Out of the Black - Royal Blood

Lyrics:- 'And took the skin off my back running' - Royal Blood

Song Choice:- Royal Blood and Public Service Broadcasting are two of my more recent musical finds and it's amazing just how much 'noise' a duo can make with modern-day multi-layered sampling pedals. If you haven't connected with Royal Blood yet, then they are well worth a listen here and make sure you crank up the volume!

Anyway, it's a bit of a tenuous link perhaps but after seeing a few folk over the weekend ending up in hospital following their events, it feels only right to write about looking after yourself before, during and after races.

You see, the Human Body is an incredible thing. It's recovery process is truly remarkable, especially if you are regularly giving it a good thrashing like I have over the years. Considering how quickly it repairs following major surgery in just a few weeks is really special. 

It's the ultimate machine! And everyone's got one...

Then, why don't we look after it in the same way as we do other things in our lives. It's more precious than any jewel, car or possession money can buy yet we hardly ever give it a regular Service or MOT. I'm just as guilty of this as the next person and I didn't seek medical advice for years as I felt healthy until it finally caught up with me last year, hitting me for six or perhaps seven in my case. Hoping that if it's not broken, don't fix it doesn't cut Coleman's Mustard any more.

As we get older, especially us chaps, it's always a good idea to have at least one medical a year and ask for the results as a print out so you can see any trends in PSA and Cholesterol  levels in particular. I've now decided to monitor my own medical history from now on and I suggest you do too, as if you don't highlight any issues, no-one else will - until it's possibly too late.

So have a think as you bash out yet another marathon or yet another 14200 steps, go and get a health assessment booked at your local medical centre to make sure your body lasts a lifetime :-)

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 997 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,615 Days' Alcohol Free - 463 Days' post GBS
& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir
Location: Cardiff, Wales.

Only you and I know - Collins

Lyrics:- 'But if I said to you, please don't do it, you do it anyway' - Collins

Song Choice:- This 1985 Phil Collins Classic, always fires me up whenever I hear it and it's well worth another listen if you haven't heard it for a long time, to remember just how good Phil was at his peak. It's a crying shame some thirty odd years on, that he's a shadow of his former self.

It fits quite nicely with the coverage of Usain Bolt's 100 metres final that I tuned into last night. I'm not suggesting for one moment that Mr. Bolt is well past his peak but it did make me wonder what his driver was for him to complete when his 'Golden Run' certainly looked precarious from the very first round. He never looked or sounded too confident did he?

Was it Pride or Money? Hopefully it was the former as it can't be easy being surrounded by people that won't take anything less than 'Winning' as a result. Being 'pushed' into the World Championships must have been tough - being beaten by someone who shouldn't be allowed to race ever again IMO, only adding to the anti-climax.

Whatever happened last night won't have ANY effect on my life but looking at Bolt's situation did make me realise I'd been in a similar situation myself and not realising it's time to bow out at the right time is a tough 'Life-Lesson'. It's not a negative thing either, it can be a really positive process and a 'Personal sell-by date' is something that's well worth taking on board - even if it's just a date to have done something by so that you can move on rather than keep trying at something where you'll never win or succeed.

Anyway, thank God for him it's all over and the sense of relief for Bolt today must be overwhelming. Hopefully his 'Legend' status will remain until the next champion comes along and takes his crown... they always do you know. And now Bolt knows what it's like to be beaten. Do you?

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 997 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,614 Days' Alcohol Free - 462 Days' post GBS
& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir
Location: Cardiff, Wales.

Keep Talking - The Pink Floyd

Lyrics:- All we need to do is make sure we keep talking - Gilmour, Samson & Wright

Song Choice:- Taken from their brilliant 1991 album, The Division Bell, this track was an instant hit for me. I love the intro that features the 'Voice' of Professor Steven Hawking that then leads into some classic 'Floyd' solos. It's well worth another listen and why not think on today about our amazing ability to communicate with each other and what say about ourselves without even saying a word.

If like me, you are glued to the Athletics World Championships then you'll know where I'm coming from when I say that in the post-race interviews, which of the athletes were psychologically in the right place to compete. Their body language and tone gives it all away.

The difference from the top of the elite is that they talk positively about their success and drive and there is no blame or mention of anything that they can't control theirselves if they cock it up.

Further down the field and folk are happy using every excuse under the sun to hang their shortcomings on, rather than taking failure on the chin and saying 'I just din't want it enough'.

If they listened closely to Michael Johnson's commentary, which is pretty brutal at times, they would easily improve and their times would tumble as he has no time for excuses. The thing is we too happy to just keep talking rather than listening and working on our weaknesses. Looking at the start line it's always obvious to me who the winners are and it's something you can identify with everyone you meet in any situation once you get tuned in to it.

So are YOU an all 'Talk and no Action' type of person and do YOU believe in YOU - if you don't then how can anyone else. The realisation could make a massive difference to your world and how folk see you.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 997 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,613 Days' Alcohol Free - 461 Days' post GBS
& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir
Location: Cardiff, Wales.

Solid Rock - Delirious?

Lyrics:- 'Make or break us, reinvent us' - Delirious?

Song Choice:- I was fortunate enough to see one of Delirious? last performances and it's a shame they disbanded in 2010. As a Christian band, it was always going to be an uphill task and even after scoring a top ten hit, it still didn't give them the true accolade and boost they so deserved. Their stage show was extremely slick as were the songs in a kind of Jesus loving U2 way.

