Brian's Run Pod
Welcome to Brian's Run Pod, the podcast where we lace up our running shoes and explore the exhilarating world of running. Whether you're a seasoned marathoner, a casual jogger, or just thinking about taking your first stride, this podcast is your ultimate companion on your running journey.
Join us as we dive deep into the sport of running, covering everything from training tips and race strategies to personal stories and inspiring interviews with runners from all walks of life. Whether you're looking to improve your race times, stay motivated, or simply enjoy the therapeutic rhythm of running, Brian's Run Pod has something for every runner.
Brian's Run Pod
From Lockdown to Ultramarathon Merili Freear's story
Merili Freear shares her transformation from someone who hated physical education at school to becoming an ultramarathon runner, coach, and author who completed two 40-mile ultras and wrote a book about her journey.
• Started running during the first COVID lockdown in April 2020 to escape feeling trapped at home with her young son
• Completed her first marathon just five months after beginning running
• Learned to overcome injuries by combining physical rehabilitation with mental resilience techniques
• Discovered that running success depends more on mental strength than physical ability
• Obtained running coach qualifications to better understand proper technique and help others
• Used running as a way to improve mental health rather than for weight loss or external validation
• Published "Just Run: My Love for Running and How the Impossible Becomes Possible" to share her experiences
• Believes celebrating small wins is more important than comparing yourself to others
Don't get overwhelmed with advice - focus on enjoying your runs and improving one aspect at a time. It doesn't matter how slow or fast you go, you own that run.
Merili Freear Book - Just Run
Plus, we have a new feature on the podcast you can now send me a message. Yep you heard it right- Brian's Run Pod has become interactive with the audience. If you look at the top of the Episode description tap on "Send us a Text Message". You can tell me what you think of the episode or alternatively what you would like covered. If your lucky I might even read them out on the podcast.
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So you're thinking about running, but not sure how to take the first step. My name is Brian Patterson and I'm here to help. Welcome to Brian's Rompod. Well, hey there, runners and fitness enthusiasts, welcome back to another exciting episode of Brian's RunPod. I'm your host, brian Patterson, and today we've got a truly inspiring guest lined up for you Again at Brian's RunPod. First we have an author, and if you've ever wondered how to turn a challenging situation into an incredible journey, then stick around, because today's story is all about resilience, determination and the love of running. She has just launched her own book, just Run my Love for Running and how the Impossible Becomes Possible my love for running and how the impossible becomes possible.
Speaker 1:Joining us is Morelli Faria, whose running journey began in April 2020 during England's first COVID-19 lockdown. Since then, she's conquered thousands of miles, including two marathons, two ultra marathons. Originally from Estonia, morelli now calls rural Lancashire, England, her home, where she lives with her supportive family and her spirited schnauzer, jack. Running has become more than just a hobby for Morelli, and it's a way to maintain her mental well-being and push her own boundaries, her mission to inspire and empower others and to discover and unlock their full potential. We'll be diving into Morelli's incredible story and discussing her achievements and exploring how running has shaped her life in ways she has never imagined. So lace up those running shoes, folks, and get ready to be motivated. So welcome to the podcast Morelli, welcome to the podcast marilly, hello, everyone gets thank you for having me, brian great, that's fantastic really pleased to be here right, I just wanted to start.
Speaker 1:Usually with a lot of my interviews, I usually start from right at the beginning as to what sort of exercise was or what relationship you had with exercise growing up at school in Estonia yes, my, uh, my relationship with exercise wasn't very good.
Speaker 2:I, uh, I didn't like physical exercise at school. I really struggled with it and, yeah, I could say I even hated these classes. So you wouldn't think from there that I could ever become a runner. But as I got older when I was around 12 or 13, we started to go to aerobics classes with my sister and it was quite far away, so instead of taking a bus, we walked, and I'm a keen walker. To this day. I always love to explore new places when walking, if I can't run because now I also run when we go to holidays, anything like that. But back then, yeah, walking was the main activity, but we started to add a little runs to those. Walks went just out for maybe one or two miles and it was more like fair weather running, so if the weather was cold we didn't go.
Speaker 2:And we did it in all for the wrong reasons, mostly to lose weight and yeah but I have fond memories looking back to those runs with my, with my sister, late in my 20s I even took part of some of the races, but my running back then was really chaotic. I maybe signed up for the race because all the colleagues were going and in Estonia it's very much supported all sports by your workplaces and quite often you get either discounted entry or free entry from your workplace to go for those races. And then I did a few of them with colleagues and my training was mostly just going for a few runs a few weeks before the race and then after the race was done. Then I stopped and so I really didn't of myself as a runner. Because I was doing it more for the right reasons.
Speaker 2:I did it for my mental health, I did it to feel good. It was never an issue that I would run to lose weight or that I could have cake or anything like that, because I think a lot of people start running just to you know that they could eat more or anything like that, although if it works for them it's not wrong, but at the same time it might not be sustainable because you just don't do it for the right reasons. You don't do it for the enjoyment of it. It's more like a punishment.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, yeah, yes, exactly. I mean just going back to at school. I mean, is there kind of like a predominant focus within the curriculum at school in Estonia that you do?
Speaker 2:you know, you must do certain amounts of exercise a week or something like that, yeah, yes, there were, yeah, certain amount of exercise, but there was also, like you needed to run, like, let's say, 30 meters or 60 meters on certain time and and do it then. Then you get that, got the bad grade and and all right, so he's linked to your um.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your overall grade.
Speaker 2:I was, I was, I was a good student, I was an a student. But I got bad grade in in pe and it got me really down, because you know it's, it's, you have all a's and then suddenly your p is like c, so so it just doesn't come across.
Speaker 1:Or your average comes down, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because there were like things that I was able to get good grades but I was never good with running 30 meters or 60 meters or a high jump or anything like that. But I think it's wrong that these kind of activities are graded. I think it should be like everybody has their talents in different places. And so I think, it should be more focused on that. I don't know if it's any more like that because, well, I'm 42 now, so it was a long time ago, but at the time, yeah, that's how it was.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, but maybe I think it depends on the type of teacher that you have. I know when I was at school there was a teacher who was very enthusiastic about his passion for his particular sport and I think if you have someone like that, that kind of translates itself to whoever they're teaching. I mean, he was into basketball and we just love basketball and he was very good at it and that kind of thing, whereas you know I think that has a lot to do with it for me, I don't know.
Speaker 1:If they're passionate about something, then yeah, but if it's just kind of a bit you know I have to go through it then maybe it's not a good way of, let's say, getting you know the kids involved or something like that. It might be different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it seemed to be that a lot that you just go through the curriculum. And yeah, there were some activities that I enjoyed, but it was a lot of pressure, you know, to perform well, and if you just wasn't capable of doing it, then it's just. You know, not everybody can run as fast as it's required. So, moving on, I mean To this day.
Speaker 1:I don't like fast running.
Speaker 2:So I, oh do you, I much, I much rather would run 20 miles than quick 5ks oh my god.
Speaker 1:Okay, during covid did you feel that that your mental health suffered, or was it just like you said? Was it just something that you know? Taking up running was just something so you can get out of the house.
Speaker 2:At the time when I went for that first run, my son was. He wasn't even three yet. He was just going to turn three in a few weeks and I just felt that we were trapped in the house, we weren't able to do any of our normal activities and I felt really challenging. It was a challenging time because right now, looking back to it, you think that well, it wasn't that bad, but actually it was. It was. You weren't able to see any of your friends, any of your family.
Speaker 1:I know, I know.
Speaker 2:You had a lot of worry, unknown about everything and trying to explain for your nearly three-year-old that what's going on and why we can't go on any of those places that he likes, why we can't go to the playground, because you weren't even allowed to go to the playground to start with.
Speaker 1:so yeah, it was like um, I don't know, it's like a different time period whenever my wife and I we talk about it and it was like it was like a piece of it was like history which is you know, and you kind of like you know, you kind of existed through, you kind of went through it and you know, you look today it's it's so different, you know, it's very different it is.
Speaker 2:I must say that some of the good things came from that period as well yeah because I think people were forced to be more creative. You know, when the restrictions eased a bit, then we started to look more opportunities to explore the local woods and I spent hours every week with my son there and I thought it was like really good learning opportunity. We were able to talk about all the plants and you know it was outside.
Speaker 2:I was outside and a lot of those places if I wouldn't been forced to do it I might not never explored or discovered. So in that sense it was that good part of the COVID. And for me personally, I don't think if I wouldn't have been forced to go out for running that I would have started. Maybe I would, but it was the driving force and running has changed my life a lot and I have gained so much from it. So for that I'm ever so grateful. On the bad side of it, my father died of COVID.
Speaker 1:Oh right, I'm sorry to hear that he was 21, so it really did hit close to home yeah yeah, yeah, yes, that's right.
Speaker 1:That's right and also, in a way, it was quite a positive experience for you because so during COVID, I know, when I used to go walk around I was saying, yeah, maybe I should do a 10K program or the time to do it. Is that how it felt for you, that you know, you thought you could kind of explore not running just as an exercise but kind of as the sport itself yes, definitely, because I, when I looking, looking back to it and I I seem to have a lot more time to run back there than I have now.
