99 Red Balloons - Nena

Nena's world soon went POP...

Lyrics:- 'Panic bells, it's red alert' - McAlea

Song Choice:- Yikes when you go looking it's amazing what you can find out eh? A simple reference for a song with Balloon in the title revealed a different story from the one I remember from 1994 when Nena, and her hairy armpits, graced Top of the Pops with her UK one-hit-wonder (well in Top 40 terms anyway).

Wiki says of the song that drove me a bit potty at the time if I'm being honest says:-

The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but child's balloons, the pilots decide to put on a show and shoot them down. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the war ministers on each side bang the drums of conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a 99-year war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons, causing devastation on all sides without a victor. At the end, the singer walks through the devastated ruins and lets loose a balloon, watching it fly away.

Who'd have thought that...

Anyway, for the purposes of today's blog it's about what happens when just one of those Balloons goes pop. You see disappointment is such a corrosive thing. You see even the slightest blemish can send folks world into a complete tail-spin and can undo months and months of hard work in just a split second.

In my experience, people are always the biggest disappointment. The biggest bang of any Balloon that's ever been blown up is usually from someone not doing the right thing - Yet the person we get most disappointed with is OURSELVES.

I had a real setback recently, a real kick in the pants and yep, it would have been far too easy to give in and become a recluse into 'Climbing back on the Bicycle after a fall'. Trying to make sense and gather strength and resolve from the negativity that surrounded the experience took time.

I've always said it's not how you get knocked down, it's how you get up that counts. Time-after-time-after-time it's proved to be right. Yes it's a shame that we mess up, don't perform as we'd wished and things didn't pan out like we thought they would BUT there's always time to regroup, rethink and re-energise ourselves. Not necessarily to try harder but to make sure when things go POP the next time, we keep going and miss out the deflated stage that stops any forward progress.

Has your World gone POP or are you still trying hard to single handedly BLOW it up? Or is someone trying to BLOW it up for you?

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,596 Days' Alcohol Free - 444 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardydd, Cymru

More than this - Roxy music

Lyrics:- 'There was no way of knowing' - Ferry

Song Choice:- I loved Roxy's 1982 album 'Avalon' when it came out and 'More than this' has always been one of the highlight tracks on it in my opinion.

It more than highlights my thoughts on an action packed weekend both in the running world and also in the world of professional sport. You see, I love watching the British Grand Prix and the Wimbledon Finals as this is where dreams are made and careers are made or destroyed by a either a split second or the thickness of a white line. Sure, the rewards are massive but the honour is always greater. Federer and Hamilton  are most worthy winners eh?

It pushes me on to try and deliver in my own world, look at my own shortcomings and drives me on to make my own successes more satisfying.

Ask any runner what their favourite race is and they'll probably tell you it's one they've won or one where it's been a personal best - One where they've given everything and  run their absolute fastest. For instance I wouldn't trade my 3:24:21 marathon PB for anything as it was a real landmark day all those years ago in back in 1996.

The thing is, twenty years on, I therefore have to consider where I can still achieve things and feel the same feelings of achieving 'personal bests' that I did back then.

Well that comes down to how hard you push yourself. How high you set your bar. How much you are prepared to go 'More than this' or more than what you are giving things right now.

You might think that what you are doing is more than enough. The interesting thing is, if you were to find another gear and get your head down, you'd find out that you'll surpass all of your wildest dreams and expectations and be great than you'd ever think you could be.

Looking at folks results over the weekend whom I coach, they are discovering just that.

And if you are struggling, give it a they as you'll only know if you do...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,592 Days' Alcohol Free - 438 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Undo - Grey's Anatomy

'There's no 'Undo' button. There's only hoping we can learn, we can change. Right? We can do better'. - Meredith Grey

Today's Choice:- I find some great 'Soundbites for Life' in the strangest of places sometimes. Grey's Anatomy has been a firm favourite boxed set in the Coleman Household for 13 seasons now. Over the years, it's creator, Shonda Rhimes has conveyed a complete spectrum of medical and ethical scenarios and has deliberately heavily featured characters regardless of race or sex that can convey the messages and life-lessons  her audience can easily engage with. If you've never seen the show, it's well worth a look and most heartwarming at times.

At the start of each episode, there's a narration usually by lead character, Meredith Grey. The 'Undo' comment above is in one such narration that really caught my attention when I saw the show..

You see, if like me you design your own newsletters and website content, have you ever considered during that creative process just how many times you hit the 'Control + Z' keys? Without the 'Undo' facility it would be virtually impossible and the occasional 'Control + S' keeps what we've designed safe as there's nothing worse than things crashing unexpectedly.

Without those commands, the whole process would be a nightmare, just like it is in real life where the 'Control + Z' simply doesn't exist.

