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5:30am starts and "hectic" mornings: A day in the life of Turia Pitt.

Want to know how your favourite celebs spend their days? Yep, us too. In Mamamia’s A Day in the Life series, high-profile people share everything from what they eat for breakfast to their pre-bedtime rituals. 

This week, we find out what life looks like for Turia Pitt. 

"Hectic and chaotic."

That's what mornings are like in Turia Pitt's household. 

The mother-of-two is woken up at 5.30am by her three-year-old son, Hakavai.

While many of us reach for our phone first thing in bed, Turia keeps hers in an entirely different room. 

"By having it in a different room, it's kind of removing that temptation," the podcast host and author told Mamamia. 

"I think you can get sucked into a digital vortex of Instagram Stories, emails and notifications... and you sort of start thinking about what everyone else wants from you rather than what you want for yourself."

Watch: Turia Pitt has been to hell and back recovering from catastrophic injuries. Post continues below. 


Video via 60 Minutes.

As a morning person, Turia says she doesn't mind the early starts, even if they are busy.

"The first three hours of the morning are pretty chaotic. I'm playing with the kids, playing hide and seek, jumping on the trampoline, and trying to get them ready... I normally drop Hakavai off at school and Rahiti, the baby, is usually with myself, my partner or my mum."

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When it comes to breakfast, Turia hates having the same thing every day. Except for coffee, of course. 

"For breakfast I'll have chicken soup, or eggs on toast, or a bowl of cereal, yoghurt, that type of thing." 

To keep herself organised, the 34-year-old also likes to plan out her to-do list for the day. 

"I used to be stressed about things I needed to get done that day. But now, I try to just have a list of my top three priorities I need to do."

By 8.30am, she's in her home office and ready to get stuck into work. 

"I work for myself and I work from home so I don't have to worry about driving anywhere or getting to the office by a certain time," she shared.  

"I might just have a couple of meetings, maybe jumping into my 'RUN with Turia' program to do a live, or working on content for an interview on the podcast."

Thankfully, lockdown hasn't affected Turia's job. However, it has impacted her partner, Michael Hoskin, who was recently working as a helicopter pilot in Far North Queensland and couldn't come home for eight weeks.

"He's at home now but he can't get back to work. It was hard when he wasn't here, obviously with the kids. So I think that [lockdown] has affected me but at the same time, I feel really lucky to be able to keep doing the work that I do."

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When it comes to exercise, Turia likes to do something active every day. Some days, that might be a surf or run in the morning or a run in the afternoon in-between work meetings. 

"It depends on what time my workday starts but I love to do something active before I get stuck into things and go for a run... As long as I get in a bit of movement in my day, it makes me feel really good for the rest of the day."

Whether it's for 20 minutes or an hour, running is something she relies upon most for her mental wellbeing. 

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"To me, I've always loved running, it's taught me that I can do hard things, I can keep going. Even when I feel like stopping, all I need to do is put one foot in front of the other and I'll eventually get to the end." 

That said, there's still days where she's not feeling as motivated to get out the door. 

"On those days I say to myself look, just leave the house and run for three minutes or five minutes. And if by then you really don't want to keep running, you can come home because you tried. And usually what happens is after I start, I'll kind of get into it, kind of like a gym class... you don't want to go but then you start to enjoy it."

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For busy mums who are trying to get into running themselves, Turia has some advice. 

"I think it's not so much about finding the time but realising that you can't pour from an empty cup," she says. 

"If you're constantly giving to your family and to everyone around you... and you're making sure the house is tidy, and dinner's ready, and school uniforms are cleaned and ironed, you'll never be able to make it happen for yourself. 

"I never try to make sure everything is done before I go for a run because that's not possible but I guess I give myself permission to make time for myself and I realise if I make that time and I go for a run, I find I'm a better mum. I've got more energy, I'm happier when I'm playing with the kids, and I feel stronger and more capable." 

Listen to Turia Pitt on Mamamia's No Filter. Post continues after podcast.

It's now been 10 years since Turia set out for WA's Kimberley Ultramarathon, which saw her trapped in the flames of a grass fire and suffer horrific burns to 65 per cent of her body. 

Earlier this month, she shared a post on Instagram, recalling what she remembers from that fateful day as a 24-year-old.

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"Ten years on from the fire, this is what I remember. In September 2011, I was trapped by a grassfire during an ultramarathon. I remember the hot Kimberly sun beating down, burning my already burnt skin. I remember accidentally sitting on a bull ant nest. Staring in confusion as the ants started swarming across my legs," she wrote. 

"You write these things that are really personal and private... but I think what I've always done with my story is try to share it and try not to be afraid of being vulnerable or looking silly," Turia told Mamamia. 

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"I feel like stories are really powerful and I hope that by reading my story, it has an impact on people and they can feel like they could change something about their life and they could do something a little bit differently. Or maybe it might just make them feel good." 

At the end of a long day, Turia or Michael will cook dinner for their two sons. Sometimes it might be a slow-cooked meal, other times they opt for something quick and easy like baked beans on toast. 

"I think again, as a parent, I've tried to let go of the expectation that everything needs to be done to a really great standard all the time."

Her evenings are also spent reading her kids stories, spending time with Michael, and enjoying some all-important 'me time'. 

"Sometimes I'll read to Hakavai. And then I read a bit myself and I fall asleep around 8.30pm." 

"Other times, I might have a glass of wine, have a chat to Michael and we might watch something together. I also really like stretching so I might just watch some Netflix and have a bit of 'me time' and stretch."

She also just got back into a new night-time habit. 

"I've just restarted this habit of thinking of three good things that are happening in the day. I think it's good because otherwise you can kind of just rehash all the problems you had from your day or things that went wrong. I think it's helpful to try to shift your focus and think well, what was a win you had that day."

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Then it's lights out before another full day of work, exercise and spending time with her kids. 

Turia's running program, RUN with Turia, is currently open for enrollments. Find out more here, before doors close midnight, October 2.

Feature Image: Instagram/Mamamia. 

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