Episode 15 – Marathon

Episode 15 – Marathon

Introduction: Inflammatory arthritis does not want us to exercise, but movement can be really important. How do we do it? Inflammatory with Debbie Wilson and Katy Pieris. Navigating life with inflammatory arthritis.

Debbie: Hello and welcome to Inflammatory with Debbie

Katy: and Katy.

Debbie: Hi Katy, how are you doing today?

Katy: I’m good Thank you. Apart from my son woke me up at 5.39 this morning, which, why? So, he’s collected a cocoon, which we think is going to turn into a moth. And he wanted to wake up and see if it had come out of the cocoon this morning. So, he was really excited. So, we’ve got in the garden, hope nobody’s like a moth lover. But we’ve got a little plastic tub with a moth with a leaf, some fruit for when it wakes up. It’s not a moth; it’s a moth in a cocoon. But they can take like, I think I’ve read online, it can take seven to 28 days to come out of the cocoon. So, this could take a long time.

Debbie: I was going to say, every morning you’re going to wake up, it’d be like your new alarm clock.

Katy: Yeah, and we’ve got like a, I mean, who knows what’s going on. But my son is now an expert in moths. He watched about 365 moth videos on YouTube yesterday. That’s so cute. So, you can tell a moth is going to be a moth, not a butterfly because the cocoon goes red. It does it. Apparently so.

Debbie: Anyway, Every day’s a school day for me.

Katy: Enough about moths. How’s your week been, Debbie? How are you feeling?

Debbie: Yeah, thankfully, actually a lot better. Thank you. I must admit that this cold flu virus, whatever it was, it took ages and ages to go. And I think you might be able to hear it a little bit.

Katy: But you sound a lot better than last weekend, the week before.

Debbie: Yes, I’m actually feeling more human. Put it that way. I actually cleaned my kitchen yesterday because it just was so disgusting. It wasn’t that disgusting. I don’t live in like a hole.

Katy: I feel like that about my bathroom at the moment. And I’ve got my mother coming next week. So that will get a good old spruce up.

Debbie: Yeah, well, I was actually thinking I might try and save some money and just try and get a cleaner in because I think sometimes that can be really, I think also when we spoke about, you know, the last episode about being hygienic and everything. But when I am so then ill, my house doesn’t get cleaned. And I physically can’t do it. So actually just getting someone in just to kind of keep it, you know, just generally clean would be great.

Katy: I’m really funny. I don’t ever want a cleaner.

Debbie: So, you know, who cleans in your house?

Katy: So I’m bathrooms. I do toilets. And my husband is basically everything else.I also love cleaning the floors.

Debbie: Oh, okay. I do have one of those mops with the spray. That’s quite good. But when my hands are buggered, I can’t do it.

Katy: Yeah, I’ve got one of those mops with the sprays. But I mean, my husband is the clean one. I am like, I mean, if you could see beyond the microphone, my desk is a shit tip.

Debbie: You and my husband would get on. But I’d actually hate to think if you two lived together what it would look like.

Katy: My sister couldn’t stand living with me because I was just, I just don’t, I don’t know. It just doesn’t, I don’t care enough. But there does come a point where I do care. But normally whoever I live with has cleaned before it gets to that point.

Debbie: Oh, okay. No, I even, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I did put this on Facebook the other day, like who has a buffer zone to the laundry zone? Because my husband, bless his cotton socks, leaves his washing at the end of our bed. That’s the buffer zone, even before making it to the laundry zone, where the laundry basket is. That drives me mad.

Katy: Oh, because I am chief, chief executive of washing. My husband isn’t allowed to, like, touch the washing. That is my bag. Washing, toilets, floors. Anyway, should we move on? I think we should.

Debbie: Well, today’s episode is on exercise and inflammatory arthritis. But it brings me on to a, I watched this program, it was years ago, and they had families. One, I think, went down the gym. One went for a long walk and one family actually cleaned their house. And the ones that cleaned the house had burnt off the more calories and they actually felt better themselves. So actually, does exercise, what does exercise mean to you? Because I actually looked up the dictionary definition of it. And it’s activity requiring physical effort carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness. Whereas for me, it’s that physical effort that I think is just so embedded in our brains that that’s what it is, actually. Yeah, well, it doesn’t have to be.