I liked 'em anyway...

Taking out the 'Christian' message, there's plenty to be said for the underpinning of the solid rock in whatever we decide to take on in life. Making sure it's is built on a firm foundation goes without saying as without the correct ground-work in place, structural failure is bound to happen at some stage. It's amazing how many folk go through life without a firm directing just 'winging it' without having a firm 'Life-footprint'.

For the record, I'm no saint and for many years had a 'don't worry it'll be fine' attitude to a lot of my undertakings. The real change came when I had to schedule my life around training, running and my client appointments. Time you see is very precious, and since then, I've become a real 'Time Junky' and every minute of the day is carefully accounted for. In my game, 'Time is Money'...although it is in everyone's game isn't it?

So for most folk 'Time' is the real deal-breaker and being more 'Time-Efficent' can truly 'Re-invent' us, make us happier and more affluent it would appear.

Think on this weekend about how you use the 48 hours of Saturday and Sunday and see if you are making the most of your time on this 'Solid Rock' or are you Delirious?

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 997 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,612 Days' Alcohol Free - 460 Days' post GBS
& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir
Location: Cardiff, Wales.

Confident - Demi Lovato

Lyric:- 'I used to hold my freak back, now I'm letting go' - Lovato et Al

Song Choice:- Well on a rather wet and breezy day in Milton Keynes I thought I'd brighten the mood with a great song all about, you guessed it 'Confidence'.

It's a funny old quality isn't it. Having too much gets folks hackles up and not having enough means you can get overlooked in peer groups at work or within your social network.

A lot of my work this week has been spent working on people's 'Confidence'. You see it's amazing to me how much performance in any arena is limited by how folk perceive their own abilities which most of the time is limited by their lack of the 'C' word.

This ranges from athletes not going to races they've entered because of negative thoughts to others wishing they spoken out in situations or meetings instead of keeping quiet through avoiding confrontation.

It's amazing to me how much folk will go with the flow to keep the peace and not stand out from the crowd. Holding back opinion, especially when you are right or more experienced is a crime IMO. So if that's you, why not let go for a change and make your point (in the nicest possible way) and let folk know where you stand for once.

Being 'Confident' in Public such as for speaking to an audience, well I'm not sure that's ever very easy for anyone on the first time of asking but like most things gets easier with practise.

A good place to start is in a group dynamic such as A2A and I love BBC's 'The Choir' where people from companies are put together to perform as one and find a collective 'Confidence' that can then be taken onboard by the individual - sound familiar?

Maybe it's time to find your best singing voice eh?

Rory Coleman - 997 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,611 Days' Alcohol Free - 459 Days' post GBS
& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir
Location: Milton Keynes, England

One Small Day - Ultravox

Lyrics:- 'One day where I didn't die a thousand times, where I could satisfy this life of mine, one small day' - Cann, Cross, Currie & Ure

Song Choice:- I've always been a fan of Midge Ure and Ultravox and this 1984 hit has some great lyrics, as you can see. The 'One Small Day' line has always resonated with me as I believe it can be the most important day of your life, especially if you are taking on a new 'Life Regime' as I did all those years ago not knowing where it would take me.

You see, I've listened to the song tonight as I've journeyed to Milton Keynes to run my 997th Marathon at the Enigma School's Out Marathon tomorrow. It's funny as now I'm getting closer to the 1,000 I'm starting to think back over the races and places I've been since that 'One Small Day' in November 1994 when I ran my first 26.2 miler in Telford.

The lyrics continue:- 'One day where every hour could be a joy to me, and live a life the way it's meant to be'.

Well, it was a joy way back then and it will be again tomorrow as I live my life it was meant to be, running 7 laps of a lake in Milton Keynes and clocking up #997.

When was your 'One Small Day'?

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,609 Days' Alcohol Free - 457 Days' post GBS
& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir
Location: Milton Keynes, England

Move Any Mountain - The Shamen

Awesome Times @CovRunner

Lyrics:- 'I will not fail nor falter, I shall succeed, my perception is altered I do believe' - Angus & West

Song Choice:- Wow! Our #Average2Awesome Team at Stepnell Ltd in Rugby have moved mountains over the last four weeks. A whole 45kg mountain of excess weight to be exact. Their mountainous loss underlines their commitment to our Corporate Fitness and Well-being Programme that we already know changes lives and will hopefully change theirs too.

It got me thinking about The Shamen's 'Move any Mountain' and this 1991 song is full of the kind of energy we felt today working with the Team when we met them at the Coventry Runner for their running gait analysis followed by a run out with us in the nearby park.

I have every admiration for anyone that hasn't really run before to pull on a pair of trainers and run out with us, and their work colleagues. There was no need to worry though as they were full of beans and moved mountains today because they ARE a team even though they are from different areas within the business. You see the really valuable part of A2A is that they have a common goal and their support for each other is really admirable. Not letting themselves down or their colleagues down has been vital in getting them this far, and will take them well beyond their Group Challenge in September I hope.

Coming away from any A2A Day, I always feel empowered and it underlines my own feelings of not faltering and succeeding. For me, next week's session can't come quick enough as I want to tune-in to their energy once again and I'll keep you posted on their progress.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,608 Days' Alcohol Free - 456 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardiff, Wales