Nike Head Running Coach and marathoner Lydia O'Donnell answers top listener questions about running from training plans to menstrual cycles plus the best gym-based exercises to support your running and choosing the right gear for performance.
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Oh hey, welcome to Extra Healthy Ish, the big sister podcast still Healthy Ish Frombody and Soul. I am your host of Felicity Harley. Now, if you are a regular listener to Extra Healthy Ish or our sister podcast, Healthy Ish, you will know that I recently completed my first half marathon and it was a really amazing experience. So yes, my head is in the running game, and I thought, why not get well she helped me cross the finish line. Why not get my running coach and a lot of other people's running coaches on the podcast to share everything she knows about running. Her name is Lydia O'Donnell. She's a Nike Head running coach and of course she's a marathona and an Ultra marathona, and she's here to answer your top questions about running, from training plans to running around your menstrual cycle, plus the best gym based exercises to support your running le It's Lydia. Thank you for joining us on Extra Healthy Ish.
Thanks for having me.
Great to be here, Yeah to nice to see you. The last time I saw you was perhaps mid race of a half marathon at in Melbourne, but nice to have you on the podcast.
Yeah, it's so good to see you out there flying around the marathon course.
So yeah, nice to see you again.
I'm not sure I was flying, but anyway, tell you I have to ask you, well, I ask you this question for everyone who comes on the podcast. How do you stay extra healthy ish in your life.
I am a very structured person, so I like to have structure, and I like to have routine. And part of that routine for me is moving my body. Every morning, I will get out and run or at least move my body in some shape or form. That is a non negotiable for me. So not just for my physical health, but for my mental health as well. I just find getting outside, breathing some fresh air and seeing the sunrise like really helps me to set my day up and get my mind in the right place for the day.
So I would say, a run or.
Is it sometimes a walk? What does that look like?
Most of the time it is a run. I do run pretty much every day, but there's days where I feel tired, or I might be sore, or I'm traveling, and that can be more difficult to do. But most of the time it will be a run.
Now, tell us a bit about your what do you call it running journey, running history, running story? I know there's a leado for this. Have I running into it? Running story? That's it.
Yeah. So I started running when I was I started doing athletics when I was about seven years old, which is pretty young. But I was a pretty competitive young kid, and I think my mum probably just me to try and get rid of as much energy as possible, So throwing me into athletics was a good way to do that. And I think I just really thrived.
In the sport because of.
The competitive nature of it. And I also just loved hanging out with my friends, so going athletics you would just be with your mods pretty much all the time. And so when I was about eleven or twelve, I think one of my peer teachers at school was a common Lithe Games eight.
Hundred meter record champion.
Oh yes, very and she saw me at a pretty young age and saw my drive and I guess some sort of natural talent that I had, and really just took me under her wing to teach me the importance of just enjoying sport as a young girl and just like not pushing yourself so hard and being patient with your body. I was so lucky to have someone like her in my life at such a young age. I really thank her for everything really I know and do now in my running career. And so throughout my teenage years, I just loved running again. It was very social, was with my friends. And then I started competing more on the national and international stage when I was in my late teenage years. So I won my first national title when I was nineteen, and then kind of that led into representing New Zealand and I ended up kind of focusing on the five to ten k some half marathons in my early twenties and then ran my first marathon at the Nike Malburn Marathon Festival and when I was twenty five, and so that was really where I fell in love with the marathon distance. And since then I ran about eleven marathons and still really love it. Find it incredibly challenging, but yeah, enjoy it. And I ran my first ultra last year, so trying to cover up all the distances, but trying to be really smart about it as well.
What do you love about running?
I just love the.
Way it makes me feel. I'm, like I said, super competitive and I love running fast and winning and making teams.
I love all of that.
But even if that didn't exist for me, I know that I would still run because I just love the way that it builds confidence and me through empowering me to achieve tough things. And I think the thing about running is it is hard, and we all find it hard no matter what level or ability you are, Like, it is a tough form of movement. But that's why it's so beautiful because you finish a run and no matter if the run has gone to plan or not, you are so damn proud of yourself for executing that run. And there's just nothing like that feeling of just like coming home and sweating and you know, being like I did that, And so yeah, I just love running and it's just so much more than just one foot in front of you.
