Chin Up

So I went for a run earlier today and as the sun started to beat down on me and I was going uphill for a bit, my head naturally started to droop as I tried to dig deeper into the energy reserves. As I came down the other side of the hill, my head lifted, and I had an idea (one of the reasons I run is that I often come up with ideas when I’m out).

Here it is:

Running with your head up is much better than looking at the ground.

I think it is because you get a lot more light from the sky in your vision and less dark mud/grass/road, and this is clearly a good thing. It makes you feel better, and be more creative, whether you’re running, walking or just sitting still. At least, I guess it’s linked to light – try it and let me know. Of course you need to keep an eye on where your feet are going, but your peripheral vision should be able to cope with seeing whether there’s a log or stone you need to avoid, and splashing through puddles is part of the run for me. If it’s improving your peripheral vision for free, then that’s a great side effect; goodness knows how much premiership football teams spend on peripheral vision exercises.

The “Chin-Up” expression is normally only used when people are down in the dumps, in fact the only time I remember being told to keep my chin up was when I had been dumped. But my extensive research (!) shows that you should be keeping your chin up all the time, and you will be even more positive, motivated and creative.

I made a conscious effort to keep my head up for the rest of my run (just over 5k around Highgate Woods), and came up with several other ideas, more than usual in fact, so I had to write them down as soon as I got back, before guzzling down my normal pint of water. I also recorded my best time for several weeks, which was nice too!

So if you want to be more creative or more motivated, keep your chin up, and whether someone’s just been dumped or not, if they’re shoe-gazing, tell them to do the same.