Summer Son - Texas

Lyrics:- 'Here comes the summer's son, he burns my skin' - McElhone, Spiteri, Campbell & Hodgens

Song Choice:- This is a brilliant 'Summer' Song and one well worth listening too again, in my opinion, especially as the mornings and evenings are getting lighter and brighter. Last night, it was still light well past 9pm in Cardiff. It's my favourite time of year as I love the warm 'Summer Sun' and looking at the fresh green leaves on the trees, it makes the trails this time of year most appealing to get out on. As soon as my legs recover from their battering at the weekend, I'll be out there myself, looking for a 'Cornfield' to run through and some 'Summer Sun' to enjoy.

You see, Summer just creeps up on us whilst we are not watching and before you know it, the Cricket Pitches are 'Drying Out, the Horse Chestnuts' are in 'Full Candle' and the Barley Fields are 'Blowin' Free'...

And I bloody love it - especially as I missed out on last year's Summer Sun entirely...

So, my advice today is to get out there and make hay while you can, as you never know when you might get eclipsed and become a shadow of your former self. 

More tomorrow... from Sunny Cardiff.

Rory Coleman - 990 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,525 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Blind Vision - Blancmanche

Lyrics:- 'Blind visions, with no reasons'

Song Choice:- Blancmange surfaced in 1984 with this 'Synth-Rock Classic'. They had a string of hits including 'Living on the Ceiling' but as a poor man's Depeche Mode perhaps, by 1986 they simply disappeared, which seems a shame.

Anyway, it's the 'Blind Vision' that I'm interested in for today's blog as I often wonder if folk actually see their real-self, when they look in the mirror in the cold light of day and whether they see beyond their reflection, right into their heart and soul.

Being objective about that, well there's the rub...

You see, I help umpteen people every year change their outward appearances and become the person they want to be perceived as being. 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression' they say and our tribalism and appearance attracts friends and lovers as well as it excluding us in certain social situations. It's amazing what signals we send out about ourselves.

Losing weight and getting fit, well that bits easy...

Changing the signals we all send out, well that's different. Some people just don't get it that they are over-bearing, myopic and opinionated. All great turn-offs for the general population and ingredients for a very lonely existence. I'm guilty of this myself sometimes too, but if you are happy in your own company, well that's ok.

Changing this behaviour pattern can take a lifetime and that's the hard one to project as folk eventually revert to type as their guard comes down and the pounds pile back on. I'm currently watching one of my Average2Awesome clients do just that, so I will be having a word in the very near future with that person and help them take a good look at themselves.

Having worked so hard, it's such a shame...

'Life's a Journey' and we all know really when we are boring the pants off people yet keep droning on and know when we are being our own worst enemy.

So why have we got 'Blind Vision' as there's 'No Reason' for it?

Have a think, are you 'Blind' and in need of a 'Personality Update' as well as a 'Physical' one'?

Rory Coleman - 990 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,523 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Lights Out - Royal Blood

Lyrics:- 'You're not so hard to forget, with all the lights out' - Kerr & Thatcher

Song Choice:- Another track not yet released? My word I'm like John Peel reborn here! 

Anyway take a look for yourself at this first track from Royal Blood's new album 'How did we get so dark' which is released on June 16th. If it's anything like their first, we're all in for a real treat and 'Figure it out' is still on 'parkrun' playlist which speaks volumes for just how great that song is, three years on from it's release.

It's the 'Light's Out' bit I'm interested in for today's blog as I'm not so sure it's that easy to forget what's going in one's world when the light's go out at night. I know a lot of you go to bed worrying about all manner of things in the small hours. It's never an issue when I first 'Hit the Hay' as when I was taking part in the Flora 1000 Mile Challenge in 2003 (you know, the one mile an hour every hour for 1000 hours event), I went to sleep over 300 times in 6 weeks and got into a special fall asleep routine that got me snoring in just a matter of seconds ever since - ask Lady C.

However, I find it's the waking up at 4am routine that's the tricky one, especially at this time of year when it's already starting to get light. You see, the moment my brain cells are activated there's nothing I can do to get me back into 'The Land of Nod'. And I use get up now and have an early morning cup of tea, write a blog and catch up with an old episode of 'The Sweeney'. My word Regan and Carter never needed much sleep!

