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Beatrice Schaer
264 Plays9 months ago
Bea has been a member of the UKRunChat community since 2014, and is a regular UKRunChat hour cohost. You can learn more about Bea on www.beamycoach.com .
Bea works mainly with clients age 40+, and women going through perimenopause and menopause. Once a competitive athlete, Bea now focuses on finding joy in running.
We chat about:
- Bea's own journey into running
- Bea's personal experience of perimenopause, how this affected her running goals, and how this has enabled her to help others going through the same.
- how Bea found the joy in running once again after being a competitive athlete.
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Transcript
Introduction to B and UK Run Chat
00:00:00
Speaker
Hi, B, thank you so much for joining us today. It's really nice to have an avid community member on because you've co-hosted quite a few hours with us. So thank you for joining us. We're looking forward to finding out a little bit more about you. Hi, Michelle. Yeah, thanks for having me. I always enjoy a busy Sunday evening. So yeah, looking forward to this.
00:00:25
Speaker
Yeah, so it's always good fun. And it's always lovely when I see your name pop up in the inbox for UK Run Chat to say you'd like to volunteer to come and host an hour.
Joining the Running Community
00:00:34
Speaker
Great. I mean, how did you kind of become part of the UK Run Chat community? Where did that start? Oh, my gosh, I can't even really remember. I've been on Twitter since 2014. 2013, 2014.
00:00:51
Speaker
I don't know if you guys were around then or not. Yeah, we were. Yeah, we've been going quite a little bit longer than that. Yeah. There you go. So I must have joined as just kind of a more silent participant. Yeah. For a while. And I think I hosted the first one 2018-2019 ish. So yeah.
00:01:18
Speaker
just sat there and responded to questions for a couple of years and then decided I wanted to join in. Yeah, it's good fun. I've hosted a few hours myself in my time and it's always nice finding a bit more about people, isn't it? Exactly. And just diving into debate. So what kind of things did you learn about the community over your time hosting?
00:01:44
Speaker
Yeah, just it's so many different runners. So, you know, like we come from all different types of places, you know, like different jobs, different backgrounds.
00:02:01
Speaker
And yeah, different types of runners, you know, like shorter distance, longer distance, we're all very different. But it's something, running is something that unites us basically. Yeah, because I think that's the nice thing. It's literally every kind of runner is in there. Yeah. And it's just, it's always nice to see them coming together on a Sunday evening.
Personal Running Journey
00:02:21
Speaker
Yeah, so tell us a little bit about yourself then. So how did your kind of running start personally? Tell us a little bit about your background. Yeah, personally. So when I went to school, I actually hated running. I hated running for a very long time.
00:02:40
Speaker
And then I think it was 2009, my partner, my ex-husband and I split up and I got back into... I played a lot of other sports when I grew up, so I was into sports but not running. So I kind of like, typically what a lot of us, I think women do, I start looking after myself, started going to the gym, started running on the treadmill, funny enough. Enjoyed that strangely enough.
00:03:10
Speaker
And then I started running outdoors and one of my friends had gotten into running a little bit as well around the same time. And she dragged me into a race for life 5k. Yeah. In Guildford. And that was my first race. And then I just kind of, yeah, just took it from there. Started, so my next goal then was 10k and I'm like, I'll be
00:03:38
Speaker
I'll be happy with 10Ks. I don't need to go any further. Around my first 10K, they were handing out leaflets for the first, for the inaugural Creighton Half Marathon of that race. I signed up. It's snowballed, isn't it? Yeah, it's just snowballed. I did a distance and I'm like, oh, really enjoy that.
First Marathon Experience
00:04:00
Speaker
Actually, I want to push more. Did the half and then signed up for, at that time it wasn't a,
00:04:08
Speaker
a ballot yet signed up for the Berlin Marathon in 2010 or 2011. So yeah, it was just first come first serve. So that was my first marathon and that's kind of how it started. So incrementally kind of increasing the distance over like a year and a half to my first marathon and then did a couple more marathons and then got into triathlons and duathlons as well. So
00:04:36
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, that's brilliant. You say that was a long time. I think that's like quick compared. I'm thinking what my journey was. I think I was about 14 years to my first marathon. So yeah. Okay. You were a runner for a lot longer. How was the first marathon then in Berlin? Absolutely. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I have paced myself well enough to feel like
00:05:04
Speaker
I know this sounds crazy, but I'm like, I finished. I'm like, could have gone a little bit further. It was a matter of pacing myself so I didn't kill myself, basically. That's brilliant. Because, yeah, sometimes it can be a shock to the system, a first marathon.
