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#99: Tanya Chouhan: Embrace slow running and run for enjoyment, not speed
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In this episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast, I chat with Tanya Chouhan, aka Slower Running Mummy on Instagram. Tanya opens up about her personal journey of embracing running - not for speed or distance, but for the pure joy it brings. She shares her experiences with miscarriage, grief, and how running became a powerful healing outlet.
Tanya emphasises the importance of running for enjoyment and the freedom of shedding the pressure of time and pace. We explore the critical role running can play in boosting mental health, especially for busy mums, and how setting a positive example for your children is key to balancing life and fitness. Throughout the conversation, Tanya sheds light on body image, health, and her philosophy on prioritizing well-being over societal expectations.
Whether you're a seasoned runner or just starting out, this episode delivers valuable insights on how anyone can run - at any pace - and still enjoy the process. Tanya’s journey is a testament to the power of self-care, healing, and embracing authenticity in both running and life.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Introduction to the Episode
02:13 – Meet Tanya Chohan: The Slower Running Mummy
02:48 – Tanya’s Running Journey and How She Overcame Grief
05:30 – Promoting Enjoyment Over Performance in Running
12:23 – Balancing Running with a Busy Life as a Mum
22:20 – Juggling Motherhood and Fitness: Finding Balance
22:57 – Tackling Cultural Perspectives on Mum Guilt
24:02 – Discovering Your ‘Why’ for Fitness and Running
25:22 – Building an Online Community for Like-minded Runners
26:30 – Embracing Authenticity in Your Running Journey
30:59 – Challenging Common Perceptions of Health and Body Image
35:04 – The Importance of Prioritizing Self-Care and Mental Health
38:21 – Final Thoughts on Health, Wellness, and Running
43:07 – Closing Remarks and Call to Action
Links & Resources:
- Connect with Tanya Chouhan on Instagram here
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
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Disclaimer: This episode touches on sensitive topics, including miscarriage and grief. Listener discretion is advised.
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Transcript
Introduction to Tanya Chauhan and Her Running Philosophy
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Kate Hamilton health podcast. So in today's episode, I chat with Tanya Chauhan and Tanya is known on Instagram as slower running mummy. And her whole page is about running for pure enjoyment.
00:00:27
Speaker
taking away the pressures of time and distance and just running for the the sheer enjoyment of it. So we talk a lot about her own journey, her experience of miscarriage and grief, which led her to start running. She prides herself in, you know, really just focusing on getting out and running rather than pressurizing herself to do a certain time. What's really important to her is the enjoyment of it and life is already stressful enough as it is. Why should we be putting these extra pressures on ourselves to make our hobbies a stressful occasion?
Balancing Motherhood and Running
00:01:03
Speaker
Although she's a self-proclaimed slow runner, she has ran three half marathons and regularly on her long runs is running 12 to 15 kilometres.
00:01:14
Speaker
So she is no beginner. She has kept this consistently up over the past few years and really has built some serious achievements in there. We talk a lot as well about being busy mums and how important it is to be organized, to prioritize time for you, how much that pays off on you know setting a good example for your children. We talk about how body image has nothing to do with health and how healthy looks different on everybody and that we should be exercising for our health and for enjoyment for our mental health rather than to look a certain way. I really, really enjoyed this conversation. I found it hugely empowering and I really believe that there should be more people like Tanya in this world sharing their message that if she can do it, so can you. So I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. And without further ado, here is the episode with Tanya Chauhan.
Running as Therapy and Coping with Grief
00:02:13
Speaker
Tanya, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited that we finally actually managed to organize this and we're going to have this chat. Hi, Kate. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. I'm happy to be here. I'm really excited to talk all things, not just all things running, running mindset, mental health, health in general. I've started my own little running journey of very early stages of it, but but i'm I'm really enjoying it. So I'm really interested in kind of talking around this topic at the minute while I'm exploring it myself.
00:02:41
Speaker
Before we get started, do you want to let everyone know a bit about your background? What's got you to where you are today and what it is that you do now? Right. My name is Tanya. Apart from my nine to five business as usual work, I am a runner. Well, a slow runner. I always make sure that I added as a side note that I'm a slow runner. So people don't have many big expectations of me. I'm fairly new to running myself a bit in off and on.
