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Welcome to Cheeky Run Club, the social running podcast and community for your everyday amateur runner. Hello Anna
Hello, Phoebe!
and hello listeners. Today we are diving into week five of our marathon prep. We are going to rate ourselves out of 10 for our mindset, cross training, recovery, and fueling and explain why. But for our deep dive today, we wanted to do something a little bit different. The Olympics just wrapped up. The Paralympics is about to kick off. And whilst, you know, we debriefed about our favorite arts events almost every day, there was a lot that happened that we didn't really get the chance to unpack.
So we're going to talk about some of the biggest questions we have coming off the last few weeks, such as how athlete mental health impacts performance, and why did the Aussie women do so well? We're then going to finish by crowning our cheeky team member of the week. But first, as always, let's kick it off with our notable runs. Phoebe, give me your best.
Okay, so my best run was my long run, uh, last weekend on Saturday. and it was my best run because well, okay, number one, it was the nicest day we've had in Melbourne for, I don't know what's
it looks I watched the Instagram and I was like, what is this weather? It's meant to be cold and gross.
it's been like, not even like, you know, it's obviously August, it's winter. It's not even like it's been spring weather, it's been like almost summer weather. It's been 22 degrees, sunny, I wore like shorts and t shirt to work one day, it's been really, really nice. And so yeah, last Saturday was stunning, no wind, sun was out, it was like warm, wasn't too, too hot though. And, yeah.
I had a long run, which I was a little bit nervous for is definitely like my longest long run in, ages in this whole block. And I was planning on trying to maybe do some like efforts at the end with Izzy, which I also like, wasn't really sure how they'd go.
But it went really well, like it was a, it was a confidence, even though it was hard, yeah, it was like a confidence boosting run because I didn't crash and burn, it felt hard but manageable, um, like I felt like I kind of had some more in me if I needed it, and so yeah, I finished that being like, I think I, I think I really needed a run like that, after like the injury and the sickness and stuff, I needed a run just to be like, okay, You're okay. Like you'll be fine.
Yeah, I'm still the same person. I can run.
Yeah. You can still, you haven't forgotten how to run exactly. Um, so yes, that was lovely. Tell me about your best run.
My best run was Last Monday morning when it was our last day in Paris and a lot of the crew that we were sort of, well we were staying with and then, some of our other friends that we had just been catching up with, who are living in London and they were all doing a run to the Eiffel Tower and I thought, you I'm gonna go. so I went with them, ran along the river, which was really nice.
And because it was the Monday, even though the events had only finished on the Sunday, there was so, like, the access was so much greater for the public. Like, we could get right up close to the Eiffel Tower and, like, see the rings. It was just, and I feel like everything was just a little bit more laid back.
yeah, that run, I, again, I remember seeing pictures, someone uploaded some pictures on Strava of you guys like all under the Eiffel Tower and it was a beautiful, it looked hot, it looked warm, but sunny and so nice. Mm.
just thinking that, I, I mean, initially when I like, came overseas, I sort of thought that there was going to be heaps of that, so I'm so glad that there was just like, even just one time, um, just to kind of like, feel a part of it, which is really nice.
Anna, do you want to give us the hammy update now?
Oh, yes, Hammy is okay. Uh, it is, I have done a couple of little runs. so we'll just sort of see what happens over the next couple of weeks. Dave, my husband, is genuinely being very supportive. Like an absolute star. He is the star of the show. He like massages my hammy and then on Thursday couldn't get to a gym because there were no gyms in Lake Como where we were staying So he's pretending to be the resistance on my legs when I'm doing hamstring curls
Oh my gosh, Dave! Above and beyond!
I know. So nice. I know, I reckon. so yeah, I mean, it's okay. It is a work in progress. We'll see
kind of, yeah, I mean it's so good that it's settled down so much since, like, I remember talking to you in Paris when it was just painful constantly. But I
Yeah. Like I can walk around now and it's fine. I mean, I am still sitting on a pillow, To not aggravate it, but, um, yeah, it's definitely better than it was.
so is it kind of now like a matter of see how it goes as you try and add in a bit more running and just see how well it holds up.
Yeah, I think so. I'll just see, what happens over the next couple weeks. And I feel like now I kind of just want to make it to the start line. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, exactly. all right. Give me, uh, give me your worst.
Worst run? Worst run was, I actually can't remember what morning it was. I'm going to say, it was Wednesday morning. Worst run was Wednesday morning. And maybe, I'm going to say if you can guess why it was my worst run. Guess what I might have done Tuesday
Oh, you went to the gym
went to the gym.
and you did yoga.
And I did yoga, which is actually really, I
Oh, did you actually?
yeah,
Oh, I was just joking. Nice.
yoga was really nice, but the gym, sorry, I went to the gym for 18 minutes. I did the quickest gym session. Cause I was like, I'm just going to take that box, get it done. Yeah. Not faff about really channeling some energy. And I thought that that mean that I wasn't too sore. I think I just am trying way too hard to lift things that are too heavy because I still had like, my legs have just recovered today, like
From, yeah.
yeah. And so, basically Wednesday I ran kind of early. I met up with Afrin Ayrton and my legs just felt horrible. It was one of those runs where I was counting down every like few minutes, looking at my watch. Yeah. And then I was meant to do an hour and a half and I did like an hour and 15. I was like, that's all I've got today. That's all I've got in me. I just can't, I
I'm dabbing out.
