Beyond the expected

Day 440 of my running a mile each day.

It's foggy here today, which is making it feel cold. Funnily enough, it wasn't so bad on my 6.30 a.m. run, but it felt colder later when I was out on my bike.

I was thinking this morning about the people who really inspire me, both locally and globally, and what I noticed that they all have in common is that they all go beyond what is expected.

In some cases these are people who help, or doing things for, others with huge amounts of kindness and compassion. In other cases, it is people who run marathons and go rock climbing well into their late 70's and beyond.

But they all go beyond what is expected by most people. They push the ordinary into the realms of the extraordinary, what a good friend of mine calls "a life less ordinary" (as opposed to a lifeless ordinary).

So, what could I do to go beyond what I, and others, expect of me?

Feeding the heart

I couldn't wait to get out the door for my run this morning.

I was sitting on my sofa just before 6.30 a.m. going through my morning ritual of writing my uncensored brain-to-pen-to-paper thought flow journal, which I do most mornings before hitting the pavement.

From my sitting room, with the dawn having just broken I was looking out over the tops of trees and roofs, watching a plane arc through the pale blue sky on its way to Gatwick airport.

I know it sounds rather poetic but I had a sense of wellbeing, gratitude and that "all is right with the world" that seemed to fill my chest, and I wondered how this feeling really does feel like my heart has physically expanded.

I wondered if I do all that I can to feed my heart.

I know that the aerobic effect of running exercises my heart and makes it healthier. I could be better with how I fuel it in terms of nutrition, but what else could I do to help it be open to this sense of wellbeing more often?

My writing does it, creating more "shining eyes" does it, being out in nature does it, reading inspiring books or articles does it, watching inspiring films or videos does it, sharing food, drink and laughter with family does it, music does it. I wonder what else?

My run was fabulous too. I went for two miles this morning and I pushed the pace quite hard, which felt great.

The shining eyes game

It's day two of working in a coffee shop and I'm still loving it.

I wonder how much office space costs? A day's broadband connection and a supply of coffees, muffins and paninis seems pretty reasonable to me.

After saying yesterday that I'd only run two miles or less in the past week, last night I ran just over seven miles with the local Harriers, on top of the mile-and-a-third in the morning. And then this morning another mile-and-a-third.

I enjoyed last night's run, especially as I set the route for the first time in my irregular attendance at the club over the past (almost) eight years.

I read a blog yesterday that talked about a lady who has a contest with her granddaughter whenever they go out to see who can make the most people smile.

I rather liked this because I'm always drawn to people with big open smiles, and it reminded me of Benjamin Zander and his "shining eyes".

Benjamin's theory is that you can always tell if you're inspiring people by whether their eyes are shining. If their eye aren't shining, the question to ask is "Who am I being that their eyes are not shining?"

I feel the idea of a new game forming, how many people's eyes can I make shine today?

Rest, renewal and troughs

I've not posted for a few days - broadband has been down, as well as the telephone line, at home.

So I'm typing this in a local coffee bar. I do love the energy of these places.

Even when I'm working on my own there is a buzz and an energy in a coffee bar that I find far more creativity-enhancing than working on my own in my home-based office. Also, variety adds freshness, which is an ideal nurturing environment for new ideas.

Anyway, on the running front I'm very much ticking over on my daily mile-and-a-third each morning at the moment. The mornings are lighter but still pretty cold for this time of year, and my energy levels have temporarily settled in a (fairly shallow) trough, but that's OK.

I always used to struggle with, and resist, any form of energy dip, but I can't actually think of any manifestation of nature that doesn't work in up and down cycles. And you don't get the up cycles without the downs. They are the opportunities to rest and renew.

The more I resist the troughs the longer I consign myself to stay in them.

The work of rest and renewal requires me to be present to the process. Resistance simply delays my acceptance of it being OK to be where I am.

So now that I know I'm here, it's time to acknowledge that the dream of the last Half Marathon has now gone, and maybe the time is right to be open to the creation of the next dream...

Guardians of the flame

I had to use the head torch on my run again this morning because I was due to be at a Headteachers' seminar on the London 2012 Games, called "Preparing for a Moment in History".

It was a very inspiring event with over two hundred school headteachers, Dame Kelly Holmes, David Hemery and a host of amazing young performers, including Kieran Gaffney, the incredible 14-year-old drummer who featured on "Britain's Got Talent" last year.

It was also the second time I had come face to face with Kelly Holmes in a week, after she placed my medal round my neck after the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon.

I found the seminar really uplifting.

It was the third time I had heard David Hemerey present, and I was as inspired as the rest of the audience, and also just as much as both the other times I'd heard him.

The phrase he used that really caught my imagination, which he attributed to Bruce Tulloh, the former athlete and coach, was that as coaches and teachers we are "guardians of the flame" of the enthusiasm of the children (and adults) that we work with.

What a beautiful image and an amazing responsibility!