Katy: We grew up in the 80s, didn’t we, with Jane Fonda, our mothers doing Jane Fonda videos. So it’s all, so in my mind, physical activity or exercise or whatever you want to call it, has always been about kind of getting really sweaty, feeling really tired afterwards. If you’ve not, if you don’t feel pain, you haven’t got anything to gain.

Debbie: Yeah, no pain, no gain.

Katy: Yeah, all that rubbish, which I think is, I think we’re all starting to realise is absolute bollocks. And there’s so much more to being, I guess, kind of using movement as the terminology, kind of, it’s all about moving, getting the joints moving. But, and physical activity, exercise movement can be different depending on how you feel that day.

Debbie: Yeah, very much so. And I think for me, much like you, you know, when someone says I have to exercise, I’m like, fine, I’ll go join a gym. I do the hour of exercise. And even now, I do have a gym membership. Again, I’ve mentioned it before, this is for my Pilates classes.

Katy: Yeah.

Debbie: But I always then do, if I think I should go down the gym, I will do the same exercises that I was taught about 20 years ago. Like go on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then you do cycling or you do the cross trainer.

Katy: So you’re very cardio.

Debbie: I was. Oh, yeah. But then I realised, but that puts me off going down the gym when I’m really fatigued. When some of my joints are aching, I feel that I can’t go and do those cardio exercises. So, then what do you do? And I’m realising now that, say if my legs are aching, fine, I can do some stuff at home with either like cans, you know, just anything, just like little exercises you can do, or just doing some, you know, just walking around my kitchen or into the garden. It’s just that, as we’ve said before, in that 1% episode, it is just doing that 1% more each day. That can be really, really good for you.

Katy: No, definitely.

Debbie: But what I kind of want to know, Katy, obviously we mentioned in episode two, and even in episode one, you are like a puppy, you do need exercise. And for your, when you got told of your diagnosis, your reaction was then to run a marathon. Yeah. Hey, why? But also, how did the training and everything impact on your inflammatory arthritis? And also, then how did you adapt?

Katy: Really, really good question. I think something I always like to caveat this with is that I did run quite a lot pre-diagnosis. So, I’d done sort of running training from kind of 18. When I was at university, I used to do loads of black hill repeats. My boyfriend at the time was a GB runner. So, I did quite sort of some of their training as well. And I’d run half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks in my 20s. I used to go running on a Monday night after work, then I’d go to netball. This is pre-diagnosis. And I’d run probably four or five times a week before my diagnosis. But then as I was getting diagnosed, I obviously couldn’t run because the biggest area that I had problems with was my feet. So, when I was diagnosed, one of my first questions was, I like running, can I run? And the consultant’s reaction was, you probably shouldn’t because of the pressure on your joints. I know that’s changed now. So, people being diagnosed now will probably get quite a different response. But because I’m quite headstrong, I’d always wanted to run a marathon just to see if I could. And for that sort of sense of achievement, I felt like I probably could because my first half marathon when I was about 25 is still my half marathon PB time. I don’t think I’m ever going to get anywhere close. I think I was just delusional on race day of how long I didn’t know how to pace. I didn’t have a watch. I didn’t have anything fancy. So I didn’t pace. I just ran to feel. And I actually think a good lesson is actually doing exercise to feel. But back to marathon training. So, I got diagnosed in the July. I’d eased myself back into exercise. I’d started replaying netball in the September. I’d taken myself for a few gentle kind of short under 5k runs.

And I thought, f**k it. Let’s just see if I can get a charity place. It was past the time where you could go into the ballot. So it was London Marathon.

Debbie: Even then it’s really hard to get a place on that.

Katy: So, I got a charity place. It was for an arthritis charity, which has since changed its name. And it was really, I downloaded a training plan for beginners. And then I mean, marathon training is not for the faint hearted. It’s a lot of time. It’s a lot of effort. I think that it’s really hardcore. So and what I did is I downloaded like a 16 week training plan, which probably kicked off in the January. Once I’d got my place, that November to January was basically getting myself into a strong enough fitness to be able to do the training plan. Because that’s the thing, a marathon training plan doesn’t start from zero. It starts from you being able to run five to 10k. Obviously not trying to put people, but it’s all gradual. So, there’s kind of run walks in there. There was sprint sessions. There was hill sessions. Then every week there was one long run, which I think the furthest I did for my first marathon was 20 miles. It was the worst thing of my entire life.

Debbie: That just sounds horrendous.

