Posts tagged challenge

Last December, my husband signed me up for the gym. I didn’t manage to make it there at all that month and I finally had my induction in January. I wasn’t exactly over the moon with the whole gym idea. For a long time I’d been convinced that I’d reached the fitness limits of my health condition; I’d had lots of tweaks of medication over the years and was told, “Some people just feel rubbish on the medication you’re taking, because it’s not the same as your body making it yourself.” I’ve been running for a few years now, which has helped, but I was stuck at running around 2km.

I surprised myself quite quickly at the gym and despite being unable to lift a cup of tea to my lips the day after my first strength session, there were almost immediate gains in my energy levels. And so, in September, I set myself a challenge – an Impossible challenge. To make the shift from running 2.5km on a regular basis to trying my first 5km run.

I started my training schedule, with a date firmly in the diary at the end of October. It was all going so well. I rocketed through the training and my energy levels rocketed too. At the beginning of October, I wrote in my journal…

“Up to last week I still felt unsure about running 5km. It seemed a big jump from running 2.5km, 3km. Can I really do this? From my running rate it seems that it’s going to take me 40-45 minutes. Am I fit enough? Yesterday on the treadmill, I managed 3.9km and it started to feel real. But then, today, I totally surprised myself. I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 25 minutes, walked for 5 minutes… and at the end the treadmill dashboard said it loud and proud – I did 5k! This is it! I feel certain now, 100% certain that I will finish the run and still be standing. I might even enjoy it! I might even do it in a good time!”

It was amazing! I felt invincible! But since then, this challenge has been more about patience, flexibility, and healing. First, I started getting a niggle in my heel. I listened to it, and eased off on the training. I reduced the amount I was cycling. Then I picked up a throat infection, just three days before my run date. It all happened very quickly and before I knew it I had sky high fever and difficulty swallowing. The pharmacist dispatched me to a walk-in clinic and the duty doctor made a “Ugh” sound with accompanying facial expression when he looked at my tonsils – antibiotics for me, and no chance of a run. I shifted the date a few weeks down the line, needing to have total rest for a week. Then after my rest, feeling much better, I started back into my training and my heel flared up in a major way. I took it really easy with my training and got some tips via the Internets from my cousin Aimee over at Revitalise Fitness; these really helped and it stopped getting worse, but it still didn’t get better.

It was time to call in the big guns, and get some in-person physio. I checked in with Tom at Core Fitness, and it turned out to be a classic beginner runner’s injury, my Achilles. There was nothing serious, just some early warning signs. The tips from my cousin were perfect, I just needed a couple of extra exercises. It was time to do some learning – learning how to better prepare my body for running, and help it to restore afterwards. And absolutely no 5k until I could consistently run 3k without pain the next day.

My date got shifted again. Serious frustration alert! Am I ever going to be able to do this run? I had two potential November dates in my mind, and they both had to get swept aside again. I did a fair amount of huffing and puffing and whingeing – mostly to my husband, Mel and Ruth at You Can, and my fellow Impossibles in our facebook group. They encouraged me to hang in there. I responded well to the exercises I was given, and in two weeks I was back to running with no pain. Result! Excitement, but still taking it easy and some words of caution from the physio – you’re lucky, you caught it early, you probably feel like it’s all back to normal but it’s going to take a while to settle down so don’t do anything to shock it. So I’m staying away from my bike until after my run, because cycling seems to make it worse, and I’m being super-good about my warm ups and cool downs, and I’ve been slowly increasing the distance with a mix of walk-running.

And now, here I am. The day before D-Day. Or is that 5K-Day? I’m actually going to do it. And I haven’t run or walk-run 5k since that amazing day on the treadmill back in October. James Altucher writes that it takes practice to be the person who is a source of compassion and honesty. This journey towards my Impossible could have been about pushing through, just powering on to stick to my committed date. But defeating my nemesis, the Robot of Mediocrity, isn’t always about fighting. I’ve learned much more by doing things this way – being honest with myself, showing myself compassion, letting myself heal and learning new ways to be compassionate to myself – even in the way that I prepare for and wind down from a run. I’m also in awe of the compassion and generosity of my friends, family, and supporters who have continued to back me with messages and donations – as for an extra level of accountability, I decided to make my challenge a sponsored event to raise funds for our work.

