Louise Cooney on 'juggling' parenting and marathon training
Louise Cooney has lifted the lid on juggling half marathon training with being a toddler mum.
The Limerick infleuncer and her husband Mark Sweeney are parents to little Jude, who was born in November 2023.
The couple completed the Dublin City Half Marathon over the weekend, with Louise now detailing the juggling that went into training.
Louise Cooney pictured at the announcement of the nominees for the Style Awards. Pic: Brian McEvoy
Taking to Instagram on Sunday evening, the mum-of-one responded to a question from a follower who admitted to finding it hard to exercise with a baby.
‘It’s a juggle for sure!’ Louise confirmed, ‘But I love how time efficient running is, you leave from your door and arrive back to your door for me usually 30ish mins later & I always feel like I’ve got a great workout in.’
She went on to admit that the longer runs required for half-marathon training take ‘real commitment’ during the weekends.
Pic: Instagram/ Louise Cooney
‘Mark and I would take turns with Jude, I usually did mine Saturday mornings while Jude has football,’ she shared.
‘Also I will say I didn’t start running ’til Jude was more than a year old, I had no exercise routine the first year it was a little harder to plan.’
The 33-year-old also shared a glimpse into her half marathon training, revealing she started weekly runs last January, and had been unable to run ‘2km straight’ when starting.
Pic: Instagram/ Louise Cooney
‘I tried to get one or two in a week,’ she shared, ‘Then in July I upped it a little. The Runna app is really helpful or ChatGPT can do a running plan for you.’
For the half marathon over the weekend Louise shared she started a proper training plan around six weeks ago, and was backed by the confidence of having done a half marathon in September.
‘If you are thinking of doing one, a September half is much nicer to train for in the summer months,’ she advised.
Pic: Instagram/ Eric Roberts
Ireland AM presenter Eric Roberts also completed the Dublin Half on Sunday, and took to Instagram ‘buzzing’ after the run.
The Donegal man completed the race in just under two hours, but noted he hadn’t given himself a time aim.
‘That’s what’s so special about any of these marathons of half marathons,’ he said, ‘It’s just normal people.
‘It’s so glamorising online; everyone doing sub-three, and people have this expectation of themselves.’
Eric advised people: ‘Just go out and do it; have a bit of fun.’