Yeah. I tapped out, which I'm not, not proud of, but. I'm torn between, is that good because I listen to my body, or is it weak because I didn't finish when I didn't, it's not like I felt niggly or anything, I just felt fatigued.
Yeah. I, no, but I I think that's really good because, in the sense that, you didn't go the night before a session, and you still gotta go to the gym, and there's no, It's just Like, you're not sort of, just because, I mean, it's obviously less enjoyable, but it's not impacting whether or not, like, you still go for the run. And those runs are meant to be at a slow pace anyway, so they might be a little bit more taxing in a sense, but I feel like that's really good.
And I also feel like, no signs behind this, so don't come at me. Phoebe's coach Gary. But I feel like, I feel like the adaptations and like potential improvement you get from going to the gym are far greater than an additional 15 minute jog.
mm, that is a great justification, yep, I'll take it, okay, well then, that's a win, what was your worst run of the week?
I don't have a worst run. Any run at the moment is a great run. worst non run The, what I like miss most and I think what I was most looking forward to about doing a marathon block is probably, the long runs because I, I just reckon there's so much, they're so, they're hard, but sort of in a different, In a different sense to doing a really fast workout. It's just like tiring. It's like really gradual. and I just feel like you get such a sense of accomplishment after them.
So that's what I'm missing most, I reckon. And I'm, I'm like torn between wanting to go on Strava and seeing everyone, but also I just feel like outta sight outta mind at the moment.
oh, that's so fair. I feel like Strava this morning, so, going on and seeing the runs that everyone else did in their like blocks, their training blocks, the marathon. And I was just like. What is going on right
Well, I'm actually going to go on after this.
God, I feel like if you can get in the
I want to look.
it's cool. And then if you get in the headspace of, oh my god, I'm comparing myself or like, I'm just feeling sad that I'm not doing it, then get out of there.
Then.
Get out of there.
Exit.
So we're going to kick into our key takeaways from the Olympics. We thought we'd kick off with a quick fire recap. We're going to throw some quick fire questions at each other. so Anna, best moment of the games.
moment of the games was Jess Hull winning a silver medal in the 1500 and being in the stands for it. Your best moment of the games? Gosh this is hard to be quick.
I know, I know, I know, because I want to justify it. Mine was the sprint finish between Assefa and Safan at the end of the Women's Marathon.
Yeah. nice for her third medal of the games.
Yeah. Who was your star of the games
my star of the games has to be Simone Biles. like returning after the twisties in Tokyo. I just, and after watching her Netflix, uh, documentary, I just feel like for her to overcome, what she did. Oh, sorry. I'm not meant to be justifying. Actually, can I change my, can I change my games? My Star of the games
Okay. sure, sure.
my star of the games is Cindy Na Gamba and she won the refugee team's first ever medal being a bronze medal in her, in the boxing.
Oh, amazing. I actually didn't know that.
Yeah. And who is your star of the games?
Mine is so much less wholesome. Mine is Alona Ma, who's the, um, she is the, uh, um, U. S. sevens player who she's gained. I think like one and a half, million, oh no, sorry. Two and a half million followers, just over the period of like the month leading up to and post the Olympics. And she is just an icon.
Nice. Is she the love in the village?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. She is
Yeah, I love her.
Some of her, some of her body image stuff is really, really
Really? Yeah.
Oh, um, biggest disappointment. Hmm.
controversy over the boxing gender eligibility and the um, like comments and takes around it. I just, thought we were, us as humans were, had maybe improved in a sense, but I just feel like it was really, yeah, disappointing, to read some of the comments around it. What about you? Mmm.
less well thought out than yours. Mine was, I think the Aussie Sevens girls deserve to do so much better than they did. And I think, they're, I think they're the best team in the world and to not get a medal would have been a massive disappointment.
Yeah, yeah.
Crowd Pleaser.
Crowd pleaser has to be, uh, Duplantis's world
That's who I had.
in the pole vault and that just looks absolutely electric. I mean, I've never really been a fan or like the biggest fan of men's pole vault, but boy, him
are
girlfriend won me over. I am obsessed. Um, I want to have their babies. but yes, that
For them.
that's the biggest, Yeah, that's the crowd pleaser. Um, what about you?
I had Armand as well. Yeah, he was a big crowd pleaser. Who is your one to watch for LA 2028?
staying true to myself and my love for the British track girls, Phoebe Gill.
Okay.
Um, so she is, we spoke about her a little bit in the daily recaps. She's the 17 year old from Great Britain. She, uh, got through to the semifinals. It's her first ever. The biggest event that she'd done prior to the Olympics was the British Open World Championships. So, I think she's one to watch for LA.
I had, and this might be wishful thinking, but I had Jess Hull because, I mean, I think Faith Kipiagon is obviously incredible, but, three Olympics, she's 30 years old, like, I don't know how her 1500 metres will be. Will Jess Hull get Australia's first gold medal in the 1500 metres? Maybe. I feel like her best years are yet to come
Huge, if true. Which it could be, we'll find out in four years. Laughter.
when we're doing our daily recap podcast, we can replay these these predictions. Um, and summarize to me, the Paris Olympics in three words.
Um, I found this hard even though I thought that this would be good. uh, Magnifique.
Oh,
la la. A bit of a hyphen.
that okay?
Oh, actually, sorry. I changed mine again.
Okay.
Freed from desire.
Okay, why is that? Why is
playing everywhere.
