Writing

Third run today. Still finding it challenging to run for the full time, and end up walking a bit. I'm rationalising this by telling myself that if I end up not enjoying running, I'm less likely to do it.

Second run of Sofa To So Far, and this time I was accompanied by Gang of Four. More mid-tempo stuff, but with some aggression this time. I reckon I need to put together a running punk playlist.

My first Sofa to So Far run, and I'm sticking with the spirit by listening to one of the most inflential bands that no-one has ever heard. Listen to Pink Flag, and you can hear 1980s US Hardcore (not to mention 1990s Elastica). They were and are vehemently not a punk band. What they did, and did brilliantly, is took the sounds and textures and excitement of punk music and used it as a tool to craft minimalist masterpieces.

I'm starting something exciting today. I've dabbled with running a few times in the past, but never really made it part of my daily routine. Completed Couch to 5k, and then didn't carry on. I didn't go straight back to the couch, but the lack of a structured programme meant it was much easier to not run than run. It's not just running: I've trained for and completed long cycling sportives and then having reached my goal, found that the impetus to keep getting on the bike has dropped off.

“Before you play two notes,” he once said, “learn how to play one note, and don’t play one note unless you’ve got a reason to play it.”

This quote from Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis, who died in February 2019, is taken from John Harris's excellent Guardian article about slowing down and reflecting. There is much there that chimes with me, particularly the need to pause the social media onslaught.