I hope that I show myself this same level of compassion tomorrow, whatever my time. For now, the predominant feeling is: Eek!

Wish me luck.

_ _ _

You can read James Altucher on patience here. And yes – maybe, just maybe, I’m on my way to becoming a Jedi Knight. And that beats running a 5k, any day!

And of course there’s still time to make a donation, if you’d like 🙂 Head on over to my sponsorship page here and hit the big orange “Donate now” button, and any donation up to £10 will be matched by our local community foundation, so you can double your money. Serious feel good factor! With match funding and gift aid I’ve already raised over £1000. So thank you to you fabulous donors!

If you want to take on your own challenge soon and you want some friendly support, check out the Impossibles. Your challenge doesn’t have to be sponsored and you can have a whole lot of fun along the way!

Last December, my husband signed me up for the gym. I didn’t manage to make it there at all that month and I finally had my induction in January. I wasn’t exactly over the moon with the whole gym idea. For a long time I’d been convinced that I’d reached the fitness limits of my health condition; I’d had lots of tweaks of medication over the years and was told, “Some people just feel rubbish on the medication you’re taking, because it’s not the same as your body making it yourself.” I’ve been running for a few years now, which has helped, but I was stuck at running around 2km.

I surprised myself quite quickly at the gym and despite being unable to lift a cup of tea to my lips the day after my first strength session, there were almost immediate gains in my energy levels. And so, in September, I set myself a challenge – an Impossible challenge. To make the shift from running 2.5km on a regular basis to trying my first 5km run.

I started my training schedule, with a date firmly in the diary at the end of October. It was all going so well. I rocketed through the training and my energy levels rocketed too. At the beginning of October, I wrote in my journal…

“Up to last week I still felt unsure about running 5km. It seemed a big jump from running 2.5km, 3km. Can I really do this? From my running rate it seems that it’s going to take me 40-45 minutes. Am I fit enough? Yesterday on the treadmill, I managed 3.9km and it started to feel real. But then, today, I totally surprised myself. I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 25 minutes, walked for 5 minutes… and at the end the treadmill dashboard said it loud and proud – I did 5k! This is it! I feel certain now, 100% certain that I will finish the run and still be standing. I might even enjoy it! I might even do it in a good time!”

It was amazing! I felt invincible! But since then, this challenge has been more about patience, flexibility, and healing. First, I started getting a niggle in my heel. I listened to it, and eased off on the training. I reduced the amount I was cycling. Then I picked up a throat infection, just three days before my run date. It all happened very quickly and before I knew it I had sky high fever and difficulty swallowing. The pharmacist dispatched me to a walk-in clinic and the duty doctor made a “Ugh” sound with accompanying facial expression when he looked at my tonsils – antibiotics for me, and no chance of a run. I shifted the date a few weeks down the line, needing to have total rest for a week. Then after my rest, feeling much better, I started back into my training and my heel flared up in a major way. I took it really easy with my training and got some tips via the Internets from my cousin Aimee over at Revitalise Fitness; these really helped and it stopped getting worse, but it still didn’t get better.

It was time to call in the big guns, and get some in-person physio. I checked in with Tom at Core Fitness, and it turned out to be a classic beginner runner’s injury, my Achilles. There was nothing serious, just some early warning signs. The tips from my cousin were perfect, I just needed a couple of extra exercises. It was time to do some learning – learning how to better prepare my body for running, and help it to restore afterwards. And absolutely no 5k until I could consistently run 3k without pain the next day.