Oh, okay. That's fun. Um, I had my three words, uh, Sifan Hassan's world. I feel
Oh
her world we're just living in it. Um,
honestly her world. She
is, honestly her world. She's, she's in her own category. okay, well let's jump into some of these topics. I'm actually so excited to unpack them with you. now the first one we wanted to talk about is in relation to, I guess, like the athlete mindset slash mental health. And something that you and I both noticed and kind of remarked on to each other a bit throughout the games is that There was a really big discrepancy between how different athletes talked about success, And, failure.
Yeah. and, it sort of like inevitably led to Like different, very vastly different results depending on how, they sort of saw themselves, and their self talk, which I think is like a lot of the time you, I feel like you don't really know, what people are saying like to themselves and like whilst they're racing. But I feel like more so than ever, I don't know if it's cause we had like a greater access to them with social media, but I feel like.
The athletes that sort of displayed, that sort of sense of self-worth and the positive self-talk. They were the ones, that like accomplished what they want to, ACCO wanted to accomplish. And the ones who didn't, or in fact were sort of at the other end of the spectrum and speaking, about their, like, negative mindset in a sense, or like letting the public in, to. and their, like, comments and, like, let that affect them, or inevitably also led to it affecting their performance.
Yeah, I guess to like pull out some specific examples. Some of the athletes that I was most upset with impressed with in terms of their confidence, self belief, but also just like mental fortitude and mindset. Uh, I mean, Jemima, the, um, race walker. I think she kind of blew everyone away with her post race interviews. The way that she was able to kind of distinguish, or define, I guess, what success meant for herself in a way that.
you know, Meant that she was able to kind of focus on her performance and doing the best she could, but it wasn't kind of tied in with her. sense of sense of self worth.
Um, Yeah. And then other ones that we talked about were like Jess Hull, just The whole time like leading into this, even though there were so many expectations on her, the way she was able to just stay so calm and um, you know, Reframe that pressure into opportunity and like that, that kind of, to me, she is like the pinnacle of like that high performance mindset.
Yeah, I completely agree. I think. As you said, like not letting the pressure get to her I mean, like if it had been at the start of the year, I feel like there wouldn't have been a whole heap of pressure on her. But given
Yeah. Her performance.
in the last sort of six weeks, she's Broken the world two kilometer record And then also become like the fifth fastest 1500 meter runner of all time. I feel like there was a weight on her shoulders but I feel like she walked around as if she was There wasn't. I think that the, what came, what was really evident I thought was that she, she loves what she's doing. Like I remember her saying in one of the interviews, that yes, it's an opportunity.
And when I think of things like there is no. place I would rather be. And in no situation that, like, I would rather be in because she sort of framed it in a sense that, Instead of being like, Oh, I've run these fast times, I need to perform on the world stage. It's like, holy heck, I can run these fast times and
and now I yeah.
in the final. And like, I can show off my ability and my potential and talent to everyone, which I just think that, I mean, like, I don't have a mind for that. Like, I don't think many people do in the world, but that is. Oh, I'm just like absolutely in awe. I think another one that we sort of briefly spoke about was Nina Kennedy. And like I find that the the field events.
So she she ended up winning pole vault gold and I think the field events are just like a whole nother level of self talk, because you're not actually. racing anyone. It is purely, it is like just you on the field. Even though you've got the things of knowing what the other people like in her case have jumped and like how high they've jumped. Like it's just you it's just her, that runway and like the like big pole
yeah.
just bananas to me. she also, like she mentioned in one of her Instagram clips. This was a few weeks ago, and it was just all these like mini clips, like smushed together of herself. And she's like, it's an individual sport, like I've got to be my own biggest fan. And it's like her at training, in the gym, doing all these different exercises. But every time she does something well, she is like excited. Like she is like like, come on, like, well done, like really pumping yourself up.
Yeah. And I just find even like the courage to be able to do that. Um, like I think that in itself is really impressive because a lot of people are like myself, like I wouldn't be able to do that even if I was really excited.
Yeah, You get self conscious. of, yeah, absolutely, of like celebrating yourself.
Yeah. Whereas like, I, yeah, I love it. I love it.
Yeah, I, think it's super, and obviously those examples we just gave, Jemima, Jess, Nina, they all did really well. And so it is hard to say, did they do well because they had these incredibly strong mindsets? Were they able to be so composed and so on and, and have these great things to say because they were doing so well.
Like, I think, it's, it's hard to kind of tease the two apart, but it is really interesting to contrast it to some of the people who didn't seem to have the same, positive self talk or strong kind of mindset. So like, I know one of the examples that comes to mind is Harry Garside, who. I think a lot of people saw his post, his interview post getting knocked out of box, the boxing
Mm.,
where he was like, he was so negative in his self talk. He used the word failure like 50 times in three minutes, just like, and just the way he was talking about how he was going to cope, which was like, this is going to be a really dark few months for me. I'm just going to need to go away. And like, it was like pretty, um, distressing actually like watching it. It was like, Oh my God, he's actually not equipped to cope with this.
Like he doesn't have the right mental toolkit to be able to kind of, At least in the moment, um, like process and, and, and cope. Um, and then I guess one of the other interesting examples was Oli Hoar, who he's one of our 1500 meter runners. He's a, he's a star and he kind of. I mean, he would probably feel like he underperformed, um, at the Olympics. Like he didn't make it through to the, to the semis. And
And he had won the Commonwealth Games in
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. He he was definitely probably our best. Yeah. And he, um, in his post race interview, he was also so, it was pretty sad how like negative he was. And he referenced a lot of, like, I think he'd been copying a lot of like abuse and bullying online, which is obviously just awful to hear. Like you never want to hear it. But similarly.
