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Sally Green
230 Plays17 days ago
In this episode we're joined by Sally Green. Sally is an endurance runner, she started running in 2017 and signed up for her first marathon in 2018, finishing in 4:56. Since then, she's worked her way down to a personal best of 3:08.
We chat about how her running has evolved to gain her a Championship place in London Marathon in 2025, and what her training looks like.
Enjoy this chat between Michelle and Sally.
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Transcript
Introduction to Sally Green
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello, welcome to this episode of the UK Windchap podcast. It's Michelle here, and today we're joined by Sally Green. Sally is an endurance runner. She started running in 2017 and signed up for her first marathon in 2018, finishing in 4.56.
Sally's Early Running Journey
00:00:19
Speaker
Since then, she's worked her way down to a personal vest of 3.08.
00:00:24
Speaker
Sally, thanks so much for joining us on this episode. Yeah, I'm really well, thank you. I just feel a little bit overwhelmed that that you selected me to refer, but it's, yeah, i'm I'm really well. Thank you, tired, but really welcome. Yeah, I just thought it'd be really inspiring for our listeners to hear about how you've kind of really, you've really brought that marathon time down.
Competitive Spirit and Upbringing
00:00:49
Speaker
and So I thought that would give other people who are just getting into marathons, maybe,
00:00:54
Speaker
and perhaps a little bit later in life like you, just a little bit of, you know, a bit of advice and a bit of inspiration, really. So should we just start with kind of when you got into running? Because you haven't been running that long, really, have you? 2017, I started back at school. I was a keen athlete at school and I ran for two different counties and I was never really happy if I came second place you know in all honesty. So I'd like to say I was a little bit competitive with with myself back then. um So yeah, I used to run at school, ah left school, and then I just went on to do other things and didn't really progress from there. So you look back, you wish you would have continued.
Return to Running and Initial Achievements
00:01:36
Speaker
You never know, I might've been in team GP now, but that's ah that's long gone. But yeah, so I started again in 2017.
00:01:43
Speaker
um It wasn't because I just caught the running bug. I wanted to lose some weight. um I was kind of a little bit of an unhappy soul, I think is probably the the correct word. I've got two children.
00:01:56
Speaker
um kind of filtering over the the little bit of unhealthy weight. I think we can we can call it for myself. So I just heard on the grapevine that there was a local running club that was providing ah free 10K, 5K courses. um So me and my friend signed up. She didn't stay till the bitter end, but but I did. and after After six weeks, I could run a comfortable 30-minute 5K without stopping. And for me, that was a massive boost of confidence. And and yeah, I've just not stopped running since since that point, really. But you know equally, it was the running community. and It was the buzz of it just you know the boost of confidence, I think, that
00:02:45
Speaker
that really drove me and the weight did start to shed off a little bit. So I was kind of getting the best of both worlds back then.
00:02:54
Speaker
So did that kind of competitive spirit that you mentioned from school, did that sort of start to come back? That must be an inbuilt thing for you. You're obviously quite a competitive person. Yeah, definitely. And I think anyone says they're not competitive. I think there's probably enough food or porkies. I am 100% competitive, but competitive with myself. I've always liked to challenge and I've always wanted to better myself.
00:03:20
Speaker
I guess I just wanted to prove that no age is no barrier to your mental stability and and your fitness and I think if I go back 15 years I wasn't fit at all and I'll be completely honest I was smoking and drinking and you know, not not drinking excessively, but you know, I smoked 20 a day and all of this had a, you know, massive impact on on my way of living. So, you know, do I think I've done the right thing? 100, 100%. So being being competitive with myself just, I think it just comes with the the nature of myself really. I've been brought up to be a little bit competitive.
00:04:06
Speaker
I have a lot of i a lot of brothers and i and I have a lot of boy cousins, so I've been brought up in the the football hooligan kind of world, I think. so So just going back to kind of leaving school and leaving the running, what what do you think what do you think stopped you from carrying on with running? next It's a trend we see with lots of girls in particular, isn't it, that they they do kind of fall out of physical activity in their teens. So I'm just wondering what your personal experience of that is having been quite competitive? Yeah, I started smoking. are you I started smoking from the age of 16. And let's just say I probably wasn't the brightest kind of spark back then. I didn't really have any drive.
