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Emily Clare
245 Plays5 months ago
In this episode Michelle chats with Emily.Emily ran competitively as a teenager, but had a break due to injury and took up running again in her twenties. After many hospitalisations Emily was diagnosed with IBS is 2019, and in the podcast Michelle and Emily chat about the impact of this on her running and racing.
Emily has ran five marathons and one ultra-marathon and her favourite distances to race are 5k and half marathons. Since joining a running club in June 2023, Emily has PB'd across all distances except the marathon. This has shocked her at only two years postpartum!
You can follow Emily on Instagram
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Transcript
Introduction: Meet Emily
00:00:00
ukrunchat
Hi, Emily. Thank you so much for joining us on this UK Run Chat episode.
00:00:04
Emily
Thank you.
00:00:06
ukrunchat
Could you please just give give a brief introduction to our listeners about yourself and your running?
00:00:12
Emily
Yeah, so my name's Emily. I'm 30, very almost 31. I have a toddler who has just turned two um and I work in research communications in the third sector. um And I run as a hobby, quite a big
Connecting Through Instagram
00:00:28
Emily
hobby now. um And I also have an Instagram page that I created in 2020, which um has grown and been a really fantastic way to connect with the running community. So I think that's a little bit of me in a nutshell.
00:00:44
ukrunchat
Yeah. oh So fantastic.
Running Journey and Challenges
00:00:45
ukrunchat
So should we start with how you initially got into running then? Do you want to tell us a little bit about, about how that, how that started for you?
00:00:52
Emily
Yeah, so it's quite a convoluted way of of starting running, I guess, as an adult, because I think some people tend to have these stories of they sort of signed up for a 5K and then they just got like addicted to it and then they just carried on and became you know exceptional at their particular area of running. um It was a bit different for me because I um i was a runner when I was I guess from a child, so I was one of those children in PE that just loved to run, I loved to join in with everything, I loved sports day, it was like my favourite day, I just absolutely loved it and then when I was a teenager I was sprinting competitively so i um I competed for the district in cross-country and athletics and then I represented my school in
00:01:14
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:01:37
Emily
long jump, 100, 200 meters. So a sprinter really, but I also did do some of the cross-country, which I like hated at the time, which I guess was the long distance for a teenager.
00:01:47
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:01:47
Emily
and That was really what I liked the least out of it. But um I did a lot of sport when I was growing up and when I was a teenager. But when I got to 16, I got injured. um Both of my knees became incredibly painful. um which unfortunately completely took me out. um So my parents took me to specialists, to physios, to consultants to try and find out what was going on. And really the only diagnosis I got was that I was hypermobile and thus should stop.
00:02:20
Emily
um she stopped doing sport because there wasn't really anything that that but could be done. I was just in pain a lot of the time, every time I ran I got more pain um so that was it. I kind of took the advice to just stop doing it and I think when the time I was 16 I was coming into that time period where it wasn't so cool to be really into sport and I was quite okay with kind of turning to a bit of a party lifestyle when I got into sixth form and then obviously through university as well so it was something that I felt was a part of me still that I was still a runner but I wasn't doing it and I was just sort of leaning very much into that like teenage lifestyle um because I think a lot of people do tend to do particularly girls at that age um
00:03:00
ukrunchat
Yeah, it's difficult, isn't it? Yeah, when you when you reach that age, it's hard to kind of keep up that commitment to it, I guess, isn't it? But you kind of had that forced upon you, really, didn't you?
00:03:10
Emily
yeah I ended up not doing any exercise really for about eight years, um which was challenging because I went to a very sporty university and I did get quite a lot of FOMO um throughout my life my my three years there.
00:03:11
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:03:24
Emily
um But after I graduated from university tea um and I sort of got into the working world, working life, I started going to the gym and thought actually this could be a way of getting back to running perhaps because at that point I was thinking, right, this is now actually something I want to start
Half Marathon Accomplishments
00:03:40
Emily
concentrating on again. I would love the opportunity to start to run again. So I started going to the gym as sort of like ah sort of like an introduction back in back into running. Unfortunately, I was able to bring back enough strength and slow enough to actually begin to run again. um and I was still under an orthopedic consultant at this point and I said to him I was like I would love to be able to run a half like a half marathon that would be like the goal and how you know and what I want to do and how I want to start to run again um and he was really encouraging which I was quite shocked about so anyway fast forward uh to 2018 I did actually manage to train for and could complete my first half marathon I just haven't stopped really since then
00:03:54
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:04:18
ukrunchat
ah Wow. So tell us about that. How was that experience of your first kind of half? What was it like?