Didn't the way he was talking, it really felt like, Oh, he doesn't really know he doesn't, he's not able to kind of process this in a way that is going to be like beneficial. And it just makes you think if this is what they're thinking afterwards, that's how much pressure they had on themselves walking up to that start line or into that ring. That's the way they were defining success for themselves. That just makes it so much harder to like do what you need to do and perform.
Yeah, cause I feel like you're so sort of, they're solely focused on the outcome. Like, I wonder, uh, going forward, I think that the athletes performance will, be more tied into their mental health. as well as their, physical health. I wonder how seriously these athletes and coaches and, I wonder how seriously they take their mental health as part of their training, or if at all.
Like, I feel like a lot of the time it's sort of purely focused on physical stuff, whether that be training, like skills, recovery.
Yeah.
What do you
Because, Yeah. I feel like more kind of professionalized sport. We're already seeing that happen. you know, big professional sports seem to be, have a much stronger kind of recognition of the impact that your mental health and, and your mindset plays on your performance. And Obviously a lot of sports in the Olympics are kind of. you know, Not like a kind of semi professional and don't have a lot of
Yeah.
and so on. But I think, I feel like there was like this old school definition of an elite athlete an elite athlete mindset, which was sort of like, you just want it more than anything. And so you want it the most and therefore like you're able to you know, push yourself harder or whatever it is.
And we're just seeing like more nuance in our understanding of that, in that, like You just have to be in the most amazing, you have to have an amazing, like, relationship with yourself to be able to put yourself under that much pressure and still perform and not have it tied, you know, to your self worth or whatever that looks like.
Like, I feel like even if Jess Hull had missed out, she would have been so disappointed, but she would not have been talking about herself in the way that, say, Harry Garside was talking about himself.
yeah, because I think, like, no, agree
I mean, it makes me kind of think about like our own as, You know, as non professional athletes, like our own attitudes towards failure don't know like, if either of us have races where we like don't perform so well, like what, what is our internal narrative? What are we saying to ourselves? And we don't even have. Like just to put it into perspective, I guess, like we have none of the pressures that they have.
We have none of the external, internal expectations, and yet it's still hard for us as like everyday amateur runners to not, um, be hard on ourselves when we don't do well. So I just think that just goes to say how impressive it is, the ones who are able to have that perspective at that level.
Oh, I, Yeah, I completely agree.
our next topic that we wanted to talk about. Is essentially it's around the fact that. we need more, both compassion, but also I guess sort of emotional regulation in the online community for the athletes. there are so many examples we could pull from, but the one that we wanted to dive into just because it's relevant from a running perspective is the situation with Sinead, diver.
do you wanna Anna give us a bit of a recap of just for those who weren't following along as closely as we were a bit of a recap of kind of the events that unfolded that?
Yeah, yep. so yeah, there were rumors like leading up to the games that Sinead had a bit of a niggle and wasn't sort of in full training mode. but they had been kind of squashed by relevant sources in the sense that there was like no word to say that she wasn't going to race. And I remember the like, AusOlympic team that were posting a video at the, or maybe it was Athletics Australia at the holding camp and she was running around, doing a training session.
And then fast forward to last Sunday when the women's marathon started. And after about a kilometre and she uh,
she kind of just like hobbled to the side. She just like looked super distressed. She was like holding onto, like hands on her, I guess her legs, her like quads. And it, the camera only shot to her for like a few minutes. Oh no, sorry, for like 30 seconds. But you could tell she was done. like, she looked distraught. She looked so upset and she looked like she was in a lot of pain as well.
And then pretty much like so soon after that, I'm going to say like five to 10 minutes after that, possibly. Don't quote me on that. AOC, the Australian Olympic committee, as well as Athletics Australia, both released a statement saying Sinead Diver withdrew from the marathon after experiencing bilateral cramping in both quadriceps. She is devastated and being supported by team officials and medical staff.
Despite managing plantar fasciitis at times this year, there was no reason for Sinead to not compete today. I just could not have predicted that there would be that much vitriol off a harmless kind of update like that.
But basically as soon as that post was made, and even before that post was made there was this like immediate like rumor mill online and so many like vitriolic comments and posts and tweets and so on, which was all set all referring to essentially It's Kind of a core group of people who still felt really strongly that Lisa Waitman, who didn't get selected, but who was the reserve, was being like, that this was like a personal attack on her, and that Sinead had known she was injured, but hadn't
pulled out, almost like, just to spite, just to spite Lisa, which is, even when you say it, it sounds insane, but Um, it meant that there were all these people posting these awful comments about Sinead and about A. A. just basically being like, Oh my God, like this is proof that almost like proof of some, Conspiracy about Lisa. just this when we say like the piece about we need a bit more compassion and emotional regulation.
It's like there's nothing in that post that you think that you would know better than, or that you would disagree with. It's like, Oh, okay, cool. Something's really happening. There's probably going to be more information that's come out, but it's not like the immediate response should be. I I don't believe that. And I'm actually, I'm going to just assume the worst right now.
I'm gonna read out Sinead's post.
