Now that the LDN medication is actually giving me some energy (see this post if you missed my recent health update), I can finally start rebuilding my body, regaining my fitness, and losing the huge amount of weight I’d put on while being stuck in bed.

But I have zero activewear shorts or leggings that still fit me. Zero. Since the medication started making me feel a little better in June-July-ish, I started off doing a strict “10min only” of stretching every day, which I’ve gradually now increased to about 30min daily, plus the odd walk and e-biking (and some rest days too, because this is not my first rodeo).

My Mom visited us from the States back in May. She had originally planned to run her first 10km race while she was here, but then some health issues came up and she decided to run a 5km instead. It was so special to be able to run a race with my mom, especially since she wasn’t doing any exercise at all at the end of 2021, and required a zimmer frame (walker) just to get across a room!

But she started small, with walking 1km a day (thanks to my friend Christina’s fantastic book), and gradually built up to running 5-10km and doing lots of strength work as well. She’s lost over 50 pounds in the process but gained so much more in terms of mobility, vitality, confidence, and years back on her life. It even meant she could push back her knee replacement surgeries for a whole year as the surgeons said her running was strengthening the muscles that support her knees.

Ever since I made my pair of (nearly) all black Tenacity Leggings, I’ve wanted a similar pair of shorts. I’m not one to shy away from plain fabrics, but to me, entirely black leggings and shorts are just SO boring! But since making the leggings, I realised how incredibly useful they are for cycling around town, meeting people for pub garden drinks, running errands, getting to hospital appointments, etc when you want to be comfortable on the ride yet blend in when you get to your destination (and it’s too wet to wear cycling jeans).

And I needed something similar for the warmer months! So I took the same black supplex from Tia Knight out of my stash and decided to make a pair of Duathlon Shorts (biker length) so I could have easy access pockets, too. This particular supplex is currently out of stock but keep an eye on their socials because when they restock it, it sells out super quick because it’s such great quality and ridiculously cheap!

I am a duathlete!! Yesterday I completed my first duathlon, the full distance at London Duathlon – a 10km run followed by a 44km cycle and then a 5km run. It was my first multisport race (transitions?? omg!) and I loved it!

Hot on the heels of our updated Steeplechase Leggings pattern, I’m pleased to announce the even bigger update to our Duathlon Shorts pattern!