Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 01:32PM 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.
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 05:43AM Yet another gentle mile (and a bit) round the block. It was cool but I had the feeling that a beautiful day lay just over the horizon. Time will tell.
I finally finished reading Rosie Swale Pope's "Just a Little Run Around the World" this morning. I really recommend it, it is such an inspiring story. I didn't realise that she had to do the last 32 miles of the run on crutches because she had developed two stress fractures in her hip!
What did I say about grit and determination the other day!
A quote from the book: "My run became much bigger than me; it became a metaphor for life. It made me see that everything in life is an adventure and a miracle, whether it's running across a glacier or boiling water to make a cup of tea."
I agree with Rosie. I have often seen my running as a great metaphor for life. And the gratitude I feel when I do run, that I can, that I am physically able to do it and that I appreciate it, does make me feel very lucky indeed.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 04:59AM It's day 79 today and Nicky and I ran just over 2 miles after our adopted cat woke us up early. Nicky has done brilliantly as today was day 31 of her 40 days running for Lent. That's the second time in the last week that we have extended our mile and a bit.
When I got my iPhone I downloaded a free application called Running Log, which I really like and its very simple. It allows me to enter my distance, which I get from my GPS device, the time I took and the time of day I ran. It takes seconds to enter.
I went back and entered all my runs since January 1st and it's great to see number of rest days zero, and also it's now saying total time running just over 24 hours, which feels quite a fun statistic. Although my little runs don't take that long, in total I have spent an entire day and night running. I like that.
We watched the last part of the Eddie Izzard documentary last night of his 43 marathons in 51 days. What a fantastic example of mind over matter and overcoming adversity he is in the way he dug so deep to finish that incredible challenge!
What made it even better last night was the bit where Rosie Swale Pope came out and ran a bit with him. I have almost finished reading her book "Just a Little Run Around the World" at the moment, which I can highly recommend.
Eddie and Rosie both really inspire me and are made from a similar mould. They both have a liberal sprinkling of grit, determination and an inability to accept the limitations that a "normal" person would. There's something of the historical British adventurer spirit going on there.
I wonder where that lies in me and how I access it?
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 12:02PM Great weekend with lots of great family connecting, a very early run (6.15 on Saturday morning), a beautiful sunny and pretty warm one (Sunday at 8.40), and a sunny and not quite as warm one this morning, but still gorgeous.
I believe I'm at day 74 now, and I can happily say that all is well.
2 great quotes from "Born To Run" today. "Everyone is built for running", and "You don't stop running because you get old... You get old because you stop running."
I agree with the philosophies expressed in both of these quotes but I also realise that some may not agree with me.
Just got to the bit in "A Little Run Around the World" where Rosie is leaving Siberia for Alaska after almost 2 years running and some incredible experiences.
Friday, March 12, 2010 at 11:04AM I watched the first of half of the documentary "Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man" on television last night.
Last summer Eddie ran 43 consecutive marathons around England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, having never run before, on less than 6 weeks training.
It certainly put my 1 mile each day into perspective. The only thing is that I believe that what I'm doing adds to my daily life, whereas what Eddie Izzard did obviously took over his entire life and was his life, at least for the period of his adventure.
Still, it was very impressive and also inspiring.
I do seem drawn somehow to these acts of endurance that go beyond what we commonly believe can be done, Rosie Swale Pope's run around the world being another example.
For me it was a case of just another day, another mile (and a bit).
Oh, and was yesterday the best day of my life? Only time will tell, but setting the intention definitely made it more enjoyable, and who knows, maybe seeds were planted that will grow into something bigger than ever imagined.