The AFLW Western Bulldogs Captain loves the freedom running offers.
When I was younger, my dad and I would run up the mountain we had at the back of our property together. He taught me that if I wanted something, I had to work for it.
I love the feeling of being free and feeling the flow when you run. I also love a challenge and seeing improvement, which you have to seek at this level of the game. I often miss going for a steady state run as we have to manage loads, however it’s something I’ll definitely get back into post footy.
Right now running is mainly a part of my footy training, since we have to monitor how much load we put through our legs. I do enjoy a long walk in nature to clear my mind and re-focus, though.
Running helps my training a lot. The more physically fit you are, the better you can play the game and make decisions under fatigue. Footy is more fun when you’re fit.
During the footy season, we cover 6–10km at each training session, and we have those two or three times per week. In a game we’ll probably cover anywhere between 8–12km, depending on positions. I also like to get a recovery walk/jog after a game to get the blood flowing.
I like running alone and with company for different reasons. My perfect run would be a high intensity conditioning session: sprints with plenty of rest in between. It’s great to test myself against other athletes when we do conditioning sets, but if I need to clear my mind, then I love running solo.
If I’m struggling with motivation, I always go back and think about my goals and what I want to achieve. That always drives me to push a little harder or do an extra rep.
Sometimes I’ll listen to music while running. I love a bit of Beyoncé – her music keeps me going.
Katie Brennan is making history as part of the AFL Women’s League, which launched its inaugural season in February this year.
– As told to Nadiah Abdulrahim in our April 2017 edition