I know I won't get much tonight as I'm heading for Marathon #990 tomorrow and I'm very excited to be in the last 10 before the 'BIG ONE' at the 'Robin Hood Marathon' on September 24th.

Do your 'Lights go out at Night?'... Or still Glowing?

More tomorrow...

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,521 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Life of the Party - All Time Low

Not much  'Life' left in these Parties...

Song Choice:- Thanks to Apple Music for suggesting today's belter from a new band to me 'All Time Low'. It delivers the lost feeling of alcohol addiction and sobriety that folk often feel when they are in the transition phase from being the 'Life of ANY Party' to the notion of a far less 'exciting' lifestyle. I know, as I've been there myself. I've had those thoughts...

Have a listen to the track here and listen closely to the lyrics as they speak volumes to me and hopefully my clients whom are going through this process right now and are finding it hard to stay positive without a party to go to... I'm so down with the kids as their album isn't out 'til June 2nd...

Lyrics:- 'Now it's four in the morning, and I'm trying to fix myself. What the hell did I do? I'm the life of the party' 

Somewhere in between who I used to be, and who I'll be tomorrow when the champagne blows my mind. Thrills don't come for free, price you pay for dreams. In the sea of strangers, I can't find me anymore.

Looking back, I don't know why I needed to be the 'Life of the Party' anyway. Maybe it's because Parties are really a bit of rubbish. There's nothing worse than a 'Fancy Dress' or a surprise '40th' or '50th' to get roped into in my opinion. Thinking about it, getting hammered was possibly the only good thing about them, so I've kind of answered my own question there I suppose.

Alcohol withdrawal however does cause a feeling of being 'Lost' - it took me ages to 'Find' myself and there's no quick fix to happiness and inner calm, I can confirm - only time provides the solution to that problem I've found. Looking back, I've probably been through a few personal updates since, as I'd found myself only to lose myself and then find myself once again.

It all sounds a bit nutty, but self-realisation and self-recognition really helps with ANY addiction and finding out which 'Parties' to avoid being the life of, means that the odd piece of 'Birthday Cake' with 'Kryptonite Icing' doesn't slip under the barbed wire and mess up all that hard work.

Being between the person you used to be and the new you is such a 'Minefield' where the longer you survive in it, the danger keeps building like a giant pressure cooker in your head. That's until you realise you don't have to be the 'Life of the Party' as EVERYDAY in your new life is a PARTY not the one where you act the drunk idiot - as let's face it, no-one really likes the 'Life of the Party', as secretly we always think they are a bit of a tw@t.

Be the 'Life of your own Party' everyday - Amen...

More tomorrow...

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,520 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Dogs - The Pink Floyd

Song Choice:- I simply love 'Dogs' from the 1977 Pink Floyd Album 'Animals'. It's an album that's very much overlooked as it's bookended by there 1975 Album 'Wish you were here' and their 1979 Double Album 'The Wall' - It's every bit as good and if not better in my opinion and well worth a visit just for 'Dogs' and 'Sheep' which are amongst my all-time favourite tracks.

I totally agree with Waters lyrics in his analysis of business acumen and impending loneliness brought on by living in a 'Dog-Eat-Dog' world and to that end I beleive we are ALL dogs.

You see everyone's crazy in one way or another and also very needy but we still look after #1 when it really matters and our natural instincts always prevail.

Lyrics:- Dogs (Waters, Gilmour) 17:06

You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need.
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street,
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed.
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight,
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in.

And yes as the paranoia sets in and the years roll by it does get tougher, believe me, and it's far too easy to alienate everyone around you if you are not careful and this loneliness leads to destruction I've found.

You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder.
You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older.
And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south,
Hide your head in the sand,
Just another sad old man,
All alone and dying of cancer.

And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone.
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around.
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,
Dragged down by the stone.

And then when it really gets really tough you stop believing everyone, including yourself and hence believe everyone else is a Dog too.

I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused.
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used.
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this
maze?

Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend.
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun,
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer.