I have to add to that. I think, you know, in the recent half marathon that I did, it was it was more my mind that was the challenge than my body. And I think even in the training and often you think, oh, my body hold up, but then the question for me quickly turned to will my mind hold up? And it's such a mental game, isn't it? Running? And I think there's such a thrill from that when you finish, because you're like, Wow, I actually did this.
Oh my gosh, one hundred percent.
I think a lot of people from the outside expect running to be ninety percent physical and maybe ten percent mental, But I would say it's the other way around. I grow nine of running is in your head and the ten percent is the ability to actually execute and use your body to do that. And I agree with you, like, I think building that mental resilience is just so.
Incredible and so empowering.
So yeah, I hope people know that they can actually like work on that mental strength. It's not something that we're all born with. You can actually build your mental fitness like you're able to build your physical fitness, and running can help you do that.
What as a running coach, what is the most asked question you get about running?
Definitely how to get started and how to enjoy it. I think a lot of people who maybe haven't run before or have dabbled in running, but have found it quite hard to get into that routine of running consistently over time, They say, like, how do you enjoy it?
How do you even get started?
Like it's just a really tough I guess place to be in when you aren't used to pushing yourself like that, And so for me, I guess just building that over time is the most important thing, and being patient with yourself and being compassionate towards yourself and knowing that firstly, it is going to hurt and it's going to take time. But if you give yourself the time, you will get to a place where you will look back and never stop. You'll be so grateful that you've done it. And I usually say it's about six to eight weeks of kind of pushing through the challenges of can I do this? This is going to so it's going to hurt. I can't push myself by just having that acceptance of like it is going to be like that. But two months and then you'll turn around and be like, I'm so glad did that. Now I've that level of fitness. I don't want to lose it, so I'm going to keep going. And I talk about like getting used to that challenge and net pain and that feeling of being hard, and then you actually start chasing hard things.
Yeah, and it's cool, pretty amazing.
And you enjoy the feeling at the other end of it, and adding to that, I think setting a goal, like, I mean, it's even you know, I've been running well since I was fifteen for fun, no, not just to keep fit, and I love how it makes me feel and to deal with life really, but when you set it, I mean, when you set a goal. So setting that half marathon for me was such it just gets you outdoors and and like you've got something to strive for. And I think that is also important. Set a goal and you will get there, and then that'll get you out the door. You have to get out the door.
Knowing why you're doing something definitely helps you to actually go and do the thing.
And setting a goal I think is really important.
And we at form we talk about setting focuses or intentions over goals, because I think a lot of people, in particular women, find our goal setting quimidating, and reframing them as focuses is like a really nice way to be like, Okay, I'm not going to set this goal where it has like really specific numbers and times on it, but I'm going to set a focus of I just want to run a half marathon and I want to get to the finish line and feel so strong and proud that I did that, and that to me is a lot less intimidating. Then I want to go and run as sub to our half marathon. So like, finding what lights you up is really important and what really motivates you to get out the door as well?
Is there a.
Sweet spot when it comes to running, Like let's put training as training for a half marathon or even a five k a side. Is there should we run every day? Or is there a how often should we run? If we're just doing it more for fitness and mental fitness.
It really depends on the journey you've been on to date. So if you're someone who has been running for a long time and you're used to running four or five days a week, and you've conditioned your body to be able to withstand that level of running, then that is totally okay to continue to do that alongside strength training, mobility and all the other kind of one percentage that we need to do. But even running once or twice three times a week is still so beneficial. So if you're a beginner to running, setting the goal, let's say or focus of I just want to move my body twice a week and I want to see over time. If I can build consistency doing that, then that is incredible. But having a plan like you can get in the Nike Run Club app, which will actually give you some structure around how many days a week that you want to be running and what sorts of runs you should be doing to be able to execute on runs that have purpose is a really nice way to be able to build up that level of conditioning in a really sustainable way too. So I wouldn't say there's a sweet spot. I think we see a lot of women running three times a week is probably about the average, and I think that's really healthy and a really great amount of running to not just maintain but make progress as well. But you really have to kind of understand where you're in your journey as well.
