I Move For Me: Alyssa Gunn
Written by Alyssa Gunn
Alyssa is a full time mum, full time teacher, full time lover of life. Figuring out how to ‘have it all’ and having a brilliant time trying.
April 2017. As I sat wiping the tears from my eyes, as I do every year, watching the London Marathon, I marvelled at the strength and perseverance of the thousands of people running. Such stories of inspiration and hope always get me. As I sat on my sofa, the wrong side of 35 years old, a divorced, single mum of five years, feeling lethargic and hugely unfit, I felt, quite frankly, pretty bad about myself. In that moment I decided that this was the year that I was going to get moving and start doing some form of exercise.
I was fired up and raring to go! But… what exercise could I possibly do?! I had never been sporty. PE at school was my idea of actual hell! There was no way I could join a gym. The thought of all those fit, beautiful people working out whilst I lumbered around, having no clue what I was doing filled me with absolute horror. I liked the idea of going to fitness classes, but being alone with two children, made childcare and the additional cost of that another barrier… So, I settled on the idea of attempting running. I knew that I would never achieve anything like what those heroes running the marathon were, but I’d give it a go and see if I could manage getting to the end of my road without dying. With that, I downloaded the Couch to 5K app and with my sons in tow, we completed the first, very gentle session together. And what I discovered that day in April 2017, was the first of many, many occasions that I would surprise myself.
After my initial feelings of fear and apprehension, I soon realised that not only did I find it easier than I had anticipated, but I actually enjoyed the running sessions! I loved being outdoors and the feeling I had after each run: not only an enormous sense of pride but also a ‘glowing’ kind of tired – not the emotionally, mentally drained tired that I usually felt as I tried to juggle the demands of a full time job with being a single parent.
I found myself looking forward to my next run. In no time at all, I achieved my goal of running 5K. It wasn’t graceful and I wasn’t fast, but I had done it. That gave me a boost of confidence that I hadn’t felt in a very long time, and decided to set myself a new goal – running 10K. 10K led to a half marathon. And in my new found state of positivity, I entered the ballot for the 2018 London Marathon, not expecting to actually get a place. I knew many people who entered year upon year, to no avail.
In the week of my 36th birthday, I came home from work one evening to see an incredible sight staring up at me from my doormat: A London Marathon magazine with the words, “YOU’RE IN!” I felt shocked. And then sick. And then excited. This was really happening!
Finally the 22nd April 2018 rolled around and I found myself at the start line of the London Marathon. My experience of that day is a story in itself, but to summarise, it was one of the most incredible days of my life.
A wonderful legacy of that day, aside from the fundraising, is that six of my female friends, who had never run before, have taken up running and are loving it. There is so much that I’m proud of, but to know that my experience inspired others, is amazing.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is that YOU CAN DO IT. And by ‘it’, I mean, anything that you set your mind to - it doesn’t have to be running a marathon. What I’ve learned is that the only difference between the ‘me’ in April 2017 and the ‘me’ today, is mind set. I thought that being a busy, working mum was a reason that I couldn’t factor regular exercise into my week. How wrong I was! As women, we almost always put everyone else before ourselves. We are constantly trying to juggle our many roles. We are forever multi-tasking. But investing in your physical and mental health, is not selfish. It is necessary. It really, really is.
We women are incredible beings.