So, keeping in mind with this, I know that like a lot of the time I feel like I've even said to you Pheebs that, I feel like, you know, runners and everyone, they should In a, in a sense, I get used to a little bit of like controversy if they do want to be in the limelight, but then in the same token, they're, they're actually not even professional runners, like Sinead still, by definition, like professional means that that is the only thing that like, that's your job or is it?
Sinead still works. I don't know if she works full time, but, I know that she has like a job three, four days a week. Um, I know that she's a mum of like two teenage boys. like she's a,. I don't want to put words in her mouth. But like, I imagine this would be like one of the worst days of her life. Like, imagine going to the Olympic start line and after a kilometre, for a marathon after a kilometre, like you've had to pull out like the hours after.
Because I know that she wouldn't have been able to just go straight to her family. I knew that she had to like go back to the finish line. I don't know, there were all these like protocols and everything. Like that time, by
Oh my god.
I just like can't fathom. Anyway, her post reads, I'm absolutely devastated to have had to DNF, so do not finish, at my second Olympic Games. I was dealing with a plan to issue in the lead into the race. It was manageable and I was training, fit and ready to race. That had nothing to do with why I pulled out. In the warm up, my quads started to spasm without any warning.
I hoped it would resolve as I started running but it didn't and they seized up within the first kilometre, to the point that I couldn't bend my knees. I don't fully understand what's caused this. The lead into this race has been one of the most challenging times of my life. The vitriol online has had a significant impact on my mental health and I have no doubt that has played a part in my body breaking down in this way.
The culmination of stress over the last few weeks has finally taken its toll. I'm aware of some of the negative commentary during and since the race, but this time I'm not going to listen. This is what happened. If you choose to not believe it, then so be it.
Mm. Oh my god.
my heart
know it, it actually does. It's just, it's crazy because like when has Sinead Diver been anything other than like, An amazing role model, an amazing athlete, like done the right thing. Like, it's just insane that, I mean, no one deserves that kind of, that kind of treatment, but like, yeah, she'd just be like the most harmless, well intentioned person. And if she can attract that kind of, Like level of intense, Bullying online.
the other thing that that post really made me think was just like, she says, she literally says, I have no doubt that this has played a role in my body breaking down in this way. Like back to our original conversation, She's recognizing the impact of like her mental health on her
Mm.
that this is almost the starkest example of that.
Yeah. Yeah. I just think there's a really fine line and I don't know how to navigate it there are so many articles about how cool it is, like, how Paris, the athletes seem a lot more, like, relatable and accessible because, like, there's so many videos on social media about what the village is like and how cool it is, and which is, like, awesome because you kind of get this, like, Insight into what it's like that we've never had before but in the same token, it also means that these athletes are
so much more vulnerable to receiving this online hate I almost feel like it's given viewers, it's almost like they feel like they have, um, this sort of, like, sense of, like, ownership of the athletes and they're able to, like, abuse them and be, like, keyboard warriors
One of them, I know we're not going to dive into the Raygun situation, which has a lot of parallels to this, but one of the most unhinged comments, on like the whole Raygun, Scandal is this guy who says, let's talk about the change. org petition. And he says, while that's inflammatory, Australia has suffered a reputational damage because of what's happened paid for by our taxes, given the AusOlympic team is publicly funded and accountable to us as taxpayers.
We are entitled to answers on how this has happened and what will be done to prevent it from happening again. The like entitlement coming through that. and also just Totally disconnected from reality to think that the Olympic team is accountable to the taxpayers.
But I think you see that same, We saw a lot of that in the conversation when initially when Lisa Waitman wasn't selected, is people being like, we're entitled to know why, why these people, were selected, and who and what was justification. it's like, you're actually not, it's nothing to do with you
Oh, yeah. yeah, it's just it's exactly what you said, the entitlement, it just like absolutely baffles me. Like,
yeah,
just, ugh I just, it really, yeah, I think that's the, there's so much like good about the Olympics in a sense That there's like the like celebration of so many sort of like humans coming together and like how sport is such a great, great integration, between like different cultures and nationalities. But I think the like sad part is that you do kind of see an ugly side of, the, the common man.
I agree. And I mean, I feel like we're probably shouting into the void a bit here because I just would be shocked if anyone who listens to this podcast is also the people who are like jumping on and harassing people online. But good to have our stance on the, on the situation noted. Um,
Can we speak about how well the Aussie women have performed this
yes. Oh my gosh. So this is one of the questions I've been wanting to ask you. for Like a week now is this idea of like, why did the Aussie women perform so well? because our women won 13 out of our 18 gold medals, which means that if just the
That is, sorry, I'm sorry.
I know
A moment. 13 out of our 18 gold medals.
And so if just the women in Australia were a country, we would have come 8th after great Britain in the Olympics, the Australian women.
is bananas.
I don't know. And like, obviously, obviously, Australia had a, you know, I think we had our best year ever. Um, we did, the men did incredibly well as well, but it was really interesting to see like, or to kind of try and analyze like what's happening here. Why are the women, perform, like the women are, men doing really well, the women are doing outstandingly well. So what are some of your thoughts on this?
Yeah, I thought this was, when you sort of asked this, I was like, that is a really interesting question because I have been going over, I don't know, just like speaking to family or whoever, I've been like, yeah, the girls, but haven't, it hadn't really taken a step back to reflect on maybe why. and, I kind of think like it probably stems a little from like the grassroots. Like it's a lot more acceptable for women or like girls even to be playing all these different sports.
