Tag: running

Pressure Drop

I’ve been working on the next free art drop, and I can’t seem to shake the excellent song ‘Pressure Drop’ while I’m painting. Originally by Toots and The Maytals, I’m aware the song has also been covered by The Specials and The Clash, and doubtless many more bands too. The version I hold in my head is the performance by The Clash (and/or a live version by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros).

The song got into my head this week during a period of mindlessness. I’ve had a busy, productive week and as a way of release/relief from a busy schedule I’d been seeking to do something which didn’t require thought, something I could just…do. That something arrived in the form of a run yesterday morning. I’d not run since April 2017 and I knew that doing so would quickly utilise my resources and take me to a place of no thinking, just doing. The run started and so did the beat. I huffed and puffed my way home and at every step along the 2.67 mile jog, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon accompanied me.

Back in the studio, I couldn’t shift the song, so I decided to abstract it out of my head, onto paper.

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Part of this work harks back to my earlier Elemental Art series, something I thought I’d left behind, but it turns out I am enjoying letting it sneak back into my thinking and making again. This piece will be hidden soon.

Running Out of Excuses

Getting over yourself and making stuff happen.

I used to ride a bike. Then I fell out of love.

I used to run. Then in 2012 I picked up a couple of injuries and had to stop for a while. A while doesn’t have an end date, so weeks became months, months became years. I got lazy and out of shape. Worse still, I convinced myself that a recurrence of my injuries wasn’t worth the risk, and though I’ve been a much more active walker of late, I know I’m not really getting any fitter. I keep kidding myself that being in shape will somehow just magically happen.

Yesterday evening, out of the blue Keira suggested that the three of us go for a run the following morning. Carole runs regularly and Keira is full of beans and super fit. Maybe it was the prosecco talking, but I agreed to join in.

Sunday morning. I got up regretting my commitment to run and then, serendipitously, read ‘How Far Will Your Baby Steps Take You?‘ by Tim Scott. Tim’s post is a lovely piece of encouragement, and he wins extra points for mentioning guitars too. It turns out that Tim’s post, and Keira and Carole’s enthusiasm are a powerful combination.

I’m not kidding myself, it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock n roll. But you have to start somewhere and this morning’s 3.1 miles (my first run in over two years) will do me just fine.

Update: May 2015

The running didn’t stick, my knees are definitely not as fond of the idea as the rest of me! I kept on walking through the Spring and Summer and then I discovered a few friends in America taking part in Runners Week Run Streak. This was a challenge for people to try and run for at least a mile every day between Thanksgiving and New year’s Day. I joined in at walking pace and managed to get the job done. You can read more about how I got on here.

Once the Runners Week challenge was complete, during which time I completed 111.1 miles (spooky huh), I just kept on going. I’m currently clocking up somewhere between 140 and 150 miles a month, you can read more about how I’m getting on here.