I studied two degrees at University – Mining Engineering and Environmental Earth Science.
One day, in an effort to really highlight my environmental efforts, and with absolutely no ulterior motive, I decided to enter a Miss Earth beauty pageant.
We wore bikinis when we were talking about the particular environmental issue that we were passionate about. Very serious. Very lofty.
Anyway, because I’d entered this beauty pageant, I was going to a salon in Bondi to get a spray tan.
Of course, because I was at uni, I was broke. And broke uni students don’t catch taxis, they catch the bus (Uber wasn’t around back then. Nor were smartphones or almond lattes).
So I was getting a tan to get pageant ready, and I was also eating a can of tuna every day to get pageant ready. I’d probably read that tuna was good to eat before a big event in some trashy magazine, but I’m sure they meant the tuna in spring water – the stuff that tastes like watery cardboard.
Not me. My pick was the Sirena tuna in olive oil.
I would also buy a big bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to drench the oily tuna in.
(I really had no idea what I was doing).
The Sirena tuna was cheaper at the supermarket in Bondi, so after my spray tan, I went to the shops and stocked up.
I stacked ten cans of tuna neatly in my basket and also added a large bottle of discounted olive oil and a small bottle of non-discounted balsamic vinegar.
At the checkout, I carefully packed all ten cans of tuna, the large olive oil bottle and the small balsamic vinegar bottle into my backpack – ‘cos even back then, plastic was a no go, y’know? Miss Earth, everyone!
I strode purposefully out of the shops, headed towards the bus stop. My shoulders strained under the straps, weighed down by at least twenty kilograms of tuna, oil and vinegar.
The 391 bus, my bus, careened around the corner, so I started to pick up my speed. Like I said, I was carrying an extra twenty kilos and so it took a while for me to pick up momentum, but once I was off, I was off.
But, I was eventually running so fast that I seemed to lose control of the backpack.
The canvas must have split under the weight because, before I knew what was happening, I was sliding out of control towards the bus stop, as waves of olive oil and balsamic vinegar broke free on the pavement around me.
My fellow bus catching folk looked at me agape. For a lot of these people, the 391 was their bus too, so they continued to line up as I came to a spinning, oily stop behind them.
I could see three of my yellow tuna cans in the gutter. Two came to a stop against the bus wheels. Who knows where the other five had ended up. Probably down the gutter, and out into the ocean in an ironic, awful end to my career as Miss Earth.
Learning to run after having kids can feel a bit like this.
Just when you’ve started getting into the swing of your training plan, and picked up a little momentum, something messes up, your kid gets sick or your work shifts change and suddenly you’re sliding into a group of people, limbs akimbo, covered head to toe in olive oil.
Well, maybe not quite like that. But you get my gist.
So, I’ve spent the last six months creating a running program specifically for Mums.
It will launch next February, with three distances to choose between (5km, 10km and 21km). I’ll run live group coaching calls with me and our dedicated coach, we’ll have a big group race day, live sessions with guest experts, the training programs will be reviewed by women’s health specialists and I’ll share tips on how to actually make your training sessions happen.
Like, how do you manage to finish a run? What do you do when you feel like quitting? How do you navigate Mum guilt? And what do you think about on a run to make it easier?
I’m so pumped for it all to come together.
If you’re keen to learn more about it, or know someone else who might be, pop your details on the waiting list, and I’ll keep you in the loop!
Turia x
PS – If you like what they read, and want more from me, why not join my letter gang right here. I promise to the best thing in your inbox, every single week 🙂
PPS – I still eat a lot of that tuna. The oily kind. It’s delicious.