00:03:08
Speaker
Really, so the first time I started running was actually back in 2019, start of 2020. And the thing that started me running is not to do with health, not to do with fitness, it was actually for grief. So that's when I had my first miscarriage and it was quite late in the pregnancy as well. So that was running was my outlet to kind of process the loss because When it's a live baby, it's different, but when it's miscarriage, I think people are just sad for you for a little time and then they just get on with your life. But I think you as a mom, it stays with you. And it really helped me process that loss, especially during COVID, being indoors with my young
00:03:52
Speaker
one-year-old boy so I think that really helped me getting outside just getting my thoughts in in line so that was my first leg to starting running but it was just as a hobby at the time I was not seeing myself running like longer distances or time-wise that was just 15-20 minutes outdoor time fresh air that's it yeah and that's initial you know short 20 minute run where it takes I would imagine in that very difficult time took you out of your thoughts a little bit where you're focusing on your breathing you you're like ah and then feeling good feeling proud of yourself afterwards and just having that little yes but like you said time to process through exactly because you're outside out of your mind and in your body so you're feeling your body and
The Personal Growth and Identity in Running
00:04:36
Speaker
you're just like okay this is what's happening your breathing is hard you're kind of feeling
00:04:40
Speaker
what they say, feeling alive, gives you a fresh perspective to life that, okay, helps you. For me, it worked this as a therapy in the sense that it helped me absorb the loss and kind of process how I need to move forward. So I would say running for me has been absolutely godsent. It's not just a hobby, it's something, it's just my whole personality now. I really miss it if I don't do it for a long time.
00:05:05
Speaker
Amazing. So tell us a little bit more about what this has grown into since those early days. What kind of running are you doing now? And what kind of running are you promoting you know with your social media? The last few months I haven't been running because since I've been back from my holiday to India. I've just not been well generally, so with calls and coughs. So I have not been running very diligently, but I did manage like two or three runs, very short ones, 15, 20 minutes now.
00:05:30
Speaker
But before I started this page, the reason I started slower running Mummy is because I, as a runner, always felt out of place in the sense that when you go to races or you tell people that you're a runner, automatically their first question is, what's your 5K time? What's your 10K time? And I feel that there's so much stigma around timing and finishing times mode more or less. And I wanted to get away from that. And I wanted people to understand that First of all, anyone can run, anybody can run. And running doesn't have to be always a stressor. So you don't have to kind of feel like, oh, I didn't do this pace. I'm not good enough. Or I need to push myself harder. I encourage and promote that running is just letting yourself go. It can have easy days, hard days.
00:06:19
Speaker
It's just your connection with your mental self, just dialing it back to who you are as a person. Because even when you're running, I'm not, I'm not a mum, I'm not a wife, I'm not anyone. I'm just a body who's trying to kind of survive this run. Yes. Oh, I can relate to this so much. Just the actual joy and celebration of running. I was actually talking to a running coach a few weeks back on the podcast and I was saying how I'm at these early stages, whereas I don't have Strava. I don't know what my 5k time is. I'm doing a couch to 5k app and I'm genuinely really proud of myself. Well, you know, like I'm like, I can run for 20 minutes straight now. And then you say, say it to someone and they automatically ask you, if what's your 5k time? Oh, and and it's not good enough. But then just rubbish. sheet That's your personal achievement. Even if you ran for 20 minutes, because you were running zero minutes before that.
00:07:11
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. And now like my next challenge is I'm working up towards 25 minutes, being nervous, being like, Oh, can I run 25 minutes? And when I do being really proud of myself, and it's funny cause I put my little screenshot up on my, on my stories and people will message me and be like, that's a really good time. Now I still have, like have had little like walking intervals at the minute. that You're going to do a really good 5k time.
00:07:34
Speaker
I don't care about the time. I genuinely just want to be able to run 5k. Exactly. This is what it does to you. It tells you to push a little more next time, a little more, a little more. So you're pushing those boundaries that used to make you uncomfortable. So as me as a person, I would never go to a gym. So I'd always make a gym membership, just pay money out every month, but I'd never see the face of it. But then running is something I stuck to and it really made me go outside. I guess that's what happens when you enjoy something. When you're doing something you enjoy, you kind of start pushing yourself. Oh, I did 20 minutes today. Can I do 25? Can I do 30? Then can I do 5k, 10k, 15k? And you're just setting higher goals for yourself. regardless of pace, regardless of time, because if you stick to it, it will come, all of those things will come eventually as well.
Challenging Personal Limits and Overcoming Stigmas
00:08:24
Speaker
Yeah. And I know some people enjoy that competitive aspect of of running and you know, and that's fine, but I think for a lot of us that puts us off or, you know, it's like, Oh yeah, I'm running, but like, I'm i'm only doing 5k. It can't get it under 30 minutes.
00:08:37
Speaker
It's like so, what your your body is allowing you to run 5k. What percentage of the population can actually run 5k? I was just about to say the average person doesn't run. So no matter what you're doing, you're doing more than the average person. And that's what my message of encouraging people is that no matter how you look, no matter how your pace is, just go out, have fun. Yeah. And I find at the minute, I still have that automatic, it's it's actually getting smaller, but I have this automatic reaction when I'm like, oh,
00:09:04
Speaker
I have to run this morning, today's running day. like ah Like I have the conversation in my head, there's two of me. And then I'm like, okay, you actually enjoy it when you're out doing it. But it's like this automatic thing where it's like, oh, the effort of it. And you're thinking about what you have to do, but it's like, just get out and do the warmup walk. And once he gets in and it's like that five minute action. There are lots of people who reach out to me and ask me, oh, we dread going on our runs and we just put it off because you're going too fast.
