That’s the name of the whatsapp group I’m part of with two close friends of mine, who also have young children. In the last few weeks we’ve ordered our other halves to be home on time from work, so that the three of us can hit the streets and run side by side. Running with friends has definitely helped me shed a few more pounds lately and I feel so much fitter. Here’s how I got back to running after having my little girl…
I started running for just 10-15 minutes once a week and would alternate between a jog and a fast walk. After having my daughter, my hips have felt quite stiff and so this felt a lot more comfortable for me to do. The first run I went on was tough and I finished thinking I’d never run properly again! The next run was better and I made a bigger effort to warm up and stretch off afterwards. Out of frustration on a few of these earlier runs, I continued jogging even though I was in discomfort – thinking that maybe I just needed to run through the pain so that I would get better quicker. Once I had stopped I realised how foolish that was, as I could barely walk after. Note to all – do take your time when getting back into exercise and listen to your body!
Once I felt I could accomplish a walk and jog with relative ease once a week, I challenged myself to jog for the complete 10-15 minutes. After a month or so of doing this I found I was able to run for 25 minutes without stopping. However, old habits crept in and I started to feel less motivated to get out and run – not sure why – and so making a commitment to others that we’ll all run together has been truly amazing. My friends really spur me on and there’s no more cancelling jogs I’ve promised to go on, as i’ll be letting my friends down as well as myself.
There are also loads of running training schedules you can find online too. These can be good motivators as well. Here’s an example – 10k Training Plan.