I never thought I would be a runner. As a teenager I was the one who was involved in everything but. My Exercise Induced Asthma really held me back in terms of sports like cross-country.
As an adult and after three babies I never thought I would because I couldn’t sneeze without wetting myself, let alone run a couple of kilometres up the road.
After surgery and a lot of physio, I told my surgeon of my plans to keep moving: not giving up the Netball I loved and learning to run. She told me that it wasn’t a good idea. I had little core strength and my pelvic floor wouldn’t cope.
So again I gave up that idea. I started walking. Apparently I walk fast – as fast as some people run. I made it to the point that I wasn’t going to get any faster unless I started jogging a little. I gave it a go. February 2013 I could do a 1km time trial in 9.46mins. By June I had it down to 7.14mins. But I had to work on my core a little harder.
I also hit a wall with the fact that I couldn’t sustain any distance – I only wanted to be able to run 5km comfortably. My cardio fitness was non-existent and my head would get in the way.
So over Summer I let it go. I worked on my core in the pool A LOT. Played with my kids and within that year I had lost 15kgs. I really think that this started to help with my ability to start running again. My bottom did not make its own sound when it went up and down anymore (it still goes up and down!) I wasn’t trying to lug all that around.
But I was still struggling with motivation and my head getting in the way of my runs. So when Kate contacted me and told me about the Learn to Run course I knew I had to do it.
Now I am running twice a week (sometimes more), playing netball and golf. I’m smashing our runs for Week 8 of the program and even though I am a couple of weeks behind I’m am ticking off one goal at a time.
I am motivated, thanks to a small bunch of gorgeous women who are doing this with me. We have all had our triumphs; a few injuries to overcome and we have all slowly started putting our health and fitness first.
I should tell you up front that at first I hated the intervals. They were hard. I thought the 3 minute ones were going to kill me. Obviously I survived and I’m running 8-minute intervals at pretty much the same pace. Much more comfortably. In fact I can run a kilometre now at less that 5.45mins. I never thought that was possible!
I really think that the support of Kate and the Operation Move team has been so vital in helping me get in the right headspace. I also hope that I have been a small inspiration to the other women in our group because they have no idea how much they have pushed and inspired me.
I love that I am surprising and making myself proud every single time I am out there having a go. Why don’t you surprise yourself and check out the Operation Move courses today?
If you’d like to learn more about Annaleis’ life in the country, you can follow her blog; Teapots and Tractors.
You can find out more about learning to run with Operation Move and experience for yourself the care, friendship and support that has helped shape Annaleis journey too. Click here for more details.