00:09:29
Speaker
maybe if you slow down the pace and maybe not not set so many expectations for yourself, you wouldn't dread going up for a run. If you just say, okay, I will allow myself to walk, I will allow myself to go slower, that's fine. If you just mentally think about that, that you're allowing yourself those graces, then I think you'd not be so miserable going out on your runs. It's people go too fast, too soon. So if you just take it slow, it should be fine.
00:09:55
Speaker
It's so true. This is something that running coach Rachel Conway said to me and i and she's run marathons. She was like, when you go for a run, allow yourself to stop, allow yourself to walk if you need to. And quite often when you take that pressure off yourself.
00:10:10
Speaker
You like, you probably just slow off. Even if you do walk a little bit, then you get the energy back to keep running again. And there's nothing wrong with that. And then I suppose as you get more used to running a slower run will allow you to recover. it That's what I'm really learning is listening to my body. I'm like, this is feeling a little bit hard now. Cause I run with my husband and he's way faster than me. He's trying to keep. keep slow with me say to him, I have to slow off a bit now and I will. And then I get my energy back in different times and I push forward a little bit more, but it is, you're so right. It's taking the pressure away or, you know, why are we always trying to make things so hard for ourselves? like and I think every run can't be better than the last run so we're consciously we're trying to be better than what we did last time which is going to burn ourselves out and b it's just not physically possible to be doing each run better than the last run so just have few hard workouts and then few easy ones just go for a saunter just a chill run and yeah
00:11:04
Speaker
doesn't have rocket science, especially people who start off like new runners. Even I was the same because they're enjoying it so much. They don't know what, what the boundaries are. So they're just doing it more often before they know it. They've got injuries. Yeah. And I think what you said there about every run not being better than the next.
00:11:22
Speaker
That was something I had to learn from, you know, coming from a background in strength training, where it is progressive overload, where you're trying to add that extra rep. You're trying to add that little bit of weight to try to slow that movement down or whatever you can to make it a little harder for your
Integrating Strength and Mindfulness into Running
00:11:35
Speaker
muscles each time and to be, to go out and be like, Oh my God, I feel like I could take on the world today. I'm definitely ready to run 5k. And then the next day it's going, can't.
00:11:42
Speaker
bre You know, it's and it's the ups and downs is a real good metaphor though, isn't it? For like life. ah Exactly. Yeah, life. Absolutely. You would have a really good strong hand at running because you come from a background of strength training. So you could avoid a lot of aches and pains the initial days and I think progress quicker than most of us who don't strength train and learn the hard way that strength training needs to be done. You have something you can't ignore.
00:12:10
Speaker
Exactly. If you're going to keep running long-term, you need to keep that particularly those hamstrings and those glutes strong and your core strong to keep the pressure off the joints and i getting a mix of both. But then I know, look, we we all live busy lifestyles that can be hard to manage. I wanted to actually ask you about something that I think you had said ah about running in general. You he said that hobbies shouldn't add to life's stress and they should be a relief.
00:12:34
Speaker
a release sorry so like why do we yeah why do we feel need to push ourselves so hard like if running is your hobby and quite often we'll put this pressure on ourselves too so for the first thing i would say is i started running very late in life so i'm 36 years old and i started what in my mid 30s so obviously and i have a full career going i have kids i have a family those are external stresses for me as it is and running If I am pursuing something I like, I don't want to have it to bear it bear me down with it. So I can't make it something that's challenging all the time. So which means I can't have all the hard workouts, which I know I'm going to fail if I'm doing them consecutively. And ultimately I started running because it brings me joy going outside, being one with nature, just hearing the the the nature come to me.
00:13:26
Speaker
So when I'm thinking about pace or time, I don't enjoy it as much. When I'm doing a speed workout, I don't enjoy it as much. So if you're doing a hobby that you like, you do not need to be make it competitive 100% of the time. Have a balanced ratio, maybe 50-50, you're doing hard workouts, so you give it your all. But then the other half, on your easy run, just be easy.
00:13:49
Speaker
just relax and go about it because that's the only time when my kids are not asking me for snacks 10,000 times of the day. So yes, I do want my runs to be stress free, but I'm not focusing on, oh, I've not done this, I've not done this, oh, I've not done this. So no, that kind of attitude does not come to me with on my runs.
00:14:07
Speaker
It's interesting that you say the connection with nature because I don't really feel that with my running yet, probably because I'm still concentrating so much on breathing and, you know, and so how I'm kind of holding my body. And i but so as as a strength coach, I'm like, am I using my hamstrings? Am I, you know, thinking about my form and all that? But I i find when I go out walking, like I know a lot of people will go out walking, they'll stick headphones on, they'll listen to a podcast or an audio book, which is great. Like, you know, I'm happy once ladies are getting up, getting out and moving. But like for me,
00:14:33
Speaker
What you're saying about that getting out in nature, I love to just get out there. I live in the countryside, which is great. So I'm really close to the beach and I still being able to listen to everything around me and just taking my surroundings. So I do that very much with my walking. So it's really interesting that you say that, that you, you get that from your running as well. It's a meditative practice.