Like I even think back to like when I was a little kid and like I remember even playing like Auskick, like AFL. Um, but then like at a certain age. stopped because it was only for boys, but I feel like there's just that wider accessibility and opportunity for girls in every single sport. So instead of getting to an age and then stopping, they're able to keep going.
And I guess just the role models from when we were younger, I feel like that's when women really started to, step it up a notch in a sense. because they were, given the, funding and the airtime to do so. So, then you know, we're now 30, so a lot of, a lot of the girls that we see, women sorry, that we see competing and doing really well now are around our age. And I, I kind of wonder whether, that's also because, you know, when they were kids they saw that that was something that they could do.
I don't know, what do you think?
Yeah, I've I completely agree. Just on that role model point, like just how after she won that silver medal in her interview afterwards, she had that quote of like, you can't be what you can't see. And that she's like, directly referencing the power of role models. And actually Jemima kind of spoke to that as well. but Yeah, you think of like, I think there's a there's a, And I think that's a really important term called like the Kathy Framon effect.
All of us, or so many of us would have that as like a core memory, Kathy Framon winning the gold medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. And it was like this redefining moment for women's sport in a lot of ways. so I think that, yeah, there have been changes from like a more role models and it's just more culturally acceptable for women to play sport.
The other one, like, I mean, you spoke about grassroots and to kind of talk more about maybe like the, I would say the funding, I think we're starting to see the benefits of, of better investment in professional women's sport. I think two examples here, like Gina Reinhart with swimming, obviously that funding is incredible and it's not really gendered. Like the women benefit from it as much as the men. And, you know, we obviously saw how incredible our women were in the pool.
Aussie sevens, our Australian sevens. um, sevens was the first sport in Australia to have equal pay for its men and women athletes. And
Is that right? I didn't know that.
Yeah. Obviously the women, as I said, like didn't perform as well as they, they're easily, I mean, they're the best team in the world, so they didn't perform as well as they could have, but the fact that they are. They are such a dominant team is, you know, a reflection of that as well. and so potentially we're seeing some of the repercussions of that.
Yeah, and I think going back to your quote from Jess Hull, you can't be what you can't see. I, I even think the fact that it is, has been proven that you can be a mum and still compete
what a change.
Yeah, like I, it wasn't that, I mean, it was only really a few years ago that I kind of, when I, whenever I thought of like motherhood and elite sport, I just didn't, I thought of them as like two completely separate areas. and I almost felt like once a woman chose to, if they did choose to have a family, that was the, expiration date on their sporting career, but I think now that has just, like, completely changed.
Progressed and like being like, revolutionary in a sense to, the longevity of females in sport. I mean, like take a look at our women's marathon team, like all three of them are mothers and all three of them have run personal bests. Since becoming a mother, even to the fact that, th you know, the, It. was the first time in Olympic history that there's been a nursery in the village. And I just find the concept of that. So exciting.
And also as a like female myself, not that we're like in the professional sporting world, but, there's something, there's I don't know it almost makes me like a little bit emotional thinking about it that like It's just completely changed the way that female athletes will be able to view themselves. Like even on an amateur running level, it's like, Oh wait, we don't have to, we don't have to stop. If we want to have kids, we can keep going. And like, who knows, maybe we'll be better.
Like, you know, we like joke about, Oh, you know, we have a kid. Maybe we'll be better runners, but I think that that idea is, it's really exciting. And instead of it being like a hindrance to,
Oh, or an ending. Exactly.
It's actually been completely flipped.
have you seen, I saw, and this is just directly quoting from the FEMA athlete project, who, if you, listeners, if you haven't checked them out, they are just like the most incredible, Instagram page slash media organization. They did, they were talking the other day about how, I think it's Manchester United, but again, don't quote me on that is the first, like EPL soccer team to,, basically say for any women who, any woman who has to go on parental leave in their final year of conduct.
like final year of their contract, their contract will get automatically renewed for the next two years on the same salary. And it's basically, I mean, it's historic for like, that is massive for a number of reasons. Like what amazing job security that like female athletes, have just not really been able to have before, but it's also them saying, we think you have a career after you've been a mother, And like even that is such a mindset shift.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But yeah, so I think, it's All of those like little things mixed in together, kind of like cultivate this like greater result for like women in sport. And I feel like that's why the Australian women have absolutely dominated these games.
Woo!
All right, let's go back to the quickfire Oh,
on our week because it is, I think we're now six weeks out from Berlin, which is wild. So Anna, give me a score out of ten for your mindset this week
gosh, the rollercoaster continues. I would say I'm on about a seven out of 10 for mindset. I reckon at the start
No, you can't, you can't be seven.
Oh No, I can't be a seven. Okay, sorry. I'm gonna
be on the
to be a six. Yeah, Phoebe doesn't like seven. I'll give myself a six because I am definitely not an eight. I
Okay. Yeah. yeah, Oh,
at the beginning of the week, I, um, I felt like I was struggling a little bit. I found it. yeah, Just being in Paris and like around heaps of people running and everything. obviously cause I wanted to be doing the same thing, but my body had other ideas. And, but I think now I've sort of, Yeah. like gained a bit more, like perspective again and, and just so thankful for the runs that I can go on.
and I, at the start of the week was thinking there is no way I am going to be able to start Berlin or like do it at all. Um, but now I'm thinking like, if I can get there in a like semi healthy way, Surely, I can run 40 surely, Um, what about you?
give myself an eight. Like seven, but push up into an eight.
