Morning Pogue,

I haven’t run for two weeks now. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to. It’s a combination of moving home, being on a road trip, living in temporary accommodation. The routine’s gone! But this week I move into a place of some permanence, well at least for six weeks, so this week I will run. I’m looking forward to it, out there on the street for an hour, my own company. But one thing that I know. Those first few runs will come hard because even a break of just two weeks is telling on fitness levels. If two weeks ago I was so far up the mountain I’ve now slipped down and will have to work hard to get back and work consistently to get beyond.

And it’s not just running and fitness that works like that. No, it’s the same rule in all areas of life. You reach a standard and you have to keep on turning up and doing that thing to maintain your ability or even improve. In all of life consistency is important. Turning up and putting in the hard hours.

Life is a crazy thing about that. You actually can’t stand still. Muscles begin to deteriorate almost immediately. Ability set aside starts to diminish. The flow slows and starts to falter. My writing that has just ticked over for the last three weeks becomes limited and the flow of ideas slows. I read somewhere that to be a writer you should write every day. When you have nothing to say you write anything until inspiration shows up and the flow commences. Just do it. Work it. No particular place to run? Run anyway. Work your body so that when you do have somewhere to go you are ready and able.

Achievement is preceded by routine and effort. Persistence supersedes talent, genetics, upbringing and good fortune. Even if you can only tick over at the moment, persist as there can be no success without persistence. Maintain your position and don’t fall back.

Yours, planning that run,

Wic.