Taking a break isn’t stopping. Pausing for breath isn’t stopping. Considering your direction isn’t stopping. Calling enough, for today, isn’t stopping. Knowing your limits isn’t stopping. Stopping isn’t really stopping, unless you say no more. And what then? Treat yourself well, recharge as you need to. Be proud of your journey. Kindly, keep going. Continue reading Not stopping
For less than £30 I’ve got access to all the Ordnance Survey maps on my phone (and other devices). I also invested in some good trainers to comfortably make good use of the maps. Neither bring me any particular status or are obvious waypoints as I think about life’s journey. Together they make that journey more magical. Food for thought when I next hanker after … Continue reading My two favourite purchases of 2021 (so far)
I remember when I was 18 getting back from a three mile run and feeling exhausted. I more or less collapsed on the stairs when I got in the house. Today, at 45, I enjoyed nearly 13 miles with a good friend and after getting home took my dawg out for a good walk. I’ve put in a lot of training since I was 18, … Continue reading What do you want to be better at
A good friend is looking to get back into going to the gym soon, but that’s not a fun way for me to get healthy. As I’m looking to run/walk another long challenge in July, I’m spending lots of time outdoors and bashing up and down steep hills to get fit. Not everyone’s cup of tea. We both want to be fitter and healthier, but … Continue reading Outcome vs activity focus
Nearly 14 hours in and half the distance done, or thereabouts. It was properly dark at 2am, and the weather is turning a little earlier than expected. On with the show! Trotting along the River Thames by the moonlight was peaceful for a while, until the clouds rolled in and it started drizzling. Although no longer peaceful, the drizzle was quite nice and refreshing actually, … Continue reading Ridgeway Ramble Write Up – part three: into extra time
I’m a big fan of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – a fictionalised autobiography and philosophical discussion that I read only because I had a motorbike needing more maintenance than I could patiently provide! One of the things that keeps coming back to me from the book, was the proposed use of a shim (a thin piece of metal, actually a cut up … Continue reading Shims, and my running cap
‘How hard can it be?’ It’s an approach that lets me buy-in to uncertainty and challenge. It’s an approach I’m very fond of, but it’s not a plan. In a couple of days I was going to trot along The Ridgeway, 87.5 miles of route I’m unfamiliar with, as quick as I could. A plan was needed. Armed with a map and a friend and … Continue reading Ridgeway Ramble Write Up – part two: a game of two halves
That moment when you realise you gotta get going again, but everything seems quite nice where you’re at and you’re looking at more uphill. Keep the goal in mind. Crack on. I’m working on my next mini-adventure. :’D . (Photo of me, momentarily ran out of steam on the Longshaw Estate in the Peak District) Continue reading Starting again
COVID-19 brought new urgency to the idea of getting healthier, for me. I’d been thinking about it, talking about it, and very nearly getting around to doing it since July 2019. Well, way before then actually – it went on the to-do list as I recovered from a major depressive episode that floored me in 2013. In those days I’d swim in the sea in … Continue reading Ridgeway Ramble Write Up – part one: the prep
Looking out of the window at the moment, I can see it’s absolutely gorgeous. Around my house right now, there’s some peaceful snoring from the dog and the happy sounds of my beloved rifling through some of their sixties memorabilia. The world, for me, is a good place. In a different house right now, there will be someone afraid of being hit, of being humiliated, … Continue reading Contrasting worlds
Sometimes You Learn 