The dark side of running

Hello cheeky friends!  Today, we are keeping our authenticity in check and starting a conversation about the darker side of running. As the great Rocky Balboa once said - "...the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows." There's a good chance he was talking about running when he said this, and if sometimes you feel like your relationship with running isn't as positive as you'd like it to be, we hope you'll be able to relate to this ep!

We finish the episode by asking you for a little bit of help in solving a running mystery and as always, finish by awarding  our weekly weapon!

If any of the conversations today have triggered anything for you, we strongly recommend visiting https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/ or https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

If you want to support the show, please follow us wherever you listen to your podcasts or on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheekyrunclub/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cheekyrunclub
Phoebe's Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/38116199
Anna's Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/38585924 

Music produced by Hugh Raper
Logo design by Michael Cotellessa 

Thank-you for listening!

Transcript

Phoebe Mic: 0:00

Cheeky Run Club recognizes that every day we live, work, and run on Aboriginal land. Welcome to episode six of Cheeky Run Club, the social running podcast and community for your everyday amateur runner. Hello, Anna.

Anna: 0:25

Hello, Phoebe.

Phoebe Mic: 0:27

hello, listeners. Today, we're

Anna: 0:35

and talk about how running isn't always healthy or good for you. We'll talk about this generally, but we'll also discuss our own experiences

Phoebe Mic: 0:42

Yeah, one of the things that we said right from the start of this podcast is that we want to provide a really honest, unfiltered perspective on running. And whilst a lot of running is sunshine and daisies, it just didn't feel entirely genuine to pretend that's always the case.

Anna: 0:58

We're then going to, as usual, feature our weekly weapon on the show, um, and then, We might shake things up a

Phoebe Mic: 1:07

little bit. Yeah, shake things up.

Anna: 1:09

uh, we're gonna ask you a question. as usual. Let's start off with our notable runs of the week. Phoebe, gimme your best.

Phoebe Mic: 1:17

Best? Okay, well. Also mixing things up. Really keeping our listeners on their toes.

Anna: 1:22

we are crazy.

Phoebe Mic: 1:24

Wait till you hear this. My worst run of the week is also my best run of the week. Boom.

Anna: 1:30

And a mic. Okay,

Phoebe Mic: 1:34

Um, so I'll talk, I'll break it down for you. Okay, so I'm gonna take you back to um,

Anna: 1:42

to,

Phoebe Mic: 1:43

morning. We

Anna: 1:44

Thursday

Phoebe Mic: 1:45

Yeah,

Anna: 1:46

Yeah. That'd

Phoebe Mic: 1:49

try and insert it. That'd be a whole new level of technology. Yeah. And sound

Anna: 1:56

And sound. Yeah.

Phoebe Mic: 2:00

Um, so take you back to Thursday. It's Thursday morning. It's about. 4am. Sean, my partner and I wake up and there is like screaming outside. This is not

Anna: 2:10

to be. Someone

Phoebe Mic: 2:12

and someone is screaming outside the front of the house. It's a it's a policewoman. She's saying like, get on the ground, hands where I can see them, hands where I can see them, at the top of her voice, absolutely screaming. And we hear like yelling and muffled noises, and it goes on for like 15 minutes, another police car, like she's radioing in for backup, another police car comes. It goes on and on. Eventually they obviously like get them secured or whatever it is. And

Anna: 2:38

whatever it is.

Phoebe Mic: 2:39

I'm like standing at my window trying to see, but they are like right on the other side of the fence, so we can't see them, but we can hear every word they're saying. So we then actually heard the whole conversation the policewoman had with them, which included her asking, How old are you guys? And it was a girl and a boy, and they answered, the girl was 13 and the boy was 14. it was really sad.

Anna: 3:00

And it was really sad. Kids these days.

Phoebe Mic: 3:04

Anna, you can't say that. Um, and anyway, I somehow in this kerfuffle turned my alarm off. which was genuinely wasn't intentional. I was meant to be meeting my friend Millie for a run on air, like to apologize to Millie. I did not meet her for the run. I did wake up just before were meant to be leaving and I let her know,

Anna: 3:26

This is a very elaborate excuse to not turn up to your run with Millie.

Phoebe Mic: 3:33

Yeah, it's all a ruse. I

Anna: 3:35

know about this.

Phoebe Mic: 3:37

Um, so I'd

Anna: 3:38

Phoebe rolled over in the middle of the night, turned her alarm off and said, Sorry Millie, not today.

Phoebe Mic: 3:44

no, I fully intended, but then, and so then it was like quarter past six. I was so tired and I was like, what do I do? I've missed my run with Millie. Sean had no interest in running. but I knew I needed to go for a run and I just faffed about for 30 minutes. I got up and I just was procrastinating, procrastinating. And I really didn't want to do it. this is the worst run of the week bit. I just was not interested. I had no motivation. I'd lost my chance to do it with a friend. I was feeling tired. And then I remembered,

Anna: 4:12

And

Phoebe Mic: 4:13

Tip from listener Indie. Watchless runs.

Anna: 4:17

Ah,

Phoebe Mic: 4:17

I was like, that's what I need to do. I just need to take the pressure off this run. And I just need to get out the door and who cares how long I run for, just do a a little bit of the river and come back. and I just set off and just jogged for a bit and I came back into the daylight because the sun was well and truly up at this point. And I just set off and I did my run and it was wonderful. Oh

Anna: 4:40

my gosh, how cool.

Phoebe Mic: 4:42

Although I mix, as I was running, I'd like, I went on some slightly different ways. So normally I run along a very busy road to get to the river, and I can run on back streets, which are nicer, but there's a big hill in them, and then you go downstairs. It's just really inconvenient normally if you're running, but I was like. I'm not just really mixed it up. So yeah, it was a great run in

Anna: 5:03

run down,

Phoebe Mic: 5:04

Yeah. so now you've got, you've got the floor, worst run, best

Anna: 5:09

run, best run. I would

Phoebe Mic: 5:12

would like your worst run,

Anna: 5:14

Worst run first. My worst run starts with a nice story. I was lucky enough to attend Taylor Swift along with her 96, 000 other number one fans, on Saturday night, which was one of the best nights

Phoebe Mic: 5:32

of my life. No, you said Anna told me this morning that she confidently pronounced to her husband that it was the best night of her life. Six weeks post marriage. Yeah.

Anna: 5:45

Oh,

Phoebe Mic: 5:46

It's okay. She's been

Anna: 5:47

She's been around a long time.

Phoebe Mic: 5:49

time. Yeah. It's been a long relationship with

Anna: 5:52

Yeah.

Phoebe Mic: 5:52

Anyway,

Anna: 5:56

Obviously, it's another Taylor Swift podcast. So,

Phoebe Mic: 5:59

so,

Anna: 6:00

about that. no. So, that was amazing. I don't know how she does it. Not to talk about Taylor

Phoebe Mic: 6:08

And then proceeds to go on to monologue about Taylor Swift.

Anna: 6:12

she is insane. I, uh, didn't sort of have any like alcoholic drinks because I didn't want to miss any of the show and go to the bathroom. So I, Wasn't hungover in the slightest but at the same time kind of felt hungover because I had just been like singing my heart out for three and a half hours

Phoebe Mic: 6:28

I was just

Anna: 6:30

Yeah, and I was just thinking oh my gosh, how does she do that and then back up? again and again and again. And like, also I wasn't performing.

Phoebe Mic: 6:39

Well you

Anna: 6:40

I was in a way in my own

Phoebe Mic: 6:42

special way.

Anna: 6:45

But yeah, anyway, so back to my worst run of the week. so then on the Sunday, I just had sort of 30 35 minutes and I listened to the ERA's tour. set

Phoebe Mic: 6:57

set list, and

Anna: 6:59

just to sort of like debrief with

Phoebe Mic: 7:01

de griefed with myself.

Anna: 7:03

And I got, yeah, and I just, I really, I struggled on the run because I just felt sad that it was all over.

Phoebe Mic: 7:10

sad that it was all over. Happy that it happened. Don't cry because it's over. Smile that it

Anna: 7:17

my Strava capsule

Phoebe Mic: 7:19

Did you

Anna: 7:19

Yeah, yeah, Yes, that is my worst run of the week. My best run of the week was Saturday. We went out to Eaglemont, which is these really flat trails. North of Melbourne. We had a really good group. Phoebe was there, it was just nice vibes, very relaxed

Phoebe Mic: 7:41

relaxed.

Anna: 7:41

and then,

Phoebe Mic: 7:42

part, I know exactly where this is going. There,

Anna: 7:46

there, I organized this run and I happen to know that there is a gluten free cafe seven minutes from where we were meeting. Coincidence?

Phoebe Mic: 7:57

You decide.

Anna: 7:58

You decide. Anyway, so normally after we go for a long run, quite often, Everyone kind of gets a bacon and egg roll, whatever, and I either get it on the crappy gluten free bread, or just, often I actually just bring my own breakfast, cause, it's almost more depressing getting something that's just not that good, yeah. Anyway, so, this time, I got my bacon and egg, cheese and tomato relish, Turkish roll, and wasn't I proud?

Phoebe Mic: 8:25

What a day.

Anna: 8:26

an absolute day. You

Phoebe Mic: 8:27

know what's so funny is I forgot we, we cut out a few episodes ago. Anna went on a tirade about this, this cafe. It's called Strada.

Anna: 8:36

Cafe Strada.

Phoebe Mic: 8:37

Cafe Strada. And we had to cut it out because it was

Anna: 8:39

out

Phoebe Mic: 8:39

minutes of monologuing from Anna. But I just realized that they wouldn't have gotten

Anna: 8:43

sponsor us. No, so yes, we went to the gluten free cafe, Cafe

Phoebe Mic: 8:47

This will be cut

Anna: 8:48

Yeah, yeah. Um, yes. Best

Phoebe Mic: 8:55

Best run

Anna: 8:56

Best run of the week. So the main topic of the week is the dark side of running. As Phoebe said in the introduction, we wanted to provide a really honest, unfiltered perspective on running. And this is something that we talked about doing as an episode way back when we first conceived the idea of the pod. but we've held off on it because we weren't quite sure what the best way was to

Phoebe Mic: 9:23

this

Anna: 9:24

start this conversation and yeah, have this conversation.

Phoebe Mic: 9:28

That's right, but the reality is that the up side of running that we've spoken so much about and the dark side of running that we're about to speak about are in some ways two sides of the same coin, and if you're running for long enough, you will inevitably experience both sides. So it kind of felt dishonest to sit here and pretend that people only ever have really healthy, wholesome relationships with running.

Anna: 9:49

We actually wanted to be able to talk really openly about these struggles because it is more reflection, of the running experience, even though it's still something that is relatively unspoken about or taboo in some way, even like with our close running circles, we don't really speak about it. I feel like, yeah, there's a sort of sense of shame around it all.

Phoebe Mic: 10:10

bit of a taboo topic

Anna: 10:11

hope for talking about this stuff on the pod, uh, is also kind of a terrifying idea, is that it helps others talk about the same topic with their running friends or family members too.

Phoebe Mic: 10:23

running friends

Anna: 10:23

And therefore

Phoebe Mic: 10:26

darker side of

Anna: 10:27

the darker side of running.

Phoebe Mic: 10:29

as we

Anna: 10:30

Creates more light.

Phoebe Mic: 10:31

to be honest, we haven't sure how to broach this topic in a way that's sensitive, accurate, helpful, so we've been a bit hesitant. But we have this realisation that kind of the best way to start, or the only place we can really start, is by talking about our own experiences. And then in future episodes, this is something that I think we'll talk about a lot, and we'll dive in on properly, and we'll get experts and psychologists and the like on. But for now, it will just be us. Just us.

Anna: 10:59

Alright, Phoebe, so when we are talking about the dark side of running, what do we actually mean?

Phoebe Mic: 11:05

Yeah, we've been just taking it for granted that when we say ominously the dark side of running, everyone will immediately, yeah, everyone will immediately know what we're talking about. We're basically just talking about unhealthy relationships of running. which essentially, if you come back to your running why, like we love to talk about, what's motivating you to run? How is that motivation impacting the way you're engaging with it? so I guess to kick us off, Anna Yeah. Can you tell us about a time when running hasn't been a good thing for you?

Anna: 11:34

you tell us about a time when running hasn't been a good thing for you? Had a like chronic hamstring tendinopathy issue and I, I struggled, I think because running, not only is it my outlet of exercise and the thing that I like doing best in terms of activity. but also there's this social outlet which I just love being engrossed in. So I struggled through that without probably acknowledging that I struggled through and then got back into running. Everything was all good. And then I started to feel pretty much exactly the same thing, but in my other leg.

Phoebe Mic: 12:18

other leg. And, kept running

Anna: 12:20

I just kept running, kind of like push through. I remember doing a run in Sydney when I was visiting my brother and sister in law who live up there. And I was like hobbling on the run, but I just had to push through. keep running because it was almost like I was in denial that something was actually wrong. And I was fearful of what was to come. so I wasn't actually listening to my body at all. And instead kept trying to push through, which in turn actually just made the injury so much worse. and then I inevitably, I think almost had another 12 months off running.

Phoebe Mic: 12:57

another 12 months off running. Uh, yeah,

Anna: 13:03

Uh, yeah, I think so. I mean, I feel like I actually still struggle with that even today I struggle to be kind to myself if I don't go for a run. And if I don't go for a run, then, I think I, I just don't feel like my best self and then in turn, uh, probably a little bit harsher, with my own like self thought but I think the, the way that has helped me and it's very much a work in progress is even though I run and I like love to run, that is just not solely who I am. So I like identify that is like part of my life, but it's actually not my whole life. And

Phoebe Mic: 13:48

whether or

Anna: 13:48

or not I'm able to run, doesn't impact my worth. So for example, which. To you and my other friends credit last time I was injured I started swimming a little bit and then we have now we have a little swim squad and I think just making sure even though you can't run, even though I wouldn't, wasn't able to run, I would like make a conscious effort to go to coffee after and like meet everyone. So then I was actually still getting that social outlet. And although it wasn't quite the same, it was still like I was having fun

Phoebe Mic: 14:18

Why, why do you think, what do you think is it about running that,

Anna: 14:22

think

Phoebe Mic: 14:23

means that you'd develop that more intense relationship with it as a hobby as opposed to any other activity you would do or sport you've played?

Anna: 14:31

intense relationship with it as a hobby, as opposed would do or sport you'd

Phoebe Mic: 14:41

unless you

Anna: 14:42

it's because I'm more passionate about running than I am about certain other things in my life. And I also like the sense of accountability that it gives me, but I think it's just about learning to, be able to transition that sense of accomplishment to other things. So even if it's. As small as being like, I'm gonna cook something new each week, just sort of having, I like having things to do outside of work, I, I like the idea of like working to. Live rather than living to work. Um, so I think it's just like putting other things in place and like creating more

Phoebe Mic: 15:22

interests. Mm.

Anna: 15:23

And that doesn't have to necessarily be like physical activity. It can be, like, I love going to the footy and like watching the D's play every week. Um, yeah. Yeah,

Phoebe Mic: 15:34

So it's like the structures.

Anna: 15:36

I think so, yeah. Yeah. Yeah,

Phoebe Mic: 15:39

so

Anna: 15:39

That's interesting. Um, so yeah, I think that's, that's me.

Phoebe Mic: 15:45

Anna, thank you for your vulnerability.

Anna: 15:47

Anytime. Um,

Phoebe Mic: 15:49

uncomfortable right now.

Anna: 15:51

I'm sweating. Has running ever been a negative influence on your life?

Phoebe Mic: 15:58

Uh,

Anna: 15:59

In your life, sorry, I should say.

Phoebe Mic: 16:01

In my life, I can think of a few times, probably one time stands out in particular.

Anna: 16:05

of

Phoebe Mic: 16:06

This was a couple of years ago when I lived in Sydney. And in the lead up to this, I'd only been running really, I'd say very casually, for a few years. I wouldn't, I didn't have a watch, a garment, I didn't use Strava, I didn't really run with friends, I played soccer and touch and I would run to keep fit. And just because it made, because it made me feel good I'd like get out and go for a run. I knew that I lacked running but I didn't think about it much beyond that. And then at the same time, COVID happened. I was like responsible for a big team at work under a lot of financial pressure during COVID. Like it was a very stressful time for the business. And I was like copying a lot of that stress from the rest of the team, I would say. And that kind of coincided with, getting a coach and starting to run a lot. So a friend was like, Hey, you love running. Come join this running group, get a coach, amazing. I still think it's one of the best things I've ever done. Best decisions I've ever made. But at the time I wasn't really prepared for the impact running would maybe have on my life. And I went pretty quickly from running maybe 10, 15 Ks a week to 60 running like most days. and then the more intense. Things got at work, the more I wanted to run and the more I fixated on running as an outlet and it became just like this thing that I could control when I felt like my life was out of control. it's, it's interesting, like,

Anna: 17:30

say

Phoebe Mic: 17:30

I wouldn't say it was ever like a,

Anna: 17:32

say,

Phoebe Mic: 17:33

Um, say like, I don't think it wasn't like a body image thing per se, but I did have like some old beliefs about running lingering from maybe uni and when I, you know, ran as a teenager. So I definitely wasn't, I would, I was just not feeling myself right. Like I remember I used to think I would never have a gel in any run, even when I was doing really long runs. Cause in my head it was like, Oh, like what's the point of going for run then. Which is insane, but I really had this, weird, I had these weird old narratives still in my head that I hadn't, learned to get rid of yet. But

Anna: 18:07

hadn't like learned to get rid of yet. Growing up as a woman you kind of have

Phoebe Mic: 18:12

kind of have these, like, social

Anna: 18:14

Pressures to sort of like look a certain way be a certain way, you know, you look at you look at people who are faster

Phoebe Mic: 18:22

at people who

Anna: 18:24

skin and bone, which is through a lot of

Phoebe Mic: 18:27

and you know, they're like skin to come back to like this time in my life where it wasn't as healthy, like, so I kept kind of pushing, I was running more and more and more, and I was really militant, like I wouldn't miss a run. I would not, a session that was prescribed, a run that was prescribed, I would not miss a minute, no matter how tired I was, no matter how By the way there was no matter what other priorities I had on and it definitely it got to the point where like it Became a point of tension in my relationship at the time I remember my parents making some like gentle comments about like do you think you need a bit more flexibility? With how you're approaching you're running which in retrospect. I absolutely did

Anna: 19:08

Yeah,

Phoebe Mic: 19:13

was like so I was like That was the only metric I had for are you taking this too far is like, are you losing weight? Are you now know like is not a good metric at all like I don't

Anna: 19:24

the

Phoebe Mic: 19:24

the, the fact that it was impacting my relationships was the metric really. Um, but you just have, when you're getting into running, I mean, I feel like I just had to learn every single lesson about those things. Like, Oh yeah, you have this idea of like, Oh, if you're, if you run too much, you lose weight. And that's how, you know, you're like overdoing it. You need to recalibrate.

Anna: 19:43

like overdoing

Phoebe Mic: 19:43

And like, inevitably what happened was COVID finished. I started working a lot more, socializing a lot more and just getting injured. And like the injuries started and once they started, like they just kept coming. And so I just had to learn like every. As I said, like, every single lesson in terms of like, go and see a dietitian, I was doing like fortnightly physio appointments for a while just to try and figure out all the parts of my body that I like hadn't kept strong enough or wasn't,

Anna: 20:10

whatever. Yeah, yeah, I

Phoebe Mic: 20:12

Yeah, exactly, yes, definitely, and like so many reflections on like, Why I run to come back to that and like how the way I was running wasn't actually serving that why at all

Anna: 20:22

being a

Phoebe Mic: 20:23

But yeah, been a big learning curve. It

Anna: 20:25

But yeah, I also, I think that one of the beautiful things about running as well is I know that we're talking about the dark side of running, but is just that con like you're constantly learning and, not just about running itself, but like about

Phoebe Mic: 20:41

running but

Anna: 20:44

your, yeah, your body, like your,

Phoebe Mic: 20:47

body,

Anna: 20:48

your thoughts, how you view certain things. And yeah, I think that, yeah, that's a really beautiful

Phoebe Mic: 20:54

you use certain things, and, yeah, I think that, yeah.

Anna: 21:05

you know what I I mean that from

Phoebe Mic: 21:07

How is your life going in general? And I mean that from the sense of like now when I get injured and I was speaking to

Anna: 21:12

this last

Phoebe Mic: 21:13

my coach Gary about this last week is like, I think now when I get injured, it's as much a reflection of I'm not sleeping enough. I'm pushing myself too hard at work as it is my running program, like probably more so. And so how I feel in runs is like the Clearest, signal of like, are you treating your body right? Are you, like, resting enough? Are you feeling energized by how you're spending your time at work, socially, etc.? Like, I feel like your body tells

Anna: 21:40

Yeah. It's almost, instead of the,

Phoebe Mic: 21:43

the,

Anna: 21:43

yeah, Apple watch or Garmin saying, beep, you seem stressed.

Phoebe Mic: 21:47

seem refreshed. Yeah, you feel it.

Anna: 21:50

I, I don't feel great.

Phoebe Mic: 21:52

yeah, it's and you've got to be able to take so long to listen to that. And I feel like I'm still like learning so much

Anna: 22:01

Yeah. Yeah.

Phoebe Mic: 22:03

Like it makes me think about the type of people that running can attract all this kind of maybe like intense relationship with running. Yeah. it's like what you were saying is like running can provide this like really. strong framework for, routine improvement, stability. It's something that you can get so sucked into. Because it's so black and white. It's like what you put in is what feels so black and white. It's obviously there's so much multifactorial, but.

Anna: 22:34

And I think that as well that,

Phoebe Mic: 22:37

that, which

Anna: 22:38

I didn't actually mention before, is kind of being able to have like control over something because there's like so many things. In life that you don't really have control over. so it's nice to be able to control something. And I think like that is really nice and that is healthy, but I think just to a certain point, and I think like, obviously some people are way more, vulnerable to being like a little bit, if you kind of had that like obsessive kind of. personality and, but yeah, I just feel like, and that's not just, it's not, this isn't to like, scare people away at all from running, but I just think by talking about it and being able to maybe like, recognize those kind of orange flags in your

Phoebe Mic: 23:25

I hope so. Yeah. Because I, I'd be so, I can't imagine there's a single person listening to this right now that. Is like, I have no idea what you're talking about. Even if, even if you haven't run very much, that would be thinking like, Oh, I never have those thoughts about running. I never think about running in an unhealthy way. Um, I only ever think like pure wholesome thoughts about running. I think no matter how you, or if you're, if you're like someone who drops in and out of running quite a bit, I think there's like a lot, it's often these kind of same forces plaguing you that are plaguing Anna and I. We're just still trying to, still trying to work through them.

Anna: 24:02

Still trying to work through them, yeah exactly, um, I think there are a few factors that that

Phoebe Mic: 24:08

that contribute to, um, maybe, sort

Anna: 24:11

um, maybe sort of like losing that sense of control or, um, that darker side of running. And I think one of them like can potentially be something like Strava.

Phoebe Mic: 24:21

Strava. Mmm, yeah. Because,

Anna: 24:24

at the end of the day, like I am big, I love Strava.

Phoebe Mic: 24:28

love Strava. We love Strava. Disclaimer. Big Strava fans.

Anna: 24:31

Um, but I think as well, we're, we're confident. Within ourselves and see it because we like the numbers, but I think quite broad, like broadly speaking now, it's almost become another channel of social media where,

Phoebe Mic: 24:54

Well, it's like the highlight reel on Instagram. It's like people, people, it forces you to, it incentivizes you to want to portray the best version of yourself. And I think, I mean, I can speak to on Instagram, like I stopped, I mean, I no longer have like a personal account, but I stopped posting because I felt that so much of that pressure to be like, what? Who am I showing? How am I like showing myself to other people or whatever? Yeah, just like, kind of felt easier to tap out and to not have that weighing over my head. Okay, here's maybe a parallel. Like, I used to, I'd be taking photos and I'd be thinking about I'm going to put them on Instagram. And I hated that, because I was like, Oh my God, you're not in the moment. You're not enjoying this. You're thinking about, like, later what other people think of this picture. Which is human nature. Like, we want to share things. But it was detracting from, like, being present. Because I was thinking about, like, Oh, quick, I'll take a photo so I can put it on Instagram. And I feel like it could be the exact same with running and

Anna: 25:49

Oh yeah, similarly, if you're running and you're not feeling great and want to slow down, but You're self conscious of if you slow down and then you have Strava And it's gonna be slower than your last runs or you're not hitting the pace that you wanted to. I mean, you're not actually Present in that moment and listening to your body nor are you actually

Phoebe Mic: 26:15

think

Anna: 26:17

you're not doing it for the right reasons then and I think there's yeah, I think I think Strava is a like great tool, um, but I think sometimes like you need to be mindful about why you're using it and how you're using it. I think as well like it's because it is. Yeah, it's funny, like, there's so much more we can unpack about Strava, but in so many ways, if, like, that mindset doesn't work for you,

Phoebe Mic: 26:57

it's funny, like there's so much more we can unpack about Strava, but in so many ways, it's like that mindset is like the antithesis of what the running mindset should be where you're like feeling so present and grateful. Um, it's you, you, you just flip into this like comparison mindset or this like, um, spotlight effect, like you're just thinking about what other people are looking at you thinking. Yeah. Um, yeah,

Anna: 27:22

effect, like you're just thinking about and

Phoebe Mic: 27:26

But yeah, I mean there's, obviously this has been a problem pre strava and will be a problem for people post strava as well. It's just like an interesting, same with watches and so on, like they've all kind of changed that dynamic. I, I don't know, I feel like we've like just scratched the surface here. There is so much more we could talk about. But yeah, hopefully that was, I hope that was like Helpful or insightful in some way,

Anna: 27:48

Yeah, but I, I mean, like personally, like I find that interesting what you were saying because obviously everyone's running journeys, uh, different. And I think like

Phoebe Mic: 28:00

things in

Anna: 28:01

a lot of other things in life, you kind of think it's, Oh, it's just me that

Phoebe Mic: 28:04

might be my baby.

Anna: 28:06

sometimes like struggle with that kind of darker side. Um, but

Phoebe Mic: 28:10

especially when we're sitting here being like, running's

Anna: 28:12

yeah, yeah, yeah. It's awesome.

Phoebe Mic: 28:14

If we think that

Anna: 28:15

Yeah, exactly.

Phoebe Mic: 28:16

side, then yeah. It has a dark side

Anna: 28:18

yeah. And like, it is great for so many reasons, but I think it is important to acknowledge and like, recognize that there is um, the like, not so nice side. And I think as well, the more you're aware of something, the probably less likely you are, um, to move into that space yourself. Yeah,

Phoebe Mic: 28:37

I think so. Learn from our

Anna: 28:40

um, Yeah, yeah.

Phoebe Mic: 28:44

from now on, in this pod as well, we can, like, talk really candidly about this stuff. Like, it should be a space for that. And, yeah, I don't know, chat, chat to your friends about it. Like, it doesn't need to be a, this doesn't, this shouldn't be a big taboo topic. It should be, like, acknowledging that this is something that everyone who ever goes for runs battles with. It's like, why are we running? What are the negative motivations? What are those, like, negative narratives? Let's bring them, bring them to light.

Anna: 29:09

Bring them to

Phoebe Mic: 29:09

a

Anna: 29:09

life. Mm. Yep. Alright, on to our next segment. Possibly my favourite segment of the show is the Weekly Weapon. This week We are going all the way back to episode one,

Phoebe Mic: 29:25

Throwback.

Anna: 29:26

throwback. Once again, we need the time sounds and talking to our friend Peachy, who one of her running resolutions was to run consistently and build up to a 10 kilometer run over the course of the year. So we're going to check in with her and see how she's tracking.

Phoebe Mic: 29:49

we?

Anna: 29:52

cheeky girl. How are we? Ah, good. How are you? Good, thank you. Phoebe, do you want to let P. G. know what she's doing on

Phoebe Mic: 30:01

you wanna let Peachie know doing on air? It depends. A few weeks ago, Peachy, on air, you set a goal, and you, you set a commitment, and we are here to do some accountability and check in with you. or do you want to remind the listeners what your, what your goal was and what you committed to? Yeah,

Anna: 30:31

so my goal was to run 10km at the end of the year, which is quite a, I mean, not a huge distance, but it is for me, and it's for a very good cause, which is close to my heart. have you come across any hurdles? Oof. Oof, dear. I've learned a lot about running most recently. I feel a lot of hate. So I hate hills. I hate hot weather.

Phoebe Mic: 30:57

to

Anna: 30:58

running solo.

Phoebe Mic: 30:59

and like,

Anna: 31:01

working through those things. but that's been a big learning curve and then Yeah, I guess you guys have taught me so much as well, so far, from shoes to bowel habits and, um, but yes, I, yeah, I think I'm tacking well, but yes, still a lot to learn. Yep, so the goal remains the same? Yes, so, drumroll please, I have ran 5. 67 kilometres. Woohoo! So, I feel like my goal of 10 kilometres. Is still achievable. I've got nine months to go. So, um, Girl, bring it forward. Yeah. I don't think I can. I just, knowing that I've still got plenty of But, nice to, yeah, nice to enjoy the,

Phoebe Mic: 31:49

Enjoy the build, yeah.

Anna: 31:50

Yes. Yeah. So, yeah. I'm loving it.

Phoebe Mic: 31:55

hating

Anna: 31:57

So, Phoebe, is she deserving of the title, Weekly Weapon? Look,

Phoebe Mic: 32:03

Look, it's a big title.

Anna: 32:05

And it's

Phoebe Mic: 32:05

And it's an honour, isn't it? Really. You're following in

Anna: 32:11

And I would say

Phoebe Mic: 32:17

yes, you are our

Anna: 32:18

our winner! Woohoo! Go Peachy!

Phoebe Mic: 32:22

Congratulations! Your check's

Anna: 32:23

check's in the mail! We'll send you a prize. Um, alright. Thank you so much, Peachy, for checking in with us. And We

Phoebe Mic: 32:35

We checked in with her!

Anna: 32:42

No worries, thanks

Phoebe Mic: 32:44

Thanks, Peachy.

Anna: 32:45

Thanks. Go Dees.

Phoebe Mic: 32:47

Go Dees! Go Dees! Alright, so, um, we've been finishing off traditionally with, we've been mixing it up between either listener questions or listener recommendations. And we're This time we're flipping both of those

Anna: 33:03

things. Both?

Phoebe Mic: 33:04

Both of them. Because I'm going to give an Yeah. No, I messaged

Anna: 33:08

Oh no, sorry.

Phoebe Mic: 33:09

I'm here.

Anna: 33:09

Okay, let's do that again.

Phoebe Mic: 33:10

we're going to. Give an anti recommendation, and we're going to ask a question, ask a question to the listeners. It's actually a, it's a mystery that we need the listeners to help us solve. Running mystery.

Anna: 33:23

mystery.

Phoebe Mic: 33:24

so I have an anti recommendation.

Anna: 33:26

Yes. Give it to me.

Phoebe Mic: 33:27

couple of weeks ago, on air, I came forward with a challenge I was having with Chafe, sports bra Chafe. Okay, I opened up,

Anna: 33:34

Yeah. And I remember that you said from a listener you were advised to use

Phoebe Mic: 33:42

Vaseline, I was? Yeah. Dom. No, no, no, no. Listener Dom. Vaseline. Which, um, I fully intended to take on board, but forgot. And over the last week or so, my sports bra chafe has been getting worse and worse. It is now like, it's like a cut. It's like a scab. I know, it's really gross. Like, yeah. No, it's gross. And it's painful. And, this morning, I was so frustrated. I was like, how have I still forgotten to buy Vaseline? Even when I put my sports bra on, it hurt. I hadn't even started running yet. And then, I spied with my little eye, a tub of

Anna: 34:19

gosh. Oh! Ow! Oh my gosh. That would hurt so much. It's basically just Vaseline with a bit of menthol in it.

Phoebe Mic: 34:31

is basically just Vaseline with a bit of menthol in it. And I was like,

Anna: 34:34

an anti recommendation. Do not, if you are thinking of doing

Phoebe Mic: 34:40

my chafe. And this is an anti recommendation. Do not, if you are thinking, if the thought ever crosses your mind to use Vicks on your shave,

Anna: 34:51

I cannot, I cannot anti

Phoebe Mic: 34:54

anti recommend it enough. It's incredibly painful.

Anna: 34:58

It's

Phoebe Mic: 34:59

it burned, yeah, so there's a great anti recommendation. Hopefully I've saved a lot of you from making that same mistake. Just to follow up

Anna: 35:08

on the Vaseline recommendation. I was told that it's actually better to use Pawpaw instead of Vaseline because it is more natural. Vaseline, hang on a second while I google what their active ingredient is for Vaseline. Oh, well it's, meh, it's petroleum jelly. So, um, no,

Phoebe Mic: 35:32

Quickly, Google.

Anna: 35:33

quickly google pawpaw ointment is

Phoebe Mic: 35:38

it's a high percentage. Campyra ointment. No, that's Hang on a second.

Anna: 35:43

Hang on a second. yeah, no, sorry. Yeah. Active ingredients is, is papaya, so it's natural. So not only will it not stain your clothes like we were talking about with Vaseline, pawpaw smells better. It doesn't stay in your clothes. And What are you You've searched something! It

Phoebe Mic: 36:06

jelly. It just has a very minuscule amount of fresh fermented purple.

Anna: 36:12

they're

Phoebe Mic: 36:13

base is pharmaceutical grade petroleum jelly.

Anna: 36:17

Shots fired. Luka. Luka, if that is your real name, who owns the Luka's Poilport

Phoebe Mic: 36:25

I think it's Lucas. Lucas. Yeah, wow, well, this is another mystery to solve. But we can't delay because I have a different mystery for us to solve. there's a running mystery live in Melbourne right now. so I'm so sorry if you're not in Melbourne. You're excluded from helping us solve, or maybe you're not, maybe you'll have a lead for us. and, Maybe it might

Anna: 36:50

you'll have a lead for us.

Phoebe Mic: 36:52

my gosh. That is, okay, well we'll see. So the mystery is that in certain running trails all over Melbourne, so specifically Gardiners Creek Trail and Anniversary Trail, which are two very common, inner city almost trails that go through suburbs, someone has been leaving messages. And they're specific messages. They are for Mary Fowler.

Anna: 37:19

Merry Fowler. Merry

Phoebe Mic: 37:20

incredible, unbelievable Matilda player. and it's been going on for a little while now. over Christmas, there was one that said, there was a big one that said, Merry Christmas, Mary Fowler. It was covered in tinsel. So someone's writing with chalk on, on walls, on the floor, everywhere, messages to Mary Fowler.

Anna: 37:37

few hundred metres. Someone is spending, and they're

Phoebe Mic: 37:43

everywhere, every few hundred metres, someone is spending, and they're fresh, every weekend they're fresh, someone is spending an unbelievable amount of time out there writing more messages for Mary Fowler on the running trails.

Anna: 37:55

the running trails. Nathan

Phoebe Mic: 37:58

my god, get some cameras out there! So we had Mary Fowler is back, thank god, she is magic number 11. Uh, obviously we had Merry Christmas, Mary Fowler. When Sam co did her ACL, there was a lot of, um, You're up, it's your time now, Mary Mary Fowler is god, trust me. They got a bit around Taylor Swift. This one says Mary Fowler number 11, Taylor Swift number 13. Just getting amongst the Swifty vibes. Then they really mix it up. They've got, they've getting a bit of creative license and they're saying things like, this is a good cafe and drawing a little arrow off to cafes. So someone's just taking it upon themselves to like narrate. These running trails all over Melbourne. And we want to find out who, who they are. I'll put up, we'll put up pictures, we'll share pictures. If this is happening in any other cities, if anyone else has noticed

Anna: 38:48

pictures, we'll share pictures. If this is

Phoebe Mic: 38:51

Because, to my knowledge, Marifal doesn't live in Melbourne. It's

Anna: 38:55

my knowledge, Maripal

Phoebe Mic: 38:56

Sydney, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, and so I don't know why they've chosen these select areas to write lots of messages to Mary Fowler. Please

Anna: 39:04

So please help us

Phoebe Mic: 39:05

help! Help. This is, this is becoming, fast becoming like a true crime.

Anna: 39:12

Help.

Phoebe Mic: 39:14

Petty crime. It's not even a crime. Just petty suburban mysteries.

Anna: 39:18

Help. again next week.

Phoebe Mic: 39:31

Can

Anna: 39:32

The listener's ears.

Phoebe Mic: 39:34

change?

Anna: 39:35

Something will have changed. Can you enlighten us on what would have changed?

Phoebe Mic: 39:44

we do the initiative with getting

Anna: 39:46

No, Phoebe Pincus, founder of Cheeky Run Club, co founder,

Phoebe Mic: 39:51

co founder, is

Anna: 39:53

Turning 30.

Phoebe Mic: 39:55

The

Anna: 39:57

goes wild again. Sorry, everyone get around Phoebe.

Phoebe Mic: 40:06

you, Something that we did actually forget to say that you just reminded me, that Thank you so much to everyone who has submitted their running profiles. We have been overrun. Literally, so many of you want running friends that we've decided we can't just pick one and pitch you on the podcast. We have another solution, which, follow, keep following along on our Instagram, it's unfolding live right now. And you will see soon. Keep a close eye on our Instagram, that's, that's all we'll say.

Anna: 40:32

That's all we'll say. All right. That is it for episode six.

Phoebe Mic: 40:37

best

Anna: 40:38

huge. the best way that you can support us is by clicking follow on Apple or Spotify. Tell a friend, post an Instagram story of where you're listening. Let us know what you're

Phoebe Mic: 40:50

love to see, yeah. Uh, at CheekyRhymeClub, follow us on Instagram. We're also on TikTok, if anyone feels like following our TikTok. It's not getting many followers, so, don't say that. Have pity on us.

Anna: 41:04

traction.

Phoebe Mic: 41:05

We're doing our best to build track. Oh, okay, this is the real request. If you really like our content, help us on, go like, do something on our TikTok, like comment,

Anna: 41:14

Like,

Phoebe Mic: 41:15

like, watch, even, because we need help on, or give us TikTok feedback, why aren't we

Anna: 41:22

Once again, so much for spending the We will be in your ears next week. Let's She

Phoebe Mic: 41:36

gets it.

Anna: 41:40

It could be the weekly flopper. What's