Katy: Just kind of on your own. Because the difference is obviously on race day, there’s tons of people, there’s crowds, there’s literally to do you want to keep you going. There’s a real atmosphere when you’re out there running by yourself. You’ve got to take your water. You’ve got to take enough nutrition. You’ve got to plan your route. You’ve got to think about how you might get home if you feel absolutely rubbish, which there was lots of crying involved in all my trainings. So it’s not this because you see people on Instagram or social media and it looks like, oh, this is wonderful. I just go out for a run, and I’ve done 20 miles. But actually, it’s horrible. You feel dead. I’d come home after a four-hour training session. I wanted to vomit. I think I probably did vomit on some of my runs because your whole body is exhausted. Then you’ve also got the inflammatory arthritis fatigue. I’m probably putting a lot of people off right now, but it’s one of those things. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. So, the first marathon was London, which if you can get a place, I think it’s an incredible day. You don’t have to run it. You don’t have to run the whole thing. You could do one minute running, one minute walking, 10 minutes running, one minute walking. You can get through it in your own way. With London, the crowds get you through. I definitely walked some. I didn’t get the time I wanted, but it was an incredible day and an incredible achievement. But because I didn’t get the time I wanted, I then did Edinburgh Marathon the following year because Edinburgh is meant to be quite a quick marathon because there’s quite a lot of downhill and there’s quite a lot of flat.

Debbie: Oh, okay. I was thinking how can a marathon be quick? Hmm.

Katy: In relation to the others. However, Edinburgh Marathon, I was on for the time that I wanted, and I will post the picture on Instagram. At 20 miles, I’d very much colour coordinated myself. I’d got orange trainers. I’ve got these cool grey shorts with orange splotches, and I’d got an orange vest. I was having a chat with someone at mile 20 and having a chat, not looking where my feet were, splat. I went splat onto the pavement.

Debbie: Oh, no.

Katy: I scraped the whole of my face. So, we’d flown up. So, my mom, my dad, my sister, one of my university friends who lived in Edinburgh, my husband, he wasn’t my husband then, all came to watch. I went splat. I was on biologics as well at the time. So, I’d got a biologics, one of those cards that shows that you’re on it. So, I’d gone splat, didn’t have a phone with me, but you have all your numbers on the back of your bib. So, they had to get an emergency medical person because my knee was a complete mess. I’d grazed, ripped it open. So, I went in a medical tent, and because of obviously being on biologics, they had to try and make sure that they’d fully washed out all my cuts and grazes.

Debbie: Yeah. So, you didn’t get infection. Yeah.

Katy: So, I was like 45 minutes or something in the medical tent. I mean, I’d only got, it was miles. Yeah. So, I’d got 10K to go. So, I’ve got another hour of running roughly to go. And I went, ended up going down the finish in nine. I’d got, I looked like a zombie because I’d just got blood dripping down my face. I got blood dripping down my legs. I shouldn’t be laughing. Sorry. It is quite funny. I’d got tinfoil and like, you know, people who like go woo, woo, woo. And then, then they’d see me and they’d be like, I don’t think maybe whether I was like dressed as a zombie or…

Debbie: Have you ever seen that film, Run Fat Boy Run? Yes. Sorry, that’s all that’s in my head. Not saying you’re Fat Katy at all because you’re not, but that’s all that’s in my head at this precise moment.

Katy: It was awful. And then, and then like, honestly, marathons as well, especially when you finish towards the end, there’s everybody that’s like having, I mean, it’s not very nice. It’s not actually funny, even though I’m, I am kind of laughing, but there’s all the people that are really struggling at the end. So, I came through the finish line. There was other people kind of that were, had obviously had a bad, a bad sort of time of it because I think, I think Edinburgh Marathon is in May and it was, it wasn’t roasting, but it was quite, you know, it’s still quite warm. So, a lot of people might end up dehydrated, all those kinds of things. But I mean, I finished and again, I didn’t get the time I wanted, but my husband, he said, you’re not doing another marathon. This is ridiculous. Because in the airport on the way back down the next day, I looked like a beaten-up wife because like my eyes had both swollen. They were both black. I’d just got bruised because I hadn’t really put ice on anything, particularly because all they’d kind of focused on was washing everything out. And then I had to go to work the next day. And it wasn’t, we didn’t work from home. So, I went into the office

Debbie: and I just looked beaten up. No, I ran a marathon.

Katy: Yeah.