00:14:51
Speaker
in a lot of ways, isn't it? Absolutely. You can feel a difference straight away when you're cooped up in four walls, looking at the screen or you're screaming kids at home. You go outside even for five minutes. You're just alone with your thoughts. And it just transformative. It just kind of, again, shifts your perspective, makes you feel alive. It's just like, oh my God, yes, fresh air. I'm grateful for today. i It just gives you that positive vibes naturally, even without trying. So it's a win-win.
00:15:21
Speaker
When you go out, do you go out for a certain amount of time or like, do you work towards a certain distance? I know you're not timing your runs, but are you like, I'm going out for a 12K run or? Usually like, cause now it's off season, and no racist plans. I'm just doing what I can, but during on season, which is anytime from January onwards is usually timed runs. So I go for an hour. So it's either time or distance.
00:15:47
Speaker
usually it's distance over the weekend where I'm doing a long run and time based ah during the weekday because I do it during my lunch hour. So what kind of distance have you worked yourself up to? The biggest distance I've done is a half marathon so I did three half marathons so far and I've done a few 10ks and three 5ks but when I go on my long run my sweet spot is 12k 12 to 15 kilometers when I go for a long run and out of pure enjoyment.
00:16:16
Speaker
Absolutely. I don't even listen to music, so i'm I'm that person now. I used to have a podcast or a music when I did my Couch to 5k plan, but now I just go out on the trails, nothing, just just me and the and the nature. Love it. And how long does it take to run?
00:16:32
Speaker
12 to feel like a long run at the weekend. I'm really really slow so for me a 10k is to one and a half hours so my 12k is around close to two hours one when hour 45-50 minutes that's because I run really slow I don't like it really hot where my heart rate's really pushing. I love that that you're removing the stigma And do you walk a little bit of the way or ah have you managed to find a slow enough pace that you're like, I just run the whole time? If I'm doing an interval, say it part of my longer and then I take walk breaks as much as I want to recover from those speed bursts of speed workouts. But otherwise I usually do a very slow pace and just carry on with that pace more like a jog than a run. Hence I encourage people that it doesn't have to be pace.
00:17:20
Speaker
You don't have to run for that distance if you want to do for a one hour jog run. Just go for that time. Don't have to pressurize yourself that I have to do it in a certain pace. Because if you stick to something you like, the pace, the speed, the agility will all come in time.
Managing Family, Running, and Self-Care
00:17:36
Speaker
Yeah. And making it something that you don't dread. And if you do dread it, asking yourself, why why am I dreading it? And that was a really good point that you said, you're probably pushing yourself too hard. How do you manage?
00:17:49
Speaker
Children work and fitness time and time again, my clients struggle with, you know, people that I'm speaking to online. It is a genuine struggle for women to try and, you know, high achieve in every area of life. I know some people. wake up really early to get their workouts in but that unfortunately doesn't it's not suitable for me because my kids wake up as soon as I wake up so I can't wake up early in the morning but I am fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to work from home so I run during my lunch breaks or if I've had a busy day then I'll
00:18:24
Speaker
make extra food during the week or the great day prior and then prior to prioritize my run the next day when the kids come home or when they're out with their ah with their dad for activities. So I make sure my husband is aware that these are the runs I have to do these days and I tell him the time. so We're both on the same page, so I do prioritise that time for myself. Either I block it out on my diary, on the laptop for my work, where I'm doing a lunch run, so that one hour I'm out of office, so I'm building that expectation that I'm not available that that one hour slot.
00:18:59
Speaker
Same it goes with my husband. So i am I always plan and prioritize. So I usually work on a normal workout routine. I do two strength training sessions a week and three runs, and I block out all those one hour sessions. My husband knows I have to go on my runs, so that's just a given.
00:19:18
Speaker
But it's tricky in the sense that when a man goes, or when my husband has to go, he just goes off, he gets up and he goes for the gym. However, me, I have to make sure the kids are fed everything, the snacks are ready. So I have like many to-do lists to do before I can actually head out the door. Even while I'm heading out the door, I have to cuddle a few crying faces before I can actually go out. So I don't think it's the same between him going out to his gym sessions and a mum going out to do her bit.
00:19:46
Speaker
I think you're right in most households anyway that that it is and you know we can spend time being frustrated and angry about it or we can be like right let's get organized and that's what it comes down to. It's forward planning, it's organization and like I love what you said that you're like it's two strength training three runners.
00:20:06
Speaker
There are appointments with yourself that you have scheduled into the schedule. You communicated with your husband. And I think that's really important for anyone listening. You have to communicate with the person that you're living with or the people that help you out. If you're, if you're not living with another adult, the support that you have around you to communicate, I need this for me and making that time for you is just so important.
00:20:26
Speaker
Exactly. And i've I've made, I'm also not just my husband, but also make it clear to my kids that mommy needs to exercise because mommy needs to look after her heart. Mommy needs to look after her body. Mommy needs to look after her. and So, I mean, I'm instilling those values in them as well. It's not just me going out for my 20 minutes of joy. No, it's not just that. So I am making sure that they understand how important it is to take care of your body, what you're putting in your body, what you're doing to look after your body.
