Running Gems: Barefoot Under Cover of Darkness

Under cover of darkness, I go out barefoot and walk around the block, just to see. Only it isn't about seeing, it's about feeling! The pavements feel smooth, cold, wet. Leaves are falling from the trees, and are a light, barely-present tickle against my feet. Some kind of seed pod is scattered all over the ground, and as I step on them, I'm surprised to find that they 'give' under my weight. It's a pleasant sensation. I gingerly hobble over the stones and grit where the road surface is broken, and bits stick painfully to my soles. I notice that I'm padding along on the ball of my foot more than I usually do when out I'm walking.  Back at the front door to my block of flats, I unlock and walk in. I wipe my feet, and the mat feels course, but warm after the leeching cold of the concrete outside. I notice I've left wet footprints on the tiled communal porch, and I imagine someone else in the block getting up early for work, and seeing these prints on their way out.

Photo by greencolander

A Blog Worth Checking Out

This is the most amazing post yet, from a truly amazing blog - check it out:

http://ryanrunseurope.blogspot.com/2009/07/days-47-48.html

This guy is an inspiration.

Short Trails & The Injured Runner

It used to be that anything less than 3 miles wasn’t worth getting out of bed for. 

What’d be the point of going out for such a short distance?  But currently 3 miles is about 1½ miles too far to walk, and I can forget about running it altogether. No can do. The physio and the podiatrist have both drummed it into me that over-doing it will do me no favours, so for now, just don’t run at all. I can cycle and swim as much as I like, which is a mercy, but neither are as satisfying as a fast 4 mile run before breakfast, or a full day out walking in the hills. Of course, I’ve pushed my luck, and either walked too far or tried out a bit of a run despite the advice of the professionals. But I’ve come to regret it, as my recovery has taken a knock-back each time.

Now that a whole day on the mountains is out of the question, what can I do? Where can I go that’ll still give me those much-needed shots of wilderness, exploration, and physical challenge?

I haven’t found a satisfying answer to those questions. But I do find myself looking at local ‘short walks’ guides with new-found interest. I used to find them disappointing, their definition of short being considerably shorter than anything I'd consider worth the bother of turning up for. And they don’t meet my demands of wilderness, exploration and physical challenge. But they do meet the closely related criteria of the outdoors, nature, discovery and some level of physical activity. I now appreciate these 20 minute out-and-back, signposted strolls from the car park, that take me over smooth landscaped trails and don’t require even the slightest scramble.

And I’ve gained a fresh insight into the frustrations of being restricted by my body from accessing and enjoying some of the greatest delights in this world, the places that enrich my life and replenish my soul. 

As someone who's spent the last 5 years or so working in disability services, there's nothing like an injection of first-hand personal experience to refresh my therapeutic practice.  I'm finding it all as frustrating as ever in terms of my personal fitness.  But in terms of my understanding of the importance of the natural world to my health and wellbeing, and the barriers that stop some people enjoying those same opportunities that I value so highly, I guess I'm learning something useful.

Image by cogdogblog

Gen Y Blogs: Are They Special?

I read a lot of these Gen Y blogs, especially if they have a strong entrepreneurial/start-up thread. This is even though I suspect I’m outside the Gen Y age-bracket, and despite the fact that, for the time being at least, I’ve shelved the idea of starting my own business. So why do I keep coming back to them? Why are they the ones that clutter my Google Reader, rather than the hiking/running blogs that I probably have more in common with?

I think it’s to do with the notion of striving for the life you want to live.

These Gen Y bloggers, they’re all about their search for their path in life, their striving to stay true to their dreams and passions, and they’re putting their dilemmas and initiatives out there along the way, for others to follow, and comment on, and discuss. It seems from some of these blogs that they think it’s their generation that defines them in this search - I say that it’s not. That quest is not specific to people born between year X and year Y (as stipulated in the Wikipedia definition of Gen Y). What is different for their generation is that they’ve come of age with the internet, and see their lives through that lens. Every generation of 20-somethings has a significant number of souls who struggle to find their paths and wish for something different and better that the norms offered by conventional society. The majority ‘grow out of it,’ a minority don’t and become the hippies, radicals, artists, drop-outs, nomads, and independent thinkers of their generation. What’s different, and appealing, about the current crop of Gen Y blogs is that this process is out there, globally, for all to see in the blogosphere. Support and reinforcement flows from blog to blog. And it’s also interesting that the Gen Y bloggers don’t aspire to be artists or drop-outs, but high achieving internet-based entrepreneurs... That, I think, is what’s different.

A few examples of these Gen Y blogs? Here's a good three to have a look at:

Jun Loayza
Matt Cheuvront
Luke Snedden

(Warning: Once you have a look at those few, you could end up wandering forever, lost in a world of links from Gen Y blogger to Gen Y blogger, commenting and crediting and name-checking each others stuff...).

Image by jetheriot

Phase 2

I put a couple hours into the Traildreamer blogbook this morning.

I think I have a new direction for the project. Which is exciting. I’m calling it Traildreamer Phase 2, because the themes of the original block of the blog don’t seem so relevant anymore. That fight is over, a new one is beginning.

I’m not all het up about work culture and wage-slavery anymore, because I’ve stepped out of that culture. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still working a full-time job, and I’m not working for myself... But it almost feels like it. I have such a level of freedom, autonomy and creativity in my new job, and it gels so well with my values, that it scarcely feels like work. It feels more like a passion, and I’m lucky enough to get paid to pursue it!