My date got shifted again. Serious frustration alert! Am I ever going to be able to do this run? I had two potential November dates in my mind, and they both had to get swept aside again. I did a fair amount of huffing and puffing and whingeing – mostly to my husband, Mel and Ruth at You Can, and my fellow Impossibles in our facebook group. They encouraged me to hang in there. I responded well to the exercises I was given, and in two weeks I was back to running with no pain. Result! Excitement, but still taking it easy and some words of caution from the physio – you’re lucky, you caught it early, you probably feel like it’s all back to normal but it’s going to take a while to settle down so don’t do anything to shock it. So I’m staying away from my bike until after my run, because cycling seems to make it worse, and I’m being super-good about my warm ups and cool downs, and I’ve been slowly increasing the distance with a mix of walk-running.

And now, here I am. The day before D-Day. Or is that 5K-Day? I’m actually going to do it. And I haven’t run or walk-run 5k since that amazing day on the treadmill back in October. James Altucher writes that it takes practice to be the person who is a source of compassion and honesty. This journey towards my Impossible could have been about pushing through, just powering on to stick to my committed date. But defeating my nemesis, the Robot of Mediocrity, isn’t always about fighting. I’ve learned much more by doing things this way – being honest with myself, showing myself compassion, letting myself heal and learning new ways to be compassionate to myself – even in the way that I prepare for and wind down from a run. I’m also in awe of the compassion and generosity of my friends, family, and supporters who have continued to back me with messages and donations – as for an extra level of accountability, I decided to make my challenge a sponsored event to raise funds for our work.

I hope that I show myself this same level of compassion tomorrow, whatever my time. For now, the predominant feeling is: Eek!

Wish me luck.

_ _ _

You can read James Altucher on patience here. And yes – maybe, just maybe, I’m on my way to becoming a Jedi Knight. And that beats running a 5k, any day!

And of course there’s still time to make a donation, if you’d like 🙂 Head on over to my sponsorship page here and hit the big orange “Donate now” button, and any donation up to £10 will be matched by our local community foundation, so you can double your money. Serious feel good factor! With match funding and gift aid I’ve already raised over £1000. So thank you to you fabulous donors!

If you want to take on your own challenge soon and you want some friendly support, check out the Impossibles. Your challenge doesn’t have to be sponsored and you can have a whole lot of fun along the way!

Pic by flickr user Zenilorac

Being different isn’t being better.

I have spent my whole life running away from ‘supposed to’, ‘should’ and ‘just because’. I feel different. I feel like I think differently. I don’t feel like I fit in. Not surprisingly, I often hear negative ‘voices’, misinterpretations of ‘me’ being ‘me’.

“You are just seeking the limelight”

“You want to be different just because”

“Well, it’s alright for some”

“You are getting people’s hopes up. Setting them up for failure”

“It’s just a phase, go off and do your adventures and then you’ll come back to reality”

The worst one of all is: “You think you are so much better than everyone else” or “what gives you the right to think differently. You think you are so special”.

Does any of this sound familiar? Have you heard these negative “voices”? Admittedly, while I have heard people say some of the above, many of them are my own fears about what people think. Sometimes, I think I can see it in their eyes. My greatest fear is that because I can see things in a different way, because I challenge the way things are done, people think that I believe I am better than them.

But I am NOT better.

In fact, in all honesty, for much of the time I feel not better than others, but worse. I feel like an outcast. My self doubt is my own worst enemy. Trust me on this. I often feel like I have no right to challenge the ‘systems’… but I can’t help myself. It’s the way my mind works, the way I think.

A lot of what I choose to do, I do partly because it is different… but never ‘just because’. When me and my crew of ordinary superheroes started The You Can Hub, we were keen to do things differently. This is a huge part of who we are. With this, I frequently feel terrified that people might think I am putting myself on a pedestal above the rest. Do you ever get this feeling? How often are you shaking in your boots out of fear that someone might think that you are special? Or worse, that they think that you think you are special?