00:04:23
Emily
Yeah, it was it was amazing. It was such a proud moment. And I really did feel like during that trip, because i didn't I didn't tell anyone really other than my my partner at the time and my mum, I think. I wasn't really telling anyone that I was training just in case I failed, in case I couldn't do it again.
00:04:36
ukrunchat
yeah
00:04:39
Emily
um So yeah, it felt amazing to have a bit of identity back in terms of being a runner, even if it was just my first race. But yeah, I loved it. Absolutely loved it. It was such an interesting experience running in a large race like that.
00:04:49
ukrunchat
Yeah, that's fantastic.
00:04:53
Emily
It was fab.
00:04:55
ukrunchat
And have you had any issues with your knees since then or has everything been okay?
00:05:00
Emily
um So when I first started back running in 2018, I did dislocate my patella, so my kneecap.
00:05:06
ukrunchat
Oh, do you?
00:05:07
Emily
Yeah it like slipped round the side of my leg when I was on a treadmill. I actually haven't been on a treadmill since um but because I'm hypermobile my tendons kind of stretched rather than like snapped so the kneecap went and then came back into place quite quickly so I was on crutches for a little while but then I didn't do that again and I do wear knee supports whenever I run on my right knee so you will never catch me out about without my knee support.
00:05:31
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:05:31
Emily
So as long as I keep my knee support, I don't do lunges or squats, then I tend to be okay. Yeah, it can flare up. My right knee can flare up but nothing that will stop me running for any extended period of time which is very fortunate.
00:05:43
ukrunchat
Yeah. And do you do like strength exercises to keep, keep yourself strong? As you mentioned the gym there, what do you do alongside running?
00:05:48
Emily
Not as much as I could.
00:05:51
Emily
Well, I used to gym quite a lot, but then the pandemic happened and then I got pregnant and had a baby and I didn't gym.
00:05:53
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:05:57
Emily
And then trying to find time to go to the gym in that first year after having a baby was impossible. So I only actually started going back ah who last summer.
00:06:07
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:06:07
Emily
um But I was doing a bit of yoga to try and do some strength training, basically not as much as I should be doing. And I know that, but it's okay for me at the moment. So I just have to be grateful that I can get the time to do any
00:06:15
ukrunchat
Yeah.
Support and Community in Running
00:06:17
Emily
of it really.
00:06:17
Emily
yeah
00:06:18
ukrunchat
Yeah, and you've joined a running club as well, haven't you?
00:06:20
Emily
I did. So my local running club, um are a very good club, and it was quite intimidating, really, um because there are some really fantastic runners in there.
00:06:21
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:06:29
Emily
But yes, I've loved being part of a community kind of in real life, um and just being so inspired by the runners in my club, particularly the women, like just such strong, brilliant runners. And it's, it's, yeah, it's so inspirational and such a good like motivation when I'm training with them.
00:06:45
Emily
Love it.
00:06:45
ukrunchat
So what and have you done some races with your club then?
00:06:47
ukrunchat
What kind of events are they into?
00:06:49
Emily
Yeah so I did cross-country with them last winter and it did bring back the horror of my school jacket but I think um I'm i very much with running I really want to experience it all and I don't just do things that I think I'm going to be really good at I quite enjoy doing the things that actually are quite new and a bit scary because I do think that like in challenging yourself and doing scary things is is important So um I did a couple of cross country events with them. um Not that I helped the team points in the slightest, but it was it was a really good fun thing to do and a good experience to have. um Yeah, they got a few like very fast 10K events coming up over the next few months. I need to work out if I'm going to be brave enough to take part in some of those. um But they have races on all the time, really, because um they're just a very strong, very, very good club.
00:07:42
ukrunchat
Yeah, so how are you finding being back to running now then given your past as a competitive runner? Are you still as competitive do you find? Or do you kind of run more for fun and enjoyment?
00:07:51
Emily
I'm running for enjoyment and my mental health is by far like first and foremost the thing that drives me to run. It really is. and I can get quite competitive with myself. I don't find myself getting competitive with other people, but I think that's because very differently to when you're a teenager and you have the possibility of like coming first, when you're an adult in the kind of environment that we are now in, there's no chance of that ever happening. So I'm only ever competitive with myself in my own times and I judge how I feel and rather than necessarily what my times are all of the time. So I definitely feel a competitive for drive with myself
00:08:32
Emily
Um, but it's not something that I, it's not the main driver of my running, um, because enjoyment really is the main driver. And I felt that during those, that kind of eight year period that I didn't run, it was a part of me that was really missing.
