"Football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that."
This mum runs
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Jo Pavey, London, Yellow Jersey, 2016. ISBN 9780224100427
A lovely book telling the story of Jo Pavey’s triumph over adversity to become a national treasure. As an athletics writer I have been privileged to watch Jo in three Olympics plus the 2014 Commonwealth and European Championships.
Jo’s career is an account of how she battled injuries and obstacles throughout her career. She points out that at 26 she had “still only had one proper injury free season as a senior athlete” and “I was crocked and I was only in my early thirties.” She succeeded by finding a way to overcome the difficulties: “I have embraced a new philosophy. I decided that if I was going to have a career I would have to find a way of running through injuries, taking each day at a time, modifying training as necessary in order to keep going in some manner as long as I could put one foot in front of the other”. Another secret, she says, is that in her 40s she still has the same passion for running that she always did. Her mantra might be summed up: “I love being a mum who happens to run”.
Another secret is time-management. As she puts it: “I take multitasking to an extreme. It may sound insane but I often do some strength and conditioning work, or core stability work, and do domestic chores in the short rests between exercises”.
Very readable. Very enjoyable.