I don’t believe in pedestals. I battle hierarchy every day. I believe that everyone can, that we all have an incredible gift to share with the world that only we as individuals can do in our own unique way. Everyone has an ability, a unique superpower perhaps. If people are put on pedestals then it means that they are somehow better than the rest. More importantly, it means that they are making others feel small. I never want anybody to feel small, because I know what it feels like.

One day recently, I realised that I am not putting myself on a pedestal. I am putting the imagined responses of other people on a pedestal. Well, frankly, that’s ridiculous.

It’s time to kick the pedestal from under my fears and from under yours too.

Let’s look at our strengths with new courage. Thinking and seeing things differently is my superpower. My natural curiosity means I ask different questions, which in turn helps others think differently too. Give me an idea and I can see it happening in the future. I see potential in everyone – yes, in you too. Being able to visualise this potential happening means that I get rather excited and I can’t help but try to show you this new world too.

So if these are my gifts, my superpowers, then it is my duty to share them with the world and to use them as much as possible. Yes, I think I am different in the way that I do these things. But you are different in the way that you do something too. We each have unique gifts and it is integral that we humbly share them with the world.

What are your superpowers? Do you feel different? Do you battle with the same inner demons and fears of judgement? What or who are you putting on a pedestal and how will you *kick it? Write your thoughts in the comments below. By talking about them we make them more real, we make them tangible and it’s a hell of a lot easier to “kick it” together.

Watch out world, here we come!

*Warning, I imagine kicking a real physical pedestal would hurt…a lot. Maybe stick to the metaphor!

I’m Ruth, one of The Impossibles, and I have set myself a challenge of riding my old bike 50 miles!

The exclamation mark indicates to me (and hopefully to you) that, for me, this is a long, long way!! It is way out of my ‘comfort zone’. I was away recently and got chatting to a guy who had cycled from London to Moscow!!! My jaw dropped…I was staggered…so many miles…I began to question if what I was doing was ‘enough’….then on reflection I realised that actually my journey is the equivalent of his Moscow!!!

The journey is such that it is a challenge…I’m the one who has set it…and I know that it is going to be an achievement. I think too often we question if we can do something new because it is too big to imagine doing..we need to think ‘steps’ ( or pedals?!) and this is the way we break through that ‘I can’t do that barrier’.

Why am I doing this you may ask…I want to make my pulse race! (in the nicest possible way!!)

So what has the You Can Hub done for me? I have been working with them for about two years. The following will help to put you in the picture I think about the ‘why’.

I’ve always been a team player….never a leader…but since working with the You Can Hub I’ve recognised that I can do it! I can do both!The You Can Hub has helped me to feel that my decisions…my choices are valid…that they have come from my experiences which I now realise is actually extensive! I now feel as if people want to know what I think…they want to know how I work…I seem to be a person who has something to say and others want to know about it! The You Can Hub has done that!

It has felt a two way process… I’m giving as well as receiving…I like that! I don’t feel as though I’m being mentored…it’s about natural positive support…enabling me to try stuff out…not to feel panic stricken if things don’t work out…reminding me that we often learn the most when we make mistakes…and that’s actually not only ok but bloody brilliant! New stuff happens!

There have been tears! But actually they’ve mostly been tears of laughter! There has been the odd occasion when I felt that its all too much…so I’ve cried…and I’ve discovered actually its not been about it all being ‘too much’ it’s actually been about change happening ….and I’ve ‘wobbled’ …(nothing wrong with worry wobbles I say)..so now I recognise that I feel more in control…less panicky…

Through The You Can Hub I have become project facilitator of a project called You Can Bike Too. I did that! The You Can Bike Too project has developed further than I would have thought possible…it’s continuing to develop… The You Can Hub has helped me to see the ‘bigger picture’. I am a very ‘reactive’ person who likes to deal with what’s in front of me…sort it! I’m now beginning to relax re the bigger picture…!

So how does it work? Offers of help….doing the stuff that I struggle with…whilst encouraging me to ‘have a go’ …praising my efforts…”your passion shines through!” Those kind of words(whilst I struggle to fill in a funding form!) Help to say that I don’t know how to…even the little things… I feel that it’s ok (must be annoying!) to say where’s the ‘on’ button? ( if you know what I mean!)

