first is to continue running at least a mile each day up until, and beyond, the half marathon.

My second goal is to pace the half marathon two weeks today and finish it comfortably in just under two hours and twenty minutes.

I started this morning's run limping again, although it felt slightly easier than yesterday. I ran my first mile in 12 minutes and 46 seconds, which I also thought was a slight improvement.

But here's why I'm now really excited. I clocked the end of mile two at 22:02, which meant that I ran my second mile at 9:16 pace.

This begs the question, can running a mile each day, very very gently when it's called for, actually help healing?

It's certainly lifted my spirits, and I believe that thoughts determine reality, so watch this space for my personal experience of it.

The overall question is probably best answered by someone with far more medical knowledge than I have.

Counting my blessings

That has to be the slowest I've run, or more correctly limped, a mile and a bit in over a year. It was reminiscent of when I started my mile each day with both a groin strain and plantar fasciitis.

My left knee is extremely tender, especially going up any kind of hill as I'm finding it hard and painful to bend it.

I think the planned fifteen miles for tomorrow is extremely unlikely. It could even be the minimum mile.

It is quite a challenge to not get despondent, when it feels like I have taken several hundred steps backwards.

But I still felt lucky to be out there hobbling round my mile this morning anyway. After all there were two people out on the ice yesterday in wheelchairs being pushed round the rink, something I've never seen before.

Now maybe I could have got round my mile just as a quickly in a wheelchair this morning, but at least I didn't have to. I was still moving, powered by my own legs.

I can only count my blesssings. Each day I run is a new one.

Surviving or thriving?

A gentle mile this morning again, after four miles with a group of intermediate runners last night.

I seem to have run almost thirty-four miles so far this week, with one more day to go. I don't remember when I last put in that sort of weekly mileage, and it certainly wasn't when I was doing my mile each day.

I took a tumble on the ice rink at my fourteen-year-old daughter's birthday ice skating party this afternoon, so I'm limping around with a rather sore, stiff left knee this evening.

I should be fine to hobble my mile tomorrow morning. I just hope I'm OK to do my planned fifteen miles on Sunday morning.

My challenge for this weekend, in addition to completing the fifteen miles with a bruised knee, is how to enjoy a fifteen mile solo run on roads, whilst keeping an eye on my mileage and pacing.

My last two long solo road runs have been down at the surviving end of the scale rather than up at the thriving end.

Now what could I add into the mix to inject some fun, adventure and connection?

I will leave the enquiry out there...

Support and encouragement

I did quite a long run with my Harrier friends last night so it was quite a gentle mile this morning.

Actually I say it was a long run with my Harrier friends, but in reality it was half with my friends and the rest on my own.

I went back to see if some stragglers were doing OK and needed someone with a head torch for a particularly dark part of the route. But I couldn't find them anywhere.

So I had to give up and was then too far back to catch the rest of my pack.

When I got back to base all were back and accounted for, so it was fine in the end.

I think that the lesson for me is to always make sure that the slowest runners, and the slowest in any walk of life, are fully supported and encouraged.

Their future participation and enjoyment is dependent on that support and encouragement.

Awareness & responsibility

Another speedy mile this morning (back in the dark again), followed by a double dose of business networking. It's nice to meet so many great people all looking for new contacts, friends, ideas and business.

I'm shortly off to do a discovery session for a new client, which I always find exciting because the biggest discovery is often for the client, about themselves.

As my new-found friend David Hemery says, the key attributes that separate champions from the rest of us are awareness and responsibility.

The easy & friendly way

Yesterday, I was out in the dark running a mile as fast as I could. Today I ran in the gorgeous sunshine, supporting three relatively new runners with a gentle jog, followed by some jog/walking.

Both very different experiences but I loved both.

I hope I didn't torture my beginners group too much, as we were supposed to run for fifteen minutes and then jog/walk for the rest of the three-mile route.

I'm afraid to say I got so involved in chatting that I kept them running for nineteen and a half minutes before I realised that we were supposed to stop for a walk.

It's so great to see people stretching beyond their comfort zones towards their true potential.

All three of the runners I was with this morning said that they enjoyed running with others and that they didn't think they'd be able to keep up the running if they weren't doing it with a group who all supported each other.

Striving for your potential doesn't have to be hard, and it is also often far more effective when you've got others supporting you.

