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...

Day 57 - why I do it

I am definitely beginning to notice the lighter mornings. The fact that it's not raining certainly helps, but the early morning run is still a game of attempting to dodge the puddles.

Two days ago I was writing about it being hard to get going even after 55 days, but now I'm feeling that running a mile is just something I do in the mornings, I don't even really think about it. It's like brushing my teeth.

How can I have changed my thinking so quickly? Maybe tomorrow it will be a struggle getting going again?

What is it I'm trying to prove with this mile each day experiment? I've forgotten.

Actually, I don't know that I'm trying to prove anything. First and foremost I was just trying to see if I could actually run a mile every day for a month.

Now I know that I can, I'm just curious as to how long I can keep it up for. Also, I'm curious as to what I discover, if anything, from continuing the experiment for as long as I can.

I wonder why I always try to find a purpose? Running is something that I know nourishes me, my body, my mind and my spirit, so doing some of it ever day makes sense.

I watched Jill Bolte Taylor's TED talk - "A Stroke of Insight" again yesterday. I never fail to be inspired by this video, no matter how many times I've seen it, and it brings me back to what I have eluded to in a previous post about running and connection.

Running somehow temporarily disables my logical left side of my brain that relates to the past and the future, and that sees me as a separate entity. It engages my creative right side of my brain that lives in the present moment and that recognises that I am just part of an energy force that encompasses everything I can see, hear, feel, taste and touch.

This helps me feel that it is never just me alone. I am always a part of something way bigger. I find that uplifting, empowering, reassuring and inspiring.

And how I got here from how I started this post, I have absolutely no idea.

Oh well.

Day 52 - fun and play

Wet and cold today. I do love this country and our variety of weather, quite often all in the same day.

This is the 4th day that I've run with Nicky on her "Run for Lent" initiative. For me running is not about competition, it is about fun and connection. When running with someone else, it is a great opportunity to share and connect, and when I run on my own it is an opportunity to connect with myself and with nature.

Sounds a bit "woo woo" I know, but running is the closest I've ever got to a meditative state. Most of my best creative ideas come to me when I'm running, particularly when it's just me and nature.

But the key for me is running should be about joy, fun and inspiration. When I get to pain, suffering and struggle, I know that I'm doing it wrong.