getting active!

In the last week or so a few things have happened that have really inspired me to get more active. Anyone who knows me can tell you how much I DO NOT like sport or exercise or any particularly strenuous activity really. Having now had a baby and making a conscious effort to eat more healthily it seems a good time to try and change this. Not just for me but because in the not so distant future I’ll be running around after Emma.

I always hated PE at school and other than just not being any good I’m not sure where this originally stemmed from. Perhaps embarrassment or feeling self-conscious I can’t truly remember. I do know that by the time I was a teen I would do anything to avoid attending those classes. As such I never really achieved any reasonable level of fitness.

In more recent years I have half-heartedly signed up to gyms and started aerobics classes but I never lasted more than a few sessions and achieved nothing.

I am very lucky in that I don’t need to get active in order to lose weight or for any medical reason, but then I never used to have the motivation that brings either. Just vaguely wanting to feel fitter didn’t seem to do it.

However, during the last few months of pregnancy my life became very sedentary and even these first few months of motherhood I have been quite often sofa-bound. I have also found that certain muscles I never used to think about now pull a lot more easily or just aren’t up to the task anymore. Not to mention our lovely new house is on top of a large hill and walking up the hill with a pushchair kills me. All this coupled with wanting to be able to run around with and after my little girl in the future, without feeling tired, out of breath, or achey the next day is now my inspiration and motivation to get moving.

My motivation

Given that I have exactly zero fitness and zero stamina I had a little look into things I could do that would fit into my days with Emma. I thought running would be the way to go, except I can’t run. I mean really, a mad man could chase me wielding an axe with one intention and by the time I reached the end of the road I would probably keel over and beat him to it. I was just thinking about that when I stumbled on the Couch to 5K plan.

There are versions of this all over the internet but the specific plan and resources I intend to use are the NHS C25K plan. This is a slow and gradual plan that over 9 weeks takes you from jogging in 1 minute stretches to running for half an hour or 5Km (3.1 miles) three times a week. It actually sounds like something I can do just as long as I stick with it. Oh and it’s free to do!

It’s the sticking with it where I usually struggle but I’m hoping that blogging will help. My intention is to write a post after each run about how well it went (or more likely awfully) and hopefully this will keep me going.

So today I purchased the first pair of trainers I have ever bought myself that cost more than a fiver and didn’t come from a supermarket and my first run is tomorrow morning!

Wish me luck!

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