00:20:54
Speaker
So I let them know that no, I have to go now because I have to do this because so I can be a good mum, so I can look after my body. It's just self-care is not just for yourself. You need to be an example to your children as well. Yeah, and children children do what they see, not what they're told.
00:21:13
Speaker
but When I'm doing my exercises now, my daughter, she's three, she comes in and she wants to be on the yoga mat with me. She wants to do exercises with me that, oh, I'm being strong like Mummy. I know I don't have the body structure of a typical person who goes to gym because I love food as well. But I think there's a right balance, isn't it? So I want to be that role model to my children, that Mummy's exercise.
00:21:38
Speaker
Mummies look after themselves. Mummy prioritizes workouts. It doesn't have to be outside. I do it at home. I don't have a gym membership, but I am committed to myself. I think it's just your commitment to yourself. That's a really good point as well with the resistance training at home. You don't need to go to a gym to be strong. Most like when I think about my clients, definitely a higher percentage of my clients do homework. It's And all are all you need are a couple of sets of dumbbells that you can build over time. You can start with your own body weight, just start adding to your collection over time. Especially if you've got, your if you have a three, how old are your children? My six and three. Six and three. So yeah, your kids are young, like, and it's it's very, especially if you're getting out running it, it is difficult to get that time for you. And it's so great at that age for them. And they want to join in. if yeah I remember that when my older two were that age and I used to work out at home.
00:22:36
Speaker
and they used to be up in town on the kitchen floor with me and it was it was yeah really cool. It feels special isn't it that oh I'm encouraging them to to be like adopt this healthy lifestyle. I'm not sure what they do when they're grown up but at least they want to do exercises, they want to look after their health, they want to eat healthy and I think that's that's a win for me as a mum.
00:22:56
Speaker
Yeah and I think it's really important to focus on this to remove any mum guilt. I know like in Irish culture like there's this very much this Irish mammy stereotype who's always there for her children puts everyone first and I know kind of coming down from generations a lot of us can have it in us where we're like oh like I feel guilty for taking it's selfish for me to do this it's you know this this belief that's in in the background when it's actually in fact You give so much more of yourself when you build your own cope without sounding like a t-shirt. It's very, very true.
00:23:27
Speaker
Absolutely. I think that that's the same mentality for Indian backgrounds. I am, an I come from India, my husband's born here. Mum guilt in the Indian community is like infinity. So any one minute you take for yourself, it's like, ah, da, da, da, da. But no, I have to consciously remove myself from that sort of thinking, that sort of vibe. And obviously I need to make my kids and my husband part of that discussion that this is important to not just me, us as a family,
00:23:58
Speaker
Because I want to be there for my kids in the long run. So it starts today, basically. And no matter what you do, you have to have a strong way like that. And I encourage anyone listening, you know, who's thinking of starting up running or, you know, any form of exercise or any form of habit change.
00:24:14
Speaker
The place to start is with your wife why. Why do you want to make these changes? And especially now as we're recording this, it's coming up towards Christmas, which will then in time be, you know, it'll be New Year's and everyone will be setting New Year's resolutions. And I know the statistics for New Year's resolutions aren't great, but I think the main difference is you can set an intention for 2025. And if you know why you want it, it makes a huge difference.
00:24:42
Speaker
Absolutely. The why is the driving force. It's everything in giving it your commitment, your time, your energy. My why is that I want to be healthy for my kids. So it doesn't mean that I have to deprive myself of things so I don't go on restrictive diets. But I do look after myself. I eat, try and eat healthy. I do enjoy cake.
00:25:04
Speaker
but then I also do look after my body. So I look, I do exercises, I go running, I do meditation, just to kind of look at, look after myself. So it doesn't really have to be no way or highway. It's like you need to find your balance and you need to find your why. The why is the driving course. The why is everything.
Inspiring Others through Social Media and Self-Belief
00:25:22
Speaker
Let's talk a little bit about your online community. So you started your Instagram page. You want us to take us through the journey of starting this page and what your community of slow runners has turned into.
00:25:33
Speaker
right this was a page i don't know why i started this page so one day i went on my run and i just like all right i'll just post this run i'm not a runner i'm not an athlete i am very far from anything related to sports So when I first started running, my family and friends, every everyone made fun of me. Oh, you can't even do 1K. What are you going to do? And then I started doing 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathon. And then one day I started this page and my family, my brother especially, he just made fun of me. What are you doing making pages? Nobody's going to follow you. Nobody, you're just going to be like, I was like, right. Okay. Nobody,
00:26:13
Speaker
Well, I think people resonated with the message. I did not think that so many people would follow me, build help me build a community so fast, touch wood. It's been a rollercoaster, but then one day just it was a barrage. And I think they resonate with the message that you do not need to have a certain body type.