Speaker 2:It's more trickier to fit it in. But then it was like I went out for an evening run and I felt that, okay, instead of six miles, maybe I go and do 10. And I could do that because, you know, I normally went when my son had gone to bed and so I didn't have to rush back, and during the summertime it wasn't dark or anything like that, and during the weekend runs I just went out quite early in the morning. So I just did what I felt was right and it felt really empowering, because I never seen myself as a sporty person and then you're suddenly able to go out and run quite good distances and it made me feel good. It made me feel that maybe I can do more things than just running, that if it's something that I never thought that I could possibly do, I'm able to do, then maybe it applies for the other areas of my life as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely gave me so in those early days did you find I mean your fitness kind of exponentially, you know, improve so yes, you know really quickly um it, it, it went really quickly.
Speaker 2:I'm I'm surprised at that, because first run I went out. I was dead slow, but uh yeah I run 4k, so it's it's. It's very decent distance for somebody who is not used to running. Yes, a few weeks before I actually went outside for running, I did some running on a spot and running on the garden, but that was like very little bits and that was just only for a few weeks.
Speaker 1:Right, okay.
Speaker 2:But still, 4K is quite a good distance, I would think, even if it's dead slow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you're nearly doing parkrun. And were you doing it just once a week? Or was it were you doing it a couple of times a week?
Speaker 2:To start with, yeah, I went a few times, and then I started to look into what I actually should be doing and then, well, I had this idea that maybe I could run half marathon, and so I started to look for for the plans for the half marathon.
Speaker 2:But a lot of the plans were just you have to run like four, five, six times a week, and I just felt that I can't really do that. So I found a training plan that required running three times a week, and so I started to loosely follow it. And then I just didn't listen to the plan and did a stupid thing and just went out and ran a half marathon, which I wouldn't really recommend because you could get injured and and yeah all those things, but at the time I I just felt that I really needed it and it gave me such a, such a boost because I yeah, it's, yeah, it's really stupid.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't recommend it to everybody else.
Speaker 1:But uh, were you? Because you use one of my favorite apps, runkeeper. I don't know. I like that app because yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 2:I used Runkeeper because I didn't have a sports watch back then and right and that that worked worked really well. So you know, when I run that first first half marathon, I I I didn't know much about the pace. I thought that it's giving me my kilometer or mile times, but it was actually my average pace that it was saying. I couldn't even figure out what it was saying, but you know, it's all the learning curve when you start.
Speaker 2:But you know, it's all the learning curve when you start. I think running community helped a lot because I joined Facebook groups and then you learn from there. Reading other people's posts, you could ask for some advice, and that definitely helped me to push forward and learn what I need to do.
Speaker 1:For me and I don't know. I was just thinking here that, because suddenly you kind of latched on to running, do you think there was kind of a void in your life that you needed to fill and then basically running kind of filled that void and you kind of.
Speaker 2:I think so because it was the time when I felt well, before I had my son. I worked as an internal auditor for 10 years. And after he was born, I briefly returned to work, but I Because it wasn't remote working back then.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:My travel times were so long, so it just wasn't doable, and so I kind of didn't want to go back to internal audit. I wanted to have some sort of career change, and so I think in a way I found it running, and then I just thought that I'm taking everything from it, that I have actually found something that I love and maybe I can do something more about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I didn't know what it was at the time was really helpful and did it kind of like, you know, because you had this thirst for knowledge. What were the, the main things? You kind of? You know that that they- kind of things.
Speaker 2:that I probably learned is I have a body that is prone to injury because I have hypermobile joints, so it means that my joints are a bit more bended and it's very common 30% of people have this condition but as a new runner, you kind of have to strengthen the areas where you could get over your injuries. I got runner's knee quite early on, but I'm really grateful that it happened because it forced me to look into what I have to do to avoid that. So I looked into strength training and I started to do like running drills and yeah, I uh I took this book here here because it has been really my running free of injuries Running free of injuries.
Speaker 2:It's a brilliant book. Maybe we could add it to the episode notes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll put it in the description. Yeah definitely. As well as your book.
Speaker 2:It's a brilliant book because for me, I can't run to the physio every time when I have an injury or something like that. But this book clearly explains what's going on, what I should be doing, what I shouldn't be doing, what kind of exercises I have to do to sort it out, and 90% of the time it does help. So I really believe into the books.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It has really helped me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but yeah, because I'm, I think, getting over the injury of they call it policeman's heel. I don't know if you've heard of that. It's plantar fallacious nails. It's basically when the bottom of your bottom of your foot suffers. Yeah. So I think maybe it's to do with either I don't know if it's my trainers or I kind of tend to overstride that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:So there are several things I from this book it could probably give, because I have a. I have an ongoing thing with my ball of the foot, which is not a planter, but the exercises are very similar, so I'm very much aware of what you need to do for that condition. So there are some exercises, I mean reading the book you're quite determined.
Speaker 1:When you do get an injury that you kind of run through it, don't you? Is that right?
Speaker 2:It is right, I'm very stubborn.
Speaker 1:Very stubborn yeah.
Speaker 2:Very stubborn yes on 2021,. I got an IT band injury. This was something that really crippled me for a long time, but instead of resting to start with, I pushed through because it wasn't hurting during the full run. It started from from certain distance, so to start it was after five miles, and then the distance got shorter and shorter and I pushed through for months. I did all the strength training and everything, and then I just didn't give my body a rest. And then I was beating myself up that why I'm not recovering, and I went to see a physio and she gave me another set of exercises and nothing really helped. In the end, I was really feeling down about it. And then again, I love books, so I sought help from another book. It's called Rebound. I have it in here again.
Speaker 1:Oh right.
Speaker 2:Rebound. Train your mind to bounce back stronger from sports injuries, and this one helped me to change my thinking.
Speaker 2:So, there were all sorts of exercises, like you know, injuries, swot analysis and all sorts of those kinds of things but the main thing that I took from that was that you should celebrate your small wins. So you shouldn't be comparing, like when you're injured and I'm going out and I'm maybe running 5k and I run it pain-free. So I shouldn't come back and say that that well, okay, I did that 5k, but I normally would have run a lot, lot faster and further, and well, that's not no good. Instead, I should come home and say I run 5k, I run pain-free and and you know, this is where I am right now and I'm really happy with my time.
Speaker 2:So, instead of comparing yourself with others or who you were in the past, just celebrate that present moment, and I think, even if you're not injured, it's something that is important, because we all have things going on with our lives, like maybe we are more tired, maybe we have more stress in our lives and maybe our running just doesn't go so well at that moment. And it's easy to compare yourself that maybe I run faster in the past or maybe that person runs so much faster, but you are where you are and you should celebrate that. Well, I did, well I went out. I did a lot more than those people who didn't. You're doing it professionally and you're a professional athlete. Then you have this kind of glitches that things may be not going as you want them to go. But just to remind yourself to be kinder to yourself and celebrate.
Speaker 1:So in that, you know, just to summarize, basically there is a link between the psychology and the physiology and it's kind of all rolled into one sort of thing. It's not just okay, I'll rest for, you know, a week, and then hope the thing gets crossed it gets better, sort of thing.
Speaker 2:No, it's not just that, because I remember this one run, when I was coming off from that IT band injury, I went for a run and then it was a bit draining and it was cold and then I felt that, oh, I think my knee is starting to hurt and instead of concentrating on that that I'm uncomfortable and everything that it might be hurting I started to think that, well, my knees are strong, I'm feeling good and it went. So it's a lot of fitness in your mind. I have done two 40-mile ultras and with ultras, a lot of it is a mind game as much as you have to prepare your body to do it.
Speaker 2:You, you have to prepare your mind, and I think you have to prepare your mind even more than than your body, because your body can do a lot more than you think. But your mind is the one that gives up. You says that you're're hurting, you're tired, you can't do it. But instead I have this set of mantras that I'm using.
Speaker 2:I ran my last ultra in May and I had really poor preparation because I had a few bouts of illness in February and March and until the week before I thought that maybe I'm not even going. But I decided that didn't finish would be better than didn't start. So I thought at least I will go and I will try and see what happens. And I did quite well, but I did have difficult moments during the run. Well, but I did have difficult moments during that run. But I kept saying to myself that I'm strong and I can do hard things and it pushed me through. And it definitely especially with that ultra. It proved to me that the mental game is as so much importance, because I think physically I shouldn't have been able to do it.
Speaker 2:But I got myself through my mind.
Speaker 1:Because people will say to you, or even physios and people who are medical, they'll say, oh no, if you carry on running through the injury you're going to create more problems for yourself and you won't be able to run, sort of thing. But just seeing what you're, you're saying is that you know, you know using the power of your mind and you know your mental focus can get you through, can get you through or can help you get you through it yes, obviously you.
Speaker 2:You if it's unsafe to keep running yeah, you shouldn't do.
Speaker 2:But but if it's, if it's, if it's a niggle, you have to just listen to, to your body, because I do a fair bit of cross training as well, because yeah yeah, if I, if I feel that it's it's not safe to to keep running, if I have some pain or niggle, and then I hop on the have indoor bike and and help on that and and that helps at least to keep my fitness up and and because I do cross train regularly. So if I do get injured, then at least I won't get repetitive injury from from cycling, because my body is already used to it and you're keeping your aerobic capacity up as well.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and I have learned to enjoy it. I didn't like it to start with, but I now quite enjoy it. I go outside with the bike as well, but the indoor bike is convenient because I can maybe do some online learning at the same time or, you know, watch my favorite episode, or something like that but also, I think the other thing is.
Speaker 1:One takeaway is, even just speaking to you is that when you get injured, it's a kind of way of your reinventing yourself. So when you do start again, it's like you're fresh. I don't know. Do you agree with me?
Speaker 2:Yes, I definitely agree with it, because I think injuries make you more resilient. You know that you can't take things for granted. You have to do things differently that it wouldn't happen again. You have to look through what you do for your warm-up, what you do for your cool-down, do your strength training enough, and just maybe you have to change your trainers more often or you learn from it. But it makes your mind so much more resilient because you know you can get through it and you can come to the other side and and be stronger from from it yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So moving on briefly is basically so you, you you've obviously really got into it, really enjoying it, and you're you think you're doing your half marathon. So what made you want to sort of take it, that next step? And because I know you're, you took up some running qualifications. Is that right?
Speaker 2:yes, I uh. Well, after after I got that I depend injury that I have spoken today, I felt that I needed to learn more about running, and more than I could get from internet and from books. And well, instead I could have just booked a session with a running coach. Instead, I thought that well, I would like to actually understand it myself, and so that was the driving force to wanting to become a running coach, to learn more about the running form and how to do it right.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Because I thought that then I can help myself, I can help others who might suffer similar things. And, yeah, somehow it happened, because it seemed something that again that I couldn't do, because to start with I started to look where I could do my mandatory bits for the training, because you need to deliver some sessions and I wasn't even a member of the running club at the time, but close to where I live there is a brilliant running club.
Speaker 2:I contacted them, I joined the club and with their help I was able to first get a run leader certificate I needed to do At the time everything was via video, so I had to do a session, take a video of it and send it to England Athletics and then we went through it during the session. And what I liked about running a coach course because that was actually face-to-face sessions so we were with a small group at Sheffield and on indoor track we did our sessions there was like learning as well, but I loved the practical part because there were a lot of people with a lot of experience.
Speaker 2:I was a new newbie, really, and I learned so much from those people and and I cherish that experience because it's it just taught me what to look out for, because one thing is when you, when you watch a video, and, and and you think that you know what you learn, but the other thing is to actually monitor other other coaches and and get feedback for your running, give feedback for their running, and, and it was. It was really good experience. As a part of the running coach training, I had to deliver session at my running club as well. I I'm somebody who worries a lot about things and find things.
Speaker 1:I did, so I'm the same.
Speaker 2:No, even doing the podcast. It's something that I worry about, but I think the more you do those kind of things and you place yourself into challenging situations, then more resilient you become yeah and I'm pleased that I did it, because I think it has taught me some important skills that I can use in like business life as well not not just running.
Speaker 1:Yeah I mean I totally agree with you because even I know in my things that I've done where maybe I failed at. I think you can learn a lot from that. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:You know, I know yeah.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's a little bit off topic, but I mean, I think you know, if you're not afraid to fail at fail at something you know you can find there are a lot of, it's quite empowering that you can learn quite a lot of things even from failure itself.
Speaker 2:So you, know, I think it's very, very much applicable to running, because if you, if you have, like your, your small goals, maybe it's to run your 5k and maybe you fail. But you learn from it and next time you do better. That's why it's important to track your runs and reflect back to them that you could learn from it.
Speaker 1:So is there any one thing or a couple of things that really spoke to you that you could take away from you know? Let's say, oh, I know that was one thing I learned or a couple of things, if it's just one thing, then it was the proper arm drive.
Speaker 2:Oh right, okay, yes, maybe I'm not doing that. Well then, I'm remembering that, focus on your arm drive. And even that just helps, because I'm focusing on that one aspect and I know my form is getting better. But the bad thing is that, after knowing the good arm drive, now I'm looking at other runners and then you kind of want to go to them and say that well, you should be doing it a bit differently, but I'm keeping it to myself, kind of want to go to them and say that well, you should be doing it a bit differently, but well, I'm, I'm keeping it to myself so I get a bit, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Lately I've been getting kind of a bit I I don't know it's confused or kind of very getting a bit stressed about sort of running, running technique. I mean you've just said you know about you're talking about running, about getting a proper arm drive, but I've been hearing a lot about you know just said you know about you talking about running, about getting a proper run drive, but I've been hearing a lot about you know cadence. You know you should be doing 180 or 170 cadence, that kind of thing. What are your opinion on that? What's your opinion on that?