I mean,what things would you 'Undo' if you had the chance. Not the big ones, the massive life bloopers we all have rattling away in our cupboards or the accidents that by no fault of our own gave us the fright of our lives at one stage or another. Yikes, I can remember a couple of bicycle fails that really smashed me up at the time which I would have instantly 'Undone' - Then again forty years on, you'll never see me on a bike so I must have learned something from hitting the front of that Austin Maxi!

Therefore, perhaps have to 'Learn' rather then 'Undo' and Meredith finishes this episode by saying 'What's done is done. But the future is ours to choose.' 

So choose wisely folks...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,590 Days' Alcohol Free - 436 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Head Full of Dreams - Coldplay

Lyrics:- 'You can see the change you want, to be what you want to be' - Berryman, Buckland, Champion & Martin

Song Choice:- Well Coldplay surpassed all of my expectations and probably those of the all the 70,000 people crammed into every inch of the ‘Principality Stadium’ in Cardiff I’d say, last night. Yikes, how concerts have moved on in the last few years and this easily overshadowed my hallowed memories of seeing INXS and U2 in the 90's as the sound, lights and colours were so electric, as was lead-man Chris Martin – He simply gave it 100% and his enthusiasm throughout was totally infectious.

This being the last concert in the UK, (for ‘some time’ he said on a couple of occasions), did make it feel like a 'Chapter' was being closed for the band and a ‘New Dream’ was possibly being developed as the performance and stage-management would be hard to surpass - it's as bigger show as you'd now ever get. The whole flashing wristband that co-ordinated with the songs lit up the stands in a way I’d never seen before in any arena.

So how one would go about changing at that level? Well I’ll never know but maybe every change process jumps through a similar number of hoops when we want to make things happen.

In my experience, I like to get things straight in my mind first. Get some real clarity about what I’m trying to do and how I’m going to do it. Having a clear mental picture of me completing the task in hand makes a huge incentive.  With perfect 20-20 vision on where I’m going, I find I can get my foot hard to the floor and drive-on ‘Goal-Bound’ free of distraction at speed. The only drawback with my method is that it takes a lot of time and patience to get things perfectly lined up, ready for action.

Seeing ‘The CHANGE you want’ through ‘The Fog of Life’, well there’s the rub but isn't so hard perhaps once you get to grips with where you are going next, once you know where that is.

At the end of the day – It’s your life and your journey, no one else’s... So 'Live' the Dream don't just leave them in your head eh?

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,590 Days' Alcohol Free - 436 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Always in my Head - Coldplay

Lyrics:- My body moves, goes where I will – Berryman, Buckland, Champion & Martin

Song Choice:- On a day that I’ll see Coldplay at the Principality Stadium in Caerdydd, it seems only right to choose one of my favourite Martin penned tracks. Hopefully I’ve picked one that reflects how I feel today as I sit on the train, London bound on the 0512hrs ‘Red-Eye’, ready to engage in being ‘Awesome’ rather than ‘Average’ at Threshold Sport’s first ‘Net-Walking’ event.

‘Always in my Head’ is yet another example of Chris Martin’s enduring magical songwriting genius which has produced hit after hit and success after success for nearly twenty years. As a modern-day ‘Rock Band’, their continued success is unparalleled.

So why is that? And why do I think it’s relevant to me and today’s blog?

Well, I was asked to ‘Distill’ my ‘Mindset’ as part of a ‘Personal Development Programme’ that I’m on right now. Getting this down on paper in one sentence or soundbite, is proving virtually impossible as it’s a totally natural process that’s hard-wired into my DNA – but I’m going to give it a real go. It’s going to take me a few days to compose and I’m going to need Lady C’s help to get it just right for sure.

And that’s where Coldplay come in. I mean I’m not Chris Martin but in their analogy what makes Coldplay, Coldplay? – Hmm, well that’s simple, it’s a blend of Chris Martin’s ability, musicality and personality supported by the rest of the band and a producer and engineer that can take that ability and give it the 100% Elite Star-Quality we have become used to.

At the heart of things, Chris Martin’s ‘Unique’. And I can’t quite put my finger on quite what it is as he’s not an outstanding vocalist or performer but somehow there’s a ‘Magic’ and ‘Stage Presence’ that’s infectious. Maybe it’s his enthusiasm that’s the key to their success and I wonder what his ‘Mindset’ might be as they start developing ideas for their next album.

Has he ‘Distilled’ his ‘Mind-set’?’ or is it just hard-wired into his DNA too?

Maybe it’s something you’ve either got or you haven’t. I mean what is the ‘Magic Sauce’ that makes things happen? Means that you never give up, that people find intimidating, that drives you on at all costs, that if you could bottle it would be worth millions…

Well that’s my mission to find out, articulate and deliver. Something I’ll be considering of course when I’m watching Coldplay tonight as the core-elements of my ‘Mindset’ are ‘Always in my Head’.

Amen

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,587 Days' Alcohol Free - 435 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Crystal - New Order

Lyrics:- 'We're like Crystal' - Gilbert, Hook, Morris & Sumner

Song Choice:- Wow, I've been blogging for over 13 years now - and on this site, with over 1,000 posts covering my thoughts, feelings and exploits for the last five years. 

