I
have been friends with Merilyn for about ten years. I moved in next door to her and her husband Bryan and never looked back. They were both marathon
runners and I was in AWE of them. I have always wanted to run a marathon and I
thought that is was spectacular that they were doing it. Her health took
a turn after knee surgery and this is her inspirational story.
You were a very fit adult and were an avid
runner. How/why did you start running?
It was back in the early
1980s. We lived in the country (Kilmore). The kids were about 10 and 8 so they
were pretty independent and I had more time for myself. Bryan was already
running marathons so I began joining him on short runs around the country roads
and then fun runs in town.
Why/when did
you start doing marathons?
After doing lots of 10 km fun runs and
then some half-marathons (21 kms), I began to think about doing a full
marathon. I decided that a marathon would be a good way to celebrate
Australia’s Bicentenary Year (1988). By that time we were living in Beaumaris
and were running a toy shop.
What were some of your proudest accomplishments?
Of course my proudest and most emotional
accomplishment was my first marathon in 1988. Bryan did it that year too. Here
are some excerpts, from my diary, written the day after:
...
Only 7% of the runners were women and we got special applause from the female
onlookers ...
...
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I ran down that glorious last 50
metres to the beautiful FINISH sign and then a tall, handsome young man placed
the medal over my head. I raised my arms in jubilation as more women cheered
me. I’m so grateful that I’m fit enough to experience such a demanding,
physical event ...
...
When we got home the kids were excitedly awaiting us and we had to burst
through a finishing tape, then smash through streamers. They let off streamer
crackers; balloons, congratulatory signs and more streamers were everywhere.
They played the ‘Chariots of Fire’ theme and looked after
us beautifully.
Another highlight was becoming a Spartan (10 Melbourne Marathons). I
cried when I put on the daggy green Spartan singlet – number F26 (the 26th female to achieve the
status). By the way, I ran my last marathon twenty years after my first. That
was the Iceland one.
Your weight was pretty consistent until you had your
surgery. Tell us about what happened?
Yes, it was pretty consistent, going up
a bit each winter (fewer salads, more comfort food) and down again in summer. I
guess it was the regular running that kept it pretty steady. Then I stopped
running because of knee pain and eventually because of knee surgery.
How much weight did you put on? Did
you realise you were putting on the weight or one morning you woke up and had
the extra kilos?
After
the first knee replacement, in October 2010 I wasn’t running of course. Two
months after the surgery I wrote in my diary:
I’m eating too much for
the little energy I’m expending these days. I can feel myself slowly expanding.
And
a few weeks later: Dear me, I’m getting
fat. I have a spare tyre. I eat and drink handsomely and do no exercise.
Actually, I think I put on only about two kilos after
the first knee replacement but going from around 55 to around 57 was
noticeable. My physical decline depressed me too. In December 2010 I wrote:
I’m
not the indefatigable, nimble person I used to be, sadly. I wince and hobble and
groan and limp and get pissed off [when I found climbing hills and walking
painful].
How did you come up with your weight loss strategy?
What was the program?
I’d taken up swimming and bike riding when I found I couldn’t run without pain.
A couple of months after the first surgery I resumed both, doing longer
distances. Three months after surgery I resumed running. My weight never got
back to what it was during the marathon days when it was in the low-50s.
I had surgery on the other knee in 2014 so
it was back into the same routine of getting fit again except running was not
an option anymore. I concentrated on improving the bike riding and swimming.
What did a usual day’s
food intake look like?
I’ve never changed my diet. I just try to
eat sensibly: fruit and cereal at breakfast; sandwich at lunch; and meat with
vegetables for dinner, or a vegetarian or pasta dish. Wine with most dinners.
Always morning coffee with cake or biscuit. Usually a piece of fruit during the
day but not often enough.
What
are the challenges with maintaining your weight loss?
The
main challenge is maintaining a good level of exercise; that is, balancing my
food intake (which I don’t want to change!) with the amount of physical
exercise I do.
What were some of your goals and how did
they change as you went along?
As far as weight goes, I
didn’t have any specific goals – just to be more comfortable in clothes that
had become too tight! With exercise, the goal was always to go that little bit
further. I didn’t worry about times. And gradually I was able to comfortably do
a 10 km walk or swim 3 kms, although on average I walked and swam fewer kms
than that.
What was your
exercise plan for the week?
During the working week I
would go for a long walk (2 – 3 kms) at lunchtime. At weekends the days began
with either:
o a bike ride (2 kms to
the pool and 2 kms back) and a swim (about 1.5 km)
o a long walk (6 – 10
kms). I used to spoil the long walks however, with a hot chocolate half way.
Do you still follow that plan?
Now that I’m retired and
have plenty of time, I begin each day with some yoga stretching (is that a
tautology?). Then I alternate:
o a 6 km fast walk
followed by a 500 – 600 m swim
o a 4 km fast walk to the
exercise station where I do 15 mins of strength training, stretching and
aerobic stuff, followed by a 500 – 600 m swim.
All that takes about two hours. Then I have a
breakfast of an orange and a bowl of muesli, fruit and yogurt.
Three things that you believe helped in
the weight loss?
For me, it’s more maintaining a reasonable weight
than actual weight loss. Three things:
o Regular exercise
o Healthy food. I don’t
eat take-away or confectionary – luckily I’m just not tempted by them.
o Not going overboard with
alcohol
Three favourite things to eat that were healthy
options?
· Tropical
fruit and ripe, juicy stone fruit
· Home-made
yogurt (Easiyo)
· Home-made smoothies