Debbie: I bet people went, yeah, of course she did. Yeah.

Katy: So, but again, I finished it and my husband did mention that when he saw me in our wedding speech, when he saw me cross the finish line at that marathon in particular, he was like, Jesus Christ, she won’t like, she doesn’t stop. She just keeps going. And nothing will keep you down, Katy. And then I decided when I was 40, it was time 10 years on from my Edinburgh experience. I thought, let’s see how fit I am. So, I trained for Brighton Marathon. It was really different. I was a lot older. I was a lot faster. I just, it’s all the way through training. I just picked up so many little niggles. So, I found there is like two weeks at a time where maybe I couldn’t train because my feet, I get, I suffer with plantar fasciitis quite a lot. And I got that quite badly through training for the Brighton Marathon. Then on marathon day, I think sometimes as well with a marathon, it’s not about the amount of training you’ve done. You can just wake up on the day and feel crap. I was thinking out of no fault of your own, that you could have done everything possible. I’d say for Brighton, my training didn’t quite go to plan as I’d liked, but what I did put in was a bit more strength training to try and kind of help with injury prevention. Because I think when you’re 30, when you’re 40, your body, regardless of having inflammatory arthritis, still, you pick up niggles a lot easier. So, it is important to try and protect around the joints. And that’s why, I guess, in the last five years, I’ve kind of started trying to do a little bit more strength training, just to try and kind of strengthen around the joints so that when I am doing anything high impact, they’ve got more protection. Yeah, Brighton, it wasn’t my marathon. I just felt terrible halfway through. And there’s not so many supporters. And I stupidly, at this marathon, around mile 20, I ate a sausage roll. Why the hell did I eat a sausage roll on the side of the road? Someone’s handed out sausage rolls. I felt a bit hungry. I’d run out of my own stuff. So, you should never take, in my opinion, just take random sweets. And my nutrition changed what I could eat. I used to hate gels. When I did my first marathons, they just made me feel sick. But maybe gels have changed. The science has probably got better. And I could do gels to Brighton. But I randomly ate a sausage roll just because it was there at mile 20. And they’re so dry.

Debbie: Oh, yes. And then, but even the thought of them running after eating a sausage, no.

Katy: I don’t know. I was thinking, but I wasn’t thinking. I was just so tired and thinking, oh, my God, when is the finish? This explains why I’ve chosen, you know, marathons are a lot. When you are training, my first two, I didn’t have my son. But this time I did. And he got so frustrated with me being out for four hours or so on a Sunday, because really, that should be when you’re, you know, having a bit of family time. So, things change, don’t they? But I do think there’s so many opportunities for people to try and test themselves. And it’s not about doing a marathon. Obviously, people do, and people can. But there’s lots of ways that you can, you know, bring movement into your general day to day without going to the extremes.

Debbie: Yeah, I think there, Katy, you are an extreme. Because even in my 20s, I really did want to run a marathon. I just thought, you know, I’ve lived with JIA for so many years, actually, what a bit like you, what can my body do?

Katy: Yeah.

Debbie: But then I think my head was just like, your joints won’t be able to because I’ve got it in my hips and in my knees. I just couldn’t. It’s a bit different.

Katy: I’m predominantly wrists and feet. Yeah. And then, so that’s quite different to hips and knees.

Debbie: Yeah. And so I just kind of thought, no, I didn’t. I’ve done a few 5Ks for charities, and I would still like to do a 10K at some point. But at the moment, I just think my body just can’t do it. I do Pilates and I try as much as I can. But I think it’s what you’ve said there, Katy, is that actually, it’s just that movement. It’s just doing that little bit more, even whether it’s just walking to the shops. Yeah. Because when I was then, as you mentioned a couple of weeks ago, when I had reactive hypoglycaemia, when I got that diagnosis, I was put on a very strict kind of diet change, completely changed my lifestyle, which I still have. But then she was like, you have to walk more, you know, walk 45 minutes to 50 minutes a day. And I was like, oh gosh, how am I going to fit that in with my work? Because again, I was working in London. It wasn’t a time when you could work from home. So, what I did, I got off the Tube, the stop before. So, I walked through Green Park, St. James Park. It’s beautiful. And I love that. It’s just kind of trying to fit in where you can in your day. Whether it is just walking up the stairs instead of getting the lift, you know, the simple things.

Katy: But it’s also how you arrange your house rather than having your tea bags and your kettle close together. You can put things in slightly further away because then that just adds a little bit of extra movement into your day to day.