00:08:46
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:08:46
Emily
Um, but yeah, I do enjoy a good time chase, but ultimately I do far more enjoy just running for pleasure and being outside.
00:08:55
ukrunchat
Yeah, I think that's the beauty of running isn't it? It can give us both if we want it. i
00:09:00
Emily
Definitely. Yeah. And the competitive aspects, um, can be really enjoyable. I think particularly with like club running. Um, and I guess because it doesn't really mean a huge amount in terms of like, it's not going to impact your life. It's not going to do all these things that actually, you know, if you don't get what you want, like it's okay. Yeah. So.
00:09:19
ukrunchat
Yeah, so I can see on the screen behind you and that you have lots of medals hung up.
Marathon Experiences and Training
00:09:25
ukrunchat
Do you want to tell us about some of the other events that you've you've taken part in?
00:09:29
Emily
Yeah, so i've done um I've done London Marathon a couple of times now.
00:09:33
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:09:34
Emily
um The first time I did it for charity and the second time was last year when I got in via ballot, which is like basically unheard of. i' And I've really enjoyed the both both times I've done London, I think last year particularly because it was 14 months after I gave birth. And it felt like the goal that I needed to like get back, get back. And I loved it. That was a fantastic event. I just adored it. I wasn't, I didn't get a PB or anything, but it was just a wonderful event. I felt so good about myself afterwards and during the training.
00:10:01
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:10:02
Emily
and And I think half marathons, I think most of the medals there come from half marathons really, because they're my favourite ones to take part in events or to race. I much prefer it to a marathon distance. um I think some people are very much drawn to the marathon
00:10:14
ukrunchat
Now
00:10:18
Emily
I'm not that person. Like I do them and they're huge achievement and they feel great, but half marathons for me are the most enjoyable distance, I think.
00:10:19
ukrunchat
you.
00:10:26
ukrunchat
So talk us through your half marathon kind of race strategy then, because I think the half marathon is probably the distance that I've yet to crack. I'm kind of happy with my PBs, everything apart from half marathon. So talk us through your kind of training for a half marathon and you know, any tips that you've got.
00:10:37
Emily
Yeah.
00:10:40
Emily
yeah That's actually how I feel about a marathon. I just don't think I've cracked.
00:10:44
ukrunchat
Is it?
00:10:46
Emily
Yeah, I don't think I've cracked it, but that's fine. I can keep trying.
00:10:49
ukrunchat
You can.
00:10:50
Emily
So I think the training for me, it probably looks a bit different to how it would have done before having a baby. It's quite unpredictable and when you have like a young child as to how you get your training in and when. And i've really I'm really at peace with that. Like that's completely fine. Like I get in, I guess in what I can, when I can, and and then my kind of times reflect that and that's fine. um The biggest thing that I have found that has improved my half marathon times really has been training with my club. So um I actually got my overall PB for a half marathon at the Cambridge half at the beginning of March and that was and a
00:11:29
Emily
four minute PB even before I had a baby so that was you know that I thought that that race for me was probably the best race I've ever had and that was only in March which is like really really great and I think I can put that down to the interval training that I've done with my club.
00:11:44
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:11:45
Emily
I really do think it is that because prior to that, doing intervals on your own is not the same as when you're doing on a track with other people who are faster than you. um And it's, as I said earlier, like training with people who are better than you or faster than you is such, it's just such a driver. And so I think doing those those intervals with those people have been a game changer. um And having like a coach at the club,
00:12:10
Emily
doing the sessions for you. um So I think that combined with longer than half marathon training runs, so I was training for Paris Marathon when I got that PB and I do think the fact that I've been doing you know those 20 mile runs when I threw in a 13.1, it feels easy.
00:12:28
ukrunchat
Yeah, definitely.
00:12:29
Emily
compared to those 20 mile runs. So I don't really have a strategy. I don't um have training plans as such because I just don't feel like i I really can at the moment with the fact that I have a child and I work. um But i would yeah, I would say the game changing has been those really intense interval sessions that have really, really helped me.
00:12:47
ukrunchat
Yeah, so yeah, so you're you're happy with your half marathon. You've done some more trips as well, haven't you? Tell us about those.
00:12:52
Emily
one
00:12:53
ukrunchat
You've done one.