00:05:01
Speaker
to do anything else and partying with my friends was more important to me at that at that time and I never really had that personal drive from from my family either so it wasn't a competitive thing for everybody back then. It was um bit of a bit of a shame really but um you know I just went straight into into work and meeting boys and you know I was naive and a little bit you know little bit silly. I don't i don have any regrets I don't think but you know I chose the wrong path and we can all look back now and say I wish I would have changed for the
00:05:41
Speaker
changed for the better and I would have probably been a better person, better version bit earlier on in my days but I don't ah don't regret any of that but it was equally, I think it was just the life choices and the you know drinking and smoking and partying I think were werere just what was on my mind back then, not just mine but my friends. So you bounce you bounce off each other, right? so that was what you do and you want to pretend that you would kind of society yeah i think so and i was i was bullied in in primary school and that really impacted my mental health and who who i was i used to have a really bad stutter um and it just impacted my way of you know way of living and you know confidence and i think that's where i've always lacked in confidence and always wanted an approval from people that they're okay and i'm okay and we're okay you know and it was
00:06:33
Speaker
Yeah, so I think being, being bullied, I think is just, you know, that still plays on your mind now. But I think that just really impacted the way I was kind of upbringing myself from that, from that point. So I wanted to fit in. Yeah. ah Well, I'm pleased that you've got back to it now.
00:06:51
Speaker
no bit of yesing white know Yeah, we're back, we're back there,
First Marathon Experience
00:06:57
Speaker
now aren't we? So tell us about the decision to sign up for your first marathon then, because you hadn't been running very long. No, not at all. So what was the progression then for that first marathon? Yeah, since 2017 started running, I did my 5k course, which I completed and graduated with, didn't have the cap or anything. But you know, I got the i got the official park run 5k time after that, so I felt amazing. um So I did a ah local half marathon
00:07:24
Speaker
that year around Milton Keynes called Enigma Running, I think. And it wasn't chip-timed. I didn't really understand net and chip-timed back then. um But um I did a half marathon. I just randomly thought, you know what, I can do five care. I can do a half marathon. um So I did that in two hours and 13 minutes. And my husband was there. My two children were there. And it was, I think it was five laps of like cold cot lake in Milton Keynes. And it was a little bit some destroying laps.
00:07:54
Speaker
You know, I just, I had some friends that had just come down and ran a couple of the laps with me and I just felt great. I honestly, finishing that line, I think it's on one of my pinned pictures on my Instagram of just my first half marathon to what my my last was at the time. And I i just loved it. And and I just ah just felt really good, happy and not like,
00:08:21
Speaker
but crying just because I felt so good that I just went a half marathon. And I just, yeah, it weren't long after that. I thought, well, if I can do a half, I can do a full, right? And I just went from norught i just went from naught to a hundred in the space of like eight months. And yeah, I just signed up for um a sponsored athlete program actually. And at the time she was called Clean Coach Katie and they were doing like a sponsored program one female, one male, and I got selected to represent that. So I had all the support and bespoke training plan behind that and used MK Marathon as the
00:09:00
Speaker
the target and yeah, honestly, best day, best day of my life and it will always be that that one achievement I will always look look back on. But time was irrelevant, didn't care if I had to walk. um I was actually injured as well. I had really bad IT band syndrome at that at the time and didn't really know how that was going to impact me on the day. And yeah, I just i just ran my first marathon and there's nothing like it. There's no other feeling better than completing your first marathon.
00:09:31
Speaker
Yeah, it is an incredible feeling. Yeah, definitely, definitely. And I'll always look back at that to be my favourite marathon as well. Just times are irrelevant when you're having fun. and so Yeah, i was I was going to ask about injury actually, because that's so it's a relatively short time to go from nothing to the volume of miles you have to put in through training. But I guess having a coach there helped to kind of help you through it and stop you over training. Yeah, definitely. Katie was was there for the the the running side and keeping me accountable and and readjusting if I if i needed to. you know It was a PDF-like plan, but if I wasn't sure on anything, then Katie would be there to guide me through that. and and Then the treatment lab on the other side was there for all the the recovery rehab. so I actually felt really lucky and blessed because I had that support that guided me through the the recovery of the IT band. so But on the day, I didn't really have any injury.
00:10:30
Speaker
Yeah but that's the only time I've been injured and I'm touching wood as I say that because I've not been injured since so... Yeah, but no that that's great that you are you're managing your training well to get to those sort of marathon times without injury. So and just just going back a little bit, just talk us through how that first marathon felt for you. because it's it's quite it's so it's um It's a big shock to the system, isn't it? you You run your feet for nearly five hours. yeah It's tough. A marathon is hard work, isn't it? yeah What was going through your head as you were running it? What are you doing, Sally?
00:11:06
Speaker
but he yeah It was actually, if anyone ran Milton Keynes marathon that day, they knew they would know it was 28 degrees as well. It was so hot on that bank holiday weekend and I was smothered in sun cream. um And I just, there was parts of me, I was, what am I doing? I can't do this. And I think that goes through a lot of runners mind. You know, I can't can't do this. I can't complete it.
00:11:37
Speaker
I ran 12 miles with a friend and then we kind of steered off. I think I was running quite comfortably and my husband and my my son were biking around the course you know and just like taking pictures. I've got so many pictures and and videos of that day um and yeah so I guess I was looking forward to seeing them at the next milestone and You know, um I just like, come on, keep going, keep going. You can do this. You're not a critter. You know, walk if you need to. And, you know, the local support was just incredible. People were out with the firemen were out with um their um their water, their water pumps. So that was a highlight of the day. Definitely seeing those.
00:12:21
Speaker
And I remember that well, but ice creams and the local support was just, was just incredible. But equally there was, you know, I was, I knew I was getting close back to the MK Don stadium and I knew that we had to do a lap of the pitch and and I knew my family was there. You know, my brother, my kids, my husband, my friends, my dad.
00:12:43
Speaker
and And my dad's my biggest fan. And that was just lovely to see them all down there cheering me. I can hear them shouting at me from the other side of the football stadium. And I think I was like, come on. And all of a sudden, I think I ran my fastest mile, I think, in my but But yeah, equally, I just think it's it's hard. Running a marathon's hard. And if people say it's easy, then you know you need to be running 100 mile ultras,
Improvement and Self-Coaching
00:13:10
Speaker
I think, if you find a marathon easy. but um I think it was just the the boost. It just gave me such an adrenaline boost. I think I'm just like, yeah, I could do I could do another one straight after it was just I'm never running a marathon again. But didn um that was short lived. But but yeah, um amazing, amazing experience, especially doing it in your local town as well. It just made it a little bit more special to me. Yeah, that's really special, actually, isn't it? Have you done that one since?
00:13:41
Speaker
I went back again the following year so I did it again with a friend to help um him get a PB um and then a year after that I did the virtual because it was Covid. yeah um So I've ran Milton Keynes marathon three times. Yeah and which was your favourite time would you say? Still that first one?
00:14:03
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. No no no marathon wall will come close to that that first one ever. it it will always It will always be there, the memories and the self-doubt and the lack of confidence and injury you know the Yeah, nothing can compare to that one. My trainers, I think, which were um really cheap trainers, you know so really, really naive to all of that. and I think that's why I look back now to go, oh, I wish I could be damn that version again where you didn't really care about things as much, but b yeah. Yeah. Part of it's kind of simpler, isn't it? But then we get into all the nitty gritty of training and marginal gains and it does get more complex. It does. and Yeah. Yeah. Very much so. Yeah.
00:14:50
Speaker
So at what point would you say kind of your your mindset towards running changed then? At what point? was Running with the Redway runners and there was a lot of drive and focus and people pushing people. And, you know, it was just inspiring to hear like people's journey. And then I latched on to some, you know, runners. And then I was like, oh, I just, um,
00:15:18
Speaker
and I want to be better. I want to be faster. you know what do i What do I need to do? I've done my first marathon now and they're like, well, you just like need to put some interval training in and it got a little bit complicated in my mind. and you know But I knew deep down what I kind of like needed to do. So I quickly signed up for Manchester Marathon in 2019. So the year after that,
00:15:40
Speaker
And I was self coaching myself. So I didn't, I didn't have a coach and I was like, I can do this. I'm a little bit like I can do this. I don't need anyone. I can do it myself. That's my attitude sometimes, you know, and I did Manchester marathon. I did a 16 week training block for that. Um, again, just a PDF form, um, training plan adjusted it. If I needed to little knowledge, but I thought, you know, I know what I need to do.
00:16:10
Speaker
And I did, um I came away with a three hour, 44 minute time. Wow. That's an incredible improvement. Yeah. Yeah. ah Straight away, you know, one of your marathon down, I got over an hour PB. Wow. So yeah, it took, it took a lot of, a lot of dedication. Like to be fair, I don't really know how I, how I, how I did it. Maybe I could have ran quicker on my first marathon. I don't, I don't know.
00:16:36
Speaker
um but yeah an hour and hour and 10 minutes kind of like quicker people were like yeah you've qualified for a London good for age and well done congratulations and I felt absolutely incredible um I didn't get into to London the following year because I was six minutes off the cutoff time yeah so I wasn't aware of the cutoff time and that was really deflating for me really, really deflating. I think I worked like so hard, solo, and I didn't ah didn't really get that get that time that I kind of worked for, a little bit upsetting, but me being and me, it's like, right, what am I going to do about it? What do I need to keep doing? so yeah and then And then Covid hit us the following
Impact of COVID on Running Plans
00:17:23
Speaker
year. so
00:17:25
Speaker
yeah took a bit of a running didn't take a bit of a backseat from there but uh marathons of course were paused so yeah there were no races on were there of course yeah no there was no races but um so after after Manchester I did do Milton Keynes six weeks later so might not have been six weeks actually, might have been a bit sooner than that, but I did do Milton Keynes in four hours, so with a friend who got a PB, so that was that was incredible. Helping others achieve their goals as well was also something I'm really passionate about. So um so yeah, I ran two back-to-back marathons that year. I go from no miles to 26.2, like two in four weeks or five weeks, whatever it was. so
00:18:10
Speaker
Yeah, I felt really good. And I just want to dive into what actually kind of changed between that first marathon and that kind of second one where you knocked so much time off. Like, was it your mindset? Was it, you know, what what would you change in your training? What what was different? I think it was that competition mindset in my in my head and then just being around people and being more you know, self-aware of the running community and listening to conversations and people that I really used to look up to in like the running community and taking advice from them. I was like, you know what? I can we really do this. You know, and I've always had support from my husband. It was like, I couldn't really better myself. I've just got to want to do it and I've got to have the drive to do it. And I just committed myself. You know, I was, the weight was, was coming off.
00:19:05
Speaker
you know, so I lost a couple of pounds and um I was eating a little bit better and the training had ramped up. So I was just doing more miles and I was just surrounding myself with people. I ran with people every um every run that I did. So I was never on my own. um' And yeah, I guess it it's deep down, it was that competition. i I knew I had something left in me and I didn't know how many marathons I was ever going to run. But I'm like, you know what?
00:19:34
Speaker
Like I want to run London. I want to experience London Marathon. I want to be on that start line. So I just, yeah. Put the yeah put the foot on the gas and away we went. Yeah. but So what races did you have planned during that COVID period then when things got cancelled?
00:19:56
Speaker
Ooh.
00:19:58
Speaker
So there was Milton Keynes' marathon that was actually cancelled, the the physical event. um I don't think I had any booked. I think as we went into lockdown quite earlier on in the, it was March, I think it was March 2020 that we went into lockdown, so we actually didn't have that many races booked.
00:20:20
Speaker
I had Milton Keynes' marathon. um Yes, so I don't think I had, it didn't really impact me as such. um I lost my grandpa that year. he He passed away in the February and I did manage to get to see him in the January. I flew over to America. So I think I was quite lucky that I didn't ah didn't lose out. So I just did some virtual runs, yeah really. So, and yeah, luckily I didn't have that many booked.
00:20:50
Speaker
Yeah. So did your, cause it seems to me there were two types of runners during that period. There there were those who had to. manage kind of full-time work with child care and their running kind of struggled and then there were those who managed to kind of ramp up their running somehow and become fitter than ever. Which of the two categories did you fall into there with training? I'd probably say a bit of a bit of both obviously me and my husband we're both working from home all the time and actually we have this conversation that
00:21:22
Speaker
They were the best, it was the best time for us, COVID, like for our family. um My son, I don't know how old he was now, he's 16 now, i can't I can't do the maths, but he he wanted to run a 5K. So we would use our daily allowance as we as we called it, and then we would actually run together. um So I would do my little runs with him drawing during the week, and we got him up to a 5K, which was incredible.
00:21:52
Speaker
He must have been about 12, 13. Yeah, it was well five years ago, wasn't it? Yeah. He was 11 then. Wow. Younger than what I thought. Yeah, he was 11. Yeah. yeah and then And then my husband as well. So we just utilize our time as a as a family. We were literally living and breathing the same air for many, many months. But um I got COVID myself within that, so um that impacted my
The Role of Community and Family
00:22:21
Speaker
impact in my health. but and And then when you could start running with groups, up to six people, um I ditched my family for my running friends.
00:22:32
Speaker
I was like, see you later, I need to go and run with someone else to have some normal conversations outside of home. And we formed a little running group and and I've got a lot to thank that group for. They kept me going through some real dark times for many people. um and we And we ran together. So we started doing up to 10 miles together on a you know one of our runs. And yeah, very much the group that I'm still thankful for for this day. We're all very good friends. so Oh, that's fantastic. So do you prefer running with other people then?
00:23:06
Speaker
and Yes, yeah, definitely prefer the running with people. I think you can push each other. Yeah. And and even if you're a bit of a silent runner and you don't like, you know, speaking, but it's just someone being there driving you forward and pushing you forward. yeah you know, if I'm doing speed work, then and I might as well just just be on my own because I'm not going to be able to speak. If I can speak doing interval work, then I'm not working fast enough. That's one thing my coach always said to me. So and I definitely prefer to run with people, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's just something about, I think, running with a group. They do kind of, especially if they're a little bit faster than you are, they spur you on, don't they, to just continuously improve yourself.