Transition to Triathlons and Enjoyment Running
00:05:20
Speaker
And yeah, the atmosphere was great. I love Berlin marathon. So I straight, again, still not a ballet race. So I'm up for the next one. I do have like family in Germany as well. So it was kind of a,
00:05:33
Speaker
a go-to for me. So did Berlin again the year after as well and got a PB. Oh, wow. That's nice. So did your family come out and support you there? Some of them did, yes. So that was nice too. And some friends that I have there as well. Yeah. Yeah.
00:05:55
Speaker
Oh, so that was my kind of first journey into marathons. It's funny, I mean, I've, I've gone to longer distances initially, and then trained for an Iron Man triathlon as well, eventually. Yeah. And I overcooked it a little bit. Say I probably didn't recover enough and trained too much.
00:06:23
Speaker
didn't take any time off. I did that Iron Man and then basically my body crashed. And I felt quite unwell, like just almost a little bit like chronic fatigue. I was definitely over trained. And maybe it was the start of me going and starting perimenopause looking back at it. I don't know.
00:06:47
Speaker
So then I started doing shorter distances and then I got into racing duathlons, which is run, cycle, run, basically. And I did quite well with that. There's no swimming involved. So I was pretty fast. I won some races. And now I've kind of gone all the way back. I just run for enjoyment now. Yeah, okay. And you help others, of course, now, don't you?
00:07:15
Speaker
Um, yes, I very quickly in 2012 there, you know, like, UK athletics started to push the various leader and coaching courses that, you know, we're now very used to. So I got my leadership in running fitness in 2012 and started up a beginners running group around Croydon. So
00:07:44
Speaker
So yeah, led that for about four or five years. And yeah, then other things took over. But yeah, I introduced probably good 150, 200 people, mostly women. Yeah. Into running as well. Yeah, is that group still going then without Google?
00:08:10
Speaker
They were until the lady who took over from me became pregnant, stretched around pre-COVID. But they integrated quite well into my local running club, who now have sort of a group that is run walk. So yes, it was a good push for them when we stopped for them to actually continue. It's just not an individual anymore.
00:08:39
Speaker
Yeah, I think it can be hard work running a group, can't it? It is because it's a massive commitment. We started with one run a week. That was fine. And then every one wanted a second one. So I applied. So yeah, there was a lot of running with that group that was obviously always a little bit slower running as well, obviously, because it kind of had a mix of pure beginners and sort of people who
00:09:08
Speaker
had kind of done a couch to 5k, but didn't feel comfortable joining an actual running club, a more serious running club. Yeah. So just let me take you back a minute, because you mentioned Perry menopause back then, you were doing your Ironman.
Impact of Perimenopause on Running
00:09:24
Speaker
And I'm, I'm particularly interested in this topic at the moment, that you know, women are talking a lot more about it, aren't we?
00:09:30
Speaker
I just thought we'd just delve into that for a little bit, if that's okay with you. I mean, how did it personally affect you? Like I said, I think when I... How old was I then? 42. So when I started having these over-training problems, I think some of it might have been that I started entering, also having hormonal changes. So...
00:10:00
Speaker
Just being, you know, being not all of a sudden, from one month to the next, just not being able to do what I was able to do energy wise. You know, and then obviously all the typical, all the other kind of typical symptoms that we get, but it was mainly just what affected my running most was the need for much longer recovery. So just not being able to do same distance.
00:10:30
Speaker
not run as often, mixing it up a little bit. But yeah, I just had to cut down. It was quite funny, because when I completely rested, I didn't feel well either. So it had to find that balance between staying active, but no, we're doing it. And that just became quite a balancing act. So and I find
00:10:56
Speaker
that's still like that today, because I'm still in perimenopause now. Yeah. I still find that I just have to be way kinder to myself and just kind of go with, with, with my energy levels. And, you know, if I can push on a particular day, I won't
00:11:19
Speaker
But initially, I had a really hard time accepting that I couldn't do what I wanted to do and what I've been doing for a couple of years. So I found that mentally a massive struggle. Yeah, it is tough mentally, I think, isn't it? Because suddenly you go from being competitive, I mean, you know, and to realising that actually what's going on, what have I done wrong? And of course, it's just a natural occurrence, isn't it? Yeah.