00:12:54
Emily
I did one ultra and I don't think I would repeat an ultra. I just don't think it's for me but again I'm so glad I did it but I did actually do it for charity. and But the one thing I think I did really enjoy about and my ultra marathon is that no one tends to ask you your time and there's not a time pressure on ultra marathons it is more a celebration of the fact that you've done the distance. um and I really enjoyed that aspect of it and it felt a lot more fun um and you're sort of able to stop you're able to eat a bit more um and the achievement felt very different to a marathon but I did do it for charity so for me it it was you know a really significant quite emotional ah run to have done and but yes it was a really good experience to have I'm really glad I did it but I don't think it would be a distance I would like for a feat
00:13:24
ukrunchat
Thank you.
00:13:40
ukrunchat
No.
00:13:41
Emily
ah
00:13:42
ukrunchat
It's good that you've tried it though and you know that, isn't it? Yeah.
00:13:45
Emily
Yeah, definitely. You have to try. You have to try out with so many different things with races, your times, the type of running you want to do until maybe you find what you really love.
00:13:55
ukrunchat
Yeah. So would you say half marathon's your favourite distance then over kind of five and 10k as well?
00:14:00
Emily
probably 10Ks I find incredibly difficult to raise.
00:14:00
ukrunchat
Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:03
Emily
I just felt like I was stuck in the pain cave for so long. um I actually hadn't raised to 10K in four years before I did one in December this this year. That was my first 10K, like raised in four years.
00:14:13
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:14:14
Emily
And I was like, oh God, this is why I don't do them. It's so painful. But yeah, so I'd say five Ks because they're like, they're fun, ah half marathons. I just, I really enjoy it as a disability.
00:14:25
ukrunchat
you
00:14:26
Emily
I really do.
Managing IBS and Running
00:14:28
ukrunchat
Well, you originally contacted us when we put a call out on Instagram for people to come on to our podcast and you you mentioned that you were diagnosed with IBS, so irritable bowel syndrome. So we thought we'd spend some of the podcasts talking about that and just getting your views really on how, how that feels to have that whilst being a runner of some, you know, long distances that must be quite tough. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that? And, you know, when did you first learn when you diagnosed with it?
00:14:59
Emily
Yeah, so IBS, it's an interesting one and it's a topic that when I put it out on my Instagram page and on my stories, I get so much traction back. I get people asking me questions about my IBS, them telling me about theirs, us sharing experiences. And it does seem to be something that is um very prevalent amongst runners, but I'm not sure if that's because it might get confused with like runners, tummy, or the fact that we do put so much stress on our bodies when we do run. And I think because IBS is so unexact as an
00:15:34
Emily
as a medical condition really because it's an illness of exclusivity so you have to have everything else ruled out before you get a diagnosis of IBS and then it's quite a generic diagnosis.
00:15:42
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:15:44
Emily
So I was so i was diagnosed in 2019 because I've been having really severe stomach pain and I think with IBS people can often think that it is just like lower bowel um and sort of issues with like your lower abdomen but for me my pain is often very much in like the top of my stomach. um So when I first started having this pain it felt like attacks is how I would explain it.
00:16:03
ukrunchat
Right.
00:16:09
Emily
I would get these attacks of severe pain in my upper stomach that could last for hours and hours and then would keep coming back over a period of days or weeks so that I would call that an IBS like episode or flare-up. um and it actually started when I was in a really stressful job back in 2018 and I ended up being sent to A and&E by a GP when I went with my symptoms and and unfortunately a lot of people with IBS do end up in A&E because as we say there's not like a tangible really obvious symptom that comes out so often we're sent to A&E for the bc these tests, these quite invasive tests that come out for it because the
00:16:48
Emily
symptoms can be so intense yet they cannot seem to find the cause of it so um i ended up having an endoscopy quite quickly after that because i thought i could perhaps have an ulcer or i was hemorrhaging from my stomach transpires it wasn't it wasn't that i then had one of the other horrible invasive um
00:17:06
ukrunchat
tomorrow.
00:17:08
Emily
procedures as well to rule out anything else to do with any of the IBDs, so inflammatory bowel disease, they wanted to check for Crohn's or colitis because the symptoms can be very similar. But obviously, the causes and the actual illnesses are very, very different. um And then that didn't show anything either. I was um admitted to A&E a couple of more times when I was having flare ups and I would be having I had a few scans, again, nothing showed up. So after you've gone through all of that process, you're then finally given the diagnosis of IBS. yeah But as I said, IBS is is tricky because it's not a one-size-fits-all diagnosis. It basically is used to describe stomach issues that are not seem to be anything else. And the NHS actually says that the exact cause of IBS is unknown. So it's something that I think is still very unknown and that makes it very difficult to treat and to manage.