00:26:36
Speaker
To be a runner, anyone can run. And the fact that I accept who I am as a runner, and I do not say, I'm going to be fast or I'm going to be this. I think that's what they resonate with. I think you hit the nail on the head. Everybody is sick of perfect.
00:26:52
Speaker
It's really, really refreshing to see someone on the internet be it authentically themselves. I'm like, I'm doing this for me. I'm sharing this so that it'll help others. And you're reaching a lot of people who feel that same way. I don't feel like I'm a, I'm a real runner in inverted commas, you know that. And they're like, Tanya is doing this. If Tanya can do this, I can do this. And I just think that's amazing. Give that inspiration to people.
00:27:17
Speaker
I used to go to races and I'd always just lurk in the background, like at the back, just feeling like I don't belong and I'm not fast enough, I'm not good enough. And I felt that there might be lots of other people who would have the same thoughts as me because being a slow runner is not great because people think, well, people don't think it's just your own personal thoughts that are self-inflicting and really dig a hole for yourself, your own thoughts. just kind of self-deprecating you. So I thought that there's going to be people like me who think that, oh, they're not good enough or they can't dress enough, dress up just because they're slow. And when I put myself out there, I i was absolutely gobsmacked with the amount of people who related with this, that they felt there are women who who don't go out running because they're uncomfortable of how their body looks and I have helped in my way through my page for these women to come out of their shell because the thing is if I can do it anyone can do it so the thing is that I am I'm an ordinary person and ordinary people relate to me because not everyone needs to be extraordinary
00:28:27
Speaker
ordinary being yourself is extraordinary in itself. It's actually your only superpower if we were just done a little bit more authentically ourselves but as well I think it's it's interesting to note that belief in self like it all starts from that belief in yourself like that reassurance that anyone listening that you're waiting for for someone to tell you Oh, I, I believe in you or you have my support. That won't come until you've believed in yourself first. So you say the people making fun of you, your family being like, you want, you want to achieve this? Like my family, it's so funny. Even with running, like as I was never a sporty kid, I was like the slowest runner. I used to have a funny runner. My like legs kicked out to the side. I told my dad, I had started running and he was like, hold on a second. He like put down his stuff. And then he like ran and like kicked his legs out and started making fun of the way I run. And I was like,
00:29:17
Speaker
Do you know, preparing that and we joke about it, but taking that as an example, you know, that if someone listening is waiting for the support and approval of others to get started, you will be waiting because nobody's going to believe in you before you believe in yourself. So the support we need when we start, you will get eventually I've noticed that like with my career change, you know, moving from teaching into, you know, self-employed working as an online coach.
00:29:42
Speaker
People thought it was crazy. People probably still think I'm crazy. I probably am a bit crazy. Nobody believed in me except for me. And it's difficult. And um I think when you start something, you know, if you're somebody who really does find it hard to put yourself out there, you know, challenge your belief systems or, you know, try new things and you go out for the first little run, just be proud of yourself.
00:30:04
Speaker
Exactly. And each run is that evidence that you build, isn't it, that you can do it again? Before I started my account, I hardly saw any accounts that were PACE positive in the sense that everyone's doing a 15 minutes, 20, 15 minutes, 5K, and most of the influencers are pushing towards like faster, 5K, 3 hour marathons, 4 hour marathons. I did not see people doing 5K, 45, 50 minutes like I do. I'm sure if there are more people, that more people would take up the spot if time was not a stigma, if pace was not so talked about.
00:30:41
Speaker
so I couldn't see people like me on the platform, in so I created this ah account and I'm glad that there are people who resonate with my belief system, my way of running and they they' have been able to incorporate that in their fitness journey as well.
00:30:59
Speaker
I think it's really really important what you're doing because I think the reality is, I know the reality is from the amount of women that I have worked with or that I speak to regularly, there are women who wait until it gets dark to go out for a walk. There are women who wait until it's dark to go out for a run because they feel so ashamed about their bodies, they feel like they don't have the right to go for a walk or go for a like run. or It's not just people who are skinny or not. It's just it's in your mindset basically. So people associate running with being skinny. I'm not skinny and so there are people who do befores and after and then you start running. I'm not before and I'm not after. I'm just running. You don't need to be a certain body. Anybody can run.
00:31:43
Speaker
So big, small, I've seen people who are skinny as F and then really slowly walking in a race, which is fine as well. But then body type does not dictate your ability as a runner. Definitely not. But I also think that body shape or size doesn't dictate or tell your health.
00:32:03
Speaker
And I think this is where Instagram has gotten very wrong. We're looking a lot of at a lot of people with really perfect bodies and the lifestyle that they are perhaps promoting isn't necessarily the lifestyle that they're actually leading. Maintaining this level of perfection is an unhealthy lifestyle in itself. And I think health health looks very different.
00:32:25
Speaker
depending on the person. This is why I have this whole podcast like around health. I talk about all different areas of health because I'm so sick of the bullshit. Like I'm just so sick. There's people saying, Oh, don't eat this. Don't eat that completely restrictive dietary lifestyle, which can't be sustainable in the long run. Of course. It's just like saying live on this one glass of water for the next whole rest of your life. Just makes no sense.