00:11:47
Speaker
Obviously, I understand like every, you know, I have some, I kind of am a strength coach and kind of rehab specialist as well. So I do work a lot with actually perimenopausal and menopausal women, and we all have a very different experience. Yeah. Some of them have had it worse than me, way worse.
00:12:10
Speaker
Other ones have kind of cruised through it. Yeah. So everyone has their own journey. And, you know, yeah, so you can't just apply kind of the same solution for everyone. But it's really just, which I found heart listening, starting to listen to your body, basically. And yeah, do what it tells you to do. And that's tough when you think mentally you think I should be able to do this. So
00:12:41
Speaker
Yeah, isn't it? You find, I think you find as you train in endurance running, you get that mental toughness to push through. You have to kind of learn to back off a bit, don't you in perimenopause? Absolutely. And I mean, I went out, I remember I went out, I was still training. A couple of weeks later, I then decided to drop that second Ironman race, but I was still training for that. And I went, we were in on a triathlon holiday, basically for a week.
00:13:11
Speaker
And I got up early and went out on my long, sort of a longish run. It wasn't actually that long, maybe 14, 15K. And it was sort of four times I had planned to do like.
00:13:28
Speaker
four circuits around a 4k course basically and after three I was just like I had to stop and walk and I started crying because I'm like but I should be able to do this and you've got to be stronger and I thought I was mentally weak. So yeah it's it can be a real struggle and it can take some time to kind of come to terms with it.
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah, it can. So I mean, what training strategies would you recommend for runners going through perimenopause? You mentioned a few there, like more recovery days, perhaps just being a bit off. Definitely. So what helped me was just I switched my running to much shorter distances. So that's kind of how I got into to do affluence as well, actually.
00:14:23
Speaker
Um, and I did like super sprints mainly, which is 3k run, 10, 12k bike and 3k run. Um, so my whole training was geared towards that. So all of a sudden all that, you know, like my longest run during that time probably was like seven, eight miles maximum. Right. Um, and I've, even though I was at a competitive level at that time, um,
00:14:54
Speaker
I felt like that the shorter distances suited me much better than the shorter, sharper stuff rather than the long, long distances, which just really tired me out. I got into strength training a lot more during that time as well. And I felt that really, really benefited me. Because before I'd done it sort of a bit half arched,
00:15:22
Speaker
occasionally. But yeah, took up strength training, which I found really beneficial for myself. And my diet had been bad. But together with one of the symptoms I had, and I know that a lot of my clients have, when they enter perimenopause, is all of a sudden you struggle with eating certain foods. Yeah, a lot more kind of
00:15:51
Speaker
IBS type symptoms, so upset stomach bloating, um, that kind of stuff. So I had to, again, listen to my body and go, okay, you might really like that food, but it's really not good for you. So I had to kind of, yeah, or eat less of it. So there were just certain foods and some of them are the typical foods and some are just very random.
00:16:19
Speaker
Like, I love lentils, but I can't eat any more lentils. You can't eat any, you're not healthy and all that, but so yeah, I just kind of have to adjust my diet as well and just make sure that I kind of keep those IBS symptoms kind of under control. So those were the big ones and
00:16:47
Speaker
sleep is always still a problem for me. Yeah, I mentioned sleep because that's obviously crucial to recovery. Yes, recovery, isn't it? So and obviously sleep is impacting greatly, isn't it? Yes, hormonal changes. My, my sleep is great in phases and then absolutely horrible other times and I try and do whatever I can with sleep hygiene, you know, like the right temperature, dark,
00:17:17
Speaker
kind of blocking out the noise, you know, whatever I can do getting off the phone early. And sometimes it's still it's literally just a hormone striving it for me, I can do whatever I want. And sometimes I just sleep, don't sleep well at all. And that obviously means that, you know, you do need more recovery, maybe less running. And yeah, just kind of not overdoing it. But it's
00:17:46
Speaker
It's a balance you have to strike. Obviously, you don't just want to sit around and that probably just make you feel any better either. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong. Yeah, it's all a bit of an experiment. Like you say, everybody's different. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, what about kind of, I know a lot of women experience kind of mental health, kind of anxiety, really. Oh, man.
00:18:14
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. I've definitely had issues with that a lot more. And it comes in strikes, you know, like, these things never really used to bother me. And all of a sudden, yeah, there's just you don't even know where it comes from. And you would just wake up in the morning. And it's not even any things.
00:18:40
Speaker
have to have a canoe and pinpoint what it was and you just feel really, really anxious. So obviously working out going for a run can help with that for sure. I ended up when that got to a point where I'm like, why am I putting up with this? And I kind of exhausted all the other avenues, you know, eating as healthily as it could.
00:19:07
Speaker
working out kind of getting that right balance and everything. I ended up going on HRT. Right. Okay. 2021. So about two years ago. Yeah.
Hormone Replacement Therapy Benefits
00:19:23
Speaker
Yeah. So what difference has that made for you personally? It was it for me, it helped me quite quickly as well. So within a couple of days, I
00:19:37
Speaker
I came home after a long day and I started cooking. I was dancing around in the kitchen. I'm like, what is going on with me? For me, it really helped me very quickly, but that's not the same for everyone. So it's, yeah, except for maybe the sleep, it actually, I felt there was a massive difference with a lot of my symptoms.
00:20:05
Speaker
like having to get up at night and you know, go to the bathroom and that kind of stuff that almost stopped before then I woke up four times a night and had to go. So yeah, it just made a massive difference. And then I could again work on other kind of things in regards to my mental health and the anxiety. But when you kind of
00:20:30
Speaker
feeling so low with your hormones. Sometimes she just it's hard to find a way out. So made a massive difference for me. Yeah, you kind of lack motivation when you're feeling like that. I think sometimes don't you exactly and then you're in that vicious cycle and it's very hard to come out of so I was able to then work kind of mentally work on you know, like, you know, like sort of like CBT, you know, reframing my
00:20:59
Speaker
thinking around training and other things and just be more motivated, be more proactive, not procrastinate over things which were driving my anxiety as well. So yeah.
00:21:13
Speaker
Yeah, I'll tell you the worst thing I find about perimenopause because I'm kind of going through the early stages of the moment and it's just the, it's the intense sweating every time I go for a run. Like I love winter because I don't get so hot. Summer running. Oh no, I just can't do it at the moment. I totally agree with you. I used to love summers. I used to love it. I hate it winter.
00:21:38
Speaker
And sort of the last couple of years, I'm like, I'm thriving in winter and spring and autumn, but summer running? Really? You got any tips? I'll be happy to hear them. I mean, the HRT helped, definitely helped a little bit. I noticed as well when I was going to the gym and
00:22:05
Speaker
I didn't realize it until I went on an HRT how quicker I just kind of overheated in whatever workout situation. And the first time I went to the gym when I was an HRT and I was training with one of my mates and I'm like, I feel so different. I'm not like, I wasn't even sweating. I was just felt I wasn't overheating.
00:22:29
Speaker
uh in the same way so um yeah that actually it helped with that as well to the great yeah i still prefer even being on a 20 i still prefer winter yes just not the ice the coolness no no no but no um but but everything else just colder temperatures are totally my thing now
00:22:54
Speaker
Yes, I'm with you there. Oh, thanks for being so honest about that kind of, you know, that journey that you've been through with Perry Menopause. I think that'll help. Sure. I think it's important we hear about, you know, some of the things that not everyone talks about and you feel less alone. You're like, oh, oh, so I'm not strange. I'm not, you know, like weird. Yeah, you do. I'm not mad.
00:23:18
Speaker
Yeah, I think sometimes you think it's just you don't you and like, I mean, I'm a coach and I've had like clients experience just little annoying niggly injuries and you kind of figure out through talking to them that that could be caused by perimenopause. And they haven't even realised and then they go to the doctor and the doctor's kind of like, yeah, we can help you with hormones. And yeah, it's just
00:23:45
Speaker
It's talking about it, I think helps you realise that other people are going through the same thing and that it's not just you. Exactly. I mean, I'm so glad we're talking about it more. I just can't imagine how my mum went through that. Yeah, I was like, because I don't know, my mum, obviously my grandma, they never said anything. They just kind of lived through it and probably went through exactly the same feelings.
00:24:14
Speaker
So yeah, but never ever talked about it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, so can you recommend any kind of books or resources or anything that have helped you through kind of learning more about this that we can direct? Oh, I'm so terrible with book titles and names of authors. I could send you some through, but on top of my head.
00:24:42
Speaker
Um, I did read a couple of books. Um, I did a couple of courses as well as a coach, um, as well, but I'm so bad with book titles. Put me on the spot. Oh, well, if you think, if you remember any, you will pop them in the show notes. Yeah, that's good. Yeah. Drop me, drop me a note after this. Will do. Um, so what, I mean, what are you kind of, you said you're running for joy now. Are you still doing races and things? What, what you kind of worked towards at the moment?
Return to Racing for Charity
00:25:11
Speaker
I didn't for quite a while. So it was really just, yeah, life with COVID and even pre-COVID had changed quite a bit. So running eventually kind of took more of a, not a backseat, but it was a little bit less important for my life. And last year was the first, you know, long time I've done a race again. And that was actually, I came across,
00:25:41
Speaker
a charity called NACOA, National Association of Children of Alcoholics, because my mom was an alcoholic. And that just a wonderful charity. And they had spaces available for the London Landmarks have. Yeah, okay. So I ran that last year with
00:26:08
Speaker
Silly me with meniscus injuries. I run walked it and then couldn't walk for about three weeks. Yeah, don't do that. I've recovered from that now. That was a great experience. It wouldn't have been a race I would have done a couple of years ago, but I ran walked it. I high-fived all the kids. There's a lot of support, so
00:26:36
Speaker
It was a very different experience from me, you know, competing in duathlons and going for, you know, like aiming to win race this and obviously going for Peebies and Marathons and Ironmen to just kind of, yeah, totally different experience but it was just, just as lovely. So, I signed up for the ballot for the London Landmarks half and guess what? I got in.
00:27:05
Speaker
So I'm doing it again this year. So when is that? Is it spring? Yeah, it's two weeks before London's from the 7th of April. So no injuries to speak of at the moment. No, no, thank you. Knock on wood. Yeah, nothing. So yeah, but it will be again, it'll be just literally just for fun. One of my clients end up as well.
00:27:32
Speaker
He's running it for charity this year with a charity place. So, yeah, I've kind of come full circle. I started running, I was still in a corporate job and I started running because it relieved my stress. I wasn't thinking of doing races initially. I was getting outside and kind of just, yeah, just relieving the stress of work and stuff and I love that.
00:28:02
Speaker
So I'm kind of back in the same place. Yeah,
Balancing Training for Enjoyment
00:28:08
Speaker
oh, good. So I mean, what does a typical training week look like for you then at the moment? How often do you go now? So I'm mixed to running these days with strength training. So I, at the moment, I'm just building up my long run basically, because it's nine weeks, eight and a half, nine weeks.
00:28:31
Speaker
very gingerly. So I'm still sort of still want to be careful. I don't think the issue will come back. So building that up slowly and then I do sometimes a quick treadmill run or something on the elliptical in the gym. And then one more run during the week, which is a bit shorter and a bit faster. Yeah.
00:28:59
Speaker
Yeah. So, and about two strength training sessions per week as well. So, four to five sessions per week, but only about two to three are running. And yeah, that works well. Yeah, that's a far cry from going out six days a week.
00:29:23
Speaker
running 120k a week or something like that. It's very different, but yeah, it's become about enjoyment again. It's funny when I was very competitive at some stage, every training session, obviously kind of had a purpose. You had to, so I had to run to a particular heart rate or a particular pace or whatever was in the training plan for my coach.
00:29:52
Speaker
Because I could have coached myself, but I always found it easier to have a coach who was telling me what to do as well. Yeah, you've got a bit of accountability that way. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I realized that it was satisfying the competitive side that I do have inside me. Yeah. But at the same time, I didn't enjoy the running anymore.