Debbie: So, getting back to the impact it has on inflammatory arthritis, and again to say, you know, we are not medical, we’re not medical professionals, but we do know that exercise is really important to us. Katy, you know, for you, obviously being that extreme, but how does it actually impact on you?

Katy: Yeah, so I think, I mean, I noticed it, like if I go on a really long car journey, everything just stiffens up. And so, I think we know that exercise kind of helps lubricate the joints and reduce inflammation because exercise gives a sort of anti-inflammatory effect off the back of doing exercise. So, it really sort of helps you, you know, keep mobile essentially. And I know, as I said in episode one, I am a bit like a puppy, I need to move. Otherwise, I go completely, like I get angry, I can’t deal with my emotions. So, it also kind of helps kind of lift your mood. And as we know, inflammatory arthritis really can affect your mood and your mental health. So, exercise is another way just to try and help boost your mood and get you out of kind of low moods as well. Yeah, agree with that.

Debbie: And for me, I must admit, when a bit like you in long car journeys and flights as well, I can actually, it feels like my muscles are just getting weaker as well. And I just think any kind of movement is so good to keep your muscles because obviously they help strengthen your joints as well. Again, not medical, but that’s kind of how I’ve always been told. And even a few years ago, the World Health Organization came out, you know, for information about chronic pain in children, and that includes obviously juvenile idiopathic arthritis, is that you need psychology, you need treatment, but you also need that physiotherapy. Have you ever had specific physiotherapy exercises?

Katy: Yeah, so when I was first diagnosed, I had hand therapy, and I had to do lots of different kind of movements, squeezing a ball at my desk, and just trying to kind of strengthen around my wrists. I mean, my issue with physiotherapy is the fact that quite often it can be quite boring. And so it’s working out how to, you know, make sure you’re doing it, which is why I think doing little things at your desk can sometimes be quite useful. Especially when it’s kind of hands and wrists, you can do that easily whilst you’re working. And I do remember when I’ve had physio, this is not for inflammatory arthritis, this was for general kind of, when I’ve had plantar fasciitis, I used to go to the toilets at work and do all my stretches and my strengthening or go on to the stairs in the corridor. And people would just think I’m a little bit mad, but I think they think I am anyway. So, nothing new there.

Debbie: Well, I’ve never actually been given physio at all.

Katy: Really?

Debbie: Yeah, really in my entire life.

Katy: You are kidding me.

Debbie: No, no.

Katy: That’s insane.

Debbie: I did have actually one on my back, but that’s because there was a school incident. And yeah, it kind of did something on my spine. So I did have to then, but for inflammatory arthritis wise, I haven’t, but it kind of proves that, you know, we should, but it’s also trying to speak with, you know, the physiotherapist and yes, some of the exercises can be slightly boring, but it’s just trying to talk with them to actually say, right, how great I can do this. How can I plan it in with my daily life? This is what my daily life looks like. Where can I do it? I need help with that sort of thing. So just be really open and speak to them. But of course, the problem is, you know, we do have this condition that really doesn’t want to move and exercise. And it tells us, you know, that it’s not only the pain, the fatigue, and it’s really not easy because there was one time I was just after my eyes were flaring. I’d just been diagnosed with this scleritis and I thought, do you know what? I try swimming. Yeah. Stupidest thing to do. But I thought I’d try some because, you know, even just laying in the water, I love water, and I just think it’d be great. But I went into the pool, and I then realized I couldn’t put my goggles on because it would just felt like my eye was about to cut. It was so painful. And I have to swim in my head in the water. I’m quite a good swimmer. Yeah. So then I realized I couldn’t do that. And then my elbows were just buggered, and they were just, I couldn’t then do breaststroke. So I was like, right, what can I do? I then couldn’t do front crawl either because my arms just didn’t want to work. And I just thought I just need like one of those little floats that, you know, little kiddies learn to swim with. And I thought, well, there isn’t anyone here. I don’t really want to go and ask like this 20-year-old lifeguard who just think I’ll be mad. And so I just laid there lying on my back, floating, thinking, actually, I just wish I was somewhere else. Not here, like in the med or somewhere, somewhere warm. And I just cried because I just thought if I can’t even do swimming, what the hell can I do? Because I couldn’t go down the gym.

