I saw the post on the email this week and I just thought I would offer to share my story!
I’m nearly 50 years old and for most of my adult life I’ve battled with anorexia; I saw my body as something to be controlled rather than celebrated and enjoyed and I put it through some dreadful punishments……
Thankfully by the time I reached the ripe old age of 44, I was in a good enough place both physically and mentally to fall pregnant with my son, having been told I’d probably never have children. Fast forward a couple of years to lockdown at the start of the pandemic, and I was feeling depressed, fat and sluggish working from home and trying to care for my then, very hectic 2 year old! So I thought I would give Couch To 5k a go, just to give me a reason to get out of the house!
I hated every minute of those first few weeks but then I started to realise how good I felt after a run; my head felt clearer, I was sleeping better and I was (very!) slowly starting to like how amazing my old legs were and how powerful my body was….
A few 10km races and 2 years later, last year (I still can’t believe it!) I completed the London Landmarks Half Marathon (not in a great time; my knees broke at the 16km point) and raised nearly £800 for Tommy’s baby charity….. Over the last few months since my son has started school and I’ve increased my working hours, my running has taken a bit of a dip (not enough time!!!!) but I’m still out there plodding away either in the park or on my running machine and I’m sure that now the mornings are getting lighter I’ll get back into my early morning runs before the boy gets up!
Running has helped me control if not totally conquer some of my mental health demons and I just wish I’d discovered the power of my trainers a lot sooner…….
