Getting back into running

Before children, I was a bit of a gym bunny. Along with my husband, we were there four times a week. I would swim, I did Body Pump classes, I cycled, I stepped and I Power Plated. Things took a bit of a hit when Harry arrived, with then just a brief recovery period before Mia came along. It was not so much the struggle to fit it in, but the constant tiredness made bed a much more attractive option.

It took me a while to get into running on the treadmill, but since I gave it a go a couple of years ago I've found it to be my favourite form of exercise. It's satisfying, I really feel like I've had a good workout when I finish. I also like being able to adjust the workout to my fitness level. By increasing your time and speed, over just a few weeks you can quickly see your stamina improve.

My target is to get back to being able to run 5k in 30 minutes. That seems like a good amount to me -  30 minutes is long enough for a good workout but not so long that I get bored. I need to take it a little easy as I suffered from separated stomach muscles in pregnancy, but my physiotherapist signed me off several months ago, and was happy for me to begin running again as long as I built up to it.

My method is to spend 30 minutes on the treadmill, alternating between brisk walking and running. Gradually I am increasing the amount of time that I spend running and decreasing the amount of time that I spend walking. In my last session I managed to run for 26 out of the 30 minutes. The next step is to run for the entire 30 minutes, but at a slower speed, then gradually increase the speed so that I can cover 5k.

I'm hoping that in a few weeks time I'll be at my goal!