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.

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.

Sunshine and frost

A glorious morning, still cold, but just gorgeous.

Headline on this week's edition of "The Week" magazine = "Is exercise a waste of time?"

Are they having a laugh?

Surely the inspiring performance of Amy Williams last night at the Winter Olympics will inspire many, many people to get up off their backsides and just go out and get their breath flowing and their blood pumping in any way they choose.

The older I get, the more I know the power of exercise, and I'm so thankful for learning to love the joy, fun, camaraderie and energy that exercise gives you, back when I was at school.

It's got to be more effective, more powerful and certainly less damaging than anti-depressants or the way most of us choose to positively alter our mood.