Dani's Journey

Last year Dani got in touch with us to help her to be accountable and train for the Three Bridges. We were fortunate enough for Dani to share her experience whilst settling into life in Fiji.

How/what made you start training with Running Evolution?

I signed myself up to a marathon and began training myself in early 2024.  I noticed I was not holding myself accountable to my training plan and I was making excuses to not push myself too far due fear of flaring my Chronic Fatigue.  I have completed Ultras prior to having children and before children, my body could complete impressive feats with little training.  I had in the back of my mind that my body was nothing that it used to be however my internal ego was taking over and I had adapted a bit of a ‘she’ll be right attitude’.

Three months before the marathon I had an endometrial laparoscopy (major surgery).  As I had completed a Cert IV in Fitness almost 10 years ago, I had great understanding of the importance of proper rehab before training for a large event.  My only issue was, I did not have specialist training for the rehab I needed and I am terrible at following my own programs – refer back to the accountability comment above.

I knew I needed help getting my pelvis and lower abdomen strength back and I wanted a Physio who specialised in female health to assist.

I met Lee though parkrun and saw how passionate she was about running.  I knew Lee had been training for a Marathon herself and when I found out about the amount of study she has put into her Physiotherapy career I knew she was the right person to get my post-surgery strength back.

Initially I hired Lee on a short-term basis to get my post-surgery strength back.  I quickly released Lee didn’t just focus on the physical rehab, Lee was different to other Physios where she made herself available for questions outside of appointment time (this was though the training plan I had subscribed to though Running Evolution).

When I felt that my post-surgery strength was at an adequate level I noticed that I was still making excuses about running, I also noticed that I was completing all the rehab work Lee had put in my program as it was achievable and I was feeling accountable for the exercises she gave me.  It made sense, if I wanted to complete a marathon, I needed a mentor.

What kind of training had you done prior to being coached by Running Evolution?

My training prior to being coached by Running Evolution was progressing slowly and I was only focusing on Long Slow Distant (LSD) running.  I had written intervals in my program however, I wasn’t holding myself accountable to my interval training and I was not putting enough effort into strength work.

Did you have a goal in mind?

My goal was to complete a marathon in less than four hours.

What kind of things did you have in your training program?

Running Evolution had four main elements in my training program that gave me a lot of variety and reduced my chances of boredom.

Elements were:

• Strength work – full body weight work broken up into different sessions. Sessions included upper body, lower body and full body.

• Long Slow Distance – Running long distances at a slow pace keeping the same pace the duration of the run – distances ranged from 10km to three hours.

• Interval training – running intervals with a mix of warm up, slow, fast, sprint and cool down running.

• Recovery running – running short distances at a slow pace a day or two after a long run to allow movement in joints and muscles and encourage blood flow with a low impact on the body.

Did your training go smoothly?

Training was going smoothly then one day I stood up from the couch after watching TV and felt a twinge in my hip.  The twinge was about 2 months before the marathon and with my she’ll be right attitude I thought it would go away.  I continued on with a few runs and the twinge progressively got worse.  Lee diagnosed the issue and gave me some physio exercises then readjusted my training plan. 

As my new training plan had me nursing my hip and a reduction in running, I began to stress that I would lose some of my hard efforts and I might not get my goal time.  Lee began to coach me mentally to assist with my negative thoughts which had become a huge issue with my obsessive personality.

Every week Lee would check in on my hip progress and either keep the program as it was or tweak it a bit dependant on my hips ability.

If it wasn’t for Lee’s understanding on my personality and her belief/calculated understanding of what I could physically achieve, I think I would have gone into my training quite cautiously after my hip injury and therefore, would not have performed as well on race day.

What did you like the most about it?

I liked that there was so much variety in the training program (weights, long runs, short runs) but my favourite component was interval training.  I have never been interested in interval training but every week I had a different interval program challenge which gave me heaps of variety.  I also loved giving myself different experiences of how my body recovered in the interval recovery sessions and that if I didn’t read the interval session properly beforehand, how much I stuffed myself over by not assessing my effort percentages properly in each effort or recovery component.

How did your race go?

My race went smoothly.  I trained in the crazy Darwin heat (mainly before the sun rose in the morning) then on race day in Sydney it was a perfect overcast 18 degrees.  The race began as a staggard start which meant I could start at my own pace and not dodge people or need to run at other peoples paces.  I was fortunate to run an event where I previously lived so I was familiar with the area.

I had a few minor hiccups along the way but nothing I would consider major.  My first hiccup was I was enjoying the run so much that I lost track of time and forgot to take one of my gels.  I had a gel plan that I was keen to stick to but I accidently took one gel about 30 minutes after I was meant to.

My next hiccup was I was enjoying my run so much I was running at a pace I think was slightly too fast for a marathon.  This meant, the last 10km felt very hard and I had to slow down a bit.  Physically and mentally though, I think I was doing better than several others at this point as I began to pass some people.

Amazingly, once I crossed the finish line, I found out I had beaten my time plus, I came in 13th position.

What are you planning next?

I am hoping to complete a half trail marathon.  I have moved to Fiji and the hills look amazing.  I love trail running so it makes sense to figure out when the event is and begin training – that should be mid year so I need to start training.

What would be your advice for someone training for an event?

• Start training early.

• Don’t compare your progress to other peoples progress or ability.

• Get a qualified coach to assist you through your training journey. 

• Get assistance (e.g. physio) when needed.

• Listen to your body and don’t overdo it.

• Find a program that works for you as you need to enjoy your training.

• Some people can be negative about other people’s abilities.  If someone is negative about what you want to achieve, move on from that person and find people who will believe in you.