And then I think this is a real big barrier for people. And this is why I really hate the term exercise because, you know, from what we were saying at the beginning, it is putting that physical effort in. Actually, it’s not. It is just doing those smaller things. Just going down a walk, you know, five minutes down the road and then it’s five minutes back. That’s 10 minutes extra of movement, which makes your body feel that little bit better. It really helps with your mental health as well, especially now in the spring when it’s not raining. But even when it is raining, it’s not as cold as it was. And it’s just so good to get out there, really.

Katy: Yeah. No, I really think it is. And for me, you know, it’s just making sure that I’m moving every day, whether it’s crazy exercise. I mean, I went to a Barry’s class yesterday. I actually took both a pair of trainers. There’s a backstory here. I once went to a class and I took two black trainers, but they were both what, the right foot?

Debbie: Oh, that was you. That was me. Oh, I saw that on Instagram. I was like, I just thought you met someone who just bought these shoes, but it was you.

Katy: No, it was me. But then it’s also, but what that actually taught me was at that point, so I couldn’t do the stuff that they do on the treadmill, but I just did all the floor exercises. And that was lovely, actually, not to do the really high impact parts of the class, but just to do the low impact part. And I think that’s whereas people with inflammatory arthritis, we can sometimes help ourselves by being brave and having those conversations with people about, it’s not about thinking about what we can’t do. What can we do?

Debbie: Exactly. I think we really need to try and change that narrative of actually, you’ve got inflammatory arthritis, you mean you can’t do this, you can’t do that. Actually, it shouldn’t be that barrier to stop you from doing anything that you want to do. And I think this is also, I’ve spoken to quite a few consultants recently and it’s actually, they want to help you to do things now. We have the treatments, and we do have more information and more evidence about what physical activity we can do. So, speak to the physical therapist as well and actually just see what you can do. And this is so good for you.

Katy: And I think you just need to, it’s about enjoying it as well.

Debbie: If you don’t enjoy it, that’s the major barrier as well. I just think if you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to go back.

Katy: So, it’s finding something that you enjoy.

Debbie: It is. And I think it’s all about individualization. What works for you, great, may not work with someone else. And I think not everybody’s going to run a marathon. I’m really not going to run a marathon. I completely understand that. Completely. It just speaks to everything that we say on this podcast shows that everyone’s journey on with inflammatory arthritis is so, so different. No one is the same. So don’t really try to think it’s a barrier that you can’t do something. Really try and change your mindset and trying to change that narrative everywhere that actually you can do it. You know, it may be that you have to put some more work in behind it. But if you want to do something it shouldn’t be a barrier, we are here to support you and cheer you on all the way as well. #Thank you so much for listening, sign up to our newsletter at inflammatoryarthritis.org, follow us on social media we are on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Bluesksy. Until next time from Katy and I, its goodbye.

Katy: Goodbye

In this episode of Inflammatory!, Debbie and Katy kick things off with a light-hearted chat about springtime chaos, parenting, and the never-ending battle with household cleaning, offering a humorous but relatable peek into how daily life intersects with chronic illness. The conversation then dives into a powerful and personal discussion about exercise and inflammatory arthritis, challenging outdated fitness ideology of “no pain, no gain.”

Katy opens up about her journey training for marathons post-diagnosis, including a dramatic fall at mile 20 of the Edinburgh Marathon and her later attempt at the Brighton Marathon, complete with new injuries and mid-race regrets (sausage roll, anyone?). Through these stories, she highlights the emotional highs and lows of pushing her limits and adapting workouts to suit her body.

The hosts reflect on how chronic illness shape how they move, underscoring that exercise doesn’t have to be extreme to be effective. Whether it’s swimming, strength training, or simply taking a short walk, finding what works for you is key. They also touch on the mental and emotional benefits of movement, the value of physiotherapy, and how changing the narrative from “can’t” to “can” empowers people living with inflammatory arthritis.

Key Topics:

• Redefining exercise with chronic illness
• Katy’s marathon stories: Edinburgh disaster & Brighton comeback
• How age and parenting shift fitness goals
• Mental health benefits of movement
• Making peace with low-impact, feel-good movement
• Physiotherapy: importance and asking how it can fit it into your daily routine
• Encouragement to focus on what you can do

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Disclaimer: The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. We talk about our personal health journeys and the podcast is not intended to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not medical professionals and in no way claim to be medically trained. The podcast does not take responsibility for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of the podcast. The podcast does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of third-party content.

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