Waters vitriolic rant finishes off with a very harsh set of comments on how folk get groomed to destruction by those who are empowered around them, to finally self-destruct under the pressure projected onto them by their world around them. My word he was bitter!

Who was born in a house full of pain.
Who was trained not to spit in the fan.
Who was told what to do by the man.
Who was broken by trained personnel.
Who was fitted with collar and chain.
Who was given a pat on the back.
Who was breaking away from the pack.
Who was only a stranger at home.
Who was ground down in the end.
Who was found dead on the phone.
Who was dragged down by the stone.

It's worth thinking on though, and as you listen to 'Dogs' or 'Sheep', consider why you are chasing with the pack and not out there fighting your own battles. Getting dragged down by someone else's stone isn't a good way to spend your time and I can smell DS not BS a mile off...when it comes to marking my territory.

Tell me, are you a Dog? Are you fighting? Are you getting dragged down?

More tomorrow...

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,519 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Avicii - Levels

Lyrics:- 'Oh, sometimes, I get a good feeling, yeah' - Pournouri, Kirkland, Bergling, James & Woods

Song Choice:- This great dance track from 2011 provides an excellent backdrop to my thoughts today about 'Levels' in a kind of 'Life Graphic Equalizer' way if you are into my way of thinking. All those different frequencies make up who we are, and how much emphasis we place on them is fascinating for any 'Life Coaching Voyeur' like myself.

You see, I understand completely that folk need to go out and conquer a marathon, Marathon des Sables or even a 100 miler to get 'A good feeling'... but if you did this at weekend for instance and are using the 'Marathon/Ultra-Marathon Experience' as part of a new life-journey - my point is, 'That was yesterday and what are you doing today to help you along that journey'.

If anything at all...

'Cos that's the thing. It's so darn easy post event to take your foot off the gas and return from 'Awesomeness' back into 'Averageness' in a period of less than 24 hours. I believe it's better to do a week of 20 milers on one's own rather than bash out 100 miles and not to leave giant windows in one's recovery process.

It's what you do on the days in between the 'Good Feelings' that count - So, what are you doing to 'Feel Good' today?

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,518 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Squonk - Genesis

Lyrics:- 'All the King's horses and all the King's men' - Banks & Rutherford

Song Choice:- I've always loved 'Squonk'. It's a song about a North-Amrican mythical creature of the same name that when captured, dissolves in a pool of tears, nice. The song was designed to sound like Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir' which was recorded the previous year and funnily enough at Headley Grange where Genesis had recorded 'The Lamb'. 'Squonk' opened the band's live performances, right the way through their early 80's concerts, including the two that I was lucky enough to see in '78 & '80.

Anyway, it's the 'All the King's horses and all the King's men' line that I'm interested in for today's 'Bank Holiday Blog'. You see it's a year today since I went into Llandough Hospital to start my GBS recovery and it got me thinking into what I've learned during this past 365 days.

I'll go to what I've learned later on, but I didn't come to that conclusion from completing  this year's Marathon des Sables or by beating my brains out, bashing out 100 miles along the Thames Towpath this weekend, trying to please the Facebook Failure Enabler's that folk seem to attract nowadays. There's nothing worse than not-completing to a round of 'Well at least you trieds' or '50, 60 or 70 is extreme' etc. in my book. I'm pretty sure that none of my 'Life Learns' came from 100 mile Ultras...

What I've learned is that 'Satisfaction' comes from within. Within a world that exists between our ears and rather than searching deep down inside and correcting our own behaviour - We expend most of our time looking at and trying to change the world around us. I believe that whatever happens in the world around us or in other folks lives just doesn't matter - so why do we believe it does?

At the end of the day or 365 of them in my case, I wonder how many folk I will project my thoughts during the next year. It's not easy as the thing is, there's no right or wrong - and only time will tell if they get to see the world as clearly as I do without having to spend a year rebuilding their lives. You see for some 'All the King's horses and all the King's men' will never put them back together again.

More tomorrow...and enjoy your Bank Holiday, whatever you are doing - and then maybe look back over your day and wonder why you did what you did, instead of doing something else.

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,517 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru