Welcome to episode 144 of the Women’s Running Podcast with your hosts Esther Newman and Holly Taylor. In this episode, we delve into various topics, including Eurovision, running injuries, mental health, weight and running, and finding the balance between gentle and punishing running practices.

Eurovision Debrief

We start with Eurovision, because that’s the way we roll. Yes, we’re going to talk about running, but we need to prioritise here. Of *course* Holly is hugely invested in this, but it may come as a bit of a surprise that Esther is also a Mega Fan. We debrief the best bits from the weekend, and Holly gets a chance to do her very best “douze points”.

Running Injuries and Post-Marathon Recovery

Esther shares her struggle with a persistent running injury that has persisted since completing the London marathon. We explore the importance of post-race rest and care for our bodies.

The Impact of Running on Mental Health

Continuing the discussion, we delve into the relationship between running and mental health. Esther opens up about feeling down due to her running injury, emphasising the emotional toll it can take. We reflect on the need to prioritize mental well-being alongside physical fitness.

Weight, Body Image, and Anticipating Changes

One of the effects of not being able to run is the feeling of a lack of control and an increased tendency toward self-loathing as we anticipate changes in our bodies. We discuss strategies for maintaining a healthy mindset.

Running as Punishment and Finding Balance

We explore the concept of running as punishment and using food as a reward. Finding the right balance is essential, and and how we need to try and find that sweet spot between being too gentle and too punishing.

Links

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In this episode, we’ve moved on from training for a marathon, to recovery from that marathon, and ploughed straight into injuries.

Injury prevention

Esther has got a catalogue of them, and what we’re discussing here is, is it common to fall prey to injuries once you’ve completed a marathon – not in your training block, and not on the day itself, but afterwards, when you’re slowly beginning to start running again.

And it sounds like it’s a resounding yes, as many of you have already responded to on Instagram to say you’d had something similar – but we thought it was surprising that there doesn’t seem to be a lot online about it as a Thing.

Healing injuries

We talk about one method of healing post injury, which has been suggested – and that’s going to a chiropractor. We will of course report back, as we've now been persuaded that this might be the way to go in terms of preventing injuries in the future, particularly if they stem from bad backs.

Cross training

Speaking of backs and cross training, we chat about yoga and bootcamps and strength and mobility, all of which we need to upweight in order to prevent those annoying injuries.

Community

By the way do please subscribe and leave us a lovely review if you can, cos the last one that’s up there is MEAN – we discuss in detail.

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Links

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The Fuel & Hydration Planner

How to measure your sweat rate

How to estimate how salty your sweat is

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In episode 142 of the Women’s Running Podcast, Esther and Holly talk about recovery and finding new joy in exercise regimes.

It’s a week after the London Marathon, and this episode is a load more joyful than episode 141, because Esther is no longer in huge physical and emotional pain! We talk about running and routines and how we discover ourselves again after we’ve achieving huge running goals like, for instance, a marathon.

Muscle soreness

We also discuss marathon recovery – you have to listen to Holly explain exactly how she goes to the loo after a race when the DOMs mean lowering on to a loo seat is the worst pain in the world.

Goals

We also chat about the concept of “one and done”. Just because you’ve run a big goal distance or race, that doesn’t mean you need to go on and do more of them, or longer distances. You can just stop! But if you’re able to, and you fancy it – it’s a great thing to continue to do. However you don’t have to carry on chasing goals if you don’t want to.

Community

Come and join us on Patreon so that you can join our lovely Pod Squad community in our exclusive chat room -which we’ve made just for you, so we can all chat about running and races, health and nutrition, and also all of that non-running stuff too (the important stuff).

Links

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration! You can get 15% off using the code WR2023! Go get ‘em.

Head over there, too, to find out How to carb load before your next race and to sort out all your nutrition with the clever Fuel & Hydration planner.

Do please email us at [email protected] with any questions or running stories

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It’s time for the London Marathon debrief. At time of recording, it’s the morning after the day before, and Esther feels a bit broken.

London Marathon and recovery

We need to talk about marathon recovery here, which we’ll go into more next episode of the Women’s Running podcast, bearing in mind how blue many of us will feel in the days after a big race, for so many reasons.

Periods and hormones

And then, hormones. Because of one thing and another, Esther was running the day before her period. This, as we all know, is the very worst day of the month, and has at least served to answer questions around why she didn’t enjoy the day as much as she had wanted to. What are your experiences of running, periods and hormones?

Mental strategies

On the plus side, Esther had a lovely stay at the Westin London City the night before, and managed to actually sleep this time round. And another thing that worked was the mental strategies that she used during the race – it turns out it isn’t just your legs that get you round.

Links

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration. You can Get 15% off Precision Fuel & Hydration using the code WR2023

Go here too, with fuelling questions, such as are you fueling adequately to maintain health and performance?

And make sure you check out The Fuel & Hydration Planner

Esther stayed at the Weston London City: a beautiful, centrally located hotel perfect for runners!

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Find out what to do in the last week before a marathon

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Welcome to episode 140 of the Women's Running Podcast, hosted by Esther Newman and Holly Taylor. In this episode, we discuss Holly's exciting weekend and hanxiety which leads us to talk about our usual state of generalised anxiety in the face of challenges, especially with the London Marathon just around the corner.

London Marathon Taper and Dealing with Anxiety

Esther shares her nervousness about the upcoming London Marathon and being in the taper phase, which involves less running and more eating (and more sleep, which she just remembered!). She talks about her fears and classic maranoia, trying to learn from last year's marathon mistakes, such as not thinking about food until a couple of days before the race. Esther also looks forward to post-marathon fun exercise, taking inspiration from Holly's approach.

Menopause Symptoms and Their Impact on Running

We also dive into the topic of perimenopausal symptoms and how they are affecting Esther's stress levels ahead of the London Marathon, particularly heavy periods and frequency. We discuss symptoms, periods, and tactics for managing them, sharing new insights that are news to both of us.

Sponsorship and useful links

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel and Hydration! Need help with your fuelling and hydration? Don’t we all! That’s where their Fuel & Hydration Planner comes in. Also they have the answer as to whether female athletes’ carbohydrate needs are different to mens’. AND while you’re thinking about it, you can get 15% off Precision Fuel & Hydration with the code WR2023 Boom.

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Find out what to do in the last week before a marathon

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Today, we’ve got a couple of things to get off our respective chests, running-wise. We talk about how running with other people can be “unexpectedly good” for those of us who tend not to. We also chat about time management and my favourite topic, emotional load. You can get a lot more of this sort of thing if you subscribe to Women’s Running magazine btw, currently with a stupendous offer of 3 issues for the price of 2. Bargain.

Running hates

We also return to one of favourite ever previous sections on the podcast that we’ve not discussed for ages. It’s pet running peeves! Hurrah! This is only because I was stopped while I was out running by a tourist asking for directions. This drives me absolutely nuts! Possibly because I run around a tourist hotspot, and I’m more likely to be running around it than walking around, but it seems to me that I’m way more often asked for directions while I’m running than while I’m walking. I’ve even had cars stop alongside me to ask for directions while I’ve been running! It makes me so cross! So because we loved having that chat, we want more of your pet peeves please!

Tapering

We also talk about tapering, cos I’ve got London in about 9 days time and it’s filling all my waking thoughts, and all of my googling. There is some sensible advice about what we need to be doing in the last week before a marathon on the website, as Holly points out, thankfully.

And very quickly, do come and join us over on Patreon, as we’ve got our next Women’s Running Live next Wednesday 19th April at 7pm, exclusively for patrons. Come for chats!

Links

This episode is sponsored by Higher State! Head to their partner SportsShoes.com and use the code HSTWR20 to get yourself 20% off when you buy 2 Higher State things!

Do join us on Patreon to come along to our next Live event on Wednesday 19th April!

Find out what to do in the last week before a marathon

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I start with the chaos in my life at the moment, and because that’s included a trip to A&E, I have a little weep within about five minutes. While it isn’t directly running related, it is something I wanted to talk about in the context of the emotional mental load that women so often carry. I’d be really interested to hear what you think about with. But It’s an important topic to discuss because the fact remains that we are the ones that carry the majority of that load, and how on earth do we train for a race, whether it’s 10K or a marathon, if we’re doing all of that?

Reality

But because I’ve had a rubbish week you have to forgive us as we then have a delicious conversation about reality TV. Holly is at pains to tell me that EVERYONE wants me to watch Love is Blind.

Fasted running

We also talk about fasted running. We’re both guilty of accidental fasted running, but we get into the logistics here, based on some very quick google research, on whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing to do. Obviously if it works for you, then that’s great, do let us know your thoughts please on this, and any other topics at [email protected].

 

Links

This episode is sponsored by Higher State! Head to their partner SportsShoes.com and use the code

HSTWR20 to get yourself 20% off when you buy 2 Higher State things!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

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Welcome to episode 137 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I am your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. We’ve got a lot to get through this episode, not least because of the reaction to my controversial parkrun comments last episode, so of course that means we spend the first 20 minutes discussing Oodies for kids and British Summer Time.

London Marathon

Then we truck on with some dedicated running chat. I’ve just completed my penultimate long run before the London Marathon – so we have thoughts about that, and there’s a small tangent off into stress incontinence. If you know, you know.

New goals

Holly discusses what she should train for next – should this be a 10K? Or a virtual thing? Or a cumulative thing? At the moment, she’s enjoying no pressure training, but we know that goals are our friend, so there are a few things to ponder here.

Parkrun

And then, of course, the parkrun controversy continues: we had a full mailbag this week with plenty of you weighing in on the debate. So we talk about your thoughts, and how we can create more of a non-competitive atmosphere for our weekly meet ups.

Links

 

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We launch into this episode with a dabble in what Holly’s been doing with her running, but then swiftly into a controversial topic: and that’s parkrun. And we want to know what you think: do you love it? Or are you a little more ambivalent?

Parkrun ponderings

Don’t get me wrong here, we both know how brilliant parkrun is, it’s bloody wonderful and it has singlehandedly persuaded countless people to move their bodies and to enjoy the feeling of running who wouldn’t otherwise have done so – and it’s a great way to celebrate running your first 5K. But, the run-not-a-race thing is the bit I have an issue with, as it can feel really competitive – and that’s great for a lot of people, but not necessarily for all of us. Holly, for one, didn’t like having stats sent to her – she suggests an option to opt in and out of those stats. Maybe that could be a thing.

Weird personalities

We then talk about our different personality types AGAIN (this is endlessly fascinating for us, I’m afraid) and the ways in which we fulfil smalltalk. We end on magnesium (one of the supplements it’s often suggested we take), something I’ve been researching for whole actual minutes, so that you don’t have to. We talk about the benefits for women and runners. Yes it’s nice to have a bath in it, but what does it actually do?

Come and join us!

Before I forget to say, we’ve just released a new Extra Mile podcast on Patreon, which is full of additional silliness just for patrons on the Cheer Squad tier. Join us to listen to it, and to access lots of other lovely bits besides, all from just two quid a month. Total bargain.

Links

This episode is sponsored by the lovely people at Yeo Valley: try the Organic Kefir, it’s proper lush

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

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This episode is all about recovery! I ask Holly what she’s been doing to recover from the Paris Half and, without consulting a single google search, it sounds like Holly is doing all the best things.

Resting up

She’s doing exercise for the fun of it, rather than for a goal, and she’s also been eating and drinking for pleasure and whenever she damn well wants. The trick here, however, is to view your recovery as something that’s just as important as your last few weeks’ training, because it’s your rest and recovery that will repair your body and bring you back even stronger for the next goal in your running career.

We also talk about introverts and extrovert, nausea on a run, breathing exercises that actually work, and smutty books we love.

Links

This episode is sponsored by the lovely people at Yeo Valley: try the Organic Kefir, it’s proper lush

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Read our full review of the Paris Half Marathon experience with Sports Tours 

Grab yourself a copy of Josie’s book, the Ten Pillars of Success, and bag some of her motivation for yourself

Book yourself a race with Sports Tours International!

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