00:18:01
Emily
and it's very different in different people, so it presents very differently in different people. um So yeah, that's that's really how that's how I got the diagnosis. In terms of IBS and running, it's not as impact as and not as impacted by food as you would maybe think it is.
00:18:18
ukrunchat
Right.
00:18:19
Emily
I know some people that struggle with IBS can have intolerances, particularly to things like onion and garlic. I actually have a garlic allergy, which is different between intolerance, but um and therefore like different foods can make your stomach or your bowels quite uncomfortable. Something they say with IBS is that like the gut maybe processes food too slowly or too quickly, it can spasm, all these different things. So some people are affected by food, other people maybe not so affected by food. Mine seems to be not overly affected by food. um But with my running, if I'm having like a flare up or a period of time with a flare up, it can either be I can't run because I'm in too much pain and it makes it worse. Other times I have found when I'm having an episode going for a run is actually one of the things that helps alleviate the pain.
00:19:05
Emily
And again, we don't we don't really know, well, we do know a bit about the link between the gut-brain access and IBS, which is the pathways between the brain and the gut. It's still very new emerging evidence around this, um but showing that actually what's going on in the brain directly goes through your nervous system to your stomach. um So sort of what's going on in your stomach is a reflection of what's going on in your head. I would really recommend having a look at some of the new emerging science on this because it's really interesting. And I do think with me, the gut brain access does seem to be pretty connected.
00:19:36
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:19:36
Emily
So if I am having um one of my flower ups and I go for a run, it can make it better. And I'm not sure if that's because my breathing changes or the position I'm in changes, which changes how my stomach is, or, you know, I don't know what it is. Sometimes it can help though. um which is good but other times like before a race my IBS can get can get worse because I think it's the pressure it's the stress it's the knowing that a big physical feat is coming it's perhaps that I have changed what I'm eating leading up to this event um so it can be it's very it is very unpredictable and it's so different for different people um but it is very much it's a very real and very like impactful illness
00:19:57
ukrunchat
Right.
00:20:11
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:20:17
Emily
um that yeah I do find a lot of people are very interested in talking about their own experiences and my experience with it so yeah it's a bit of a minefield really yeah I think
00:20:26
ukrunchat
Yeah. So I mean, how, do you feel you kind of know how to manage your symptoms now or are you still learning because it's been what, six, five, six years since you were diagnosed? Are you still learning how best to manage it?
00:20:39
Emily
Yeah, I think I'm very good at knowing when a symptom is going to be like a real problem or if it's something that will pass. I haven't had a really bad episode in quite a long time. I had quite a bad episode of it when I was um doing the Paris marathon earlier this month, unfortunately. and And I think that was probably linked to change in food, change in environment, travelling, kind of all the pressure of travelling for a race, travelling the day before, lack of sleep, all these things kind of compounding that.
00:21:11
Emily
So when I got home, even after the marathon, I was having like an ongoing episode and quite a lot of stomach pain for the week following as well.
00:21:18
ukrunchat
You.
00:21:18
Emily
um And that was something that I clearly didn't manage well. um and it can be very difficult to manage in high stress or very different away from home scenarios. So I would say i am so I am still learning but I'm quite good at knowing um when to like slam down on being like I'm now not doing anything, I'm now not going to do anything stressful, I'm not going to run, I need to rest and I know that if I do XYZ these will alleviate. But obviously if it happens during a marathon I can't practice these kind of things, I can't be like I'm gonna lie down with a hot water bottle from here, I'm like
00:21:49
Emily
No, no, I have another 27 kilometres to run because I failed to be here and I want a pretty medal.
00:21:53
ukrunchat
go
00:21:56
ukrunchat
yeah so Can you talk us through what happened then at Paris earlier in yeah, earlier in April, wasn't it?
00:22:02
Emily
Yeah, it was. I was um was really looking forward to this one.
00:22:04
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:22:05
Emily
Really looking forward to this one.
00:22:06
ukrunchat
Have you done it before? Or is it a first?
00:22:07
Emily
No, I was supposed to do it in 2020 but as with every race in 2020 it got cancelled.