00:23:51
Speaker
And you can be at different abilities, you know, and it's not about how fast and how slow you are. It's just about all being all being together and just motivating each other and, you know, just like not not clapping so much as you're you running. I think that could be a little bit demoralizing, but I think it's just being there, motivating each other just to drive and push on forward. So it doesn't matter what pace or time, let's just get a group together and go for a run. It's the best feeling in the world. Yeah, yeah, it really is. Really good. and So talk to us then about how you went from 344 to your current PB, which is 308, because that's that's a significant difference in terms of effort, isn't it? and you mean he gives me do It gives me goosebumps. And I think that it just shows how proud I am of myself to kind of like be
00:24:47
Speaker
be at that kind of like level at the age I am on 42, you know, and I, I invested in a coach. Yeah. So I think it's like fair to, to shout him out Lloyd from team project run. I have been stalking his Instagram stories.
00:25:04
Speaker
for a very long time and I loved his drive, his passion for the sport, his community spirit and everything he was doing for the community at the at the time and just giving people advice.
Coaching and Training Strategies
00:25:16
Speaker
I was like you know what I really want to work with him um and I actually signed up for just one of his ah PDF plans, and I think it was like £40 or something like that um And I got a PB on the on the back of that, a four minute half marathon PB got me down to 134 and I was like, oh, this is, oh, I'm just, you know, he's, he's given me what I need now. This is, this is what I need. So I signed up for one-to-one training with him and I was with him for three years.
00:25:48
Speaker
um just on the back of COVID really. um And yeah, it just went from there and he he gave me all of the knowledge that I have today. And believe it or not, I still train to the same technique that he taught me. I still run to lactate threshold. I don't do anything else. i I listen to my body. Listening to my body is just crucial.
00:26:13
Speaker
um And yeah, I just, I stopped training with him at Chicago Marathon, um, in 2023, I did Chicago Marathon. Um, and I just said, I'm, I'm like, I'm done now. Um, I've done what I set out to achieve. Well, that didn't, I clearly didn't because I went on to do other things, but I just thought I've got three years of knowledge now. I'm, I'm comfortable that you've you've got me to a level that I'm happy with.
00:26:43
Speaker
Um, he got my half marathon times to one minute, 13, 16 seconds. Those 16 seconds always bugged me. Um, and then, um, a three 17 marathon in London, 2023. He got me too. And I, I felt accomplished. I felt like I had achieved so much since, since COVID and joining with Lloyd. And I always look back at his voice notes and some of them are.
00:27:11
Speaker
10 minutes long, and at the end of it, it'll just go, Sally, you're resting tomorrow. And I'll be like, OK, all right, fair enough. And I would always listen to that. So you absorb that information and you trust the person that is just coaching you. And I think one to one coaching can be really beneficial if that if you're prepared to to to listen and and and absorb that information. and that's And that's what I did. And I think that that made me a better runner.
00:27:39
Speaker
um And yeah, I kind of set myself as 2024 the year to go out and smash them goals by myself. So top us through what happened then in 2024? A lot happened in 2024. In January, I just came off ah the back of indulgence Christmas and I thought right you know I've put on a little bit of weight so um I prioritised my mental health and the way I was like feeling um lost a little bit of weight not a lot but enough to make me feel happy again if if that makes sense um and then just drafted up my plan and my London Marathon plan and just just went from there really but um I
00:28:32
Speaker
signed up to a half marathon in February and I did a 128 36 half marathon. I was like, Oh, Oh, where did that come from? Literally because I've just been running to exactly the same as Lloyd had taught me for them years. Um, and I'd already planned to run London in 2024 with my best friend. So the foot was going to be off the pedal that day.
00:28:58
Speaker
So I secretly signed up for a Manchester marathon and I secretly signed up. I secretronly um told nobody but my husband, nobody. having I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it for me and not because no one else was watching me or judging times and I think You know, us as runners can relate to Strava and, you know, if you're quite out there in the public eye, then you're sharing your stats with people. and
00:29:29
Speaker
I didn't want the pressure of anyone else knowing I was doing it, knowing people was gonna be tracking me that day. So I just booked it silently and just kept my mouth shut, which was very hard. Very, very hard, especially my best friend, especially not telling my best friend. And if anything, if I ever decided to do it again, I think I would at least tell her. um So yeah, so I did that half marathon in like 128. So I was like, this, I've got something here. i've I'm not wasted, you know?
