Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff – Just Sweat

Alex Hadfield is one of my favorite friends from the files of “friends I haven’t met in 3D yet”

She is the author of the hilarious and sassy Woah Mumma blog and for the past 18 months or so has been a great friend to me. We have shared the ups and downs of our lives with many a laugh.

Alex recently took on my 5km challenge and has achieved it, she has also generously volunteered to support the Afghan Women’s Writing Project on her blog.

Knowing she has conquered the 5km , I asked her to write a guest piece to inspire! We have a great inspiring each other thing going on here, hope she will do the same for you.

I should note Alex told me that if she conquered the 5kms she would up her pledge from $30 to $100.

And guess what?

She did.

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff – Just Sweat

Hi.

My name is Alex.

I am a chronic multi-tasking, procrastinating, insomniac mother of four.

I have often found myself power walking on a treadmill while reading a novel while predicting when the next load of laundry will be dry.

I can watch The Rachael Zoe Project while scrubbing the floor to ensure that my lounge room is spick and span enough for my kids to drop their sand and bark filled sneakers (why do they keep filling playgrounds with this crap???) when they get home from school.

I like to enter 12 week challenges.

Then 6 weeks in, I like to buy a 4L cask of wine and enjoy a week long hangover.  Because exercise and eating healthy can be quite insert expletive boring.

This year I made it to 9 weeks.  An ear infection and weeks of rain that saw all of us trapped in the house for days on end brought my enthusiasm to an end.

Sanity was tested.

I’d lost 9 kgs but I wasn’t at the rippling ‘after photo’ stage that I wanted to be.

Again.

Doh.

Then Sharni  mentioned that she would be starting a 5 km running challenge for The Afghan Womens Writing Project.

And ooh err, don’t I love a challenge?

I’ve never been a runner.

I’m a very fast walk/ reader.

So for once in my life I decided to take Sharni’s advice and slow down.

Do one thing at a time and be in the moment.

I took up running.

It hurt.

Most days I had to run with a pram full of two irritating little children who would shout  “ Go faster Mum!” when I was struggling to get up the next hill.

I was sweating.

I wasn’t sweating the small stuff.

Trivial issues like the floor and laundry lost all importance.

I could finally clear my head.

And for once  I did it.

Nearly every day since Sharni started her challenge I have run with her.

It has hurt me.

My knees are shot.

but at least she has cute shoes!

But this morning the husband and I drove to the beach at 5.30am and attempted a 5km run.

It wasn’t a race, it was a test of endurance.

I giggled my head off because I got to pop bluebottles the whole way through.

But I did it.

I ran 5km nonstop.

And when I finished I wanted to do it again.

Amazing.

So from a procrastinator, slacker, giver uperer (new word)…when Sharni asked me what my fitness inspiration was …well, it was her.

Alex and her training crew

It was your idea Sharni and I figured if you can battle through the bugs and the flies and the heat…my personal challenge was only half as hard.

You can do it.

If you haven’t pledged already, do it.