"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.

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.

8 weeks completed

It's Nicky's and my 15th anniversary today, so lunch out, and a glass or two of wine no doubt.

I have volunteered to be part of the support team for the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon this Sunday. Apparently, I will be in the sweep car picking up any runners who are struggling and need a lift to the finish, although hopefully everyone will make it to the finish and feel justifiably proud.

It will be great to see the inspirational Kelly Holmes again. She will be starting the race, and cheering people on. She's one amazing, and incredibly nice, lady!

Nicky asked me yesterday whether I'd be able to run the half marathon now. I haven't run anything like that distance for at least a couple of years, so the answer is probably not, at least without injuring myself.

However, I am starting to feel an urge to stretch my mile a bit further, maybe just every once in a while. I'm not sure why. I suppose half the fun of my mile each day challenge is that it's a challenge.

At the moment I'm in my comfort zone, and it's usually good to stretch that comfort zone. The trick is to stretch it whilst keeping my running easy, light, smooth and FUN!

““Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don’t give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go. When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooooth. You won’t have to worry about the last one – you get those three, and you’ll be fast.” - excerpt from Born To Run