Somewhere over the rainbow.....

Well, it has been a real mix lately, in more ways than one !

The weather has turned back to being quite unpredictable even though it isn't really that cold and I'm still struggling to fit in as much running as I would like !

Tomorrow is my next half marathon, I don't doubt that I can run the distance but I haven't done the volume of training that I had planned to do a few months ago. But a few months ago I didn't know that I would be quite this busy with work or have a dog !

I'm still getting out walking with Millie every day and I'm really looking forward to when she can start running with me. We had some friends come and stay this week with their two Cockapoos and if they are anything to go by then Millie is really going to enjoy running :)

With the rain we have had lots of fantastic rainbows, I've taken a few photos on my phone but somehow I can't quite capture how beautiful it really looks from the top of the Downs..

Anyway, wish me luck for tomorrow and enjoy these photos.

Be Yourself....

Although I haven't been running as much as I would like I have been walking about 3 miles every day with Millie.

It was really lovely to be able to get out for a long run on Sunday over the South Downs. I'm still really enjoying running without music and tuning in to myself and my surroundings.

It is easy to compare yourself to others; look at how fast other people run, how far they run and how it seems effortless... But all we actually see of people is the little bit on the surface, not everything else underneath.

We are not all going to break records like Paula Radcliffe or Mo Farah but you can't have a winner if there is only one person in a race. I love taking part in some of the larger races and seeing the wide variety of people that run for just as wide a variety of reasons. People who want to beat their own times, people that want to beat their own daemons and people that run for a cause.... The people that look like they've stepped off the cover of a glossy magazine at the finish, the people in fancy dress and the people that look REALLY glad to finish.

We are all different :)

I have stopped chasing times and I'm just enjoying the running, savouring the scenery and enjoying the conversations with other runners, cyclists, dog walkers...... and the pigs. I have found myself starting to chat to the pigs that I run past, and the sheep, and the cows. I don't know if this is a habit I should worry about (or maybe I should only start worrying when they reply !) but the pigs in particular always look so chilled....

Anyway, these are the pigs on Sundays run :)

Go placidly.....

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there
may be in silence....

I'm back to running without music, just to enjoy the scenery and
sounds around me. We all live busy noisy lives and it is easy to miss
the beauty of silence; just the sound of your own feet and breathing
is, somehow, therapeutic. It gives you a chance to sort out this mad
world in your head and appreciate what you have in life.

This is a photo from one of my evening runs....