About Paula Gibson
I was born in 1973 in Norwich. My parents lived in the country & we always had a very active outdoor lifestyle. My father has his own business as a saddle maker, so he was & still is very active & I think that has rubbed of on me! However, despite liking to spend time outdoors, I never really enjoyed PE lessons at school. Cross country runs & hockey in the middle of winter when you were not allowed to wear long pants were not my idea of fun! It's important to find an exercise that you enjoy, as you'll soon tire of doing something you hate!
I am a firm believer that exercise & fresh air do wonders for your physical & mental well-being. I am also a keen gardener & try to spend time working in our garden (which is great exercise!), & I'm especially interested in growing as much of our own fruit & vegetables as I can.
I went to Manchester Metropolitan University & obtained a BSc Honours in Food Technology. I then spent the next 11 years working in the product development area of the food industry on products such as chocolate to cereal bars to battered fish to crisps. Then in 2005, some significant events happened in my personal life to make me re-evaluate what was really important in life. I want to work with you, to help you get fitter & healthier, lose weight or train for a specific event such as Race for Life.
I do suffer from asthma which can be very frustrating, but exercise does help to improve it. If I don't run for a week or so, then I can really tell the difference. So if you are asthmatic, please don't think that you can't exercise, because you can & it will help! It's something you need to work with & know your limitations. I know that I can't run when it's foggy as the air quality is too bad, so I'll do something else instead, such as go swimming.
I enjoy running & do the Race for Life every year as I think this is a great event to support. This year I will be taking part in the Winchester Race for Life on the 1st June 2008. I will also be doing the Great South Run this year & will be running to raise money for the National Autistic Society, this is a charity that means a lot to me as my 6 year old Godson George is autistic.