Oh no, no, sevens here. Thank you
exactly. That's why I'll, I'll, flip, I'll land on the eight side of the fence. I think it's been good. I think the only thing I struggled with a bit with my mindset is like a little bit of, um, Exhaustion. I don't know if That's the right word, but um, just feeling a little bit exhausted. I just, I mean, this is now, um, I'm gonna cover recovery in this as well, which my recovery. Again, super low. It's been for the last couple of weeks, but maybe like another poor four.
but I've just been burning the candle a bit too much at both ends. my sleep, I had really, um, not enough sleep at all. Again, my aura has been Sending me a lot of warning signs, um, asked me
You're like, can I, can I put myself on do not disturb from my aura ring?
I need to, screenshot some of the things it tells me about, like, you really need to slow down and prioritize rest. I'm like, I'm trying. I'm trying.
you know what though, Asbie? I know that we've said it, um, in the like daily recap. I feel like that was as, as much as it was fun. it was a lot, particularly, you know, like for both of us, but I would say particularly you because you were on the ground in Melbourne doing a lot of the like admin and logistics. So big kudos
It was a big commitment. It was a big commitment. but it was worth, it was absolutely worth it. so yes, I'll just. loop that in with my recovery as well, which as I said, is a four, but I'm setting a micro goal, which you can hold me accountable to Anna, that. My recovery next week when I record. I'm going to have, I'm going to say above a seven. I'm going to say an eight or a nine or a 10. It's got to change. I've got
Huge. Yeah, I reckon you gotta back it up, back it up. Um, yeah, I'm excited to hear about your recovery recap next week.
What is your recovery score?
I would say I would probably give myself an 8 because I don't have a whole heap to recover from. so I'm feeling pretty rested at the moment. Um, I,
that you walked so much in Paris that you're worried you've injured your other foot.
oh yes, actually maybe I should do 4 is 4. So, um, alas, my right hamstring is no good as everyone knows, but I think I walked too much in Paris and now my left foot hurts. So I think last week we said the wheels were falling, off. I don't know where the wheels are gone
falling. they're still falling off.
They are long. They have like rolled down the hill out of sight. Um, but yeah, I don't know. Hopefully a little bit of rest and recoup and I'll be able to walk. Oh God, Um, cross training.
Cross training.
We, you mentioned that you mentioned that you went to the gym.
Not only did I go to the gym. I had a personal trainer session. Yeah. I haven't even told you about it yet. So
Who are you?
I know that's that was literally my Strava caption. who am I? Um, it was a strength and conditioning person who I was recommended by, Rose. Al Masseuse. And I did it on Friday morning. I'm, I'm not sure about it. Um, I think, I think I thought, I think I thought that I would get to get educated. And he would teach me about like the first session was going to be, we're going to do an assessment and then identify what areas need you need to work on.
And then, um, you know, I was hoping that then after that, we could kind of kind of teach me like, Oh, this is how you do these different exercises. But we just like did, a, we did a lot of random. exercises for the half hour. And then when he finished, he's like, yep. Okay, cool. So download this app. and like, I'll start doing your program. And I know that it's like 30 a week to do that, which I don't really want to do.
Yeah. Yeah. Cause I'm like, I'm about to go overseas, like I'm about to go overseas and I don't want to be on a, I don't want to have to pay for an ongoing program. I want to learn and know myself what I need to do.
why, yeah, and if something's a bit niggly, be like, okay, I should be doing this. I almost think, I mean, I don't think you can learn that in half an hour.
No, no. I was happy to do a few sessions. Happy to do a few sessions. for sure. Um,
almost like you need to do a few additional, like, in person sessions, um, and, like, vote, Yeah. and, like, kind of know the background of,
why we
I mean, I still feel like that's a big, Yeah. I still feel like that's a big gap in my knowledge is like knowing why you do things so that then you can kind of like apply it to other areas.
Yeah, I mean, to be fair in the 30 minutes, I don't reckon we did a single exercise that I have done before. Like it was all new stuff, So that was kind of cool because I was like, Oh, wow, okay, I only had like, Five exercises in my repertoire. And I just added like another 10. I mean, I don't know what you do, what they're for, but it's still cool.
I can spend two hours at the gym now. I don't know why, but I can
I can if I want to. Um, what is your cross training score?
Um, again, the cross training in terms of like swimming, bike riding, it's like the cardio cross training that I'd like to be doing, given that I can't really run all that much, isn't really there just like accessibility wise, but I would give myself an eight for doing what I can do. given what I do have.
So I like mentioned earlier, but I have, Dave has been like a real star and has been helping me with my rehab and everything to the point where the other day he had jumped on my back and I was doing calf raises
What? You did calf raises with Dave on your back
yeah, I had to do them single, uh, double leg. Sorry. I couldn't do them single leg, but yeah, you
if he doesn't mind
I actually asked him and he doesn't know.
Wow.
a pretty, He's pretty tall. Yeah.
Wow. Great
so,
are some powerful
um, So,
Getting creative.
making it work with What
It's not, it's not got a door, got a gym. Got a boyfriend, got a gym, a husband, brother,
got a boy, got a gym,
got a boy, got a
Literally just, just Got a body, got a gym.