00:30:16
Speaker
Right. Oh, that's sad. Yeah. Yeah. It was that constantly just having to very, you know, run to a particular requirement kind of took the joy away. Yeah. I realized after a while I was chasing that I did it so that I could go tour Duathlon race and basically get a trophy. Yeah. But the running itself wasn't as joyful. No. So how do you find that joy then? Where does that come from again?
00:30:46
Speaker
Um, I did, at that time, I also changed from being in a corporate job to, um, being self-employed. So I was building up my business. I had less time to kind of devote to running at a certain time anyways. So I stopped pursuing the, um, the racing basically, Dathlon racing. Um, and then,
00:31:15
Speaker
I had to find this, it was totally was a process. I felt lost. No goal. I felt very, very lost for a while. Yeah. And then tried to set new goals and then had injury issues or something like that. I signed up for Chicago Marathon 2019. And sort of an old injury reared its head at that time.
00:31:44
Speaker
that probably never properly healed up when I started getting too long around. So I actually never ran Chicago. So yeah, it was a long journey from trying not to have goals and then kind of thinking, what am I training for? Let me set some goals and then not going through with it for a particular reason. So
00:32:15
Speaker
It was quite a journey to get to the point where I'm like, actually, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna, now I'm able to just enjoy it for what it is. But it took a while for me to get from that competitive side to back to, back to just that joy. I mean, I studied sports psychology over the last three years.
00:32:43
Speaker
And one of the exercises we had to do, and I will remind myself of that when I kind of don't feel like or I'm wondering why am I doing what I'm doing training wise. And that was we had to go back to when we initially got into sports training, whatever it is, whatever sports, and then kind of go back and ask ourselves,
00:33:08
Speaker
Why, why do we love it? Why do we stick with it? Why did, why did I get into it? So I grew up, I played a lot of football with the boys, always running around in the mud. I just, I realized that from when I was quite little, I just enjoyed running around and movement overall. That is what gave me joy. Yeah.
00:33:36
Speaker
And so that exercise during my course actually, I found that really helpful when I realized that to kind of go back to basics. So yeah, I use that as a reminder now when I'm like, why am I still doing this? Yeah, that sounds really helpful actually. I'm just, yeah, I'm thinking back to my first run and yeah, I can see how that would help.
00:34:03
Speaker
Yeah. So, I mean, what about, will you go back and do Chicago Marathon one day, do you think? Or...? You know what? It's funny. So, there was a time in my life when I just... I was just thinking of the next race and the next marathon and the next triathlon or whatever. And now I think I could be quite happy to not do another marathon. Yeah.
00:34:30
Speaker
It's because I obviously know what it takes to, you know, train properly for a marathon. And it's so much easier to train for a half. It's definitely less time consuming, isn't it? Way less time consuming. So I'm not sure, I never say never. Because if, you know,
00:34:54
Speaker
did when I started running, if you'd asked me if I'd do a marathon, I would have still called you crazy. Right. So I'm always of the opinion never say never about the moment I can't actually see it. That's fine. I've done a few. Yeah. So it's it's actually okay with me. That's a nice place to be actually. Yeah. Yeah, that's a really nice place to be.
00:35:23
Speaker
Um, so what would you say was the most standout moment or race, um, in your running so far then that you're proud of?
Proud Running Moments
00:35:33
Speaker
Um, proud of, um, probably my, maybe a couple of things. Um, my second Berlin marathon, although the one thing that was really annoying, so I got a PB, uh, around,
00:35:53
Speaker
347, just outside of being able to get a good for age for London at that time. But the annoying thing was, so I loved it because I still still had energy at the end of that. Brilliant. It was a bit annoying because the next day I had trained well for it. I had stuck to the training plan, done my interval sessions. So done, I thought I'd done really well.
00:36:22
Speaker
Um, and yeah, uh, the next day I didn't have any dons. I never had dons after that race, so I knew I should have pushed harder and gotten that good for age. Yeah, but yeah, you've, you've, you've done well though for a PB, but yeah, there's always that doubt. Yeah, exactly. That was actually a, it was like a really enjoyable race again. Um,
00:36:50
Speaker
And this has more to do with sort of an adventure. One of my partner at the time, when I did Paris Marathon in 2015, he had this adventure planned. So Brighton and Paris Marathon were the same weekend. And he
00:37:14
Speaker
roped me into doing so he did that three peaks with cycling in between the week before Brighton marathon. Yeah. So we came down from Scotland to Schofield Pike and then Snowden. And he then cycled down to Brighton and ran the Brighton marathon. I did Schofield Pike and then went back home to London, went to Paris and ran the Paris marathon. So so yeah, we cycled about I cycled about 450k during that week.
