Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 16

KALMER’S
CORNER
Our Modern Athlete Brand Ambassador’s Blog
By Rene Kalmer
JUGGLING ACT
I will always treasure the quote that my sister Christine sent me after I failed to qualify for the a third Olympic Games in
2016: “We can’t always see where the road leads, but God promises there’s something better up ahead, we just have to
trust Him.” – Psalms 56:3. He sure had bigger and better plans in mind for me…
I
was devastated after missing the qualifying time at the 2016 London Marathon.
I had tried really hard, but a mysterious hip injury had haunted me since 2015,
and I was thus so relieved when an orthopaedic surgeon finally discovered that
I had a labrum tear in my hip. Just two weeks after surgery to have it repaired, I
discovered that I was pregnant with our beautiful daughter Karli. I have been a
professional runner for more than a decade, and I still cherish every one of my
national titles, race victories or outings in the ‘green and gold,’ but having a baby
was a real game-changer.
As a runner, you are only as good as your last race, but as a mother, you feel like
the world’s best mom every time your child smiles or squeezes her arms around
your neck. But I also have to be honest in saying that the struggle to get back
into shape over the past two years has been real! Less sleep, more commitments
and responsibilities, being a working mom as part of the management team of
the Murray & Roberts Running Club, whilst also being mentor to 20 girls from the
Vorentoe Running Academy, has also taken a lot of my time, so I have adopted
some tips to juggle work, training and motherhood.
1. Set ambitious but realistic goals: You are more likely to achieve fitness
success when you have a realistic workout plan. After the birth of Karli, my first
goal was just to get fit enough to run a sub-50min 10km. After I reached that goal,
the aim was to improve my time with every race. It is also important to celebrate
the small victories along the way. My next goal is to run a sub-35min again,
something I took for granted in the past.
2. Run in the morning: This will give you the energy you need to meet the
challenges and demands of the day. If you wait until the end of the day to train,
you may end up with too many excuses to skip your run for the day. Luckily, I’m
a morning person and don’t find it too hard to get up early in the morning, while
hubby Andre and Karli are more than happy to snooze till mom’s back from her run.
4. It takes a village to raise a child: This African
proverb is so true, especially when your mom
is a runner. I’m truly grateful that I have a very
supportive husband and family. Both sets of
grandparents are always more than willing to
help out with training and racing schedules. Even
Uncle Aiden (Christine’s husband) had to step up
and babysit at the Two Oceans Marathon, while
Andre and I were doing the 56km and Christine
the 21km. We only found out later that the
“eggs” Karli had for breakfast that morning were actually Easter eggs…
5. Don’t be too hard on yourself: Life happens, and it is okay to miss one day of
exercise when your child is sick, or you simply had a hectic day at the office. The
goal is to have the time and energy to train on a regular basis, while also taking
care of yourself, too.
6. Don’t feel guilty: Cherish solo runs, because you need that alone time to
recharge yourself. Training is not only good for you physically, but mentally too.
7. Hang out with fellow moms: When we compare notes with other moms, we
realise that we all face the same struggles, so we need to support one another and
remind ourselves that being a mom is a great gift.
Juggling everything and keeping all the balls in the air is a massive challenge, but stay
focussed and enjoy your running… even when it is running down the aisles chasing
your shopping trolley because your two-year-old insists on pushing it herself!
We love doing parkruns on the
weekend if our schedule allows it.
This also gives hubby the chance
to earn his weekly Discovery points
and smoothie. Once a week I have
a track session, where Andre will
meet us at the track after work.
Karli loves playing at the track
while Christine and I train, whether
it is playing in the long jump pit,
hanging on hurdles or jumping on
the High jump mattress. It’s also
a great way for Karli and Andre
to spend valuable father and
daughter time together, while being
active.
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ISSUE 124 OCTOBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
About the Author:
René Kalmer is a two-time Olympian, having represented SA in the 1500m at
the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in the marathon at the 2012 London Games. She
has also won more than 40 SA titles in track, road and cross country at youth,
junior and senior level, in distances from 800m to the half marathon.
3. Make exercise a family event: