How to prep for a race

Gooood morning cheeky chums 🍌
 
In our final episode of season 2 we demystify how to prep for a race. We talk through how to taper, carb load, manage pre-race nerves, and plan out a race strategy. We also bust some race day myths and answer some race-related listener questions.

We then let rip three (3) SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!!!! Very excited to share with you all.

👉 Register to join us on our gold coast shake-out run here

This episode of Cheeky Run Club is brought to you by Pillar Performance and they have been generous enough to  give our Cheeky community a discount code. Use  CHEEKY for 15% off at checkout on your first order! Shop here, or for any North American listeners here.

If you want to support the show, please follow us wherever you listen to your podcasts or on social media: Instagram, Tiktok, Cheeky Run Club Strava community, plus Phoebe's Strava and Anna's Strava.

Music produced by Hugh Raper

Logo design by Michael Cotellessa 

Thank you for listening!

Transcript

Phoebe: 0:00

Cheeky Run Club recognises that every day we live, work and run on Aboriginal land. This

Anna: 0:11

a micronutrition company that's mission is to get athletes to the start line in best condition over and over again.

Phoebe: 0:22

Welcome to the final episode of Cheeky Run Club of season

Anna: 0:27

2. Of the second season of

Phoebe: 0:34

season of Cheeky Run Club. Wow, imagine. Am I done? Ken's closing. We said,

Anna: 0:41

fans are going crazy! And we've been

Phoebe: 0:49

we've clocked it.

Anna: 0:50

it!

Phoebe: 0:51

We've clocked it. So, I'll try again. Welcome to the final season. Episode of season two of Cheeky Run Club, the social running podcast and community for your everyday amateur runner. Hello, Anna.

Anna: 1:05

Hello, Phoebe.

Phoebe: 1:06

And hello, listeners.

Anna: 1:09

Today, we're chatting about how to prep for a race. We'll work chronologically through everything you should know from the taper a few weeks out to the prep and the carb load in the days leading up to it, to race day nerves, race nutrition, race strategy, some self talk, and all of the bathroom challenges in

Phoebe: 1:26

challenges in this room. Um, we're then going to chat about,

Anna: 1:33

we're then going to chat about not just one, not just two, but three very special announcements to finish off the last episode of season two. I don't know if you guys can tell, but we are a little bit tired. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Phoebe: 1:55

not good for anyone.

Anna: 1:56

Um, uh, but first let's kick it off with our notable runs of the week. Give me your best.

Phoebe: 2:00

My best run was on Sunday morning. Mm hmm. It was rainy morning, long weekend here in Melbourne and Sundays of a long weekend, they're just like, it's kind of like the time between Christmas and New Year's, you know those days that just like, you don't keep track of time, whatever, I don't know. You

Anna: 2:21

don't know. Yeah, yeah. And it's just rainy. It's

Phoebe: 2:25

Everyone's, yeah, yeah, and I went for a run with, my partner,

Anna: 2:28

and run

Phoebe: 2:29

It's just pretty rare that we like both get out, with just the two of us. And we just kind of trundled around, like went near the trails in our house. It was so quiet. As I said, rainy, I think I've said that a few times, but you know, when you're loving the rain, when it's just like gentle, beautiful rain, we were just having like, I don't know, really good, like meandering kind of chats and looped around. And it was a really. I'd felt really exhausted in my long run the day before. And this felt like a really energizing run. Like I finished it feeling like I physically and mentally had more energy. It was nice. Yeah. What about you?

Anna: 3:07

My worst run was a non run. I had a bit of a sore hammy tendon. So I respected the niggle. I actually would like to say Um, I,

Phoebe: 3:18

amazing. No,

Anna: 3:23

was actually very proud of myself. I easily could have run, but, I didn't, I thought I'd just have a little rest. Part of it was because I thought like, I can't say all this stuff on the podcast and then just go completely against what I've said. Um, anyway, so I had a little rest, but one of the, on Sunday I went to the, oh, wait, am I doing my, Um, Oh, I'm doing my worst run.

Phoebe: 3:47

yeah,

Anna: 3:49

shambles.

Phoebe: 3:50

was

Anna: 3:52

That's okay. Um, I, yeah, it was also Sunday. I went to the pool, instead of going for a run, but like in the afternoon, cause I just had a very slow morning and I got to the pool and I realized I'd forgotten my watch. And

Phoebe: 4:06

I

Anna: 4:06

know why. Cause it's so easy to, to know your distance because it's a 50 meter pool, but not having a watch on I just felt really like confused

Phoebe: 4:15

I wasn't really sure

Anna: 4:17

yeah, I wasn't really sure what I was doing Anyway, I like floated around did a few laps But yeah, Hami felt better once I had a rest and I'm back.

Phoebe: 4:27

It is, I am very proud of you for respecting the nigger with the hammy. I know what you mean, it feels like now we can't not obey our own

Anna: 4:36

orders. Because we're pretty hop

Phoebe: 4:38

Cause we're pretty forlorn

Anna: 4:39

We're like, never run! But I reckon in the two last couple of

Phoebe: 4:46

but I reckon in literally the last couple of weeks, we've both had a day or two where we've been a bit niggly and we've both like almost overreacted to it. Had a day off, had a massage, taking it easy in the next session, whatever. And then we've come good. So

Anna: 4:59

and

Phoebe: 5:00

it works. It

Anna: 5:01

good. So, it's been a blast. Wow, this is really

Phoebe: 5:07

My worst run. was on Wednesday and I brought it upon myself because

Anna: 5:14

I slept in,

Phoebe: 5:15

I slept in but no that's not

Anna: 5:16

true. I'm

Phoebe: 5:17

that

Anna: 5:18

that I

Phoebe: 5:19

happy that I had to sleep in. I, As you know, I've been like trying to be better with doing my Pilates and yoga and I'm doing it regularly and I'm also not pushing myself so hard in those classes, which I'm really happy with. But I have for efficiency sake been doing some back to back classes, I'll do Pilates and then I'll finish off with the yoga

Anna: 5:39

the yoga. I don't know, it all clicks. Because I just, I'm clearly like, not strong enough to do that yet. And I had the worst dorms ever. Like my right, my left, my right, Quad, actually, and my left quad, and kind of both my calves, but just like, you know, in every step you're just like Yeah. It's so tight, and so Do you think, when that happens, I don't know if this is just me, but I'm like, oh, my muscles must be so strong and lean, like, you must be able to see them all, because they just feel like That is

Phoebe: 6:14

not how I feel.

Anna: 6:17

I'm always like, when my

Phoebe: 6:18

I'm like pounding around.

Anna: 6:20

when my muscles are really tight and I'm running, I'm like, everyone must be seeing this.

Phoebe: 6:25

They probably are for you to do that. No, it felt like, just like, it just feels like I have no, um, What's it called? Like suspension?

Anna: 6:33

During the time

Phoebe: 6:35

You like hitting the ground and like every, my muscles weren't like absorbing any of the impact. And so,

Anna: 6:41

and, and

Phoebe: 6:42

yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and as you called out just publicly shaming me, I slept in on Wednesday folks. I'm not perfect. Uh, I didn't get up early and I didn't swim with you guys and I didn't get up early and did a run. I did a run at like 7. 30. But yeah, bad run.

Anna: 6:59

Bad run.

Phoebe: 7:00

Give me your best. Yeah. Um,

Anna: 7:03

my best Jack is Jack. Oh, Jack Jacko is back in the good books this week. My best run was this morning, so we are recording on Friday. He joined me on a long, like threshold tempo session. He actually made the session up, so it was 40 minutes which is like a, like, that's big, big.

Phoebe: 7:21

session,

Anna: 7:22

for a little gal. Um, so it was 40 minutes of 1K on 1K float. And gosh, I've said it before. He's just so encouraging. He's so even, really pumps you up. Um,

Phoebe: 7:34

did Jaco, why didn't you have a session from your coach?

Anna: 7:37

Oh, well, um, she gave me, I was sort of just chatting to her and, she gave me a little bit of freedom. And I said, Jaco, what do you feel like doing? Anyway. Oh

Phoebe: 7:47

to your own session? What? I have to say, I, cause earlier in the week you were like, oh, like what session are you doing? And I was like, oh, should we try and do a session together? Looking at your run this morning, I was like, God, I'm glad I didn't try and do that session with you. Well,

Anna: 8:01

this morning, I was

Phoebe: 8:06

I know, slower than you were running, let me tell you. Um, but

Anna: 8:10

I made it.

Phoebe: 8:13

Jaco. Jaco. I don't think

Anna: 8:16

I don't think he even listens to this. And he's gotten like four shout outs saying, thank

Phoebe: 8:21

of shoutouts saying He's like the most spoken about Our main topic this week, it's really the mothership of topics, I would say. Um, I'd say it's one of the most highly debated and mystifying areas of running and that is how to prep for a race.

Anna: 8:43

We thought it would be a great way to finish off season two because Gold Coast Marathon is just around the corner. We're both racing the half marathon on the Saturday, and we know that a lot of our cheeky listeners are racing Gold Coast or have another race coming up in the near future. And the weeks leading up to a race can be really daunting. So we thought we'd break it down with everything you need to know, starting from the taper a few weeks out through to carb loading and nutrition in the days before, right up to managing the pre race nerves. Race day strategy. And like we said in the introduction, most importantly, chat about the challenges regarding the bathroom.

Phoebe: 9:22

that is it. We got so many questions from you all about how to best prepare for a race. So we wanted to say, thank you so much for sending those through and we've done what we can to cover all the biggest and most common ones throughout. Alright,

Anna: 9:36

Alright, let's get into it. So, the taping begins. Yeah, I reckon that's the first time we've coughed on air.

Phoebe: 9:46

time we've coughed. We've coughed? Wow, that's quite good actually. We'll keep that in. Couch. Good content. Good, look at us. Just a couple

Anna: 10:00

just a couple of normal gals coughing.

Phoebe: 10:02

Um,

Anna: 10:04

but let's actually get into it. So, two weeks out, let's talk about the taper beginning. What's the point of a taper? Why is it important? And what actually is it?

Phoebe: 10:15

What is a taper? I'm really glad that we are discussing this because this was such a black box to me for so long. And I think what I thought, I knew that taper meant a recovery period before a race where you try and, you know, you don't train so much, but I kind of thought it was like you train for a race and then two weeks before you stop running for two weeks. Yeah. Which is a pretty blunt way to taper.

Anna: 10:39

it.

Phoebe: 10:40

And probably not recommended. Yeah. Basically, a lot of the time when you're training, what you're trying to do is like, load yourself up, and then you're doing sessions and so on, on kind of tired legs. And then the idea is, in the weeks before a race, you want to recover as much as possible. So then you'll Oh, I was like, the light! God! Everybody's jambling! Blah, blah, blah. Um

Anna: 11:10

Where was I? Where was you? Sorry, for everyone listening, the light just fell

Phoebe: 11:15

Yeah.

Anna: 11:16

That was that thump. Haha.

Phoebe: 11:17

More, more good content. Um The point is to recover as much as possible pre race. You want your legs to be feeling fresh, but the balance and the, the, why the taper can be an art as much for science is you want to keep as much fitness as possible whilst recovering as much as possible. So it's about getting that balance,

Anna: 11:37

Yeah. And I think with like a lot of people who love running, um, like you and I, we feel best when we're running. So there's sort of like finding that balance of running enough. So you're feeling good still, but not overdoing it in order to make sure your legs are as fresh as possible come race day.

Phoebe: 11:57

to make sure your legs are as fresh as possible Think about it more holistically than just how you reduce your training. How, what other parts of your life can you, like, deload in and slightly reduce your stress to give your body and your mind the best chance of recovery?

Anna: 12:16

of recovery. So in terms of running, I feel like, well, as we said before, we're doing the Gold Coast Half Marathon. So the pretty standard taper for that, I would say is around like

Phoebe: 12:26

like, 10 to

Anna: 12:26

days. Obviously that sort of extends a little bit more if you might be running a marathon. And quite often in training programs, the taper begins after, um, the like longest long run in a sense.

Phoebe: 12:40

might be like three weeks out or something if you're doing a marathon

Anna: 12:43

So if you're tapering for 10 to 14 days, the first week of the taper, you'll probably drop your mileage around like 75 to 80 percent of what you did the previous week. And your mileage will be less, but you should still follow like a similar frequency of running to what you have been doing. If you have been doing sessions, Like previously in the lead up to the race, you should still include them. Um, but you'll obviously scale them back. So you may run shorter intervals or less repetitions so that you can get the benefit from the workout without it wearing you down so much that it impacts your race. I actually read a study that was done in 2021, um, it was done using a lot of Strava data from recreational runners. So this is for a marathon, so they found that in recreational runners, athletes who followed a strict three week taper had the largest finishing time benefits, a median of five minutes, 32. 4 seconds. A shorter taper period was effective as well. A strict two week marathon taper was associated with improvement for men from, 1. 29 percent and for women, um, about like that two and a half percent. So from the Strava data it has been shown, that the recreational runners, for a marathon you're better off tapering just for that extra week, if

Phoebe: 13:56

Yeah, you may as well. Yeah. What else should you be considering when you get into race week?

Anna: 14:01

I reckon try and chill out as much as possible. The time that you might normally be spending on running or going to the gym just try and chill, sleep quite a bit if you can. Try to get yourself organized. I feel like the less you have to do in the day or two leading up to the race, the better. Things like. Your kit and everything. Well, make sure you've actually worn what you're going to wear on race day and you find it comfortable. Make sure you have the gels or whatever you're going to use ready. So you're not running around like a pork shop on the

Phoebe: 14:30

The day of the day, especially if you're traveling, like a lot of people would be traveling to the Gold Coast. We might do some content on socials with what we think about packing for race weekend and race day itself and

Anna: 14:42

do a little list.

Phoebe: 14:43

there's actually stuff that you wouldn't consider until you've done it and then you're like, oh and that would be so much easier if I bought that

Anna: 14:49

Yeah. Yeah. Then we get to a few days out. So that's like the final prep. So I guess if you're traveling for a race, you might already be there or like you might be just arriving. And this is where it's really important to, To hone in on your nutrition and hydration. Do you do a lot of carb loading?

Phoebe: 15:06

I'm actually pretty conservative on carb loading. I think because I'm so worried about eating things that I don't normally eat and changing my diet. I, that I, I do like the night before, I'll make sure I have carbs and I'll try a bit the day before. I probably think more about hydration honestly. I'm like drinking heaps of Gatorade, whatever, just trying to be really hydrated. But I

Anna: 15:31

Well that actually, in effect, is carb

Phoebe: 15:33

That is, that's true. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I, I, I'm probably more nervous about like, eating lots of food that I wouldn't normally eat. So like, I eat more than usual the day before and the morning of, but I don't go too hardcore. What about

Anna: 15:48

I have sort of like a sensitive gut. So I kind of try to steer clear of stuff that I don't normally eat. I just try to add more carbs into my normal diet, which probably like isn't the optimal way of doing it, but it just kind of works for me. So instead of having a roll with my tuna salad. I would have two rolls with it. Um, and then just like snacking a little bit more. And then normally the night before, I just love a spag bowl.

Phoebe: 16:14

Oh yeah.

Anna: 16:15

I like feel like I revert back to being a

Phoebe: 16:17

little bit. But it's good if you know that you can eat that and your stomach knows how to digest it. And yeah, see, I, I feel like you definitely hear about a lot of a late runners eating like ludicrous amounts of like rice and so on and, and with, with honey or whatever

Anna: 16:34

you do that all

Phoebe: 16:36

Yeah. But I just think that unless you do that all the time and you know how to do it, then it's probably not worth risking it. Like

Anna: 16:44

I agree. The like, detriment it may have of having a, bathroom issue the day before or the morning of,

Phoebe: 16:50

before or the morning of. Yeah, nice. There is, sorry, there is nothing better

Anna: 17:10

even that. That's honestly

Phoebe: 17:13

There's just nothing better. That's honestly, if you take away one thing from this episode. They're just, really hits the spot.

Anna: 17:20

spot.

Phoebe: 17:20

You are famously

Anna: 17:23

celiac. Famously, a celiac. Yeah,

Phoebe: 17:26

yeah. So how do you manage that with your carb loading?

Anna: 17:30

Yeah, there were actually quite a few questions about carb loading, with dietaries, specifically being gluten free. And, I think living in Australia, as a celiac, I don't find this actually that hard at all, but when I reflected, I realised that I do actually organise myself. To ensure that I'm not relying on the, random cafe near me if I'm, traveling for a race or something. So I literally take a gloaf of gluten free bread with me pretty much, every day. anywhere I go when I go traveling. Um, but I think just cause it's just like such a safe way, you know, it's gluten free as well. Obviously sometimes with traveling, you don't really know, where to go or if you can like trust restaurants or cafes or anything. Um, so yeah, I go for the homemade kind of stuff. If I can, um, I feel like Australia, we're so spoiled, as gluten free people, because gluten free pasta and bread has just as much, if not more carbs than regular pasta and bread. It's more just like being careful to make sure you're not accidentally eating it. That's the thing that I get scared of. Yeah.

Phoebe: 18:34

eating it. That's the thing that I get I feel like growing up and everything, you'd always

Anna: 18:47

The big I feel like growing up and everything you'd always be like, yeah the night before blah blah blah But it's more they're like couple days leading into it

Phoebe: 18:53

Yeah. And if you can, be practicing this in the next couple weeks before your long runs and so

Anna: 18:58

To get along with myself. Yeah.

Phoebe: 19:00

Talk us through, so the, the half marathon that we're doing starts at 6. 15. You wake up, what do you eat?

Anna: 19:05

I will eat two pieces of toast with peanut butter, honey and banana. Yeah. Mmm, mmm. What about you?

Phoebe: 19:13

Yeah, I got a bagel probably with a banana but banana not on the bagel separate because I don't like it on the bagel but I just got avo or vegemite and butter or something bagel I'd have a small cup of tea,

Anna: 19:26

Yeah, I'll have some coffee and I'll sip on

Phoebe: 19:30

stick on

Anna: 19:32

And then during the race, how many gels would you have? So

Phoebe: 19:35

Yeah. And then during the race, many gels would you have? Yeah,

Anna: 19:44

There are a couple of questions about this as well, but it's a really big thing to factor in to your race. Cause a lot of people, hear their professionals talking and they might just say Oh, they have a gel at, at like 10k or whatever. And that's it. if you think about it, that is 30 to 40 minutes for them because they're running so fast, but you've really sort of like got to do that self like reflection and be like, okay, well, I'm trying to run this half marathon in two and a half hours. So if I want to be having a gel every 40 minutes or so, I want to be having

Phoebe: 20:15

A lot of

Anna: 20:15

yeah, I'm having like four or five gels. Yeah.

Phoebe: 20:18

So I also like gels, mentally to break up a race. So for half marathon, I always bring two gels. and I'll have, I'll generally aim to have one around seven or eight Ks and one around 14, 15 Ks. and sometimes with the 14 to 15 K one, I may not have it for a few, till a few kilometers later, if I need it, I may only have half, but it's almost like a mental thing. Like I know it's there and honestly, I'm always grateful that I bought it. That, um, Um, I'll try to

Anna: 20:46

I'll try to have some sips of the sports drink or water on the side, but like in a half marathon, like I'm, I wouldn't stop in the race to have a drink. Like I try and close it up. Like you, your little tip and trick, um, and have some, but like most of the time you might get a sip. But. You are like not getting much, but that's all right. Yeah. Yeah. Great idea. Um, all

Phoebe: 21:09

Race

Anna: 21:09

the race day jitters. How do you manage your nerves? Well, do you know

Phoebe: 21:15

Do you know what I remember before, like cross country in school when I used to get nervous and I remember my mom telling me, um, this is the classic line of like, your nerves are adrenaline and it's going to help you race faster. So like harness them, like lean into it. Yeah. And I think, so when I was little and I still do this now, I really try and reframe my nerves as excitement and be like, It is such an amazing feeling, that like, you're on the start line, everyone's around you, your heart's racing a million miles an hour, and you, like, there aren't many times In our adult life where we get to experience that where it's like that like that like pure Adrenaline excitement like what's gonna happen? How am I and I do think you can just remind yourself that like This is one of the times in our lives where stress is adaptive. A lot of the time, if you're at work or like you're sitting in traffic and you're feeling stressed about being late, that stress doesn't help you. That just, that just sits in you. In a race, you, that is amazing. That stress is going to make you be able to push through more pain. Like it's going to help you have more energy, focus better. So I think for me, the nerves, it's not about calming them. It's not, it's about like hyping them up almost and being like, cool, this is it. Yeah.

Anna: 22:34

Energy and that's going to help you push through in the race when things get hard. No, I want to harness this. This is awesome. This doesn't happen all the time. Um,

Phoebe: 23:02

you get nervous before a race?

Anna: 23:04

yeah, I do. Yep. Yep. Um, not all the time though. I feel like just the bigger races, like I'll be nervous for the Gold Coast half marathon, but the cross country races and stuff that I've done, not really.

Phoebe: 23:16

what kind of, what is it about a race that makes you nervous for it?

Anna: 23:20

happy? Um, I think it is the idea of This is gonna really hurt. Yeah. I think as well, when you put a lot of effort into what you've been training for, um, that sort of like brings on

Phoebe: 23:36

on the nerves.

Anna: 23:37

you know, You obviously

Phoebe: 23:39

You feel like

Anna: 23:40

at whatever your goals are.

Phoebe: 23:41

sunk cost kind of.

Anna: 23:42

yeah.

Phoebe: 23:43

Yeah, I feel like I get nervous when I have a, like a goal that I know that I want. And, Yeah, I remember hearing there's like a definition of stress, which is like, you feel stressed when something you care about is threatened. And I feel like with setting a goal that ties into that definition, because it's like, you have a goal that you feel invested in. And this is the time where that like, you're either going to hit it or you're not. But I feel like another good thing to come back to, if you are struggling with those nerves is like, remembering the reason why you run, because like, when I come back to that, even though I have, I have a big goal for the Gold Coast that I really want to hit and I want to get a PB and so on, like, that's not why I run racing is a fun, great element of running, but it's not

Anna: 24:29

Yeah, definitely. And I think it can be really easy to overlook that sometimes, like when the nerves are building up and you're almost like getting your own head a

Phoebe: 24:39

bit, but

Anna: 24:40

But I think coming back down to earth in a sense and being like, hang on a second. When you strip it all back, you're voluntarily doing this. You're doing it for fun. Wherever you are, you might be Doing it for yourself. You might be doing it with friends. You can look back and be proud to even get to the start line. I'm not there yet because it's still three weeks away. Touch wood. But I've been up to the Gold Coast, uh, yeah, the last two, or the last three times I've tried to go to the Gold Coast. One of them was cancelled because of COVID. Then the next one, I booked and entered, but then got injured. So

Phoebe: 25:16

that, you came and

Anna: 25:18

I did a swim.

Phoebe: 25:19

yes, yes,

Anna: 25:20

And then last year ended up being really fun, but I wanted to race, but then I hurt my foot. So, I ended up pacing a friend instead, which was still really fun, but you're not getting to the start line, in full capacity. So it is just such an achievement to even get there. So like, I feel like just really like, try to like lap it up and

Phoebe: 25:37

capacity. So, it is just such an Talk to me about a race day strategy. How do you plan out and have a strategic approach to your race? Yeah.

Anna: 25:48

so this is when I think the nerves, you've got to be a little bit careful of them. Because there's obviously so much adrenaline and you're so excited at the start, which is like all well and good. But gun goes and you don't want to just like sprint

Phoebe: 26:01

like, sprint out of the car. Yeah,

Anna: 26:03

just don't be afraid if you feel like you're literally running backwards at the start of a big front run. Because Everyone goes way too fast at the start, including myself.

Phoebe: 26:14

but I think I

Anna: 26:17

Don't feel like you have to follow everyone else. You're doing the race on your own terms and like really back yourself and like your knowledge of what pace you think you'll be able to go. I think the best way to run a race, is to try and do a negative split, which essentially just means that the second half of the race is faster than the first half. And I think that's the best way to run a race, and get the most enjoyment out of it. If you are one of those people that really likes the idea of like being able to run with some people and kind of tune out a bit about like how fast you're running. There are heaps of pace groups in these big fun runs and they, the, I don't know if you've ever run with a group, but they are awesome. Like the people that the official paces are so encouraging and there's always so many people around them. Everyone's just got that shared goal to run whatever pace

Phoebe: 27:09

Yeah. Oh,

Anna: 27:10

following. It is awesome. Um, they like camaraderie between the pace groups is just like

Phoebe: 27:15

Yeah, like for anyone, a pace group is a

Anna: 27:18

is great.

Phoebe: 27:18

there's one available at your pace, it is got, you can, I mean, you can get it like a little wind blocker

Anna: 27:25

blocker. It's comfy,

Phoebe: 27:26

you sit in with them, you just can switch off so much more. Actually. So that's something I've really struggled with, like the last few races.

Anna: 27:35

like

Phoebe: 27:35

Like longer races like Gold Coast last year, I was just by myself the whole time or I was jumping between groups. And, um, actually a great tip that my coach gave me is after a few K's find, uh, like a slightly older woman who's running the same pace as you and run with them because guys like tend to go out and whereas like women just know what pace they're going and they just stick at it and I did that and it, that was

Anna: 28:02

going,

Phoebe: 28:03

strategy, yeah. I think beyond negative splits, um, you can try and have a think about how you want to approach the race and like break it up into segments. So I'll give you an example that, um, my coach, well, your coach is the same, always gives you. Yeah. Uh, like a plan before a race and I find that so helpful, but there's an example of a plan he gave me that I still think about quite a bit. It was for a half marathon and he broke it up into three 7k blocks and he said, first seven kilometers, I want you to, uh, Cruise. It should feel like he said, um, fall asleep, like run without tension. Just like fall in with a group. Don't think about your pace. It just should just feel like you're floating, like really comfortable. Um, not easy, but, um, comfortable, really comfortable. And then. I was

Anna: 28:52

don't, for

Phoebe: 28:53

like, you're

Anna: 28:54

first few commas, Adam, I'm sure

Phoebe: 28:58

Phoebe, running. Well, those, those first few kilometers are the ones where you're going to be feeling the energy still. You're going, so just, just cruise. Like, don't push. Just, just let that ride out. The next seven kilometers, he said, steady. So, I want to be picking up the pace a little bit more. Like, feeling the effort. I'm like. yeah, staying steady, I guess, and then he said, the final seven kilometers is when the race is, and your job is just to catch up to every single person you can. And it was just like, see the next person in front of you, catch them, see the next person, catch them. And that's, that's a good for negative splits, but it's nice mentally to have, okay, now I focus on this, and now I focus on this, I reckon, so that's a good, good one to use if you're, if you don't have a race

Anna: 29:40

I think I'm going to use that. That's a good way to break it down I feel like seven K's isn't quite as intimidating as being like, Oh my gosh, I'm about to run

Phoebe: 29:48

It's like, oh my gosh, I'm about

Anna: 29:51

Um, nice. Questions and

Phoebe: 29:57

answers that we need to go through, Q& A's. Uh, no, there are quite a few questions that we wanted to get to and we've also got one or two myths that we wanted to address. So this question came from, well we actually had a lot of people submit it, but we're reading out the one from Sophie. Sophie said, what are the little mantras you can tell yourself when in the middle of a race and you're losing confidence in yourself?

Anna: 30:21

What I try to do is again, like we just spoken about, breaking a race down, can make it seem a lot less overwhelming. So I would just focus on the kilometer you're in and trying to get to the end of that. And then at the next one, trying to focus on the end of that next kilometer. cause quite often with races, especially the longer distances, you go through ebbs and flows of like sometimes feeling okay and sometimes really struggling. And when you're really struggling, It is quite daunting. Cause I feel like that's when the negative thoughts come in. But I think as well, just like stripping it back, as we said before, and coming back to like, why you're actually there, that can kind of like open you up so much more to being like, hang on a second. Okay. I've done the training. I know I can do this. Just Keep plodding along and either, you'll start to feel better, or even if you don't start to feel better, that's okay because each step you take, you're like one step closer to the finish line. and yeah, I just feel like being grateful for your surroundings, like take things in. Yeah. At these big fun ones, there are always people that are being encouraging on the side of the road, or even within the race, focus on that, focus on something that's giving you joy, rather than what's causing you pain.

Phoebe: 31:26

a good way to put it. I love smiling at the people in the crowd who are like calling

Anna: 31:31

you out. Yeah, I love

Phoebe: 31:32

gives you so much energy when you race. Some of the other things that I think about, like my breathing, and I try and get in a rhythm with my breathing where I'm like two steps in, two steps out. And I, and that, that feels quite controlled for me because sometimes when your breathing is all over the place, that can make you feel worse. Whereas I try and like get in a little bit of a flow, two steps in, two steps out. You can kind of almost get into a bit of a meditative state.

Anna: 31:58

I quite like that.

Phoebe: 31:59

Um, and then sometimes I have like form cues that I think about in terms of how I'm running. I think when you're tired, when you're feeling bad, your, your form, your running posture often falls apart a little bit, which actually makes it harder. So I try and come back to like, Oh, my legs. You know, am I upright? What are my arms doing? What are my legs doing? I just focus on rather than trying to run fast, focus on running well and feeling strong in the way that I'm running.

Anna: 32:24

to run fast, focus on running well and like feeling strong in the way that I'm running. Because I just love that line that you say focus on running well not fast and there's something so soothing about and it's so much easier to focus on trying to run well because you actually end up relaxing rather than being like oh my god I've got to keep up this pace ah and then you get more tense

Phoebe: 32:56

100%. And you find that then your pace actually generally feels easier and you stay the same pace or you even go faster. But you feel just so much more comfortable. You're like, okay, check in with yourself, back in control of my breathing, in control of my form, get to the next thing, reset.

Anna: 33:12

Pillar Performance is sponsoring this week's episode of Cheeky Run Club. And Pheebs, I did, as you said, I had the natural berry magnesium powder with warm water before bed and I can confirm it was a

Phoebe: 33:24

with warm water, before bed, and I can

Anna: 33:27

goes down so well. To be honest though, the pineapple coconut still has my heart just because of its pina colada

Phoebe: 33:34

Yeah, but as we've said, not as good hot,

Anna: 33:38

as good hot. Magnesium has been

Phoebe: 33:41

Magnesium has been found to help recovery, lower stress levels and support our immune systems. How have your stress levels been?

Anna: 33:48

Um, pretty good. Lowered.

Phoebe: 33:51

I'm estimating 100 percent lowered.

Anna: 33:54

The research suggests.

Phoebe: 33:57

I actually do feel quite calm when I

Anna: 33:59

Yeah,

Phoebe: 34:00

Again, don't know if it's the warm

Anna: 34:01

yeah, I had it with warm water last night before bed and I genuinely slept like a log. Um, but yeah, it's also gluten free, so good for all you celiacs, vegan and made in Australia, so everyone can enjoy it. Best of all.

Phoebe: 34:15

All, yeah, and importantly pillow have made sure all of our cheeky chums can join in on the fun too. So this is our first ever discount code. Cheeky 15. Use cheeky 15 for 15% off at checkout on your first order.

Anna: 34:34

Thanks again to Pillar for helping this episode of Cheeky come to life. breathing, in control of my form. What's

Phoebe: 34:45

cold, cold heart.

Anna: 34:47

thing? Reset. So can I extend

Phoebe: 34:52

So can I extend this myth to other, not like a broader myth is everything that we've been talking about. You do not need to be taking running or racing seriously to lean into the prep for a race. Like it is so fun to do

Anna: 35:07

so

Phoebe: 35:08

I've been getting so excited even just talking through it all. Just like, Oh my God, the, the days, like the two weeks, the days leading up to a run. Us, uh, race.

Anna: 35:17

to a run, us,

Phoebe: 35:18

Us, uh, run. The weeks and

Anna: 35:20

pretty exciting!

Phoebe: 35:21

Um, they are so exciting and you don't need to be a serious runner to lean into all of this. The taper, the carb load, the psychology of it. Like, everyone, no matter how fast or slow you are, you have permission to race, to do fun runs.

Anna: 35:36

And to give your best, yourself the best shot at doing your best. We spoke about it with Bronte last week don't feel ashamed for putting in effort or like being fully engrossed in the race

Phoebe: 35:49

lean in.

Anna: 35:50

lean in. It's so, as you said, so much fun. So many other people are doing it. And like, there's not that many.

Phoebe: 35:55

I don't

Anna: 35:56

I don't know, there's not that many things that you can just completely be a absolute nuffy about in life. Um, and do something for yourself. It's so cool. So yeah, I don't know if I've said it on the show, but like I admire the professionals who can run these like amazing times, but the people that I find the most interesting. Uh, the people that are still out on the course when things are starting to get packed up because their effort level is just as high as the people who finished it like in hours before. They also are the ones that probably have a million other things that they do, a million other hats that they wear, and I just think it is like awesome, the fact that people are getting out there, I mean, as we say, everyone's a runner if you just put one foot in front of the other, whether that be with both feet, In the air or you're, you are like

Phoebe: 36:50

I see both of you. I thought you meant I was like, what?

Anna: 36:59

And be proud of yourself for that. as I said before, be proud of yourself for getting to the start line. It is amazing

Phoebe: 37:05

As someone who has been one of those runners out there when things are getting packed up, Gold Coast Marathon Circa 2012. 13, 2012, five and five hour, 40 minute marathon. I think it was. Yeah. Yeah. It was hard. Let me tell you, it was a lot harder than the marathons that I've done since at a faster pace. So don't be, don't worry about it. Just get out there. We have another myth to bust. This is from. Brett, Brett said there's two parts. Well, we'll, we'll, we'll bust the first part.

Anna: 37:38

part. We'll bust it open. Is

Phoebe: 37:40

is a shakeout run really necessary?

Anna: 37:43

Do you want to answer or do you want me to answer? I would say it depends on what you're used to, and what you're doing, where your commitments lie. Some people like myself, I like to do really short, easy shakeout runs like a sense of normality, because that's what I do most days. Um, and I like going for a little jog majority of the time it's with friends and ends in coffee,

Phoebe: 38:02

majority of the

Anna: 38:04

reasons why I run.

Phoebe: 38:05

and ending coffee, which is why I run. ceremony around a run. It's like the culture of, yeah, it's like, it's not just a, even the fact that it has a special name of shakeout run, which actually we should say for those who don't know, people call it a shakeout run, the run that's, you know, a 20 to 30 minute run the day before a race. It's very easy. You kind of just are literally, it's like shaking your legs out.

Anna: 38:30

If you do 10 minutes, it's

Phoebe: 38:32

Oh, I don't think it makes a

Anna: 38:33

Yeah.

Phoebe: 38:33

I will say, I generally reckon if you can, even if it is 10 minutes, I feel better on race day when I've done a shakeout. Cause it just means that your legs are a bit less stiff. I reckon. Session.

Anna: 38:54

yeah, if often the day before your long run, you don't run, then maybe don't do a shakeout run.

Phoebe: 39:01

Interesting. I reckon you could do a shakeout walk and it would be

Anna: 39:04

a hundred percent. I feel like it's just getting your, like,

Phoebe: 39:07

Yeah, getting some blood flow.

Anna: 39:09

to move. Yeah. Which brings us to

Phoebe: 39:11

Part two.

Anna: 39:12

two of Brett's question. Which,

Phoebe: 39:14

I don't know, Brett, this is impressive that you knew, because had you, I hadn't told

Anna: 39:19

I haven't told Brett.

Phoebe: 39:20

hadn't told Brett. Someone told Brett. No, he said, will there be? A cheeky run club shakeout run in the Gold Coast this year.

Anna: 39:28

system. Answer? Yeah! Woo!

Phoebe: 39:37

Prize goes to Brett.

Anna: 39:38

Yeah, um, yes, very exciting. We have finally organized our end of season two run. So after the success of the end of season one run in Melbourne, we thought we should do an end of season two on the second.

Phoebe: 39:54

in,

Anna: 39:55

Oh, actually! Oh my gosh! Phoebe's written this part!

Phoebe: 40:00

my god. I laid a trap. I was like, when's she

Anna: 40:04

set me up for this

Phoebe: 40:05

Well, I didn't know you were going to say it, so this is, this is the first of our special announcements, so we, I didn't do a little write out of what we should say. Okay. And Anna is now refusing to read the rest of the sentence.

Anna: 40:17

2. Phoebe's saying that the Gold Coast is the second best running city in Australia.

Phoebe: 40:21

That's generous to Melbourne because I reckon Gold Coast might be number one.

Anna: 40:24

be number one. Anyway, what I was supposed to read

Phoebe: 40:28

Anyway, what Anna was supposed to read was, after the end of season one in Melbourne, we thought we should do end of season two run on the second best running city in Australia, the Gold Coast.

Anna: 40:38

Yes. So,

Phoebe: 40:40

mean, we'll obviously both be out there racing the half, and we know that many of you will be up there that weekend as well. So we thought it'd be an amazing kind of opportunity to get, you Bring everyone together for a little

Anna: 40:51

an amazing kind of opportunity to get, bring everyone together for a little hangout. confirmed on our Instagram. So it doesn't matter what event you're doing over the weekend. You're more than welcome to join. And we'd love to see you. So anyone that's doing the half marathon, um, come and do it as your cool down. As we said before, you can run or walk as much as you'd like. If you're doing the marathon or

Phoebe: 41:22

We'll be moving slowly.

Anna: 41:24

be moving very slowly. If, You're doing the marathon or the 10k, then use it as your pre race shakeout run. We're really stoked to be partnering with Onn for this shakeout jog. There'll be coffee, there'll be vibes, there'll be a bag drop So don't stress about that. You can also try on and wear some Onn shoes for the shakeout jog, which is pretty cool because we both think they're absolutely amazing shoes.

Phoebe: 41:50

Big

Anna: 41:50

Big, big fans. So yes, very excited. It's literally all my favorite things. Running, friends, coffee. Beach. Beach.

Phoebe: 42:01

Yes. We were going to put in, we were going to put in to the like, event proposal that we were sending to ON, like swim included as well, and Anna was like, I think we shouldn't

Anna: 42:10

Yeah, I think for,

Phoebe: 42:12

to.

Anna: 42:12

for legal reasons, we probably shouldn't say.

Phoebe: 42:15

there'll be a swim. Shh. If you want to go for a swim. Yeah. Um, but Let's do it! Also,

Anna: 42:23

wear your cheeky t shirts if you can.

Phoebe: 42:25

you can. Oh

Anna: 42:26

cool.

Phoebe: 42:27

yes! It's so cool! Yes. Check them on post run. Yeah. That would be, that would be really cool. Although, Okay. You might have something else to wear. Oh my god, the segway! The segway, Drumroll number two for our second announcement. I mean, this one really shouldn't be a surprise as we've been not so subtly hinting at it for about a month now. But,

Anna: 42:49

of months now. But,

Phoebe: 42:51

yes, we are doing another merch run. Um, we have had,

Anna: 42:56

many

Phoebe: 42:57

how many messages do you reckon? Hundreds? Thousands?

Anna: 43:00

Oh yeah, at least a hundred.

Phoebe: 43:03

Oh, yeah, at least a hundred.

Anna: 43:05

had so many

Phoebe: 43:06

Well, we've had so many messages from people who missed out on tees, because obviously we capped the amount of tees that we were going to sell. so we thought, let's do it again, but make it winter. So this time, we'll be selling jumpers.

Anna: 43:21

Think quarter zips with similar designs to the tees with just a wee little improvement and possibly an additional color option.

Phoebe: 43:27

I reckon. We'll

Anna: 43:29

we'll be opening the orders Friday this week. So Friday the 21st of June and they'll be open for 48 hours. So if you'd like a jumper, click the link in our episode notes or through our Instagram bio. Bio. Bio. Bio.

Phoebe: 43:42

I'm sorry! Click the byro!

Anna: 43:44

We will have it open for 48 hours only. So, make sure you set your alarms and don't miss out because they are super comfy.

Phoebe: 43:52

comfy! They sure

Anna: 43:54

is

Phoebe: 43:54

Okay, we've got one more reveal. And this is possibly the biggest reveal ever.

Anna: 44:00

true. Ever. Ever. We are revealing this event.

Phoebe: 44:04

Yeah.

Anna: 44:05

I don't know if you guys know. Yeah. However. well.

Phoebe: 44:08

Season two is ending. We already have massive plans for season three. That's not even the announcement. That can be a separate thing. Season three is going to be amazing. But yeah, before that even kicks off, something really big is happening in the world of running and that is a little thing called the Olympics.

Anna: 44:27

so chatting to a few of you, something that we kept hearing is that even though so many of you, absolutely loving running, you haven't yet become a true fan of the sport when it comes to athletics. We were kind of inspired by the Matildas last year and how engrossed we became in following them and how we wish that we knew more about the sport, um, in the lead up to the World Cup. So our goal over the next few weeks leading up to and during the Olympics is to change you from potentially not being much of a fan of athletics to being

Phoebe: 45:04

a big fan.

Anna: 45:05

athletics, number one fan, especially as this is one of the most exciting athletics teams of, I think we've ever

Phoebe: 45:11

Yeah, I think to your point of the Matildas, something we have reflected on before is what was so amazing about that time is that it was a really inclusive fan culture. It didn't matter if he didn't have the background, it was a real like, everyone's welcome, everyone come and support and he is like, Everyone could talk about it and, and kind of brought each other along and athletics historically has been quite inaccessible and if you don't know who's who and everyone's talking in this language that's hard to, even for us, like really hard to understand. So we want to kind of break it down, simplify it, tell you who's who in the zoo.

Anna: 45:44

who in the zoo. Yeah. So we'll do some event explainers, race previews, telling stories about some of the athletes. I feel like people are so much more relatable when you realize. At the end of the day, yeah, they're these amazing athletes, but they're also human, like they're humans first. Um, we'll be doing some race recaps on the ground because I am going to be practicing my French and going over to

Phoebe: 46:08

reporter Anna! Um, so yeah, we

Anna: 46:11

so yeah, we are, I mean, we're excited for all three of those announcements. Um. But maybe most excited about the

Phoebe: 46:19

it. Honestly, it's, it's going to be really cool. I can't wait. Yeah.

Anna: 46:23

Yeah, so yeah, come along for the ride.

Phoebe: 46:25

Love it. I think that's it for season two.

Anna: 46:30

I think we're done. I'm

Phoebe: 46:31

through, I'm scrolling through our notes. I think we've ticked all the boxes.

Anna: 46:34

we've

Phoebe: 46:35

We're logging off.

Anna: 46:36

boxes. We've clocked it. We are crawling to the finish line.

Phoebe: 46:40

but, as we said, Olympics will be coming up we'll release episodes previewing Olympic events, in the weeks leading up to the Olympics. So we will be in your ears very soon. Yes. An eye out

Anna: 46:53

on Instagram for some more details about our shakeup round with On Up On The Gold Coast, about what's going on with our jumpers. As we said, that will be released Friday this week. and thank you so, so much for getting us to the end of season two. We honestly, uh, love you all. And thank you, Phoebe, you are possibly the best person to be doing this with. And I love every moment.

Phoebe: 47:18

best person to be this with, because I love everybody. 24 seven, saying each other pretty much every day to, yeah, we'll have to record a lot of additional podcasts to make up for it.

Anna: 47:39

Um, so yeah, we can't wait to be in your ears for the Olympic previews until then happy running. Have fun on the Gold Coast for those of you who are going

Phoebe: 47:48

see you there. Bye.

Anna: 47:49

bye. I can't remember what I

Phoebe: 47:51

that kind of, yeah, I feel like