00:32:49
Speaker
I very much believe that health is, you know, balance. It's setting, like everything you've spoken about, setting a good example for your children, you know, eating good quality food, exercising regularly, whatever type of exercise that means to you, just looking after your body, respecting your body, connecting with nature, like everything you said, and very little of it has to do with aesthetics.
Redefining Health through Balance and Well-being
00:33:09
Speaker
Like obviously health is important, but I just think it's time that that changes and for people to be aware that What they're seeing of you know these incredible bodies they're looking at online have been attained by extremely restrictive approaches for short-term results for photo shoots. And they have a ton of support system behind them. A common person might not have access to all of those things.
00:33:34
Speaker
And, I mean, as they say, comparison is thief of joy, isn't it? So, especially on social media, i just show people my my messy house, my messy lifestyle. I have a sink full of dishes when I go on my runs, but sometimes something has to give. you can't have Anyone who's living a perfect life is lying, because you're gonna love that. Nobody can, either they don't have kids or they don't, I mean, you can't basic basically be perfect all the time. Something has to do with sometimes.
00:34:02
Speaker
You just, you have to, you you can't like stretch in every direction. And I get this as well, where women are like, how are you managing it all? You're building a business, you're raising kids. I'm like, I spent quite a lot of time where I was feeling guilty because I was away from my kids while I was working two jobs to do this. Or, you know, that like my house is falling apart or my husband is is there doing all the stuff that I used to do. It's like, I'm not doing it all. He's doing a lot of it.
00:34:26
Speaker
And then, you know, when he's like, i he's, I have him doing things. I'm trying to think of an example, like, you know, if he's, if he's taken over doing the washing and then he's not doing things the way I want it done. And I have to like not say anything when I see it because I'm like, he's doing it, which means I don't have to do it. So I stay quiet. it You have to pick your battles. I was like, I need the time and space to do what I want to do.
00:34:47
Speaker
these things don't matter. It's like all the balls are up in the air you catch them you throw you miss them that's fine you just get on with it because i think that makes that approach makes life so much less stressful as well so you're not constantly being paranoid micromanaging everything and if you have all those balls in the air and one of them's going to drop make sure it's not your own self-care that's dropping because that's what happens that's what happens to most people take the back seat and that's why Yeah, no, like I mentioned, that's not in my equation. If I have that assigned time for myself, that's gonna happen. I might move it around, but that is gonna happen. It's very much gonna be, it's a non-negotiable. I think a really good exercise for people to do here from, I got a reflection of this, is to make a list of everything that needs to be done in the week.
00:35:39
Speaker
look at it, schedule in your time for you, schedule in what needs to be done, and then look at the other stuff and be like, do I need to do all of this stuff? Is there anything I can actually let go of, say no to? Is there anything I can outsource to my older children or to my husband or to my mother or whoever to help out? Or, you know, am I in a financial position that I can, you know, get a cleaner or, you know, get grocery shopping deliveries or whatever it is, but what can I do? Like when you look at everything that you have to do, if you're someone who's feeling really overloaded, look at everything you have to do, write it out. And when you see it in front of you, it's actually quite, ah I've done this, it's very overwhelming when you're like, oh my God, how am I doing all this? And then you have to just start being ruthless and be like, I can't continue doing all of this and giving me a little bit of time. And you have to be on that schedule.
00:36:27
Speaker
I think it's hardest to say no to someone you love, but you have to. You have to be the bad guy and say, no, I'm sorry. No. So I think I learned it fairly quickly after my kids because they did give me drive me nuts when they were little. So, but yeah, you need to kind of say no and and prioritize your health, your wellbeing, your Your mental health, really, if you're not stable. I mean, you need to look after yourself so you can look after your family. Same goes for the husband. So you guys need to look after yourself if you need to look after your kids. Because otherwise, all that pent up energy is going to be just coming out in some form of negative way, which you don't want. one I feel I'm ah a much more nicer mum and wife and I've had a workout in.
00:37:11
Speaker
I feel much more calmer, mentally productive in my work. So it definitely is a positive change of habit. So do make people should make the time, even if it's 10 minutes, 20 minutes scattered during the day, some form of off-movement.
00:37:26
Speaker
desk sp Like stop trying to be so perfect. I think that's what it is. You know, this perfectionism. If I can't get out and walk for 5k, then what's the point? It's like, be someone who walks every day. Like be someone who allows even just 10 minutes. And this is better than, you know, 10 kilometers one day and nothing the rest of the day. OK, people will set really unexpected goals that if I don't can't do 5K, I'm not going to do anything at all. While I was ill, I went out to 2K runs and I'm not ashamed of it because 2K is better than 0K, 3K is better than 0K. If I'm not doing up at a point of time when I used to do 12K, 15K, I'm doing hardly doing 5K on it as a long run. But that's what my time, my ability is allowing me now. So I'm not going to be sitting and being sorry for myself. It's fine.