Speaker 2:Well, I understand that. Yeah, ideal would be that if you have that faster cadence then you would be more efficient. But in reality there are a lot of runners out there that maybe don't have that ideal cadence and they do just fine. So you can try to improve your cadence. Maybe you use metronome or playlist that have like 180. But if it gets to that that it just makes your running as a show, that you don't enjoy it anymore, then I would say that other aspects of your running form are much more important, because you know my cadence is not ideal.
Speaker 2:But I do some exercises to get it faster. I do drills where I run around downhill as fast as I can, like hill sprints, downhill hill sprints, and then I recover to the top and that helps to get your cadence really up. So just to do those kinds of things. Or I do strides in the end of the run. So maybe I do a long run and then I do some some strides. It means like they're like maybe 100 meters, you, you run as fast as you could and then yeah, yeah cover and they can, and that's another thing that can help you get your cadence up.
Speaker 2:So so maybe just can do things like that, but in the end of the day, if your cadence is not ideal, it's nothing wrong because I know some watches.
Speaker 1:I think garmin have a sort of cadence yeah, and in fact, well, I have the apple watch but there is a cadence app on there so you can just sort of listen to the thing. So they're sort of a metronome. But do you ever get and I know, I, I, sometimes, you, well, you're, you're obviously you're being a runner and be a coach or whatever. But do you ever look at other people running and you're kind of analyzing them or you kind of look, I kind of look at other runners, you know, when they're running along and you're out with your family and that kind of thing, and then thinking, oh, I wish I could run like that. Or do they look? You know they look effortlessly, sort of thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all the time, all the time. It's like a curse after the running coach course that you just go out and when you see, even from the car window, the runners, that you're out there you look at how they're running in good form or bad form.
Speaker 2:I suppose it's not a bad thing because you learn from it, because my form is although I am a running coach, it's far from perfect and there are times when I run with better running form and there are times when it's not as great. But I have learned, especially during the past maybe two years, that enjoying your runs is is way more important, because I I mainly run for my mental health that you feel good and keep my thoughts yeah thoughts manageable and everything like that.
Speaker 2:So I think, um, if, if you, if you yeah start focusing too much of all of those aspects, then, and then the enjoyment goes, then that's, that's not a good thing either.
Speaker 1:So maybe just uh yeah, yeah, before it, before I move on to you know the motivation to to write the book, what I know I, when I do kind of interval sessions, um, I always find that because of the intensity I I kind of get that you know runners high to the end of it. I mean, is that the same with you or you know doing interval sessions? I know I think before we started recording you said you weren't a big fan of speed work, but I, I, I do do interval sessions because, yeah, you do, you do get that.
Speaker 2:I I like my little hill sessions because I know that they make me faster and and it's it's, it's, it's rather challenging to do them as well. Yeah, that's true, I'm not a fan of fast running, but intervals are a bit different because you have a bit time to recover.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So you don't have to go. You know everything that you have for 5K. You do a little bit, you have a bit of recovery and then you go again. So it's more manageable. And plus you know that however many intervals you have planned to do, like if those eight ones are done or if those 12 ones are done, then then you're done and you can just chalk yeah, but and also I think from mental for, from a from a mental point of view and sort of you know, improving your determination, I think they're brilliant.
Speaker 1:I mean it's not just about you doing getting faster, but I think it's great because you know, it's like you know, even on a treadmill, I think the treadmill is great. I mean, treadmills, doing normal runs on treadmill is terrible, but to do a dental session on treadmill, I think the treadmill is great. I mean, treadmills doing normal runs on treadmill is terrible, but to do a dental session on treadmill, I think that's great. Do you agree?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree because treadmill is good. I'm just looking on the side because I'm just sitting next to it.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, you said you've got your own treadmill.
Speaker 2:I remember you saying in the book yeah, I have a treadmill and an indoor bike. My husband mostly used a treadmill, but I do use them for some of the interval sessions because I, like you, can do that hill part as well on a treadmill, like treadmill hills. Yeah, I definitely agree with that. It builds the resilience because yeah, that's right it was a hard it's. Uh you, you kind of get that same effect like you would run far, but it just comes.
Speaker 1:That hard comes not sooner yeah, and I I really admire you because I know you're in the book. You were really good at just leaving your watch behind and just going out and just running, and either you were going to run, let's say, from lamppost to lamppost, that kind of thing. I I find that really difficult, I would really difficult to do. It's like oh no, I haven't logged my run. How did you find that?
Speaker 2:until some point I I was a strava user. Well, have an account, but I don't record my runs there anymore. And I found it really freeing, because before I was worried that I have to kind of explain myself that I had a bad run or I just didn't run or something like that.
Speaker 2:But then it doesn't matter, you just go for the well. I don't do those kind of runs where where I leave my watch behind or I I cover my watch very often. But I went for one of these this morning because I I had a difficult run on Sunday and I I found really difficult to motivate myself and and I felt kind of like I'm a runner who doesn't like running suddenly, and so today I thought I will do it differently.
Speaker 2:I didn't take my phone, I didn't take any music, it was raining, and so I just went because I went for my usual route, where I pretty much I know how far I am from because I have done it so many times. Anyway, and I really enjoyed that run. I got home I was soaked from the rain, but it was really enjoyable run and I don't mind that it's not recorded on my car or anything like that, because does it matter?
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 2:All of the Strava users. But it is difficult to get to that stage because I was like that I was recording everything and when I made that decision it definitely freed me yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And also I mean I think when I look to my I'm not a very quick runner or whatever, you know. You look at your past pace it's roughly the same, you know it's it's not going to change or whatever. And then, well, maybe you kind of just look at we know you've done before, either, whether it was a tempo run or an interval session or that kind of thing. So it's not going to change a lot. So at the end of the day, and but um, and the other thing what was it going to?
Speaker 1:say, I was going to say something else, but I forgot what it was. I think it'll probably come back to me in a minute. So then you've got all of this experience and you think, hmm, I'd like to write a book about it. So was that something that kind of you had this revelation overnight, or was it something you've been thinking about for a while?
Speaker 2:overnight, or was it something you'd been thinking about for a while? Well, I kind of wanted to write a book since I was a teenager, but I never thought that I could actually do it. It was never the right time, or I didn't have anything to write about. And then suddenly came that running. I started running. I ran my first marathon five months after I started running and it seemed something that well, it's impossible Me who didn't get along at school with physical education and then I'm suddenly running a marathon. And and then I'm suddenly running a marathon. Well, I ran my first marathon and it was less than five hours, so I thought, for somebody who is for the first marathon, it wasn't that bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Especially running solo and with heavy winds. So I felt that I want to write about it and initially I thought that maybe it will be a blog post although I didn't have a blog, but I thought that maybe I could write to somebody else's blog or something like that. And so it started to evolve. From there I started writing and then I went for the runs and then during the runs I got some brilliant idea and then I came back and wrote it down and during some of the runs I just recorded those ideas on my phone just speaking to my phone that I wouldn't forget what brilliant revelation I had during the run. And so that's how it evolved. The beginning took a while, but my book evolved with my running, so as I was writing it, then I went for the next goals and to start it, I thought that I will finish with my second marathon. Then I thought that I finished with with my first ultra. And well, I still didn't finish that. Yeah, it's just evolved over time because I thought it's quite inspiring.
Speaker 1:This was right. At the beginning you said you kind of wrote, you kind of set a goal as to how many words you were going to write and that kind of thing. Yeah, and then so over. You know, was that easy to get into a rhythm of you know writing, you know were you doing, were you recording it or you know, and then you type it down, or type you know, write it down, or how did you do it?
Speaker 2:To start with I opened like a private blog for myself without anybody having access to it, and so it gave me easy option to if I had like a topic maybe I just had a title and then I wrote whatever I had on the topic. And then I had another topic and I wrote a little bit again, and then at some point I became more systematic. I copied them all in a Word file and I tried to build up my book structure and build in the gaps and then I started systematically work on it.
Speaker 2:I think at that stage, because I have been working as an internal auditor for 10 years, it kind of reminded me of the structure of writing an audit report, because that one has all sorts of structure as well. That means that you have to write.
Speaker 1:I do want to tell you something is that internal auditors were the bane of my life and in a job that I used to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can imagine. I kind of see that myself now.
Speaker 1:Anyway, yes, carry on. Sorry, I was interrupting.
Speaker 2:It's all right, so yeah, so I started to systematically work on it and a lot of work went into during the past year when I hired an editor and she did a manuscript appraisal for me as a first thing. And yeah, the book that went for manuscript appraisal was 52 000 words and and we ended up with 66 000 words wow so it's and how long did that take?
Speaker 2:well, she did the appraisal, you know, gave her feedback and you know her ideas where I should expand, and then I worked on it for the next few months and then she did, then she edited it. So, yeah, it's from November to March roughly.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay, that's impressive yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was working hard, but Especially over Christmas.
Speaker 2:There was definitely something that pushed me forward because, although I had some friends and family who had read my manuscript, but having somebody whose job is to recommend things and say that where I should expand it's not better because it's it's more work goes goes into it than than just from from the friends and family's feedback. Although that was all very useful as well, because, as as an author, you could often overlook some inconsistencies because you're so used to your text. So it was definitely helpful that friends and family read it first.
Speaker 2:But yeah, yeah I'm ever so grateful for my editors, yeah so did you?
Speaker 1:um? So were you saying with, did you kind of build the structure first and then you kind of like fleshed it out or did that kind of organically?
Speaker 2:so, yeah, I, yeah, I first wrote those small bits and then I built the structure and and added those small bits to that structure and then, uh, then I just tried to expand and maybe I had already a chapter title and then I wrote the chapter and so it wasn't written like from the beginning to end.
Speaker 1:No, it was written here and there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but that's how it worked for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I think when you're busy and you can have time to do maybe little bits at a time, that's what works works the best.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, yeah also gives you a bit of that sorry and also it kind of gives you know kind of an overview of the of the book itself as well, are you thinking of writing a book? No, well, there is a saying, there is a very famous saying of you know, there's a book in all of us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's, it's difficult, it's not easy.
Speaker 1:I I can't lie, but it's it's first in them yes, I mean, you know I wasn't, I didn't do very well at school, so you know. But then again, you know your, your story is quite inspiring because you know exercise and running were you, it wasn't natural to you and you have. You know you've. You know it's become a hobby for you. You've written about it, you know you've, you've sought to gain knowledge professionally about it. So you know it's amazing how that's kind of turned around. Thank, you.
Speaker 1:So, and do you think you will write another one?
Speaker 2:Yes, I actually have plans for another one. I have started the file, but I haven't got very far, so it will happen. It might be a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:When I first finished I thought that never again. But then I got this idea and I just couldn't let go.
Speaker 1:All right, okay, this idea, and I just couldn't let go. Oh right, okay, okay. And do you think, because you've gone through a process of you know, you've gone through the process of writing a book, you do, you think, you do things differently, you know when you if you do another one again.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely some things will be easier because I know now what I need to do, as with this one, it has been a deep learning curve. Self-publishing is difficult and learning all about all the different platforms and what you should be doing, and what time and and everything like that. It's it's. It's not made easy for self-published authors to to compete with traditional published authors, but it's possible, yeah you have to learn a lot to to make it happen.
Speaker 2:It definitely will be easier second time and that's also in this world of you know people, you know YouTube videos, and you know people you know watching movies on screens and whatever you know it is quite a welcome sight that you know people can take a book and then read and gain from that yeah, I, I personally really love reading, so so it's um, I think if if there wouldn't be coming new books out there because of the movies and people's short attention spans yes, that's true, that's true, that's true because I I still appreciate the paper book. I rarely read on Kindle, but I prefer the paper.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. Well, I mean we're coming up to the end of the podcast. I'd just like to say a big, big thank you for coming on the podcast. I'm eternally grateful and really privileged that you've come on. I thought it was a wonderful, wonderful book and I was like to say to anyone list, anyone listening, please do go and buy it Wherever you can buy it you know, amazon or whoever.
Speaker 2:And is there anything, any links, you'd like to promote or Um, it would be great if, if, if readers would, if they would like to follow me on Instagram. My handle is merilyruns, do you?
Speaker 1:have a website.
Speaker 2:The book is available on Amazon. It's also on Apple Books, google Books and Barnes. Noble, brilliant, so check it out.
Speaker 1:I just got a couple of things I'd like to ask you. Is there any one piece of advice you would give to new runners?
Speaker 2:What I would say? That with all that advice out there, don't get overwhelmed. Just focus on one piece of advice at a time. So if you want to improve your running form, don't take every aspect of it all at once. Just maybe ask a friend or a family member, take a video of you that you could go home, look back to it yourself and maybe just choose one of things. Maybe it's my favorite arm drive, Maybe it's how you hold your head or feet.
Speaker 2:Just focus on one thing at a time and it will get you results. Don't forget to enjoy your runs.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:This is the most important part, because if you're getting too stressed about all that running form, cadence, pace and you should be doing this and that don't focus any of it. Just go there and feel good, and it doesn't matter how slow you are, it doesn't matter how far you go, you go out and you run and you run and that's all that matters. So don't compare yourself with others. You own that run.
Speaker 1:Important lessons.
Speaker 2:You can do what works for you, so you can do it.
Speaker 1:And do you have a sporting icon, Someone who you look up to, either in running world or whichever any sport?
Speaker 2:I haven't even thought about it like that. There are many runners I admire, but because I'm currently training for 100-miler, I see anybody who has ever done that distance is an icon for me. It seems something so unattainable, so big. So for me that person who I would admire wouldn't have to be that top athlete, doesn't have to be Scott Jurek or Rich Roll, who I do admire a lot, but I admire those regular people who have done extraordinary things.
Speaker 1:Great. I think that's a great place to stop. Okay, I'd like to say thank you very much again and, as I said, if you follow the links I'll put in the description, then I'll put a link to your book as well, and also some of the other books you've talked about today. But it's brilliant.
Speaker 2:thank you very much thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.