Traildreamer helped me get this magical job. Not directly, but indirectly. Part of what was needed for the post was an unconventional attitude, and over the months of blogging, that’s exactly what I was developing. All that reading and writing on work culture, wage slavery, manic society, freedom, following your bliss... it led me to this point, where an astute interviewer picked-up on the views simmering away underneath my surface, and instead of seeing them as a reason to dismiss me, saw them as the reason to hire me! ‘We wanted someone comfortable with a little bit of anarchy,’ she tells me 3 months after I started, ‘someone who is able to see that most things probably need to be done differently, and won’t be too shy to try some off-the-wall initiatives.’ Ha! The main thing I thought was my terrible guilty secret in my old job, is my key strength in my new one.

So, this new direction. It brings me right back to where I started, in many ways. Traildreaming. This blog isn’t about my work, though there are various points where work is relevant, and it’ll probably stay that way. Traildreamer started because I’d spent many years travelling round various parts of the world, and going running pretty much everyday. My life revolved around running, and finding damn good trails to run out on, no matter what town or village I’d washed into the day before.

Finding trails for running, walking, and cycling. Trailfinding ways through life that are thrilling and satisfying and rewarding. That’s what this blog is about, and that’s the direction I’ll be heading out on in future posts. It’s good to regroup, its good to keep going, and it'll be interesting to see where I end up.

Running Gems: Trail Run in the Highlands

It's all just too glorious. My ankle is actually still out of action (still!!!!), but I'm still making sure I get out there in some form or another. This track goes for miles. Life doesn't get any better.

Photo by Me

Back Again

I'm back. Honestly, I am.

For those of you out there who've been following me for a while, and have kept checking in from time to time on the off-chance that I might have posted something, all I can say is sorry for being otherwise occupied for the past couple months. But my life is settling down again, and there is now enough brain-space left in my head at the end of each day to be able to get back to some blogging.

It's good to be back. And it's good to be where I'm at.

Life has changed massively since I left my sensible job and my city flat back at the end of March - and I'm so glad I made the leap. That leap has liberated me from so much of the bullshit of living and working based on other people's stupid expectations and conventions. Now I'm in a position to push forward with amazing things. Here we go folks.

Amazing image by D. Sharon Pruitt

Into the Groove

I cannot believe that a whole month has passed since last time I posted here. I've been busy, obviously. A big wedding, a big move, no internet for several weeks, a new job... it all adds up to no blogging. But things are settling down again now, and I'll get back into the groove soon. Bear with me till then.

Image by PresleyJesus

High-Gloss Voluntary Simplicity

There's something contradictory and cool about Tinymine, a blog I discovered a week or so ago. It's voluntary simplicity, from a glossy perspective. And I'm surprised to find I love it.

I've always come at Voluntary Simplicity with a very minimalist, make-do-and-mend approach: less is more, focus on 'enough,' possessions weigh you down and curtail your freedom in every way - physically and pragmatically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I've usually lived in flat-shares where my space has been my room and no more - that puts a nice limit on how much stuff you can accumulate. I've avoided shopping, and trawls through furniture showrooms are my idea of purgatory. In contrast, I've enjoyed scavenging for cast-offs, and at one point lived in a flat almost fully equipped with furniture lifted off the streets of Glasgow on council pick-up days before the vans came round. I've also moved frequently, and valued the regular opportunity to ditch surplus and walk away. And I absolutely loved backpacking for extended periods of time, which by necessity reduced my essential possessions down to the volume and weight capacity of one rucksack.

But there's been an irritating conflict in my mind lately, as my life has led me to put down some roots. Making a home requires possessions, tools, equipment and storage. Which means more stuff, and more bloody shopping: for a bed, for a fridge, for a garden spade! No, please don't make me do it.

Tinymine gets voluntary simplicity, gets the concept of 'enough,' and the maximising of what you've got, not what more you could endlessly 'need.' And yet also accepts that we do need things, embraces and enjoys the fun of it, and revels in the aesthetics of it.

Whether you're a hard-line minimalist nomad suddenly faced with having to set up home, or a previous big spender suddenly faced with having to go small and simple, Tinymine might be worth a look.

5 Good Things About Cycling (For People Who've Forgotten)

My busy life is getting out of hand! New job, new home, brother's wedding... there just aren't enough hours in the day to find time to blog as well.

So, my (brief) message for today is... cycling rocks. Not news to many, but a fabulous reminder for me. My running is still on the back-burner, but the biking is going great. I used to bike a lot. Before I got my drivers license (which wasn't till I was about 26 or something), I biked one hell of a lot - it was my only means of transport, and I lived in some pretty rural areas, so I regularly covered a lot of miles out of necessity, never mind all the cycle touring I did for fun. I used to dream of being Josie Dew, I read her books, and wished I could go off and cycle round wonderful foreign countries as my main occupation. But then I had to pass my drivers test and get a car for work, and then I moved to the city, and just didn't enjoy, or feel safe, or feel confident enough to cycle in the traffic-crammed streets.

Now I'm back up north in nowhere-land, the bike has been hauled out the shed, and I'm rediscovering the joys of cycling. Here are a few motivational reminders for the newly re-inititiating (not for the experienced experts who'd never be so slack as to stop cycling, you guys probably take all this stuff for granted and scoff at such newby-ism).

1. The achey sore backside you get when you haven't been out on the bike in a while. Ouch. (It doesn't stay that sore forever, honest).
2. Peddling downhill like a maniac, in the highest gear that'll gain purchase, till you go so fast you could almost be flying... zooooommmmmmmmm.....
3. That pounding-in-the-chest feeling you get when you finally get to the top of a hill. Have to stop, gasping for air. Rest a moment, soak in the views. And then become aware of the powerful sensation of your heart pumping strong and sure. Oh yeah, I'm alive!
4. Thighs getting noticeably more firm and muscular even after just a handful of sessions out on the road. Excellent.
5. Swallowing flies. Yuk.

Image by moriza