Mum of two and multi-talented TV and radio presenter, Edith Bowman, takes time out of her hectic schedule to chat to Sport Relief about their upcoming Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games.
Edith is supporting the first ever Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games take place from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd March 2014. You can make every mile count by running, swimming or cycling your way to raising cash at over a thousand venues, including our landmark events at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. To join the fun and games today visit www.sportrelief.com.
What are your top tips for people training for the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games?
Just do it gradually, pace yourself, don’t go all out - that’s where I’ve failed in the past. Just enjoy it, that’s the whole thing. Don’t take it too seriously, do it with some mates and just remember you’re doing something brilliant that’s helping someone else. That’s your motivation when you’re struggling with a mile or a few hundred yards to go. Just use that as your motivation - that what you’re doing might be pretty painful right now, but it’s helping someone else.
If you had to choose between the Sport Relief Mile, Swim or Cycle, which event would you enter and why?
Weirdly, right now, I’m torn to be honest. I’ve started running and I’m really getting into it. I really like the sense of achievement after you’ve done a run. I’m a big cycler as well and enjoy swimming. I think I’ll probably go with the cycle. I do a lot of cycling, I use it as a way of getting in to work as well as leisure thing, so I’d probably say cycling.
What's your most memorable sporting achievement/moment?
My most memorable sporting achievement is winning the shot-put at school. But in terms of my most memorable sporting moment is when I learnt to snowboard, because it’s something that I still love doing. I did the switch from skiing to snowboarding and I get withdrawal symptoms if I don’t get a board on at least once a year.
How do you like to keep active? Do you have any favourite training exercises?
Having a 5 year old and a 6 month old is exercise in itself. I walk a lot, I’m really lucky that I live right by Hampstead Heath so I go for a lot of walks up there. I cycle a lot as well, I’ve started running too
and doing yoga and Pilates when I can. I’m really bad at self- motivation; I’ve got the DVD’s but it’s a struggle actually putting them in the DVD player and doing it.
What music do you listen to while exercising and why?
My tip, specifically when you’re running, is to put your iPod on shuffle. If you pick something specifically in your head it puts a pace on things, whereas if you put it on shuffle, it also takes your mind of the fact that you’re running so you might run a bit further because you go “I haven’t heard that in ages!”
Can you offer any advice to people training for the Sport Relief Mile, Swim or Cycle and what’s the best way to get motivated?
Get your mates involved and do it as a group - whether it’s running, swimming or cycling, done as a group they can be really good fun. There should be no better motivation than the fact that what you’re doing is helping someone else. Pace yourself as well, don’t set too high standards - it’s not a competition, it’s more of a fun thing.
Do you have any embarrassing or funny sporting stories you’d like to share?
God loads – I always had that thing at school where I thought I was really good at stuff but I was actually really terrible. I was in the relay team and I was slowest out of everyone. It was one of those things where you watch sports and think “God that looks really easy, I could do that”, and then when you actually do it you’re like “Oh, I’m actually rubbish at this.” So thinking that I’m better than I actually am at sport always gets me into trouble.
Sport and charity both have huge power to bring people together. In your opinion why do you think that is?
You’re pushing yourself like you usually would with sport, but that energy and that commitment is helping someone else. I think doing something physical and challenging yourself and putting yourself to a further point than you’ve done before is a good way of realising how lucky you are as well. I think giving yourself a challenge can pay off and benefit other people.
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