Rabbit in the headlights

I don't think I'm the only one who gets this occasionally because some of my clients have described something similar, but I was awake last night at 3.00 am with "night terrors", feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. I can only describe it as feeling like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. It's really hard to get back to sleep when I get this.

I did finally get back to sleep but when I woke up this morning I used my two most trusted techniques for picking me up for the day. I spent a good twenty to thirty minutes with pen and notebook doing a complete brain dump of everything I was thinking and feeling in the night, what I was thinking and feeling then and how I was going to approach my day.

After my journalling I followed it up with running my mile with Nicky, followed by a couple of pacier miles on my own.

I now feel fired up, energised and inspired for the day ahead, even if it is still blowing and raining outside.

Oh, and that was day 90 by the way. 3 months completed!

Tank almost on empty

I felt a strong desire to go out for a run yesterday evening just before it got dark, so I squeezed in a couple of miles. Nicky and I then did a couple more this morning.

I upgraded my Running Log Free for iPhone to the full Running Log version, which allows me to enter 2 different runs at different times on the same day. It cost me a huge 59p to buy the full version. These iPhone apps are fantastic and cheaper than a cup of coffee.

My initial energy this morning has now waned and there is not a lot left in the tank. Sometimes it's OK to just accept it and go with the flow, you then get the opportunity to enjoy it.

Acceptance is the first and most important step to happiness.

a machine built to run

Nicky is now on her last few days and then she will have completed her 40 days running a mile each day for Lent. She is wondering whether to keep it going after her 40 days.

I've now done 85 days, or 138 miles, or 26 hours of running. I'm looking forward to next Thursday when hopefully I will be starting month 4 of running a mile each day.

I'm beginning to get itchy feet again to increase my running or to commit to a new challenge. It occurred to me that the marathons that I have run in the past all seem to have been triggers for other significant events opening up in my life. Once that thought entered my head it feels like I may be on a slippery slope.

The title I thought of for today's post comes from yet another quote from Christopher McDougall's "Born To Run". The full quote goes something like, "we're a machine built to run - and the machine never wears out. You don't stop running because you get old... you get old because you stop running."

Interesting!

Riding a bike in the drizzle

I added just over two extra miles to Nicky's and my "mile and a bit" again, which gave me a total of three and a half miles this morning.

Got out on my bike, to get to and from a client appointment, for about four miles after a misunderstanding about who needed the car. I really enjoyed it even though it started drizzling pretty much as soon as I left home. Putting aside all environmental arguments, I prefer being on the bike than in the car apart from in extreme weather conditions.

Running - a metaphor for life

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.