We'll be back after this shortbreak with more from Lydia. Now this question actually comes from my producer. When someone's trying to increase their distance, is it more important to focus on heart rate or pace?
Well, that's a good question, I would say, if we're trying to increase your distance, actually just focusing on time on feet is what we call it. So how much time you're spending when you're out running versus focusing too much on your pace or your heart rate. In all honesty, pace and heart rate are actually quite connected. So if we're increasing our pace, our heart rate is also going to be increasing, and that is also really important, and we tend to see that when we're doing like speed sessions, fart lit interval ten post sessions and all of that is so helpful to increase our level of fitness, cardiovascular fitness. But if you want to increase your distance, I would just slowly increase your time on feet. So week one you might go for two ten minute runs, Week two you might go for one ten minute run and one twelve minute run. Week three you might do to twelve minute runs. So over time, gradually increasing how much you're actually going and running for and not even really focusing too much on the distance, because if you just pou on the time consistently over weeks, you will all of a sudden look back and be like, I've gone from running ten minutes to running half an hour and that's amazing. And so time on feed is a really nice way to also allow you not to get too caught up in the numbers.
Yeah, a lot of people do. And then they'll be like, well, I.
Ran six minute k's last week and then I ran six thirties this week, and what's happened to me?
But like, that's totally normal as bad.
And it depending on what you've got going on in your life where you are in your cycle. Actually, let me ask you that one, because that's in your wheelhouse of Femi. If you've got your period, how should we alter our running training?
Yes, So this is a bit of a difficult one because every woman is different. So you really have to understand how you as an individual who menstruates, how you're impacted by your hormones fluctuating across the month. So if you're someone who maybe suffers from PMS, which is the week before your next period is due, then pulling back the intensity of your training during that week can be quite beneficial. Some people have more symptoms throughout their period, and they might feel more fatigued, and they might feel really tired, and they don't want to be pushing intensity that week, So that's where I would say reduce the load then. But for me personally, I feel really good during my period, and I actually feel like throughout the first two weeks of my cycle, which is what we call the forollicular phase, where our hormones are both relatively low and then estrogen begins to peak throughout into our ovulation. I feel really good. So I kind of grew up with this like narrative of oh, you've got your period, like slow down, do some gentle yoga, or go for a walk. And actually during that phase for me is really where I want to go hard. So I'll be like, cool, got my period, I'm going to go and smash someone kilometer rips.
But everyone's different.
So start to learn how you're impacted by your cycle, and then you can actually just play with intensities and pulling your intensity back for one week of the month or it might be five or six weeks, no matter how long your cycle is. That is really beneficial. I think a lot of people kind of freaking ouping, like, oh, I reduce my intensity, I'm going to lose fitness completely.
Not true.
You will not lose fitness at all. It will actually be more beneficial for you because you're actually listening to your body and doing what's right for you.
Yeah.
Good, But if you do want to learn.
More about like cycle training and understanding your cycle, I have an audio guided run in the Nike Run Club app with an incredible physiologist called doctor Stacy.
I've done that one man, amazing vouch for the listeners.
Love it now.
We did talk a bit about this in Healthy Ish, but about strength training and running and how it helps. But if there's one gym based exercise to improve our running, what should we be doing? What would it be?
Probably super cliche, but squatts and dead lifts if I can add another in there, they're probably the two crucial forms of movement that you should be doing in the gym.
And I really.
Believe in heavy strength training heavy lifting, so not just doing high reps of maybe like a weight that doesn't feel extremely hard fear, but at increasing the weight, reducing the reps and really lifting heavy. So I believe that if we can withstand that load, it's going to build so much more strength and power and again prevent injury.
