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.

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!

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.