Yeah, yep, yes, that is very true. Oh
I mean, I was pretty funny the other day. it would have looked so weird if someone could have seen us like into the Airbnb. They would have been like, what are
please, please secretly record it next time, set up your phone somewhere. secret.
know, I actually was going to, but I thought if he sees the phone, he's not participating.
Okay,
I've got to hide it. I've got to work out a setting to hide.
I want to see the
Yeah,
with him on your back. I just, I need to see it.
um, alright, last one, best one, fueling. Whoa!
No, I haven't thought about it. I forgot about, I don't, You go first. What's your feeling? score?
Fueling, I would give myself a 10 out of 10. I am eating so well. There are, Italy is anyone for celiac, anyone with celiac disease, go to Italy. They are, like, surprisingly amazing here. It is insane. Like, everywhere has, they are, yeah, like, France. Like, God, no. They aren't super accommodating and they just don't really care. Um, the Italians however, on the other, like, are completely the polar opposite.
They are so, like, they're so knowledgeable and also just like so, super, willing to help out to the point where like a lot of restaurants just have gluten free pasta or pizza in the same way that they do back in Australia, which I
Really?
all. And I reckon I've had two of my like best ever gluten free pizzas in the last
Oh my god, amazing. I'm so
gelato places have like gluten free waffle cones. I'm just, I'm eating well. Nutritious. Possibly. But more so, more so delicious. Um, but
the energy it needs to recover and heal.
yeah, exactly, exactly. My hammy is saying,
fed.
give me pizza. More mozzarella,
Hey Anna!
Hey Anna! Um,
Was that your
Uh,
voice?
it's like speaking in whale. Hey Anna! Give me pizza! Um, what about you? How's your feeling?
I'm gonna say six. I'd say not big, I'd say I did reasonably well because I did some meal prep. Um, but it just, and so I think I, I've ticked a lot of boxes, but I'm not enjoying my food. I'm, I am not cooking well. I didn't cook very well this week and everything was like burnt or like a bit off or like, not off, but like stale or, I didn't heat it up well enough or I this is me being time poor, and so, I know, it's actually, it's it's no good.
Like I had, for I cooked myself pizza on Thursday night. because I was like, I needed, pizza. I needed a treat. And, um, I just burned it so badly, but, and that was what I was having leftovers for lunch on Friday. And so I heated it up at work in the microwave. And so it was both soggy and burned to a crisp. And I was just eating it like, what am I eating this? No longer has any nutritional value in it. Um, so yeah, I think I just. I just struggled a little bit this week, but that's okay.
Yeah. Outwards and onwards. I don't think
I think what I'd like to see They're like, this. girl, someone help her.
Someone else,
keen next week for your recovery and fueling answers to be a little different.
Okay. I'll set some personal goals. shall we move on to our cheeky team member of the week?
Yes, we shall,
So whilst you're getting that up, just want to give a massive shout out to On who is sponsoring this segment on the podcast. So as unlike to say, marathon is a team sport, which we actually completely agree with. and yeah, they're just, I mean, we've been talking quite a bit to the team on, like organizing things for Europe and so on, and they're just the biggest legends. so go on.
Go on
so the question Anna was to do with recovery and basically asking what are your recovery hacks, secrets and must dos. And our favorite answer was from Rebecca. McAllendon. Thank you. We
I'm not sure if that's how you pronounce
what? How would you have gone for it? Macallan.
actually don't know.
McLinden.
just feel like
That was wrong.
McAllendon. Rebecca McAllendon.
Rebecca McAllen and she said.
she said um, my recovery post, particularly difficult sessions has a few components, which a lot of these I'm on board with. So maybe that's why we picked Rebecca as the winner. And first, the mandatory rugby followed by something yummy. She's a huge fan of cheese and Vegemite scroll posts long run electrolytes. Tries to get a massage once a month. Pillow performance magnesium is a part of her nightly routine. Tries to foam roll daily and deli, uh, deloading week every few weeks.
As well as trying to listen to her body if it's telling her to rest. Even if the training schedule reads something different, which I think is a major power to her because that is like very much easier said than done. she said that she thinks there's a time to push yourself, but there's also a time when you've got to slow down and listen to what your body needs.
And if that means sleeping in and missing morning session because you've had a huge week, and if that means that run happens tomorrow instead of today, that's okay. Uh, just as one must respect the niggle, one must also respect the body's demand for rest and recovery. So,
Yeah, I feel like I feel like the reason why I love this answer is because I'm like she just Rebecca just sounds like she Has nailed recovery. Like she gets all the different elements. She kind of says like, it involves like rest, nutrition, supplementation, massage. Which I completely agree. And then also doing things that are good for your mind and soul and spirit, and She seems to have ticked all the boxes. So you you go girl, Rebecca, you are, you are killing it.
That's a 10 recovery score right there.
10. I think she, Her people need to speak to my people. Yeah, yeah, my aura Rebecca, can you please wear Phoebe's aura
Yeah, Oh my God, it would be so happy with me.
all right, that is it for today's episode. Thank you so much, Phoebe. Thank you so much, listeners. Um, people probably didn't realise, but we have been trying to record for the last three and a half hours because someone's Italian Wi Fi isn't working so well as always, please follow us at Cheeky Run Club on Instagram and TikTok. please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and thank you so much Onn for making this episode of Cheeky possible. speak to you next week.
Bye.
Bye. Go, go on, on. I don't know why I said that. Um, okay. Hey,