For those of you new to my world, the idea of the music accompaniments came about from a) that I simply love music and it's been a real theme 'For Life' since I was a teenager and b) a track that I'd listened on that particular day that was relevant to what had occurred in 'Coleman-World'. Back in 2004 when in I started blogging, on the way from London to Lisbon, Tears for Fears was a real favourite and looking back over the months it's interesting for me to see how my tastes and phases have changed.

I'm not sure if I've ever chosen 'Crystal' by New Order before - I know I've chosen other tracks of theirs but this is probably their best offering post 'Blue Monday'. The Album version is a cool 6.51 minutes and here it is from 'Glastonbury' in 2005 with a very low slung Peter Hook Bass which is simply 'Awesome'...

Anyway, the idea is that you might blow the dust off the track yourself, take a re-listen and enjoy some of the same feelings I get from listening to this kinda music when I'm out and about.

You see, after a long day out with our new #Average2Average Group at Stepnell in Rugby, I was pounding the streets and Lady C was hammering the exercise bike making sure we practice what we preach at 10.30pm. Cardiff at that time of night, especially in Canton where we live, is really quiet and there are only a few people out getting some late night supplies from the nearby Tesco Mini-Market, (some in a relative state of unsteadiness and some a looking a bit angry). I must say, it did make me feel a little intimidated, as you never know who's who out there and Lady C was better off on the exercise bike at home. 

And that's where 'Crystal' hit my ears drums and made me realise how like Crystal we are and no matter how 'Strong' we can appear and just how 'Fragile' we all really are. I did then wonder what I was frightened of as I could have easily out-run anyone I met so that felt good especially as at this time last year I was waiting to go back into hospital in a state of 'unsteadiness' myself!

So be strong today in whatever you are undertaking and be safe about it too. Enjoy 'Crystal' as it's a great track to build your day on and in my case 'My Blog'.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,582 Days' Alcohol Free - 430 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

These are the days of our lives - Queen

Lyrics:- 'Sometimes I get to feelin', I was back in the old days - long ago’ - Taylor

Song Choice:- I'm always saying to folk that 'These are the best days of our lives'. It's TRUE. It's just that we don't realise it right now. Take-a-look at the 'Lump in the throat’ Queen video that accompanies this track if you need to see where I’m coming from. It’s super sad… It was the last video to feature frontman Freddie Mercury as he was in the final stages of his battle with AIDS filmed on 30th May 1991, just six months before he died on 24th November 1991 - nearly 26 years ago... His last words to camera were ‘I still love you’ and I’m sure he did.

Since then, so much has happened – We’ve all lived a lot of ‘Life’ that I’m sure Freddie would also have lived to the full, with its roundabout ‘Ups and Downs’, ‘Successes and Failures’.

‘The days were endless, we were crazy - we were young. The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun’ – Taylor

You see, we never thought about getting old when we were young – The ‘DFS Sofa buy-now-pay-later' mentality hadn’t been invented and I for one thought that my battery life was endless rather than slowly ebbing away at 1% annually.

‘You can't turn back the clock, you can't turn back the tide - ain't that a shame?’ – Taylor

And ‘Yes’ it is a shame we can’t wind our clocks back to make amends or live life’s highs all over again but I believe it’s our duty now to make the most of what we’ve got. Not of what’s left as none of us know how long that particular piece of string is.

We’ve just got to do, what we do – BETTER… as Freddie says, ‘Cos these are the days of our lives’…

Make the most of YOUR DAYS… Please.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,574 Days' Alcohol Free - 423 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

Through the Barricades - Spandau Ballet

Lyrics:- 'It's a terrible beauty we've made' - Gates

Song Choice:- What better track to choose to illustrate the boundaries we build around ourselves to protect us from the 'Hurty-World' that lies both outside our front door and inside our heads. 

This track was actually written by DavidGates of 'Bread' fame and re-released with a 'New Romantic Twist'. The Spandau's themselves were once 'Barricaded' off from my world back in the e '80's along with the Duran Duran Boys but were really a guilty pleasure along with disco music and the Bee Gees (Did you see Barry Gibb at Glastonbury? - He was bloody awesome)...

Anyway, I found over the years I ring-fence lots of things into my monochromatic world with very 'Hit' and 'Miss' labels, which is fine. The only thing is years later, I'm finding I've done a complete 'Opinion 360' and instead of a 'Love-Hate' - I've got a 'Hate-Love' situation.

You see you just can't predict the future - although I'm pretty sure you won't catch me being a 'Swim, Bike, Run Person in this lifetime but then you never know (Let's hope not eh?)...

But then we all change our minds at some point in time and the folk I tend to meet want to denounce their past, shape up and shape their future. It's a good thing to do too as living a life behind 'Barricades' ain't much fun.

Amen...

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,573 Days' Alcohol Free - 422 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales