Katharine Merry: Motherhood, Menopause & Learning to Back Yourself

Let's talk a little bit about wellness and the hits that it sort of took on your body as well.

So perhaps when you were sort of, you know, in your 20s and, you know, up to your retirement, what was that like for you physically, the demands that were put on you? And how has that changed since you retired?

It's a complete diametric opposite.

Now, when when you retire from sport and it's your job, I say this to my kids about the other day, you kind of go one way or the other.

You kind of carry on doing sports and being active because it's what you know and it's what you want to do.

And it might be just to look good or might be good to feel good.

Or you turn the other way and do absolutely nothing because that's what you've done all your life.

I happily took that.

I now do absolutely nothing route.

and I genuinely unless my husband's with me, he will go, no, she, she does nothing.

I, you know, I have to commit to a 10 K or a half marathon to just move and do anything or else I've got no motivation, even though it makes me feel better when I do exercise.

But the contrast of, you know, six days a week, five hours a day for so many years, it took a toll because I retired through injury.

I didn't choose to retire from track and field, which is hard in itself.

Mentally, It's very, very hard when you're forced into a decision that you don't want to make.

And very few athletes get the luxury and are blessed to be able to retire on their own terms.

But my body was was was falling apart and eventually it did.

So I've got mates now with, you know, replacement hips and shoulder replacements.

But that's our job and that's what we do.

But the toll it took physically was was was quite a lot.

quite a lot.

I had several operations and tried to get back and then the body just fell apart and I couldn't do any more.

And that's physically tough, but mentally it's even tougher than it is physically because you can't train six days a week, five hours a day when that's your job and that's what you need to get paid.

It's very, very hard and very, very tough mentally.

So when you retire and lose that, oh, it's the best feeling in the world because the whole weight is just lifted.

And it's now like, if I want to exercise, I will.