00:29:58
Speaker
And it was February, I booked to Manchester, um booked some 20 mile races at the back of that. And I did a 20 mile race in two hours 20. So I'm like, I'm just getting better and better. Whatever I'm doing is working. let's just keep Let's just keep going. I didn't have a time in mind for Manchester and I've always been open with that. I didn't have a time. I just wanted to run to effort, run to what I've trained to um and just,
00:30:26
Speaker
you know see what came out at the at the back of that and I came out of a 308 and it still shocks me so to this day that I did that but only I did that I had no help from anybody else just my husband supporting me in the in the background and pushing me going you know you can you can do this and Yeah, there were some people i I knew up there at Manchester that spotted my husband actually. So I knew at that point that people were going to be um tracking me and that was absolutely fine. But if I could just, I don't know, one time in in anyone's you know running sport in life, just do something for yourself, yeah not because the world's watching you and I think
00:31:12
Speaker
It's nice to have the support, but i I felt great just by doing that one one marathon without added pressure. yeah um And yeah, that was it. That's how it just evolved for me. My my running evolved from from Manchester and then seven days later I went to run London Marathon in three hours 35. I've no idea how I'd done that.
00:31:39
Speaker
No, no idea. But me and my best friend had planned to run the marathon together. And and and we did. And we got three hours 35, 26 exactly. And, you know, that was that was just incredible for me. Incredible time. Yeah, that's fantastic. So just looking back to Manchester, then, do you what specifically changing your training and how much of an impact do you think not having that external kind of pressure had?
00:32:11
Speaker
Training didn't really change in terms of knowledge. Mileage, of course, increased. I think I knew I had to ramp up my mileage a little bit more, get a couple more 20 miles behind my behind my belt. um So nothing really changed changed there, but really. I don't know. It's really strange. i just I just felt like I just sort of in a beast in me, I think I just, um I've always had a little bit of confidence issues and I always like people to and tell me that I'm okay and are we okay and to check in with people and I do have
00:33:07
Speaker
quite a good following count on on Instagram. And that's helped me block my journey and flog it and share the flaws, the highs and the
Social Media and Privacy
00:33:17
Speaker
lows. And I guess I just didn't want anybody to know. And selfishly, I just didn't want anybody to know because um I just, yeah, I just, i was I was selfish. I just wanted Manchester for myself and it was my race that day. And the best way of coping with that is just not telling anybody.
00:33:36
Speaker
you it clearly It clearly worked well for you, didn't it? Sorry, I was going to ask, can you share your kind of typical training week or your routine in the build up to Manchester then? What did it look like? What kind of mileage were you doing?
00:33:58
Speaker
base Base mileage, I think before I started training for London, I would try and do my base mileage at between 10 and 13 miles on ah on a Sunday. So I always kept the base mileage up there just to keep the endurance going really. and But anywhere between, I didn't peak any more than 55 miles.
00:34:21
Speaker
That probably scares quite a lot of people but I didn't i didn't peak at 55. I use Final Surge to input all of my sessions into um and I just use that for all of my strength as well. I'm a keen lover of the gym as well as running.
00:34:41
Speaker
and And yeah, so, you know, I guess my my you know my routine has always been pretty much the same. I've ran on the same days. I am i' am a morning runner. And and then I do my long runs on a on a Saturday, which is what I had changed in the build up, just so I could give more time for me and my family on ah on a Sunday. So I changed to run on Saturdays, finish at park runs. um And yeah, I just,
00:35:12
Speaker
Yeah, I just love my training. There was a couple of rest days in there, added added rest days, of course, because I felt fatigued and tired. So listening to my body was also really crucial.
Training Techniques and Rest
00:35:22
Speaker
And one thing I always get out of that is just your rest days, your best training days. And I'm a strong advocate of that. And and yeah, typically, you know, five five runs a week is what I stuck to for 16 weeks, really. and Yeah, going to the gym four days, four days a week. I just had really good, really good structure and routine and I still do now, but it's gone out the window a little bit now, but routine is very important to me, especially in the job that I have as well. Yeah, it's so important, isn't it? What what kind of things are you doing at the gym and how long is the session for you?
00:35:57
Speaker
Um, so I got into weightlifting really with, with my husband in 2022. So three years now, um, I just felt really good about lifting free weights. And, um, so me and my, yeah um, husband were kind of just, um, he was coaching me through all of it and we didn't really have a, have a coach and I just not stopped.
00:36:21
Speaker
not stopped going to the gym from from that point really and I just love lifting weights and squats and not so much like squats I must get better at legs so I'm not i'm not great at everything I must lift more um fought for legs but but yeah um equally some core and just some ab work and just some upper body and leg workouts in there but I try and go four days a week maximum four days a week And clearly that's having an impact on your running as well, isn't it? I mean, ah the fact that you enjoy it as well ultimately as well. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, some of the stuff I do is probably not running related because as um'm as I mean, i've just I just enjoy being strong. And I think there's a lot more to to running than just running. You need to have a strong physique. You have to have a strong core. So the gym is really important to me. And I know it's an added antidote as well to that. so
00:37:18
Speaker
So what, Miley, would you normally go up to for your longest run in marathon training then and how often would you do that? I first started, you know, running marathons, I would perhaps ah peak at 20 once and then I would just come back down for a gradual incline and it's just incredible and it's still now date ah now it's just completely different you peek up and down three times so um i've just completed my first 20 miles for london marathon this year so um i've got another 20 and then i come back down and then i go back up and i go back down and then i go back up so it's just
00:38:02
Speaker
mind-blowing how, you know, science of running is is just evolving over the over the years. But um I would probably normally, Manchester, I think 320 miles, 320 mile runs in there. and I've got a few more this this year, but yeah, so I would only peak at 20. I wouldn't go any more than that. Yeah. And what does what does your kind of long run look like in between those 20 miles? How long are you generally doing?
00:38:34
Speaker
Scary, scary miles. They're all scary miles. So I think i I would always just run a for four, five mile easy on a new Saturday and then on a on a Sunday. Some of them are easy and then I would peak at 20. I'd have some marathon pace miles thrown in there, which I haven't started yet. And then I would, I've got a couple of races in the build up tour.
00:38:58
Speaker
to London this year, so I would normally come back down, have a recovery week, and then I would build back up again and have a gradual incline. I would i would never go from 15 miles to 20. I would always have about a 2-3 mile buffer, but I've got really good endurance now, so I can i can um go from 17 to 20 miles without you without injury. Well, again, touch wood. Yeah, okay. Yeah, so you're kind of you're dipping down a little bit
00:39:29
Speaker
and then going back yes education so Yeah, I would alternate it, so I would have two weeks at 20, so just using my train, I've got two weeks at 20, and then I dip back down to 15 because I've got a half marathon coming up on the 23rd of February, and then I would gradually build my way back up again, then you're dipping down a I would come back down. I've got another half marathon in March, so little it's just a bit and then going back and see.
00:39:57
Speaker
I've just getting the balance right, but as I was saying, I use my previous experience and knowledge with a coast to make sure I'm doing it safely the right way. Yeah. Yeah, it's important and it's good to throw a few races in them as well, isn't it? Do you use them as kind of paced workouts or are they just easy miles as well? How did do you approach those? um So last year I used them at goal pace of just run. war Well, last year was just completely different like for me because I was just running for effort. So to come away with 128 was kind of what?
00:40:35
Speaker
sealed it for Manchester for for me. So then I used a 20 mile race as effort as well. So didn't really have didn't really know what my marathon pace was going to be. This year is completely different. Like for me, I kind of know what my goal paces are because I think I can really go for it this year, I think. and so So yeah, I think I would i would use them as as a session.
00:40:59
Speaker
and I think one thing for me is if I'm entering a race, I do like to race it. Um, I don't have any self-discipline when it comes to races. Um, but I am going to use one as a marathon pace session in there. So I am going to be disciplined and I've said that on this podcast, I'm going to be more, I'm going to be more disciplined this year. Oh, there we go. We heard it here first i didn't you when you put marathon pace into your training runs. I'm interested like how.
00:41:30
Speaker
how much of that run is marathon pace or is it the whole run?
00:41:35
Speaker
um So and depending on what the distance is there that I've got so um if I use the one I've got on the 23rd of February so um I've got 15 miles but it's only a half half marathon so I've got one mile easy um and one call down at the end of there but but but then I'm just running the 13 at marathon pace because I know I can i can hold that. um So that's quite an easy easy one for me um and then the um some other sessions that i've thought I've got are like four times, three miles, et cetera. And then I'd to have some easy easy recoveries in between the sessions and then an easy easier in a cool down. So a bit of a mixture, not not all of them are sessions because I think you still need to have those just the time on fee and then just just run.
00:42:29
Speaker
It doesn't matter on time or or pace, it's just getting the distance in. So not all of them are sessions. yeah um And I will adjust them if i if I need to. Some of them look a little bit scary. so But I'm my own coach, so I can change them if I want to. That's the beauty of it, of having gained that knowledge and experience, isn't it? You you kind of know what we're going to do.
00:42:50
Speaker
Yeah and I think you can you can use the previous long run as you know your kind of guide for that to go right i okay I think this is probably pushing the boundary a little bit too much and let's just adjust the pace a little bit and then ease into it so it's just all about you know and to banking the last the last week's sessions and then learning from that so don't want to make mistakes and and I don't want it be myself so yeah staying injury free is really important to
Future Goals and Aspirations
00:43:19
Speaker
me.
