Cheeky Run Club

All about that balance

• Anna Coldham

Share episode

Hello cheeky friends!

 We’re getting deep this week with an open conversation about juggling all of life's commitments… running and health play a significant role in our lives, but at what cost?


We look at a framework called the ‘Wheel of Life’, and we’re inviting you to reflect on your own Wheel of Life with us as we get vulnerable.

 Stick around until the end of the episode to find out if you’re this week’s Lululemon Cheeky Champion. Don’t stress if you weren’t picked! There are still more chances to be spoiled by Lululemon.

LINKS:

-   Check out our latest Substack, ‘Lay down, be humble’.

-   Wheel of Life

-   Grab a Cheeky jumper for yourself here!

-   Read Emma’s suggestions on avoiding and treating stitches here

Follow us wherever you get your podcasts + Instagram, TikTok, Substack, Phoebe's Strava + Anna's Strava, and join our Strava community 🩵

Music produced by Hugh Raper & logo design by Michael Cotellessa. Podcast edited by Kiara Martin.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

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

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

This episode is sponsored by Lululemon, supporting cheeky runners every step of the way.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Welcome to Cheeky Run Welcome to Cheeky Run Club, the social running podcast, and community for your everyday amateur runner. Hello, Anna. Hello Phoebe. And hello listeners.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

On today's show, we are trying to define what balance is, what it looks like in the running world and in the normal world, and looking at something called the Wheel of Life, picking out a few components that we think are important for ourselves at the time, and just discussing how to make balance a bigger priority.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yep. If it's even possible.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, if it's even

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

possible. We'll see.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

We'll see. There's a big question mark there. We'll then Crown our second cheeky champion of this season who will be kindly gifted something from Lululemon after we asked a question to our Strava community. Hint, hint, if you haven't already, please join.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yes. And if you've ever had a stitch or struggled with stitches, you're gonna wanna listen.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, true. Yeah. and I think that's about it. So

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

about it. Can I just say, well done.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh my gosh. okay. So we always, we don't script the episode, but we always just write the little intro about what we're gonna talk about.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

and like, because we know that we would ramble on, but you did so

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

anyway. And then I've just gone to read it and

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

we literally, I think we

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

today. We are,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

we're, we realized at the same time. I said hello listeners. And I looked at you like, have fun with this.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Anyway, lemme know how you think I went, but first of all, let's kick it off with our best and worst runs of the week, as always. Phoebe, give me your

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Okay. My best run was my long run. Oh, yay. Surprise, surprise. I had a really, I had the longest run I've had in a while, which was a two and a half hour run, but I was supposed to do it, which I did last weekend, but this one was meant to be at four and at 30 pace, which is a fair bit faster than I usually do. My long runs. Yep. And I was nervous. I was actually super nervous because Yeah. Remember chatting.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

this time last week and you were a bit like, oh gosh. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I honestly was like, I don't know if I can do that. And I was thinking about last year having, I remember the first one of these that I had in my block in the lead up to Berlin, and like, I can't even say how hard it was. Like, it was so challenging. And I end up slowing down quite a bit. And so I was quite nervous. even though like I know I've been feeling better in my training, I know my heart rate's back to normal. Like I know all those things. I can't tell you how much easier it was than any run I did last year. Really? Like it's not so nice. Yeah. It's so hard to explain how much I, I forgot that I'm like, oh, I can do

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

that was the, even though I know that I've been feeling a little bit better and a little bit better for a while, that was the first round where I was like, okay, my body is back to what it used to be able to do. Yeah. Almost like not to that. I'm sure I'm, I've been plenty fitter at other times in my life for sure. You know, of course I fueled really well for it. I did those things, but then like when I pushed it a little bit, it responded and it was like, yep, I'm good. I can do it. yeah, so I did a, I went down to the bay because I thought that was a good flat and it wasn't windy or it was actually the perfect conditions. It was like, cool, no wind. I did it with, friend Claudes and Woody.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

How far did you get down to You would've got

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

like Sandham. Wow. Yeah. And then, so cool. We were doing, they did 26 Ks. Yeah. So that was amazing.'cause like we just ran, chatted the whole time. We all had parts of the run and we were like, this is feeling hard. Yeah. And we'd kind of help each other through or just go silent for a K and be like, let's just, let's just stop the chat for a minute. Like, let's just lock in. Yeah. Yeah. But I can't tell you how much it helped. And then so I had another, maybe like eight k actually to do after that. And I was like, okay, how's this gonna go? Because this is now where it's like getting into longer zones. But it was fine. There was one stage, actually, I reckon like 31 30, 31 Ks. I got this really weird, cramp in my knee, like in my inside of my knee, in a place that I've never had a, I've never felt like, I feel like

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

like weird parts get sore at the

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. So I was a bit stressed about it and it was like, it went from like a little cramp to really sore and 15 steps. And so I stopped and just pressed it a little bit. Literally, you know, when you just like, yeah. Poke, poke, poke, stretched. My quad kept running and I was like, oh, I think it's fine. And then it went away and I haven't felt anything from it since. Yeah. so yeah, it was just such a nice, so mood and I went for a swim afterwards. Nice. Yeah. You

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I did see that. Yeah. Chilly. Yeah. It would've been so

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It was so cold. But like, I have to say, I know. I said in that video, I've gotta run as high. I don't know how many times in my life I've had a run inside that intense. Really? I stopped my watch and I was like, whoa.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

oh, you were literally spaced out.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you're genuinely sorry. I was genuinely like, I couldn't walk straight back to the car. I was like, I felt this flood of elation in my brain, like I can't explain it. It was crazy. And I couldn't stop smiling and I was like, oh, I just feel so tired and happy. Yeah. And then

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

content that, and like satisfied

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And I feel like normally after a run hard run I would get around's height, but you're with people and you kind of talk to each other and like, yeah, maybe you don't,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

almost appreciate it as, or

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

it doesn't hit you as hard'cause you're almost channeling it out through your excitement and you're talking to other people. But this was like, it was just me and I was just like, oh,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

god.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

feel really happy. Um, yeah. Yeah. And then the swim just like amplified it and after that I was just like. Oh, I felt amazing.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh, Did you see I, I saw a TikTok recently and it was someone being

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you saw a TikTok? Have you been going on TikTok?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I went to go on to look at something and then. All of a sudden I was

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

10 hours later,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

10 hours later. 10 hours later. No. or it was something about some people just won't understand the feeling that you get after a long run and then getting back into your trackies or pajamas

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

couch and rotting for the rest of the day.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh, that feeling.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

good that feeling is. And I was like, that is so true.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's so

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

better.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's so true.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

because you feel so, you're like, I am so pleased with myself.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I know, you know, it makes me like, feel a little bit weird. Like, do I not normally give myself permission? you shouldn't need permission or like, you shouldn't have needed to do a long run, obviously to rot on the couch. But that is just something

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

you feel better though, it makes

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you feel, you do feel like

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

so tired.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

That

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Like your body. Yeah. And I feel like sometimes you can like feel your like heart rate, beating a little bit faster than it normally does, and you're like, oh yeah, I'm, I'm working to

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. My body's supposed to recover. Oh, my aura ring shows me that always after a long run all day, my like, heart rate's a bit elevated. Like go

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Do your thing.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

thing. tell me about your best running related activity.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mine was on Sunday, I think I told you I was in a bit of a foul mood on Sunday morning. Anyway, so then before coming back over here to pack some more jumpers, I took myself off for a little walk with Ted, it was such a nice day. It was so sunny and it was, I was just in a t-shirt, like I wasn't in a

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

like I wasn't in jump. What? It felt like spring. That was the first day that I was like, oh my god, winter will

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah, I know the end is

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

The end is inside.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

and I think I was just so fed up with myself, so I actually did a bit of a run.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Wait, what?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I did like two or three minutes on and then two or three

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

minutes. Oh my God. You didn't tell me that when you

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, I know. I've been waiting a week. A Dave doesn't know he will if he listens to

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

You went for a secret run.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, I would've gone for like maybe 10, 12 minutes in total. And it, honestly, I was saying to a girlfriend, I was like, there is just nothing better. I didn't even run for long and I haven't felt that good.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

so long. I was like, this is insane. And I was just, I got over here and I was

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you were such, I still bouncing off the walls.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I was so happy.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you're like, haha, Dave, wasn't I in a bad mood before? And he was like, yep.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. It was like, yes, you were, you were insufferable. but yeah, it was so good and I think just'cause it was a nice day and I walked from like our place up to here along the river, so it was

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

just Oh,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

a nice,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh, that is a really

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

it was absolutely stunning. Stunning.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

how did the hip

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

well, we'll get to that. In my

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

okay.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

that's why I wanted to do best

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I won't ask. I won't ask. I'm interested to know, like, is it a, you've been obviously doing, like you know, intense cardio and stuff through Cycle Collective and so on. Do you feel like it's a different feeling? It's a different, yeah. What is it?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I don't know what it is. even it's not as, I was running fast. Like I was running slow and I was just like, this just, but I mean in comparison to, you know, if I've done a class and I'm getting my heart rate up.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

And it's just,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

like being outdoors,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

yeah. I don't know what it

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

fresh air. Something about that as

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, there's something I was thinking even maybe the like contact with the ground.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yeah,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I don't know.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Bit of earthing going on.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Possibly, you know, me very in touch with the

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

very grounded.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Um, but yeah, I don't know. It was honestly the best and I was running past people smiling. They

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

were you

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

would've been like, what

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

it? Oh, you are so excited.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

so excited. but yeah, I only, I just did a few, three minute ones.'cause I'm like, surely that can't,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yeah. It's not gonna make anything

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

And it didn't, it's not as though, it didn't, hurt a little bit, but like it was. It was okay. Like I could do it.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Well, I'm interested to unpack

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mm. Anyway, yes. what was your worst run of the week?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

My worst run was not a run running related. It was, I went to a podiatrist.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I actually did see the sheet up there about the wall,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

which, yeah. Which she was actually amazing. Like that was absolutely, she was great. more just, I've just been noticing, do you remember last year I had that achilles issue? Yeah. And I got a cortisone. LL Achilles feels fine, but since then, every now and then with my runs just my planter

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

this feels a bit not quite right.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

my tip post, which is Anyone who hasn't had tip post issues before, it goes from your sole of your foot, sort of behind your ankle up into your calf. And my calves are just chronically tight. And I just have been feeling both of them, just some runs randomly. Especially the after work runs, they'll be so sore. Oh, okay. And then the next day it'll be fine and I'll have no issues. So it's not consistent and it's not getting worse, but I'm like, okay, I'm gonna be running more. And in the past, having tib post and calf tightness has given me shins once. Yeah. Which is my worst nightmare. I, yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

And you're worried about that last week with futsal?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yes, exactly. That's when, that's, that's a great, I forgot how I said that. Yep. So I was like, you know what? I noticed myself worrying about it. Yeah. Just being like,'cause last time I got shin insulins it, I can't tell you out anyone who has dealt with the pain of Shin insulins before will know. I've never had,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I've never

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

they are like the worst injury ever. Yeah. And they're just so hard to get rid of. And they plagued me for a year. Like I was just on off shin twins and I just was like, I don't wanna go anywhere near that again. So anyway, I went to the podiatrist to like, just assuage my concerns. Yeah. And yeah, she was very much like, you don't have shin twins and you don't have, I, I also was worried I'd get planar fasciitis'cause I've never had f fla fasciitis before. But I also hear that it's just so annoying. Although the, the podiatrist was like, oh, it's, I'd you'd way rather have fla fasciitis and shin splits, which I was really surprised by. But she's like. Someone coming with the shins winds. I'm like, here we go. I know, I know. So anyway.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

really sad.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I know, but, so

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

anyway, so why was it your worst? Because

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I feel like it was a real, admitting to myself that I had a niggle kind of

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Okay. Do

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

know what I mean? I feel like it's so, it's such an esoteric thing, is it a niggle or is it just sore Some days and fine other days. But this was a, I had to be like, no, sometimes it's sore when I run and like I don't want it to get worse. And I feel like that just was like a mental hurdle for me. Yeah. and then it is a random, she's given me some calf stretches, like that's the treatment. Yeah. Which I'm a little bit like, okay. A stretching still thing. I didn't

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

yeah. I guess like if that's what tightens up and especially after you are like running for kilometers on kilometers,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

but they're like static stretch. I thought static stretches weren't really thing anymore. Great.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Anyway, she was, she was amazing and she was really, seemed really accomplished. So I'm trusting the process, but I now have to spend 30 minutes a day stretching for the next six weeks. 30 minutes. Yeah, I know.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Where are you gonna find that?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Three by 10 minute stretches every day. And I, I haven't done any today yet.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

so the night is still

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I did. I did a bit this morning before my run, but I haven't had the chance since then. Whoa. I need to find a way to, like,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

you need to find a way to do it at work when you're like standing up at the desk or something. Yes.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Someone gave me the tip. I'm now trying to remember who it was of. Do your stretching in the shower.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh, Nick Johnson does that. Our Spanish correspondence husband, I

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

think it was Nick, but it was someone, anyway, um,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

always just find the visual of that weird.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And also.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

like someone stretching in the shower.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

not a long showerer.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

No, I am like getting it out. Yeah. Unless it's

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

along. Yeah. Anyway, that was my worst. And, but I'm being a good girl and I'm staying on

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

yeah, well done. Very proud of you.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you. What was your worst

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mine was the aftermath of my round

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

No,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

No, it's actually, it was okay. It doesn't feel like that bad, but it's just, it did inflame it and I think part of me was kind of hoping that maybe

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

it wouldn't just, yeah, it's

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

be fine and I can do that every couple of days. But it

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

it, so I was sore afterwards.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

And even now, it's to like touch and stuff. It's sore, to, what do they say to palpate? It's sore. To poke. anyway, so I feel like, I mean, I, I would say maybe I'm a few steps back, but also how

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

but mentally took a

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

mentally a big step forward. but yes, I'm seeing the sports doctor Monday week,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh, great, okay. Because yeah,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

when the next episode comes out, I'll be seeing them.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, that'll be good

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Hopefully. Yeah. Yeah. And I think until then I actually was thinking maybe it would be a good thing going to it when it's a bit sore or a bit inflamed

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Okay. So maybe get another run in beforehand

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

then I can maybe be a little less vague. Be accurate. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. Do like a little experiment on myself.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

myself that it's a good thing to run

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Well, as, so as it's not gonna do like more damage, I feel

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Well, I don't think it, I mean, yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm cooked.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

No,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

No, no, no, no,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

no, no, no,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

no. okay, so should we chat about what is coming up in the next couple

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

weeks? Let's, oh my gosh. It's very exciting. There's lots coming up in on the Australian running scene. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

So we're starting off in Sydney in three weeks time.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Wow. It's so, I'm so pumped that I know we have so many people who listen to this podcast who are doing

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. And then there's Melbourne and we're obviously partnering with Lululemon at the moment, and there's a few big events coming. So please,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

keep an eye out.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Please keep an eye out on our socials. And then hopefully, next week's podcast, we'll be able to tell you some details. But yeah, they're planning some really fun stuff. Yeah. Um, which we're involved in. So watch this

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yeah. Anyone who saw the Gold Coast activation will know how above and beyond Lulu go with their race week community support. Mm-hmm. So the Sydney one, I know they, it will be announced really shortly, but it's gonna be so exciting. Yeah. and then the Melbourne one, um, pumped for Yeah. As well, the

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Now

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

hometown.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Um, okay, so should okay. Should we get into the main topic of this week?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Let's do it. I'm, I'm excited to chat about this one because, it's definitely something I have been grappling with over the last couple weeks is, this idea of balance and what does that even mean and how do you, especially when running is becoming a bigger and bigger part of your life, like if you're training for something. But I would say probably for most people listening to this podcast, everyone has lots of things that they do. Mm-hmm. Everyone is trying to stretch across a few different things. Like what does balance actually look like? I dunno about you, but I feel like most conversations about balance, I actually find quite frustrating.'cause they can be quite wishy-washy and

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I feel like you never get anywhere at the end

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

of it. Yes. It's

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Like I'm no clearer than I was Yeah. Five, 10 minutes ago.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

So we have

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

like I'm just not doing it right, but I don't know

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, no, exactly. You come out the other side feeling. More acutely aware that it's something that you haven't achieved, but no more clearer on how to achieve

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

it. Yeah. Yeah. Whereas

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

we've tried to come up with like a little bit of a framework, not that we invented this, the core part of this

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh. I think we can definitely claim that we invented this.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

this is a very well known part, so we'll go through a little framework, but then we've got kind of a set of questions that we are gonna work through together on the pod. And if you're listening along, have a think about it as well. Yeah. and hopefully, hopefully by the end of it, you'll have a clearer idea on what does balance look like for you and what steps can you take to be living a more balanced life, if that is the goal.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, yeah. which I think it, I feel like.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

like

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

There is absolutely no research to back up this next statement, but I feel like a well-balanced life is probably a more fulfilling life. Mm.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, that's probably a good thing to chat about. I was like, why is it even important

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. But like, reflecting on life, when I'm like, feel well balanced between a, a couple of different things rather than spreading myself thin Yeah. Is probably when I'm the most satisfied or like happy. Yeah. Or content in a sense.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

And it's almost like good, safety nets as well. Yeah. Because if one thing falls away,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

you've still got a few containers

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yes. Anna was trying to explain to me an analogy. Do you wanna give it a go?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

oh gosh. Okay. So I was pretty much saying that balance is obviously important in the sense to like, make sure you're not overdoing it in some areas or like leaving behind another, but also in the sense that if for some reason, compartment of your life is not going so well or like taken away from you, you have other sort of, containers around it to still keep you afloat. So it was like that analogy was your ship and then all of the different sort of parts of your life, whether that be like family, partner work.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Were

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Running social, cars, if you're into that. I don't know why I said cars, but like another interest.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

don't, we're not interested in cars. That is such a bad example. Anyway. It's like if one of them is taken away, for instance, cars, you are still, you've still got these other containers Yes. To keep

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Tethering you. Yeah. Yeah. I think that it's like a healthy thing to have to place value and find meaning in different

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

in different, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

not put all your eggs in one bask

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

basket, basket container.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

boat. But yeah, I think, um, the pursuit of balance can often feel. It can feel like a pursuit. It can just feel like this thing that you're constantly moving towards and you never get there. And I do think, it can lead to the question of like, is it even possible? But I definitely think it is. I think you need to be intentional about it. Yeah. But I feel you can, achieve a state of okay, I feel like I'm getting some good balance in place. I mean, maybe I'm just projecting and speaking for myself that it can feel impossible at times. But, but I

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

but I think, I think what you are talking about with the intentional thing is correct. Like I, I feel like people maybe sometimes think it would be like a subconscious thing that it all of a sudden happens without you realizing, but like, I do think it's something that you need, like anything that you need to like work out.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Like think about set a goal around design a system around, work towards that system. Like it's not gonna happen on its own. Yeah. Yeah. I also know there's some really interesting research which we'll have to, look into properly at some stage, maybe do an episode on you perform better, athletes perform better when they have other meaningful, like hobbies and areas of their life. Mm-hmm. human beings. There must be something about some way that we're wired that actually benefits from not being too obsessive over one thing in terms of like allowing us to

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

that reminds me of, did you hear the speech after Jemima Montague, the Australian Walker?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh my God, Yes. It's like the best post post-race interview. It

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

insane. let's just play a little bit here because it, she discusses so well, it's straight after the race and she speaks about how like it's obviously amazing and she wants this, but how she

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

doesn't need it,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

which I think is such insane perspective, especially considering you're literally at the Olympics and just won a medal. Yeah,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

a gold. A gold

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Bronze. Bronze. Close. Similar color. Oh, she's gold. It's gold

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Now.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

eyes.

Jemima Montag, you are an Olympic bronze medalist. How does that sound? That's crazy. I had a lot of belief. I had a good feeling this last week. I felt significantly more pressure this year because in Tokyo there were no spectators. Today there were about 30 family in team Gem t. Yelling my name and you want to do well for them'cause you know how excited they'll be. You wanna show gratitude for the 15 year journey. This has taken since little athletics, but it's a careful balance of wanting that medal but not needing it. It's really, um, a nuanced difference. Um, so not needing it for your own self-worth, um, or feeling yeah, that people love you. Um, but wanting it, saying, yeah, like, I'm willing to give this a crack and be tough. And if it doesn't happen, the sun will rise tomorrow. But let's give it a go.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yes. So we thought the first step in this pursuit of living a balanced life is to define what balance looks like for you because every person is gonna. Different kind of equilibrium that feels right for them and what that equilibrium looks like will change throughout your life. So there is this really useful framework that I've come across before, which is called the Will of Life, which to visualize it for anyone listening. it's

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

a dartboard.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's like a dartboard. Yeah. Yeah. It's basically a circle.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

it's a more wholesome dartboard

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

into like eight different, like wedges of the slices of pizza, almost think of it.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

A pizza. That's better.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

A pizza. And the slices are, health, spirituality, relationships, family, finance, relaxation, personal growth, and career. And the concept of this wheel is basically to give you a structure to evaluate, essentially like your satisfaction with where you're at in different areas of your life, but also to figure out which of those areas are really important to you at this time in your life. Like, you can't be a 10 outta 10 in all areas at all time. Well, I don't think you can, and I do think that's the goal. I think it's about what is the version of this, that you're at, where are you at right now? But then also, where do you want to be at right now? Like, what would, like a good striving Yeah. And to speak a balance. It's like, it's not just gonna be 10 outta 10 and one and zero outta 10, and the rest of them, like, there should be a healthy mix of all of them.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. okay. So what should we do? Should we go in each category and we

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

ready? Okay.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

where we are? Okay. That seems a bit spicy. I feel like it's exposing.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

No, I, I'm interested to say that.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

let's start with spirituality.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Um,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

what would you give

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yourself? Well, okay, defining spirituality. I feel like for me, I'm not religious. Spirituality is probably more. and you know what? I've done a bit of reading on this for my Substack series,'cause spiritual rest is one of them. And I think, spirituality is like the feeling of awe and connectedness. And for me, one of my main avenues for getting this is through like being out in nature. Yeah. And hiking and like experiencing you know, feeling awestruck at beauty of the

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

the world. Yeah. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

so in terms of where I'm at with that, I don't think I'm making much. The, most of the time when I do it the most is on a run and like, feeling a sense of aura. Like looking at the sky and seeing the sunrise and the sunset. And like that's a, there's a spiritual element to that for me, I feel. Yeah. Um. But I would, I think I'm probably like a three out of 10. Like, I don't, it's a small subsection of something that I do. I'm not intentional about creating time around it or anything like that. what about for you?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, I guess I'm kind of in a similar boat. I feel like I get something, there's something about the ocean. I think for me, I felt like, I think I even said like when we're up on the Gold Coast for a few days, just going for walks and like being near the

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh my gosh. You're so right.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

rad. It was just like, something about it just makes me feel so much more

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

calm.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yes. but yeah, I am very low. Like I mean, I barely get, I don't really get out in

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Well, you go to the park,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I go for, I go to the park and I go for walks, but it is something I feel like, particularly in winter that I miss.'cause I feel like just incidentally in summer you do it more'cause you're outside a lot more. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

and I think that's when I love being outside.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And there's something different about being outside in the city. Yeah. And being outside. Outside of the city. Yeah. So like even with runs, we mostly just run around the same spots, whereas it's when you go, it can go like out outside of Melbourne, that's when you like exhale a little bit. Yeah. And yeah, you're so right about going for a swim, going to the beach, and again, outside of Melbourne a little bit like yeah, there is something so

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

It's quite freeing. so yeah, quite low for me. I think one thing that I am trying to do, I guess this sort of comes into spirituality is just more, you actually were the one that sent me the quote of, now I'm gonna forget what of these, it's the one that I really, really like.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

get overwhelming

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

one? Yeah. oh

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. This is actually a quote that you said to me that I guess is sort of a little bit spiritual in a sense. Yeah. Because I feel like it, it's, there's something that I find, not relaxing, but, something quite like soothing about it in a sense. And it's let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. no feeling is final. And I feel like there's something that is quite nice about that, especially the last line, the like no feeling is final. Yeah. Being like, you're like in it for a moment, but it's not gonna last

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And I like that it's quite a balanced quote across beauty and terror.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Everything

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

terrifying things like let them happen to

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

be grateful. Yeah. Yeah. It's like for, yeah. Everything.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

it's funny, this wheel of life, it's quite an old, mechanism and I just realized like mental health isn't really on there, but spirituality probably has elements

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. I

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

But I guess it overall maybe is meant to add to, but yeah, I don't know.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. I kind of feel like,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

yeah, that's what, we'll probably

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

spirituality. Yeah. Ish. I'm gonna give myself a three as well.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

well. Okay. And how, what about though, like, how important is that to you at this stage in your life? Are

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

not, not really, but I'd say as I get older, I feel like it gets more important or not necessarily more important, but I feel like I'm looking for something more than I probably was when I was younger. Yeah. Like, I'm looking for reasons of

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. You find yourself thinking about those like existential things a bit

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, I think that I'm okay with where this is art. I think I'd probably like to be more a four or a five. Yeah. Would be ideal. a few more weekends away kind of vibe or Runs out in a different space. I think that would be really good for me. Yeah. But I don't need to be doing every weekend

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. relationships.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Do you wanna start this one?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Sure. I will. I sort of pop this under'cause there is a separate thing for family, so I kind of, oh. But I guess, I don't know, my friends are kind of family as well. Uh, I would say maybe a seven. I feel like I, relationships, like friends and everything are so important to me. and I feel like my family in a sense. and. I feel like very grateful to have such great people around me, but I also think that I can improve in this field a little bit. I feel like I used to be a bit better at it,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Mm.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

just like catching up with people being a bit more, a bit more, um, communicative.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Mm. So if you couldn't be a seven because it's a little bit fence,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I'd be a six.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I'd be a six. You'd be a six? Okay. Okay. So yeah, that's, see that says it.'cause it's like, okay, you're not quite, not

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I'm not quite there. I'm not at

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

be higher by the

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. I want it to be higher. what about yourself?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I'm not that happy with where I'm at with this one, to be honest. If I'm thinking about friend friendships I feel like I'm okay with my friends in Melbourne.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

You

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

what, I'm, I'm okay with a few friends in Melbourne. I'm nowhere near as good as I want to be. Like, I think, and I hope that my friends will know that I'm like there for them and like I speak to them. But, Especially my friends who live interstate and overseas. there have been periods in my life where I have been so good at calling them talking to them all the time and I'm pretty disappointed with how bad I've been at that over the last like,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

18

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

months. Oh, funny. That this other thing came into my life and yeah, I don't know. I just, I'm not as good at doing it as I, as I want to be, so But yeah, I think that there are people who I are really important to me in my life who, if you looked at how much time I spent talking to them, you would, that wouldn't be reflected in that. So anyway, I think this is

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

probably, I think the whole part of friendship though a lot of the time is that being there and knowing people are there for you, but like, not necessarily having to chat to them all the time. Like I feel like that is a

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

friend in a sense. Or like when you see them, it's kind of like nothing's ever

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yes, that is true. That is true. And I know that I don't think any of my friends are like holding it over me, but I just, I would really like to be better

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Better. Yeah. Yeah. Family. Gonna give it a 10 out of 10.'cause I have a special angel as a niece.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Aw,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh no. And also Dave and Ted and yeah. I like, I like my, I love my

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. Yeah. And you're feeling good about, you're very, you,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

feeling good about, yeah. Feeling good about that. Yeah. I feel like I have said this to you before, but like, I get quite anxious to speak on the phone, but I don't, the only people I don't do that with is like my mom and dad, which is kind of good in a sense.'cause they live five hours

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

away. Yes. It's good to be out of just call

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

call. Yeah. Yeah. so them, I feel like, me losing connection sometimes with people is because I have my own personal barrier to like actually getting in touch with people. Whereas family, I don't really have that.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's, you've broken that barrier, like, yeah. Yeah. That's nice. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Um, what about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, same. I think I'm a and I, the value's at a 10 and I feel like it's at a 10, like I feel like I, I really wish I could see my sister and my nephews more. Mm. That's probably the big one for me. they live in Queensland. yeah, that would be really nice to see them all, but I'm seeing them lots over the next month or so. and feel like even though my sister and my parents live in a different state and I would love to see them all, I feel just as close to them as I did if I saw them every day. Like I talk to'em on the phone all the time and happy with that. Um,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Happy with Finance. Finance,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

five and happy for it to be at a five. I don't know. I don't really,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I feel like I don't really get this one as much. I don't have a strong connection to finance.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I don't have a strong connection. I'm like, I work a job. I don't spend, I'm not a big spender. That's all good. I know that I'm saving, I don't have any big financial goals. And maybe some people would be like, that's a big problem. But it's not, it's not, doesn't feel, I feel like I've,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. I feel like content in the sense that you can afford what you want to Yeah. Afford, but you, you don't need the

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I'm, I'm sure

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

and shiniest. No,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

God. Oh my God. And you. Yeah. I, I live a pretty low key.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. I think you definitely do.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Um, but also I just don't. I feel very like, everyone has seen that study of when you earn more than like this much money, like it has no bearing on the happiness levels

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mm-hmm.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

life. And I very much feel that to be true for me. I'm like, okay, I earn fine amount and it's not earning more or saving more isn't really gonna have any impact on my happiness or satisfaction. Yeah. And not like, like of course I have more money would always be good, but Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

yeah, it's not gonna impact,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I'd almost want to bring it, care less, bring it down

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

too. I don't wanna think about it. Yeah. What about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I'd say about the same. I'm definitely not as. Frugal as you.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

good.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. As long as I can afford to eat, have a house on my head and live where I wanna live, which is actually a lot.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Literally. That's amazing.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

but like I'm content with that. I don't need more than that.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yes. And yes, we're very privileged to be able to

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

very, we are both very lucky.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Relaxation.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I'm definitely getting better at this.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh, do you? Good on you. Why do you feel like you're getting better?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I don't know. I just reckon over the last couple of months, I'm way, Looser wound than I was.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

looser wound. Yeah. What

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

now than I was at the, rather than sort of like at the end of last year and stuff. I think I was just trying to chase my tail so much at

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

the end of last year.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

but then through all facets of life, I don't know, I was just sort of, yeah. On edge, I feel. whereas I, everyone's gonna hate me saying this, but like taking Ted for a walk outside. Sometimes I just leave my phone at home. It's so nice.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

that is so

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

You like, listen, like see people, you sort of just, it's like something about him and you are like, so I guess the walk has purpose in a sense. Yeah, because I feel like I probably wouldn't make time for just going, taking myself for a walk ever.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's like the best example of how a routine can drive a goal. An outcome of just like, yeah. Yeah. It's a forcing function. Yeah. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

but even in yoga classes or Pilates classes, I feel like I can concentrate a bit more on them now than I used to be able to. Yeah. I feel like I used to just be, my mind was elsewhere.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

that's

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

but now I can kind of like

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

get into the flow a little bit more. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

So I am gonna give myself a, oh, I could definitely still be better. Let's go six.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, I was gonna say you don't have a lot of downtime. Definitely

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

better. what about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Aura says no.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I can have a two.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Like,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I, I, I don't know, it's not that I don't ever feel relaxed. Like I occasionally like feel the emotion of like relaxed, but I don't, if you looked at my, where I spent my time, like even reading, which reading is my, like, I almost spoke about reading for my spirituality. Like reading is just it's always been such a big part of my life. I'm getting through books so slowly because I just, I. I, I always read before bed, which I've always done, and I'm falling asleep straight away, which is fine, but I used to always have time outside of that that I would read. And so I'd get through like quite a lot of books, but I don't have that time anymore. And like even, I've never been like a big TV watcher, but Sean and I used to watch movies here and there. I, I can't tell you the last time we watched a movie

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Like

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

a TV show, I just get home and whatever time it is, and then I like make dinner and then I do more work and then I just

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

go to bed

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Or like I go to Sal or I go to the gym or I go to yoga. Like, I don't wanna make out like it's all work, but I think to come back to the marathon grind, it does, it can get so all consuming.'cause I'm like, if I'm not working, then

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

you feel like maybe we should do be doing something to

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I don't know how to, yeah, I don't, I, I wanna do yoga, I wanna do Pilates, I wanna do gym, I wanna do futsal. I wanna record that is literally something after work, every single, because I'm running every morning. And so it does just, it comes at the cost of something. And for me, it's my relaxation. The only the core relaxation time I get is I reckon when I go to like inner studios or sense of self. Yeah. And that is bliss. It is like

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

It is like, because you're just forced

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

can't even, yeah. It's so good. Yeah. But, um, those

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

places are insane.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. I also feel like I hear myself saying this like, oh, gotta go to Pilates, go to yoga, go to the gym. And I always think about moms of, or dads of like young kids and they must just be like, shut

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. It must be nice. Must

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Must be nice after work every day. Me like trotting

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

oh God, I've gotta go to yoga.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. But it's funny, like that weighs on me a little bit. So not that specifically, but.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I dunno if you ever think about this, but I sometimes think about oh my God, at some point in the future I'm gonna have kids and I can't do this.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Well, no, I even think that with, with dad.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

With Ted, yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I can't just go to yoga or the gym after work, like

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

oh, true. See, yeah. This is I having dogs,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Which is also, it is, but I was saying like it's also a really relaxing time. Yeah. But it's also something like I need to, like we chose to get a dog, like we have to look after him. Yes. The way we think that we should,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

the way the right way. Yeah. personal growth,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

this one isn't, personal growth, I would say about a five. I feel like similar with relationships, I could be doing better than I am.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Okay. Yeah. what does that look like?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I feel like maybe having a few more clear goals.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

be nice. Like I, I, at the moment, I feel like I'm just sort of

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

just doing

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

laissez-faire, just sort of going with the flow. whereas I could probably put some like parameters in place to be like, oh, what do we wanna do? Who do I wanna be?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

So maybe you could, but how important do you feel this element is to you right now?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh, right now, not important

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

at all.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I am

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

You happy for it to be

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I don't mind. Yeah. What about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I think it's okay. Actually. I feel like I, I've been doing the substack and that has been like this amazing, I feel like it's amazing outlet for me to like really practice a craft of writing, which I love doing. And I, I haven't really done like that before. Yeah. Yeah. And so that has felt like it's another like, way to grow. so yeah, maybe I'm like a six. Yeah. Happy to be there. Happy to be the six

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Happy to

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. Like, I would say this is probably a pretty important one for me as a, as a slice as a whole, and in general in my life. Like, I'd like it to be higher, but for this phase of my life, with everything else that's going on with Marathon and so on, I'm like, okay, it's okay for it to not be, to be like a 10.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. career.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Career, oh, pretty high, to be honest. I'm pretty,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

you are kicking goals.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

No, I didn't mean like that. I

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

No. But you are

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

with my, like, I really like my job. I've got like new challenges at work right now that, again, to come back to the growth perspective, like I feel like I'm learning, growing. I really, I care about what we do. Like I think that makes a big difference. Like, so I get quite a bit of like meaning out

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. I was gonna say, I feel like you get a lot of meaning and purpose out of

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. So I reckon this is quite high, More, maybe like a nine. I think that I almost think, and sorry, to anyone I work with that is listening, but I always feel like it needs to be a bit lower. Mm. Like it's higher than my relationships and like, definitely than relaxation and personal

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I feel like it's, it's probably coming at the cost of a few other things in the sense that I think I go above and beyond with my work quite a bit in the hours that I put in and the energy and emotion that I put in. Yeah. So you probably could pull that one raining in

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

rain it in,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

What year? I can, yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I'm pretty, I mean, I don't know. I feel like I'm about to start a secondment next week, so I'm a bit on edge of, like I don't really know'cause I don't really know what to expect, but I'm kind of happy with like, I'm excited to start it. and, but I also like what I'm doing now, so I would say I'm content. I would say like a five. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

And you're happy for it to be a five?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

would love it to be a little bit higher, I think. I don't know. Hopefully this will comment Increases

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

adds a little new

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

A little bit more meaning.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. Yeah. I feel like you do get a good, like, satisfaction out of your work.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, I do.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I do. From like a busy day in the clinic and stuff,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Keeps you busy, but

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

it does. Yeah. Yeah. I think ma it's, you know what, it's probably one of those things that it's just, I've been doing the same thing for five years

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

and

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

feel like. Another little challenge would be nice. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

things up a little bit. It's common.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. The biggest one of all, health.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

health. Health. Health. I think that my health is in a good spot. I reckon I'm like a.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

10.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

No, I'd say I'm an eight. I'm not a 10 because my sleep is really

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

rubbish.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's not good.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

That is one thing I'm good at

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

days.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

You are hitting your sleep goals. but apart from that, I feel like that iron infusion changed my life. my milk prep's been good hitting my macros, my body, apart from the little issues I spoke about before, I feel like my body's responding well. Honestly, I'm, I haven't been sick in like two

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

you haven't true. And I

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I know. And I feel pretty

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yay. Look at

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

So I am pretty happy with where my health is. I just, yeah, the sleep, the sleep thing's not, not

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

one thing. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. What

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

What about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I would say I'm not super happy because, but that's just like from a, I guess that's from a running perspective, but it broader.'cause you obviously don't want something wrong with your hip, but like if I could get a, like leg transplant or something,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh, then I think

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

would be higher. I don't know. I don't know. I actually, I really struggle with this one because I feel like in a sense it's probably higher than it has been, even though it feels lower.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I almost feel like running we should have done as the spirituality pie. Yeah. Slice of the pie. And then

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

that is so true.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you're right. It's kind of separate. It's like your health could actually be really good, but it's You feel like it's being pulled down

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. Like, I'm probably more healthy now than I was a year ago. Just like, as I've said on the podcast. it wasn't realizing at the time, but it was having like hormonal issues and stuff. even though I feel way worse, like I feel so unfit

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

just like, blah, but that's not necess, I don't know, that's not holistically necessarily a bad thing, perhaps. yeah. I'm gonna give myself a four. Four.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Give it a four? Yeah. Yeah. And what, and you'd want to be higher, is that what you're

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Oh, I would want health to be a 10. Yeah. For all of these. Okay. Maybe let's go pick your two top ones that you would want to be a 10. Only two. Relationships and family can be one.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, I was gonna say family and health.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Me too. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, I think that's probably pretty Stan like,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

that's probably pretty standard.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

That's probably okay, so that was a really long chat. Thank you to anyone who's still with us. And feel free to send us a DM being like, let, that's not what we're after when we listen to a running pod. But I think it's an important conversation because running does not exist in a vacuum, as we love to say. Running exists in the context of all these things. And so it is actually useful to kind of step back and evaluate where you're at with all of them. essentially the goal of that is like we just did talk through or go through each of those areas, figure out where you're at, but also figure out how important it is to you and Yeah, how successful, how successful do you feel like you are achieving, like, what good looks like in that area? Keeping in mind that you can't be 10 outta 10 in all, you know what I feel like it should be out of, let's say there's eight categories and they've got 10, levels each. So you could have a, there's a total of like 80 points, but you're only allowed 40 points and you have to

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mm. And you have to, yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Maybe that's the kind of goal,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I feel like as well the, yeah. Be honest about what is really getting in the way.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. I think that's a really big one because I feel like. It's easy to be oh, I'm not hitting my relaxation goals, because I'm doing X, Y, Z. But actually how much of that is because I'm being inefficient at things I'm faffing about on my phone. Yeah. You know what I mean? that's probably getting in the way as much as anything else.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. priorities or something has to give a little for that score to be higher.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I feel like it's easy just to be like, oh, I'm just busy. There's just too much on my plate. And it's so valuable to like step back and almost like time log your day, not just at work, but how you're spending time. Have an honest conversation with yourself about how much time did you spend on Yeah. Doing,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

yeah, definitely

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

screen time's probably a big one.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Screen time would be massive for people. Yeah. myself, like I'm not, not part of that.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. No, no, no. For everyone, for all of us. Then, yeah, you almost need to layer over this if you are training or upping your training, like what is gonna be the impact? you visualize your wheel of life, what does that look like? How does that change during a marathon block? some things will go up, maybe your feelings of health maybe will go up. Maybe they'll go down. If you get injured, maybe spirituality will go up because you're spending more time in nature. Maybe your relationships will go up'cause you're forming close friends. But, so it doesn't need to be that everything will move down. But I think there's a step there of basically being like, what is Midblock?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Like, what do I, what am I aiming for?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yes, exactly.'cause then you can sort of ask the final thing, which is basically like, or two things, like how do I create space? Like what am I gonna let go of to, to make space for that?'cause you've only got 40 points that you can allocate across these areas somewhere.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

drop a few somewhere.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

and then what also will be the impact of dropping the off? I think just being aware is insanely a point. Yeah. Important. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's like if you're happy and willing for things to drop off that something's gonna hap happen, like that's gonna change

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

of your

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

part of your life kind of thing. So I feel like sometimes it's almost easy to be like, yeah, yeah. But that will drop off. But then when it actually does, you're like, oh my God. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Whereas if you're like, I am gonna deprioritize

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mm. Yeah. Intentionally, um,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. What would be an ex, I'm now trying to think of an example of something that I will be letting go of in this marathon block.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

It can't be relaxation.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It's already outta two. Honestly, maybe it's like the career,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Mm.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

you know, personal growth. Like I know we didn't really talk explicitly about Cheeky'cause that feels a little bit meta, but like, that's probably where a lot of our personal growth comes

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Comes from. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

and I feel like, not that I would ever put less energy into cheeky, but I do feel like I could be more patient with myself in the Substack this week. I wrote a bit about I feel like I can be so impatient with like, everything's gotta be great and growing all the time. You

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

be an expert. Yes. All at

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. And I feel like I need to just be like, okay, it's going really well. Like let's keep doing what we're doing, but don't need to break through any ceilings

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

little while. Yeah. Um,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

just maintain,

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

and then I guess the last step is setting some bumper rails. So, and like some boundaries. So what, uh, the core things that you are going to put in place and not miss, and any sort of like principles, routines, habits in your life that will keep you on a relatively even keel to kind of like maximize the likelihood of you achieving what you wanna achieve in all those different areas.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah. It's that the best example of a bumper ale is you like being, like walking Ted, you walking Ted every day is gonna keep you on such an even keel. Yeah. and I feel like I found, I mean I think people talk about boundaries a lot. I find boundaries hard to think about in a tangible way.'cause they feel very nebulous and you feel like they're shutting things out. Yeah. Like that's what a boundary feels like to me. Yeah. Whereas a bumper out to me feels like, okay, what are just the little things that I'm proactively putting in place that I know if I'm doing these things every single week, then I'm not gonna fall off the rails like I'm gonna be Okay. Yeah. what do you have an idea about what, apart from walking Ted, what would a bumper out be for you?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I think to just with the not running thing, keep making effort to try to go to coffee and that kind of

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

When I can, because I feel like those social connections, even if they're, a little bit more fleeting because I'm not actually there for the run, I still feel like they're very important. Just like touching base, saying hi to

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh, it's such a, yeah.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. and like this week for instance, I've been really bad at that. Like, I haven't been to coffee

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Oh.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

whereas

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Whereas each tomorrow morning. Let's get you along.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

next week. I'm

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I'm

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

keen for

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Okay. You'll be back on the coffee.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. what about you?

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I like my Sunday night, quiz, zoom quiz with my family, which you

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

joined in on, and like yeah, often like Sunday night dinner with Joe in Melbourne and Sean. Joe's my brother. and then I feel like other bumper rails. I probably need more, to be honest. Mm. I think that would probably help me with this idea of like maybe letting work not be so all consuming. okay, you know what actually is a good one? It's very a bit random, but riding my bike to and from work. Mm. Because it's such a nice third space for me to like switch off from work. The other thing is I don't like riding home in the dark. Someone stole my lights again. The worst part is that actually my friend's lights that I borrowed because I was at their house and mine had been stolen, and so I borrowed their lights and now they've been stolen. Anyway, but it's been quite good because it's been forcing me to ride home in the

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

the light.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

which I still

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

buy lights.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yeah, yeah. I shouldn't. but then I get to situations like today where I got caught up in a meeting and so I was riding home in twilight, twilight, which isn't not ideal. but anyway, for anyone listening, like have a think about bumper hours, like what are the proactive measures that you are putting in place that are gonna keep you on the straight and narrow. Yeah. so to wrap that up balance, I feel like, I know we talked a lot about a lot of different things there, but the core things are. Define what it looks like for you. Like go through that wheel of life exercise. We'll link it in the show notes. I mean, you can just find it anywhere online. but define what balance looks like for you. Like figure out what areas are out of whack for you at the moment. Like, is there something that's a two and it should be a 10 vice versa. Like what can you prioritize, but also what, what is a six? And you know what, it probably could be a two that you can kind of drop out. and then from a marathon perspective, or sorry, from a training, running training perspective, be thinking about how will this need to change to enable you to, um, like during your training block, which is

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

and get through it. Yeah. Which is completely fine.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

like there can be a bit of shame around like, oh, changing big things in your life. It's like, it's fine. Make a few changes. You're prioritizing something else. As I say, some parts of the will will go up, some parts will go down.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

And then they'll flip again

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It'll flip back again.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

the marathon, I don't think. Yeah. I feel like it's not as though, it's like, just because you change something doesn't mean it's like there forever. Like they're all sort of, they're like constantly moving.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I feel like the most important part is like the intentionality part, like having agency to figure out that, what does that version look like for you and what can you set up in your life to allow you to achieve it.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. Um, nice. okay, so for our cheeky champion of the week, we posted a question to our Strava about How to prevent getting a stitch and then what to do when you do have one. we thought we'd share this question'cause it's actually one that we get a lot and we were really keen to hear your answers.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

I'll say before we say the winning answer, which is really good. It's the, the variety of answers on there is so interesting to me. It reminds me of when we asked how do you treat runners knee? And we got

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. That

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

literally Yeah. It's like, same with a stitch. Like it's actually quite funny how many different theories there are about like, of people being like, this always does it for me. This always does it for me.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

I think that probably comes back to the fact that we don't really know the potential causes of the stitch. Like there are some leading theories, but no one really knows what's

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

on, which is so interesting. Crazy. Which we'll do, we'll actually do, an episode on in the future because there's actually, there's interesting theories there, but we don't have time to go into it right now. But do you want us to tell us what our favorite answer was?

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah, so our favorite answer was from Emma. she recommended being hydrated and digested before you run. Also practice with fueling whilst running pre-race to know if something doesn't work, warmup properly and ease in on the pace. she also mentioned do your core work if the stitch hits in a race, drop pace. Exhale When the opposite foot hits the ground, which a couple of people

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

said Yeah, that was, I've never heard of either.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

she finds light pressing on the area helps, but this is not silent, silent science.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

that's what I used to always do. Mm-hmm. Just like, get in there,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. she also had a side note to trail runners check your pack fit and weight balance as uneven loads can mess with your core and posture, which gave her so many stitches. when her, the water and her phone were in the front pouches and the other was empty, which I actually found really interesting'cause I've never thought of that. So that's obviously, that's not just trail runners, that's just anyone that runs with a vest.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

she hit on a lot of the points do call work, press where it's sore, do that. Exhale on the opposite stride thing. Hydrate really well, was a big one. Think about what you're eating. Think about, um, your weight balance. Like there's so many different things. So do, if you are interested, have a look at that thread. Try out a few different Yeah. Areas.'cause I know stitches can be so debilitating for

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Yeah. Yeah. They can be like resending.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

They can be. And I'm just like running unpleasant. So thank you Emma. We will be reaching out because Lululemon will be sending you a gift,

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

That they will be.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

And thanks to Lululemon for making this episode possible.

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

Yay. That is it for this week. That was a really interesting conversation. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. So did I, one thing I wanted to say is we still have jumpers left over, which I, we forgot to say on last week's episode, but we do still have a handful of jumpers left over, in the next few weeks. Anna's going overseas. I'm away quite a bit as well. We'll still be doing the pod, but we won't be able to be packing them and sending them as much. So if you would love a jumper, we will do another big packing next weekend. We'll send off the rest of them. So now's your chance. Get in and get your jumpers. Nice.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

Thank you for recording with me. Oh my God, that was so bad. You'd think we would be better than this after

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

It was good.

ZOOM0064_Tr4:

All right. Bye

ZOOM0064_Tr3:

bye. Bye.