Rebooting my Fitness
I’m a runner, regular gym goer and probably the fittest I have ever been despite having had 3 children and now being in my mid forties. However, my fitness levels were never always like this as I lacked motivation and thought there were too many barriers stopping me from leading a healthy active lifestyle. This all changed two years ago when I met up with my friend Pip in the park.
Rewind 2 Years
We were enjoying or rather rejoicing the fact it was the last week of the Summer Holidays. It was one of those play dates when you let your kids run riot and don’t pay any attention to who they are terrorising and/or annoying while you sit putting the world to rights. It’s like white noise after a while; don’t you just love parents who do that? Believe me, filtering it out is a highly evolved coping mechanism of mine.
Sat in the sunshine, I was having the usual moan about life being manic, being overweight, feeling unfit, not having the time or money to do anything about it or more importantly not having the motivation. Always the same cycle of events. Hectic day at work, hectic post school run routine trying to feed the kids, help them with homework, prepare supper, sort the kids for the next day, reading of bedtime stories, getting the kids to bed …….. Suddenly it would be about 9pm (ish) and there I am flopping in front of the TV, looking particularly glamorous in joggers and stained sweatshirt watching whatever happens to be on. Might I add normally about this time one of my kids would be likely to yell, “Mum! I haven’t done my Maths Homework and its due in tomorrow” or “Mum!!! I’ve ripped by school trousers!” You get the picture? Sound familiar?
Anyway, back to conversation with my friend, Pip. Instead of joining in with the usual moan (admit it we all love a Pity Party) she mentioned that she’d started running and now ran 5km 2 or 3 times a week. She went on to say she was contemplating taking part in an organised 5km running event and was just looking for one to enter. No! Surely not? Like me she claimed to be the busiest parent in the world!
Wow!
That stopped me in my tracks. Pip was in the same boat as me; 3 children, a husband that travelled a lot and generally was always home late ( if home at all), plus holding down a job herself. Interested in this revelation, I wanted to know more. Read more
Then it started to happen; the prospect of putting my trainers on and getting out for a run rather uninspiring. I suppose it was a case of now needing something else to motivate me to maintain my fitness.
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