Rosedawn Ramblings

I'm sitting on the balcony watching the world go by, the bottle kilns my ever-present backdrop.  It's early on Sunday morning. The sun is shining, there is a refreshing breeze. Every now and then, the sound of traffic replaces bird song to interrupt the peace and quiet. A couple walking their dog pass by on the bank opposite. The same man who runs by everyday has just appeared. Someone is fishing up by the bridge. A child is feeding the ducks. The coffee tastes good.  I've got a new book to read. It's my happy place ; my place to reflect and re-set. In the nearly 12 months since my last blog post, my new job has continued to be just what I needed, we've had some mini-adventures and lots of fun-filled days. There have been a few bumps in the road, especially when it comes to blogging and running, but I've been doing my best to live up to the intention to  start again . First there was Tailenders Live, which definitely brought the laughter back... Then...

At the start of 2019, I set myself the challenge of publishing a blog post every week during the year - 52 weeks, 52 posts. My motivation was to get back to something I loved doing, something I'd missed, something I'd started several years ago but then lost my way. I thought I'd run out of things to write about. On Sunday, I achieved my goal. I wrote about eating profiteroles for breakfast. It wasn't always easy. Some posts were longer than others. Some were only written right at the last moment. I did it! I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face (mainly thanks to those profiteroles ). But what did I learn? About myself, about running and about life in general? 1. Inspiration can come from anyone and anything ... it can be easy to think that you need something 'big' to get you started. At the start of 2019, I certainly had lots of inspiration to run and blog as I completed an ultramarathon along the River Thames. I've also been inspi...

There is usually a light bulb moment during the week when inspiration comes for the blog; it can be something someone says, a place I'm visiting, something I see whilst running or a random thought that just pops into my head. But once the inspiration hits, it's then a matter of translating that into a post. So this week, inspiration came when I realised we're almost half way through 2019 and that means half way through my blogging challenge too.  It's time for a mid-year appraisal and, overall, so far, so good; 26 blog posts, no missing weeks and I've really enjoyed writing again. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence, but I'm also really enjoying running too.  I've been looking back and have picked out some of my favourite moments so far... Blogging inspiration.... when I spent all weekend putting off my long run and was then saved by a lost scarf (thanks Isabelle Taking on a challenge...  a race day in the Olympic Park in London ...