00:43:19
Speaker
Yeah, but that's crucial, isn't it? um So you don't have to share this, but what are your goals? kind of what What do you think you're capable of? What are you aiming for over the next few years?
00:43:31
Speaker
ah um I'm a little bit of a silent gold chaser. yeah that's um but But my my PB for a half marathon stands at 128, 31. So I do want to beat that at Cambridge Half Marathon in March. So I do have a goal target for for that one so I would like to to PB um and then London I'd like to get a London marathon PB not necessarily a Manchester PB but I think I've got something left in my legs um to try and maybe push for a PB but we'll but we'll see it's too early to tell. Yeah and London's a tricky race isn't it because it's so it's so busy. So I've done London marathon three years
00:44:23
Speaker
in a row, the first two years, 2022 and 2023, were all about PBs. And I did PB, you know, both of them. And then London last year, which is running with my friend and we did a 335. So on the back of Manchester, I know that London can be gridlocked, but um running a 308 marathon has secured me a championship for London this year. That's fantastic. So what's different to make at the start then?
00:44:54
Speaker
I get two bibs. I get two stripey bibs. yeah um i finish at the start right i I get to start near the front. So there's no staggered start time. I just start when the elites go, just just behind the elites. But I think for me, it's just, I i did this. i I got myself here, no one else.
00:45:18
Speaker
you know, but me. And I secretly wanted a championship, but I just kept that close to my personal goal. um And then they changed the they've changed the whole criteria of the championship. So um for 2026, but they just lowered the time for for this year. And I just managed to get myself in there. So what is it changed to? What is it now? It's changed to I think it used to be three hours and 14 minutes. Yeah.
00:45:46
Speaker
it's It's now 2025. You had to run quicker than 310. So I was like, whew, that was like wiping the sweaty brow. and But I think for 2026, it's going to be ah buffered at 1000 runners. So I think 500 males.
00:46:06
Speaker
in 500 females, so it will be fastest first. But everyone's getting faster. i don't think that you know i I don't even know what the average marathon time now is. Everyone's getting faster and quicker and wants to you know wants to smash their personal goals. and And, you know, that's what using me as a prime example of that I'm, I'm 42 and I'm not slowing down. I'm actually getting quicker as I get older. So it's a little bit mind, mind blowing sometimes, yeah you know, what you want to do. So I think for me, the championship just, um, I, I got myself there and I'm not going to waste this, this opportunity because I might not want to do it again. Come, come next year. I might not, not
00:46:51
Speaker
not have the same drive. So while I've got the drive and the the competitive streak, I'm just going to keep going. Yeah, yeah, go go for it. we'll We'll look forward to hearing how you get on without any pressure, of course. Yeah. Well, it's out there. Everyone knows I'm running London this year and I'm not and I'm not running in marathon before London. I'm not, I swear, I'm not. Yeah, what a fantastic opportunity though to start kind of with the elites. that's It's incredible, isn't it? I've got goosebumps hearing you talk about it because I can hear how proud you are of yourself. Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, I'm really proud of, I'm really proud of myself and you know, I've had some bad, I've had some bad runs, not not all my runs have gone to plan, I've not always.
00:47:31
Speaker
go got the PB that I've worked for and I think my mindset has changed. If I can just run to effort on the on the on the the back of my training block then I've got no pace pressure so I don't have a pace pressure anymore. you know I'm putting marathon pace miles into my runs but I don't know what my marathon pace is.
00:47:51
Speaker
and that's And that's true. I know what I'm capable of and I've just got to make my my little legs run faster. so just got a you know And I think that's what that's what does it for me. That's what drives me forward is is I just run for run for myself and just run to what I'm capable of. Yeah, I think i think that's key, isn't it? And that you're enjoying it. You clearly love running. That's the most important thing.
00:48:18
Speaker
So if you yeah thanks so much for your time Sally today um and yeah we've given our listeners some kind of tips but what would if you could give one piece of advice to kind of someone attempting the first marathon for example what would it be?
00:48:37
Speaker
What would it be? um just Just start slow. Start slow. um start slow um in Enjoy yourself. Invest in some good good trainers. Go and get your gate tested because Most new runners come out there and get injured and then they don't they don't want to run anymore because they've had an injury. So go get your gate down at a local running shop um and just just start casually. Join a running club and just latch on to people that you can really bounce off. And you know the hardest bit is is lacing up outside the front door. Once you've once you've done that, you'll you'll really enjoy yourself. I've not looked back since 2017. So if I can do it, anyone can do it.
00:49:18
Speaker
Yeah, fantastic. oh Well, yeah, all the very best with your goals then, Sally, and we look forward to hearing how you do. Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, we really hope that you've enjoyed listening to this episode and please subscribe to the UK Run Chat podcast for more. We'll be back soon.