So spots and dead lifts.
If I can go to the gym and I have twenty minutes, I will just go in there and do squats and dead lifts.
There's something satisfying though about the dead lifting heavy. When you do a deadlift, isn't there?
It really makes you feel powerful.
And I'm not in love with going to the gym, but I love using the Nike Training clibat because it gives me the guidance and I don't have to think and it just tells me to go in and do this. But leaving the gym, I feel amazing, Like it's such an feeling. You just feel so powerful, and I think, particularly a woman, it's just yeah, it's a blessing.
Now I've got many more questions, but let me just just before we go, we have to wrap up. I've just got I have to ask you about the shoe thing. Should I own different pairs of shoes? I mean, you know, you read things that a certain pair of shoes should I do so many steps and I mean it's hard and they can be expensive.
Yeah, totally, they can be.
And it it's definitely not necessary to have multiple forms of shoes. There, I guess if you're racing and you want to have a particular race shoe compared to a training shoe, it can definitely help on race day to have a shoe that's really built for speed, like the Nike Vapor Fly or the Nike Alpha Fly, which has a carbon fiber plate and it allows you to run faster.
Whereas they're pretty epicture.
And very light, they really do make you fly.
But for training, using something like a Nike Pegasus forty one is an incredible tool because you're really able to do all different types of running in that shoe. It is by far my favorite training shoe because if I do want to do speed workouts in the training shoe, that's the shoe I'll reach for. It's light, it's responsive, it has Nike Air Zoom in it, so it allows you to move a bit quicker, and you can also wear that for long runs. You could also wear that for easy runs, and so having different shoes is definitely a nice to have. If you want to have something that's really build for a race day, I would suggest it. But also if you're someone who wants to have a staple training shoe for everything, I would be reaching for the Nike Peckers Is forty one.
What about the socks? This actually, this is another question for my producer. Every running shoe, every running shoe shop place tries to sell you running socks. Are they actually that important?
That's so funny because I think a lot of people underest to make the power of a good side.
I think this question.
Yeah, we put so much energy into finding the right shoe, which, don't give me wrong, is incredibly important. But if you don't have the right sock, then almost sacrificing you know, all the good things that come in the running shoes. So having the right sock is really important.
And I am.
A huge fan of the Nike Spark socks. I find them so comfortable. They're really like lightweighting thin that you don't even feel like you've got a sock on, particularly when you're racing and you've got a racing shoe on as well.
It's super light.
So yeah, I think put the energy into finding the right socks, it will definitely help protect your feet.
Yeah, absolutely. And are you what's your next race? What's next for you and your running story?
Well that's a great question.
I haven't put too much pressure on myself talking about goals and pressure and that I have.
Done too much of that this year. But I am looking to.
Race at the Auckland Marathon and a couple of week so not the marathon distance. I'm looking at doing something a bit shorter and faster, which I'm excited about. Fast for a while so yes, I'm trying to go into it with a very open mind, so this conversation has helped.
Oh good wells. Thank you also for training me for the half marathon. You got me there. I told I made it, I enjoyed it, I loved it, and I'm ready for the next one. So thanks for doing that as well.
Oh you did so well.
I'm so proud of you, and I can't wait to see you out there in twenty twenty five.
Oh yeah, oh yes, next year yep, and good luck in New Zealand. Thanks for coming on next to help you. We let Lydia answer just some of the many questions we got from you listeners. So we always need to get a back onto two Part two, don't we Hope she cleared up a few things for you, especially around the menstrual cycle. I always think that's an interesting well time for everyone when it comes to exercise. Make sure we also get on Femi. That's her own personal and outside of Nike, her own personal mission to educate more of us around well how to exercise and run around our menstrual cycles. If you did enjoy this chat, please rate and review it. Of course, we are open to suggestions for upcoming epps, just DM me at Felicity Harley, anything else, head to Body and soul dot com, dot you follows on socials, or of our print edition, which is out in your local Sunday paper and until tomorrow it STA Extra Healthy is