So I’m doing my ‘Moscow’ cycle ride very soon…I’ve decided to be part of The You Can ‘The Impossibles.’ These people are people who cheer you on…help you to see that there is a community out there willing you on to do it! I love the fact that there is a Facebook group for people who choose their challenge and need support off each other…giving and receiving support from each other. People who are total strangers can come together in their Impossible Community.

My big ride is this Friday, weather permitting. I’ll let you know how I get on! Bring it on! For an extra level of accountability I’m doing this as a sponsored challenge, raising funds for the You Can Hub. Please feel free to make me accountable and make a donation! Click the link to read more about me and make a donation on my sponsorship page.

And feel free to get involved! Join the Impossibles!

I’m Ruth, one of The Impossibles, and I have set myself a challenge of riding my old bike 50 miles!

The exclamation mark indicates to me (and hopefully to you) that, for me, this is a long, long way!! It is way out of my ‘comfort zone’. I was away recently and got chatting to a guy who had cycled from London to Moscow!!! My jaw dropped…I was staggered…so many miles…I began to question if what I was doing was ‘enough’….then on reflection I realised that actually my journey is the equivalent of his Moscow!!!

The journey is such that it is a challenge…I’m the one who has set it…and I know that it is going to be an achievement. I think too often we question if we can do something new because it is too big to imagine doing..we need to think ‘steps’ ( or pedals?!) and this is the way we break through that ‘I can’t do that barrier’.

Why am I doing this you may ask…I want to make my pulse race! (in the nicest possible way!!)

So what has the You Can Hub done for me? I have been working with them for about two years. The following will help to put you in the picture I think about the ‘why’.

I’ve always been a team player….never a leader…but since working with the You Can Hub I’ve recognised that I can do it! I can do both!The You Can Hub has helped me to feel that my decisions…my choices are valid…that they have come from my experiences which I now realise is actually extensive! I now feel as if people want to know what I think…they want to know how I work…I seem to be a person who has something to say and others want to know about it! The You Can Hub has done that!

It has felt a two way process… I’m giving as well as receiving…I like that! I don’t feel as though I’m being mentored…it’s about natural positive support…enabling me to try stuff out…not to feel panic stricken if things don’t work out…reminding me that we often learn the most when we make mistakes…and that’s actually not only ok but bloody brilliant! New stuff happens!

There have been tears! But actually they’ve mostly been tears of laughter! There has been the odd occasion when I felt that its all too much…so I’ve cried…and I’ve discovered actually its not been about it all being ‘too much’ it’s actually been about change happening ….and I’ve ‘wobbled’ …(nothing wrong with worry wobbles I say)..so now I recognise that I feel more in control…less panicky…

Through The You Can Hub I have become project facilitator of a project called You Can Bike Too. I did that! The You Can Bike Too project has developed further than I would have thought possible…it’s continuing to develop… The You Can Hub has helped me to see the ‘bigger picture’. I am a very ‘reactive’ person who likes to deal with what’s in front of me…sort it! I’m now beginning to relax re the bigger picture…!

So how does it work? Offers of help….doing the stuff that I struggle with…whilst encouraging me to ‘have a go’ …praising my efforts…”your passion shines through!” Those kind of words(whilst I struggle to fill in a funding form!) Help to say that I don’t know how to…even the little things… I feel that it’s ok (must be annoying!) to say where’s the ‘on’ button? ( if you know what I mean!)

So I’m doing my ‘Moscow’ cycle ride very soon…I’ve decided to be part of The You Can ‘The Impossibles.’ These people are people who cheer you on…help you to see that there is a community out there willing you on to do it! I love the fact that there is a Facebook group for people who choose their challenge and need support off each other…giving and receiving support from each other. People who are total strangers can come together in their Impossible Community.