00:37:44
Speaker
up to mountains. Not the best marathon prep, but... No, no, I don't think we've been recommending that in the training. No, no, no, no, but it was just one of those crazy things. What an adventure. And I still did quite well. I ran, I mean, after all of that and being under-fueled during the week. Yeah. Because I struggled eating basically spending all my days on a bike. Still got like a four and a half hour marathon.
00:38:12
Speaker
Oh, wow. Yeah. What a memory. That's fantastic. So yeah, I'm going to finish up with a quick fire round. Sure. You don't mind. Yeah. Short but sweet answers. So let's go. So preferred running surface, road, trail or track? I have to go for a trail. Yeah, why? God, I'll let you answer why. I sort of, I just like the
00:38:41
Speaker
It's, you know, it's that bit of bounciness or like, you know, when you run through a forest and you have that bounciness of that forest floor. I just like that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Morning or evening runs? Evenings. It feels easier to me. Favorite post-run snack? Um, protein bar. Yeah.
00:39:07
Speaker
Yeah. And music or no music on your runs? No music. Never run with music in my life. Cross training, activity of choice. I think you've already answered that one. Yeah, cycling. Yeah, I guess. Yeah. And if you could run anywhere in the world, where would it be? I would do... I used to live out on the West Coast in the US.
00:39:34
Speaker
And there's a relay race called Hood to Coast, so it's in Oregon. And a bunch of my friends at the time, I wasn't a runner when I lived out there. And it's probably the world's most popular relay race, actually. And I would have loved to do that, to see basically a run from the mountains to the sea.
00:40:03
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds amazing. One day, maybe you'll get there. If I can find a team, if the team gets in, so it's very hard to get into it. Yeah. If you could have one superpower to enhance your running, what would it be? Make myself run really hard on the track. Is that something you enjoy doing?
00:40:30
Speaker
No. It's a pain. I always feel and I know I could try harder. Sort of. Yeah, that's how I feel anyways. At most unusual or memorable running encounter? Encounter what with a person?
00:40:56
Speaker
Yeah, or just, you know, running memory. I guess you already kind of answered that with your, your mountainous adventure before Paris. That was one of them. Another one would be back in Switzerland years and years ago, running in the day after there was a lot of snow falling and running on that. So the sun come back out, blue skies, sunshine.
Race Day Pet Peeves
00:41:25
Speaker
and you're running on this kind of compacted snow, that is almost like a little bit bouncy. Yeah. That was just, that was amazing. I love that. Yeah, I admit that sounds wonderful. Yeah. Yeah, being a winter runner like yourself. Running pet peeve, is there something about running your races that annoys you or makes you cringe?
00:41:54
Speaker
don't laugh. You know, when you go to a race, there will always be people who prior to the race, they've put like tiger balm on or something. Yeah. Just the smell of it.
00:42:10
Speaker
I hope you're not one of them. I'm not personally one of them, but I know exactly the smell you mean. It reminds me of PE changing rooms at school. Yeah, exactly. I just, I think I have flashbacks to that. And last but not least, preferred race distance. Nowadays, I would say 10 miles, half marathon.
00:42:38
Speaker
That's changed over time, but yeah. Yeah. Oh, well, thank you so much, Bea. It's been wonderful chatting to you and finding out a little bit about what makes you tick. And yeah, I've had a really nice, enjoyable half hour or so chatting. Would you like to tell our listeners where they can find you on socials and your website? Yeah, so on Twitter or X, sorry,
00:43:08
Speaker
as iron, iron girl 41. And my website is be my coach. So that's be a my coach.com. And that's probably the easiest ones. Lovely. Well, we'll pop up those details in the show notes if anybody wants to get in touch with you.
00:43:30
Speaker
But thank you so much. And we'll hopefully see you co-hosting another UK wind shower soon. Well, if you'll have me, I'll be there. Yeah, of course, always. Yeah. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Michelle.