Carly
Image: Carly, running in the park.
I’m Carly, mum of two girls aged 10 and 6. In 2020 I found the courage to attend a fitness dance class. I’d not done any exercise in a long time and having suffered with mental health problems, it was a big step for me. I loved it, it was an hour on a Saturday morning. It became my ‘me time’.
When Lockdown hit the only break from the house was the daily local walk. Although my fitness class had gone on Zoom, it wasn’t the same. I’d heard of Couch to 5K but had never ran in my life. I downloaded the app and gave it a go. For the first few weeks I ran around a local park and took the kids, bike and the dog. I didn’t realise how much I would enjoy running and each week was harder, but I could see my progress.
Once the runs got longer, the kids and dog couldn’t keep up, so I knew I had to change my run times. I started running early in the morning before anyone had got up. I was out by 6 a.m. and back by 6.30. In the shower and fresh for the day. By mid-August I had completed my first ever 5K. I could not believe I had done it.
Running is such a good mental break from all life’s stresses. No matter how hard it is to get out, no matter what the weather, you just have to remind yourself once you’ve done it, you finish feeling so much better.