00:38:13
Speaker
We go with the flow. It's all fine. Definitely. So much a sense in what you're saying as well. One last question. What does the word health mean to you? Oh, balance.
00:38:27
Speaker
Yes. I think life in general has a way of balancing itself. So I can make unhealthy choices now and get away with it now. But then that's going to catch up with me, say 10, 15 years down the line. So it it will balance out what I do now. So health to me is enjoying everything in moderation.
00:38:49
Speaker
getting some form of movement in. So I know my body both mentally and physically is looked after. It's like being a dog basically. You need to eat healthy. Go for your walk. Go for your walk so you're nice and healthy. So health to me is balance and everything in moderation, both physically and mentally, like food wise and thought wise. I couldn't agree more.
00:39:14
Speaker
And I love, like you said, about balance and, you know, how like there's consequences to everything, positive and negative, of because it is not, i'm I'm not a scientist, but every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Yes. new know and Newton's law. Or you could say the law of karma, isn't it? What buck goes around comes around. Same thing. Exactly. So yes, I do. I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual and I feel running is allows me that spiritual outlet as well, where I can think and ponder and then come back home, a much calmer, nicer person, as opposed to a rot wildlife, I don't get my runs in. Yeah, no, I see you definitely sound to be spiritual in a way similar to me with the connection with nature that then in turn, helps you connect with yourself. And then once you're fully connected, then there's more there to give.
00:40:05
Speaker
Yeah, and health is not a body type, so a skinny person can be really ill and a big but a big person might be absolutely good on their health markers, so it's not body size. Eventually it might dictate your health, but do not assume that skinny is fit, basically. Even if you are in a weight loss journey, anyone listening, don't be fixated on a weight or a size.
00:40:27
Speaker
just get going on the journey, find what makes you feel good. You'll get there. Like ah I'm at a stage now, like I'm very much at a maintenance stage and I like, you know, and I sit nicely at a certain weight and I can maintain it easily. If I try and push to be leaner.
00:40:42
Speaker
and Like it's too much effort. And I'm also like, why? For what? So that I look a certain way on Instagram. I'm like, that's no quality of life for me. It's not something I'm willing to do. So I sit nicely in a balanced way, like you said, physically and mentally where I'm happy. I'm healthy. And I don't need that.
00:41:02
Speaker
Exactly. I think we're put spending our conscious energy on the wrong things. We're focusing on scales and body type rather than focusing on what we're putting in our bodies. So if you're eating good, healthy healthy food like home-cooked meals, lots of fruit and vegetables, you automatically start to look a certain way. So it's just what you be conscious of what you're fueling your body with.
00:41:22
Speaker
rather than setting yourself on body sizes, have fixate on yourself with what you're actually putting in. A skinny person might be eating all the sugary things, all the bad carbohydrates like donuts and stuff. And a fat, a bigger person might be, it's it's just like body type has nothing to do with fitness, but yet be consciously aware of what you're consuming at the same time. And if weight loss is your goal, realize that to do it healthily takes time.
00:41:51
Speaker
And you're going to have to put all these things in place anyway. I mean, you're going to have to enjoy it. So find a way to to do it, that you enjoy it and it should be super frustrating. Is nothing but unlearning lots of bad information.
00:42:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. re on So it's just getting and learning about the effect of food on your body. Basically. If anyone would like to reach out to you, where is the best Instagram? I presume it's the best place to find you Instagram. So it's slower running mummy.
00:42:22
Speaker
slower running will be on Instagram. So go check out her page. If you've been thinking about getting running, this is your sign. There's no need to be stressed about times. It's all about the enjoyment. And Tanya is just fantastic at sharing that kind of energy with you.
00:42:37
Speaker
Yes, please do explore. Lots of, well, not lots of information, but lots of fun times going on runs, exploring the nature, just having a stress-free run, nothing to do with time, very pace-positive page. My motto is, if I can do it, anyone can do it. So it's not that hard. Tanya, thank you so much for your time today. I really enjoyed this. I appreciate. Thank you. Thank you.
00:43:07
Speaker
I just want to say thank you so much for listening to the podcast. It really means so much to me that there are people out there actually listening to what I have to say and to the conversations that I'm having with others. So thank you so much. If you are enjoying the podcast, could you please make sure that you are subscribed? And if not, if you could hit that subscribe button, it really does make that much of a difference. Also, if you would like to leave a review on any of the episodes that you listen to, that you particularly enjoy. I would love to hear what you have to say. And also, if there's an episode that you've enjoyed, please do share it on your social media, in your WhatsApp groups, with your friends. If you're sharing it on your stories, please tag myself in it and whoever I'm interviewing. This it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you're interested in working with me and my wonderful team, please do you contact me about applying for coaching so you can contact me
00:43:59
Speaker
at Kate Hamilton Health at gmail dot.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all Kate Hamilton Health. And you will be able to apply for coaching. We can organize to have a chat and see if it's a good fit for you and get you moving towards your goals.