Half Marathon for the Non Sporty
Well that doesn’t make sense does it??? I remember struggling to run four hundred metres around the school oval as a child. I am not sure why, I was always outdoors shooting hoops, playing elastics and playing handball, but running and distance was definitely not my thing! My Dad used to say to me, “you are like me, you have no stamina”. Well guess what Dad, you were wrong about this one and probably wrong about your abilities as well.
I have polycystic ovary syndrome which means I struggle with maintaining my weight and falling pregnant - conquered that one, I have twin boys and a daughter - but this condition doesn’t interfere with my daily life,
in fact it probably drives a lot of what I do to keep fit these days.My doctor once said “you can eat ice cream
but you will have to run to the ice cream shop”. Isn’t that perfect? For years I resisted this, I didn’t want to
run to the ice cream shop and never contemplated I could run to the ice cream shop.I didn’t want to be the one that had to run to the ice cream shop.I don’treally enjoy being told what to do:)) Then a new friend asked me to join her on a fun run.On Australia Day, 26 January 2012, I ran 6km along one of the most beautiful foreshores in Australia along the Mornington Peninsula on a picture perfect day and that was that, I have not
stopped running since. My friend has just enrolled in her Masters of Fitness Training to follow her passion, us middle aged gals are getting out there and grasping opportunities. I can’t say I love exercising every time, but I do love eating ice cream!
Running is something I do with my sons which is a really precious gift for all of us.They are much faster than me and can run much further than I ever could at their age but we go to events together and we come home together and I hope this will be a bond that keeps us coming back together over the years ahead.Hopefully my daughter will join us when she is older.After running the inaugural 14km City to South here in Brisbane in June and completing my first 14km Spartan Race in July, I stopped resisting my son’s requests to do a half
marathon and upgraded my Brisbane Marathon entry from the 10km distance and added my son who enjoys the challenge of distance. Am nervous, but determined to get this done, so am very much looking forward to August 4 this year.
So a few take things to think about today.What assumptions were made about you as a child that you have managed to smash as an adult? What precious rituals do you have with your children that you hope will last into the future? What is holding you back from starting something new? What amazing journey is your friend going to introduce you to?
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Having not done any sport since my school days I decided, in my late 30's, that I was going to run the London Marathon! This caused much hilarity in the family which only made me more determined. My first training run was about 10 mins and I thought I was going to die! Since then I have completed 3 marathons, 6 half marathons and countless 10ks. Good luck :)