My big ride is this Friday, weather permitting. I’ll let you know how I get on! Bring it on! For an extra level of accountability I’m doing this as a sponsored challenge, raising funds for the You Can Hub. Please feel free to make me accountable and make a donation! Click the link to read more about me and make a donation on my sponsorship page.

And feel free to get involved! Join the Impossibles!

Twenty days ago I wrote a post explaining why I was getting up earlier in response to Mel’s question, “Why would you want to do that?!” It’s incredible to think that I’m now on Day 27 of my 30 Day Sunrise Photo Challenge, with only three days to go. Twenty seven days, twenty five photos.

When I was only a week in, everything still felt pretty easy. I was really enjoying the novelty and I guess I was still in the honeymoon period. Then things got tougher – about eleven days in, I got sick. I caught a particularly nasty and fast-acting form of tonsillitis – my resistance is always lower in the Autumn and Winter months. 

This challenge was never about forcing it – it was about supporting my well-being, not detracting from it, so I made sure to take care of myself on the days that I was ill. So on some days, I took the photo from the warmth of my window before heading back to bed, and on two of the days when my temperature was raging I left the alarm off and didn’t make it out of bed at all.

It was tough to get back into the rhythm again. It was an interesting time because although my body was struggling to get out of bed, there was also this urge to be outside. A sense of what I was missing. At the same time thinking, I have to do this every day? I wanted to, but it also felt like a big commitment.

Today, it was absolutely chucking it down when I got out of bed. The last time it rained properly (Day Two) it didn’t look like rain when I left the house and I didn’t wear waterproofs. It was stunning, with the rain on the lens smudging the image and giving it an even softer focus. Then it also started raining on Day Twenty, and you can just about see it in the puddles in the foreground while the sun stakes its claim on the day. Both days, the beauty was the most obvious thing, the first thing, and the rain came second.

This morning, the rain came first. It was grey. Grey, grey, grey. I thought, well, it’s not going to be spectacular. Dark clouds everywhere. I set off with my hubby in the car. Here’s a couple of blurry shots to give you a sense of the blustery downpour:

We were soaked; it was kind of funny! Our waterproofs did us proud, and we got back in the car. We set off for home, and decided to take a detour and try a different location. As we arrived, the rain lessened and we set off for an explore. The paths were streams; it was less soggy on the common. We walked and talked and looked and pointed things out to each other. We saw a heron flying through the sky, saw him swoop down to land, hop over a fence and explore a pond, his head just poking up above the reeds, peeking around. Then taking off and flying around the corner. The cows looked at us curiously. One of them gave us the stinkeye. One of them licked hubby’s coat.

For much of the sunrise, the clouds were obscuring the sun, and the gaps for the light to come through were all in the western half of the sky. Eventually, the wind blew them around so that the sun could show its face. We walked through an avenue of trees, the sun streaming through all the intertwined twigs and the leaves transitioning from green to yellow. I took my chosen shot of the day:

I’ve been very lucky on this challenge I think, that it hasn’t rained more. On the three occasions that it has rained, I have realised that something very special happens. If the sun and the rain combine, they have more power than either one. These shots that I’ve taken where the colours of the sky are reflected in the river (Day Two) or the puddles (Day Twenty), or where the wetness of the rain makes the surface wood of a fence much more reflective (today) – these are the days that I love the most. I’m continuing to answer the question, “Why would you want to do that?!”

As at Day Eight, once I’m out, I still find it difficult to come home again. And I think that the thing about commitment is, once you make it, it becomes easier. Getting up at sunrise every single day makes it easier to get up the next day; while having a break makes it harder again. Committing to make a change, one change, and see it through for 30 days has changed other things too, and I will try to explore these in my next post. This wasn’t a challenge I was scared of or excited about, but it was a change I thought was impossible, or at the very least would be really hard. It felt dangerous, because I really didn’t think I would be able to do it. And that’s what Danger Lou’s all about, right?

The magic of this time of day has seeped into my bones and my life and I really think that it has changed me. Three more days to go. What will I do after that?