00:22:08
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:22:15
Emily
So I was really looking forward to it. um It would have been my first like international race and I had gone with friends from my club so there were four of us and our partners had gone so there were eight of us that had had gone to it and it was you know we were really looking forward to it. We'd kind of planned all our celebrations afterwards um And then unfortunately, the morning of, I was feeling, my stomach wasn't feeling great, but I did like, I attributed that to change in food, change even like change in water, the fact that we traveled the day before, I hadn't slept well in this hotel bed. And everyone feels a bit funny before a big event, you know, everyone gets stomach issues, maybe just before they're doing something frightening.
00:22:45
ukrunchat
Okay.
00:22:50
Emily
um and exciting that's the thing I was also like really excited to get going and I had all this adrenaline and and then everything was fine until about 5k and I think I was going to my head am I going too quickly have I you know am I pushing too hard and I thought well no because I'm at 5k and I'm doing 5k slower than I would do a 5k in parkrun I'm doing it slower than I would do a 5k within a 10k or a half marathon it's not that and I remember like pulling at my shorts thinking are they too tight is that what's going on you know all these things and then
00:23:24
Emily
Because the marathon was such a mind game, when something was a bit wrong so early doors, I was really starting to get in my head.
00:23:26
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:23:31
Emily
And I think, gosh, like I've traveled so far to be here, like my partner is paid to travel with me, you know, all these all these kind of pressures of, oh my goodness, like all these people, and this is really hard. So I sort of pushed on thinking, it's got to get better, it'll just get better. um And then I got to 25 kilometres and I just, I couldn't, i the pain in my upper stomach was so sore. I couldn't take on any gels. I was like retching. I stopped at the edge of the course. I was retching, holding my stomach. I was getting like this shooting pain up like my left side of my abdomen. And I was thinking, oh my God, like is that my heart? Like its is this chest pain? Like what is going on? um So I was, yeah, I stopped. I was walking, I was retching.
00:24:12
Emily
I was crying because I was in so much pain and so much discomfort. Yeah, it was one of those moments where I really had to think, gosh, do I do i just stop or do I keep going? and But I think with IBS, because I know I'm not doing any damage, if that makes sense, because it's not a condition that's, you know, it's not as if like, oh, I broke my leg and I'm going to carry on running.
00:24:26
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah.
00:24:31
Emily
I knew that if I kept going, I wasn't like I would be in pain, but I wasn't going to do any damage. So I carried on and then I bumped into a friend of mine from my club, ah miraculously we spotted each other at a water station and she was also having a really rough time and then we sort of latched on to each other and we said like like let's just finish this together and I do think that if I hadn't have found her when I did which was about 8, 9k to go I might not have finished but just having somebody else with me who was also struggling
00:25:03
Emily
um And she was carrying on and I was like, well, I'm going to carry on now too. So yeah, we ended up finishing together, which was exactly what I needed, but I didn't take on any fuel for, well, from 15 kilometres, so 27 kilometres, I ran on nothing, ah which was really rough.
00:25:08
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:25:15
ukrunchat
Yeah. Wow.
00:25:19
Emily
I got to the end and I sort of like, I was like, oh, I'm blacking out, I can't see anything. So I just went and fell in a heap at the edge. So it just wasn't, it wasn't the marathon that I was hoping for at all. And unfortunately, the IBS like flared up, it happened, but It's one of those things, isn't it? The IBS is a part of who I am. And I do know that this is always a risk and it is always a risk.
00:25:37
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:25:39
Emily
um And there's not really a lot that i I can do about that. So I have to think if I'm signing up to an event like this, it's a possibility that could happen. And if it does happen, it does happen, but ultimately I'm not going to stop running in case it happens.
00:25:46
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:25:50
ukrunchat
No.
00:25:51
Emily
So yeah, that was unfortunately what happened to Paris. And then I continued having quite a bad episode of the flow out for about a week afterwards. So yeah, it was it was it was disappointing, but I think you know, overall I had the experience of running a marathon in Paris, I got a beautiful medal, I got to be with my friends, so you know, you win some, you lose some.
00:26:08
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:26:11
ukrunchat
Yeah, aw.
00:26:12
Emily
It was tough.
00:26:13
ukrunchat
I'm so sorry it didn't go your way. Yeah, that's, you know, that's disappointing.
00:26:15
Emily
um
00:26:18
ukrunchat
So would would you go back to think knowing that maybe if you were less, possibly less stressed next time, knowing what to expect, would that make a difference, do you think?
00:26:27
Emily
Yeah I think I would probably wait a while um until i until my toddler was probably a bit older because it is quite stressful trying to travel i but I think um I would definitely give myself more time ah not arriving like midday the day before the race and then leaving like the morning after the race and just giving myself that grace and a bit more time to settle into everything and I would bring more of my own food I think as well just like try and keep everything as consistent as possible
00:26:34
ukrunchat
add Yeah. Yeah, I can imagine.
00:26:54
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:26:54
Emily
im easier said than done but I think that was probably what my issue was this time round alongside the pressure of doing a race abroad and having spent the money and you know all of that.
00:27:04
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah, that sounds quite, yeah, there's a lot to think about, isn't
Nutrition and IBS Management
00:27:08
ukrunchat
there? So i know I know you said that food doesn't really affect you, but you mentioned they're taking your own food. So what kind of, how do you approach fueling and nutrition then with with IBS, bearing those symptoms in mind?
00:27:19
Emily
Yeah I think well as I said it's very individual and I think I'm still finding my feet with it a little bit because i I don't really find that food has an impact because I guess I'm quite um quite careful with my food is probably what what it is and as I said I i have i have a garlic allergy.
00:27:23
ukrunchat
Hmm.
00:27:34
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:27:37
Emily
Um, so I definitely know, I like, I know what's in all my food, um, which does make it easier. Um, but I guess the, the thing, the thing that might probably does irritate my IBS a fair bit, maybe. is um before a race I will cut down my fiber and increase my carbohydrate just in those like maybe three days prior to a race such as a half marathon or a marathon just to make sure that I'm not getting too much fiber in because I have a vegan diet anyway and also I have a lot of fiber in my diet and on race day that's not what you want.
00:28:05
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:28:09
Emily
coming on in your stomach. So I do cut down on my fibre and increase my carbohydrates and probably just that change in food doesn't, my stomach probably doesn't like it too much because stomach doesn't like when you change much. So I reckon, yeah, I think I am still playing around a little bit with how I manage that um and what sort of carbohydrates I'm putting in and what fibre to cut down and maybe not cut down on another other fibre. and But that's root that's how I approach it. I try not to change too much, but i do I do increase my carbohydrates and I do wonder if that has something to do with it.
00:28:43
ukrunchat
Yeah, so that's something still to experiment with maybe and see what will work.
00:28:47
Emily
Definitely. And I think, I think we're all still learning really when it comes to our, and unless we are like a, you know, we have a nutritionist or a dietician at our fingertips, which obviously the majority of us don't, unless we're elite or professionals, we are just sort of muddling our way through.
00:28:48
ukrunchat
yeah
00:29:02
Emily
Um, and we try and learn from other people, but ultimately it's also individual. You just have to do trial and error error, trial and error, um, to see what works for you. So I'm definitely, I'm definitely still working on it. Yeah. and Sometimes some things I do work, like when I did the Cambridge Half, somehow managed to nail that with the pre-run food and everything, but for Paris, like I didn't, so it happens.
00:29:16
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:29:24
ukrunchat
Oh, no.
00:29:25
Emily
but
00:29:26
ukrunchat
So you were talking earlier about your you've got a lovely Instagram
Community Support and Advice
00:29:30
ukrunchat
community. What what sorts of things do you kind of chat about and support each other with on there? Is it all running based or?
00:29:37
Emily
Yes.
00:29:37
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:29:38
Emily
So i I created this like running Instagram account in 2020, as I said, when um I started training for Paris marathon, that I was supposed to do in 2020, because it was my second marathon. And I'd read an article, it was like an online article about how to keep motivated for your second marathon.
00:29:48
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:29:53
Emily
And a suggestion was create an Instagram account specifically for your running, and to kind of hold yourself accountable to talk to other people that are perhaps doing the event. And I was like, Oh, this, this sounds fun. So I sort of set up ah an account and I found a load of other accounts that were similar and I was like, oh, just follow lots of people and see what I learned.
00:30:09
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:30:11
Emily
I did not realize how many running accounts were out there of people that were sharing every part of their training, of their racing. And I just thought, oh my goodness, these are conversations and things that I'm learning that I don't have in real life because I didn't have people that were as into it.
00:30:26
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:30:27
Emily
as i was you know really that i could talk to all the time and suddenly i was like oh my goodness like i can talk to people about about socks about um you know head but you know all of these little things that maybe you don't get to talk about in real life so much um so yeah i just read i started learning from all these people i learned about like running terms like i'd never heard of tempo runs intervals or easy miles When I first saw people talking about easy miles, I was like, gosh, they're being a bit boasty, aren't they? They're finding their runs really easy. I don't find any of my runs easy. And obviously just learning all of this stuff um was really, really useful and really interesting. And then like suddenly people were interested in like my experiences of it. And I was very, very honest about how difficult I found some runs or how challenging I found things. And um I found that that was a really good way to connect with other runners and other people.
00:31:18
Emily
um and then when the pandemic hit people they didn't there wasn't a lot else going on so a lot of people were just running and to stay sane really and I was one of those people and that community just grew and grew as more people were just running and it was great I loved it seeing kind of how other people were doing and maybe small challenges that they were setting themselves and within like the pandemic period and Yeah, and then since then, I've actually met quite a lot of these people in real life, they've become like really good friends. um And yeah, it's just been a really lovely way to support people, to hear what they're doing, to be inspired, to learn.
00:31:54
Emily
Yeah, I love it. It's a really lovely community to be a part of.
00:31:56
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:31:58
Emily
Like the Ronin community is so supportive, because we're all doing something that's a bit crazy. And it's really hard. um And we don't have a lot of other people around us that we can talk to about it.
00:32:08
ukrunchat
Yeah. Oh, I love that. I love that you've met up with some actual real life friends through it. That's fantastic.
00:32:13
Emily
Yeah, yeah, like yeah, loads.
00:32:14
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:32:15
Emily
It's been great.
00:32:16
ukrunchat
Yeah. to be Have you met up at races or have you kind of just arranged to go out and runs with people?
00:32:21
Emily
Yeah, both, both.
00:32:22
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:32:23
Emily
Yeah, so I've got a really good friend now who I met through my Instagram account and transpired that we lived close and now we're part of the same club. So I met her through Instagram. However, I see her most weeks.
00:32:35
ukrunchat
Yeah.
00:32:35
Emily
you know, because we run or we head out for coffees, you know, that sort of thing. um I've got another friend that I see every couple of months here, but we we don't really run together. We're just good friends. um So yeah, it is, it's really lovely. And then to go to events and see people that you know, and you followed all their training for this event, and then you see them there and you see them smash it, it's, yeah, it's fantastic. like
00:32:56
ukrunchat
Yeah. Oh, that's so nice. The power of social media. I just love it.
00:33:00
Emily
I know, it can be so, it can be so, so good.
00:33:03
ukrunchat
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story with us today.
00:33:08
Emily
No problem.
00:33:08
ukrunchat
it's been It's been really interesting talking to you.
Advice for Runners with IBS
00:33:11
ukrunchat
and what What message would you like to share with listeners out there who perhaps are struggling to manage the running alongside IBS?
00:33:19
Emily
Yeah, that's a tricky one. I don't because I don't think there's like a blanket answer really for it because IBS is so individual and diagnosis is so individual. But I think I probably would say for someone who maybe thinks they have IBS but have't hasn't yet had a diagnosis, like please go and try and pursue what is going on because you might find find out some really interesting and important things. um Also, so I think it's important that people that do suffer with or have IBS um and also run that we have to accept and have a bit of grace around the fact that it can impact our running and there's not really a lot that we can can do about that and that's okay. um It is something that is a part of us and that we live with and if running isn't possible in a certain period of time because of how and you know strong those symptoms are that is okay and we just have to have a bit of patience and a bit of grace and make sure that we
00:34:10
Emily
rest up and rest up in the right way but also it shouldn't the fear of those symptoms really shouldn't stop us from running if that's what we want to to do um and I would really recommend actually getting a toilet access card for people who do struggle with IBS because it it relieves so much pressure and stress. If you feel like you just need a bit of time out or you desperately need the toilet, it's a really fantastic way of just being more chilled and relaxed and not panicking. So you can get that through bladder and bowel UK, you just have to apply.
00:34:43
Emily
um And I found that really, really helpful for if I am feeling quite panicked and upset, it's a very useful tool to have and people are really understanding about it. So that would probably be right.
00:34:52
ukrunchat
Yeah, but that's really practical advice actually. Yeah, thank you for that.
00:34:56
Emily
but Oh, yes, so I'm under running underscore veg.
00:34:57
ukrunchat
and Where can people find you then on social media?
00:35:03
Emily
And I'd love to have you.
00:35:03
ukrunchat
Lovely. yeah So go go and look Emily up on Instagram. Thank you so much for your time today and I hope all of you listening have enjoyed today's episode.
00:35:10
Emily
Thank you so much.
00:35:13
ukrunchat
Do get in touch if you've got any questions.