Blasting my way

After my 13.1 miles yesterday I was expecting to be quite sore and stiff this morning. However, as I'm now reading "Spark!", I thought if my body was up to it, I might try a quarter of a mile warm up, blast a mile pretty much as fast as I could, followed by a quarter mile warm down.

The result: very little stiffness and I feel more energised and supercharged than I do on most other mornings after my run.

I'm really pleased.

That's not to say that I'm going to do this every morning. It was just an experiment, and I like my experiments.

The lack of stiffness could also be down to the fact that I did some stretching after my long run yesterday. Post-run stretching is something that I know is a good thing to do, but I'm afraid I'm not usually that disciplined about.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the day and to see how it unfolds.

The exercise spark

Well, I've done the 13.1 miles half marathon distance now. I ran the race route this morning about seven minutes quicker than I'll need to run it three weeks today.

I'm listening to I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue on the radio while I'm writing this, which is a little distracting.

Since I got home from my run I've had to clear up two gifts that our adopted cat has left us, a dead mouse left on our front door step, and regurgitated cat food on the inside front door mat.

I've just started reading a book called "Spark! - How exercise will improve the performance of your brain."

I must be on the right track.

Yay - four hundred!

Another "mile"stone. My 400th consecutive day of running at least a mile.

It feels good!

It was quite an early one this morning as I had a business networking breakfast, so I was back in the house by 6.00am.

It's always great (well, nearly) to get a head start on the day!

I had coffee with a friend and a business contact who has been very helpful to me over the years. He was telling me about a networking training session he attended yesterday, where the presenter's first words were, "Do you brighten the room when you enter it or when you leave it?"

I really like that line.

It illustrates nicely how we do infect others with our energy, whether it is positive or negative, when we walk into a room or even when we talk on the telephone.

My energy is pretty good today so I hope to be brightening the spaces around me, at least for today.

My school sports rant

A one mile leg-stretcher this morning after a seven mile run with the Harriers last night, which I really enjoyed.

It would have been my Dad's 87th birthday today, but unfortunately he missed it by just over 32 years, but I thought of him nevertheless.

I was chatting with various people on last night's run.

One conversation, which wasn't the first time I'd heard this, was about how one runner hated all sports when she was at school, because she was made to feel that she was no good at it, and consequently avoided it at all cost.

My situation was very different. I was lucky in that I was quite good at a number of sports at school and therefore got the opportunity to play and thoroughly enjoy a number of sports.

I think that my love of physical activity is probably the main thing that I'm most grateful for from my entire school life.

I also think that it is crucial that everyone gains a real appreciation of how important and how much fun exercise and sports can be when they are at school, and I find it very sad when school does the very opposite.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-competition proponent in schools, in fact exactly the opposite.

I think that everyone at school should have the opportunity to participate no matter what their level of talent. They should be made to feel that they are absolutely good enough with whatever skill level they have.

They should also learn to enjoy striving to increase their current skill level further, and have fun doing it.

How many best days?

Cold again and quite misty this morning. I found myself adjusting my head torch to try and get a clearer view of the path ahead.

I started thinking, "I can't wait for the lighter warmer mornings."

Then I thought how much of my time I must spend waiting for time to go quickly until something that I perceive to be better or special comes.

Add that to the times when I look back with nostalgia at happy moments, days or experiences, and how much is left experiencing the present?

I am having experiences of life every moment of every day, but how often am I actually experiencing them? When I'm thinking of the future or the past I'm not experiencing what's there now.

So, maybe it is a bit cold, a bit dark and a bit misty, but today could possibly be one of the best days of my life. Any day could.

How will I recognise the possibilities and opportunities that flash before me when my mind is in a different time?

How many potential best days of my life have I missed before?

A friendly place

Day one of my 14th month of my run-a-mile-each-day streak.

Read a free download of the first 4 chapters of "The Very Cool Life Code", a new book by a U.S. coach who I really admire.

The book reminded me of the whole quantum physics theory that everything in the universe is made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies.

That includes people, mountains, water, buildings, trees, our thoughts and absolutely everything.

Energy that vibrates on a frequency automatically attracts other energy vibrating on that same, or a similar, frequency.

This means that our thoughts create our reality.

So the big question is, "Do you see the world as a friendly place?"

Apparently your answer to this question has a direct effect on your chances of being happy, successful and at peace with your life.

I definitely buy that idea!

And I bet it comes with free gifts :-)