Check out the full set so far here. If you like what you see, I’d love it if you would consider supporting my 5k challenge.

Twenty days ago I wrote a post explaining why I was getting up earlier in response to Mel’s question, “Why would you want to do that?!” It’s incredible to think that I’m now on Day 27 of my 30 Day Sunrise Photo Challenge, with only three days to go. Twenty seven days, twenty five photos.

When I was only a week in, everything still felt pretty easy. I was really enjoying the novelty and I guess I was still in the honeymoon period. Then things got tougher – about eleven days in, I got sick. I caught a particularly nasty and fast-acting form of tonsillitis – my resistance is always lower in the Autumn and Winter months. 

This challenge was never about forcing it – it was about supporting my well-being, not detracting from it, so I made sure to take care of myself on the days that I was ill. So on some days, I took the photo from the warmth of my window before heading back to bed, and on two of the days when my temperature was raging I left the alarm off and didn’t make it out of bed at all.

It was tough to get back into the rhythm again. It was an interesting time because although my body was struggling to get out of bed, there was also this urge to be outside. A sense of what I was missing. At the same time thinking, I have to do this every day? I wanted to, but it also felt like a big commitment.

Today, it was absolutely chucking it down when I got out of bed. The last time it rained properly (Day Two) it didn’t look like rain when I left the house and I didn’t wear waterproofs. It was stunning, with the rain on the lens smudging the image and giving it an even softer focus. Then it also started raining on Day Twenty, and you can just about see it in the puddles in the foreground while the sun stakes its claim on the day. Both days, the beauty was the most obvious thing, the first thing, and the rain came second.

This morning, the rain came first. It was grey. Grey, grey, grey. I thought, well, it’s not going to be spectacular. Dark clouds everywhere. I set off with my hubby in the car. Here’s a couple of blurry shots to give you a sense of the blustery downpour:

We were soaked; it was kind of funny! Our waterproofs did us proud, and we got back in the car. We set off for home, and decided to take a detour and try a different location. As we arrived, the rain lessened and we set off for an explore. The paths were streams; it was less soggy on the common. We walked and talked and looked and pointed things out to each other. We saw a heron flying through the sky, saw him swoop down to land, hop over a fence and explore a pond, his head just poking up above the reeds, peeking around. Then taking off and flying around the corner. The cows looked at us curiously. One of them gave us the stinkeye. One of them licked hubby’s coat.

For much of the sunrise, the clouds were obscuring the sun, and the gaps for the light to come through were all in the western half of the sky. Eventually, the wind blew them around so that the sun could show its face. We walked through an avenue of trees, the sun streaming through all the intertwined twigs and the leaves transitioning from green to yellow. I took my chosen shot of the day:

I’ve been very lucky on this challenge I think, that it hasn’t rained more. On the three occasions that it has rained, I have realised that something very special happens. If the sun and the rain combine, they have more power than either one. These shots that I’ve taken where the colours of the sky are reflected in the river (Day Two) or the puddles (Day Twenty), or where the wetness of the rain makes the surface wood of a fence much more reflective (today) – these are the days that I love the most. I’m continuing to answer the question, “Why would you want to do that?!”

As at Day Eight, once I’m out, I still find it difficult to come home again. And I think that the thing about commitment is, once you make it, it becomes easier. Getting up at sunrise every single day makes it easier to get up the next day; while having a break makes it harder again. Committing to make a change, one change, and see it through for 30 days has changed other things too, and I will try to explore these in my next post. This wasn’t a challenge I was scared of or excited about, but it was a change I thought was impossible, or at the very least would be really hard. It felt dangerous, because I really didn’t think I would be able to do it. And that’s what Danger Lou’s all about, right?

The magic of this time of day has seeped into my bones and my life and I really think that it has changed me. Three more days to go. What will I do after that?

Check out the full set so far here. If you like what you see, I’d love it if you would consider supporting my 5k challenge.