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Lydia ODonnell

@lydiaodo

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Do as I say, not as I do ❣️
Co-Founder of @femmi
Nike Pacific Head Run Coach
@nikerunning

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“The narrative was just so wrong.”

After training for years just for appearance, Lydia O’Donnell’s health began to spiral.

Now she’s created Femmi to make sure women are educated to train in line with their hormones and to make themselves feel confident.

* Warning this episode discusses themes of eating and body image disorders

Comment either ‘Spotify’ or ‘Apple’ and we’ll dm you the link to listen on your favourite podcast platform. by @lydiaodo

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a year ago

This week I celebrate 10 years since I ran my first marathon. Melbourne Marathon in 2015. I was 25 and completely naive at what I was getting myself into. I have since lined up for 10 marathons but every experience has been completely different to the last. Every race I have learnt something new about myself that has helped me to become who I am today.

To be completely honest, I don’t think I have reached my potential in the marathon. I believe my capability in this distance has never come to fruition for me on race day. And I struggle with that often. Nothing eats me up more than seeing talented people who don’t fulfil their potential. But that is life. Sometimes we don’t quite get there, and that is okay. It is what we learn along the way that is most important, and that is why I wanted to share these lessons with you on a week of reflection.

The marathon has taken so much from me but given me even more. I am not sure if this is the end of road marathons for me, maybe. But I will have you know, it definitely isn’t the end of running.

I can’t wait to see the incredible community crushing it at @melbmara this weekend. If you’re racing, get excited!! It’s such an epic event and I wonder what lessons you all have in store for you come race day 👀 by @lydiaodo

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10 months ago

I feel like I’ve told my story plenty of times but I also understand the impact of spreading the message of knowing your body as a woman and what YOU need in terms of training and fuel. I know the power of educating women and rewriting the narrative that our appearance, weight and body fat percentage has something to do with our performance and results.

Because it doesn’t.

By going through these challenges I learnt what truly matters as a woman athlete - consistent fuel and consistent training. It’s the reason we started Femmi, why we wanted to spread sustainable training in line with your physiology to all women who run.

I don’t blame any certain individual for my challenges but I do blame the system. A system that needs to change and needs to finally be built for women too.

Shout out to the incredible @allie_ostrander for her real and raw openness to tell her story and for inspiring me to share my story again 🤍 by @lydiaodo

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a year ago

We all feel the weight of living up to other peoples expectations. The expectations to fit into the perfect little box that the world desires of us as women. We all have the voices in our heads telling us to do more, to do better. To be a certain someone or do a certain something.

I like to think of those voices as an advisory board in my mind, you can pick and chose which advisors you want to pay attention to. And then drown out the ones giving you bad advice.

Running is that state that helps you to figure out who the good voices are. It is the place we can go to learn that we don’t have to live up to anyone else’s expectations. And imagine the weight that is lifted when you realize that just being yourself as a woman is enough.

PS I would NEVER talk about losing weight or changing our bodies through exercise, so I hope you all were all appalled to see the words ‘lose weight’ on my page. You’re beautiful, strong and powerful just as you are. ♥️ by @lydiaodo

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4 days ago

Clocking and locking: Nike After Dark Tour Syd training has well and truly kicked off ❤️‍🔥

Signing up to the start line is the best first step, but investing your attention to get to that line feeling as confident in your body in mind as possible is where we go to from here.

I have been thinking a lot about limitations lately. The limits we have set ourselves on what is possible. The constraints we sub concisely live by because we think that is all we are capable of achieving. What if we dreamed bigger? What if we believed harder? What if that crazy, ambitious, unfathomable goal was actually in our reach?

Our limited beliefs are all personal and the best part about that, is we are in control of pushing those boundaries as far and as wide as we want. Why not believe that beyond your current goal post is something even greater?

The Nike After Dark Tour is here for you to reach further than you thought possible. And not because you want to win (although winning is always nice), but because you want to prove to yourself that in actual fact, limits only exist in our minds.

And what is even better than pushing our own boundaries? Doing that with an army of women who also know that the crazy dream is only crazy until you do it.

Who’s on the ADT dream team with me? Sign up to your training journey, follow the NRC Half Marathon Plan or for a personalised program, download Femmi today. taken in Sydney, Australia by @lydiaodo

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18 days ago

If only it was a 3/4 marathon 😤

In 2019 I spent over 6 months preparing for this race. My goal was to qualify for world champs. I had run a 2.39 and I had to run a 2.37 to qualify. I moved to the US for a training block, I went all in and I EXPECTED to come away with a goal ticked off. I knew I was in shape for a low 2.30 marathon and I felt so confident it was going to be an easy day out to get the qualifier.

I pulled out at 31km. What I learnt that day is running doesn’t owe you a thing and no result is guaranteed.

It broke me, stripping away what felt like my entire identity. I was pretty close to hanging up the shoes forever after that race.

Until I remembered my love for this sport. And my why, which goes far beyond race results or national teams.

Yesterday I had almost the exact same experience- pulling out at almost the exact same spot. But the difference? I was at peace with stepping off the course because I know race results don’t define me, and there is always another startline.

Plus I got a solid 30km tempo out of it 🥲 crazy what a perspective shift can have on your mental health. Just lucky to be able to put one foot in front of the other!

@goldcoastmarathon by @lydiaodo

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19 days ago

👀 @itsdohers

MARATHON 0 / POTS 1000

If I don’t laugh I’ll cry. This is my reality of living with POTs. These paces in training feel easy, and my body feels so good.

Here’s a run down of the common occurrence for me:
I start the race at a conservative pace that I know I am capable of holding on for a marathon. The first half is fine, quite fun actually. I feel like I’m intentionally running slower than I can go.

25km hits and I can feel my energy depleting.

By 30km I’m empty. Even though I’ve consumed over 200g of carbs. It isn’t the wall like most marathoners know it.

It’s the POTs hole that you’d only understand if you’ve been here too. And it sucks.

As much as I joke that I hate the marathon it is more like I hate the early finish line I’ve been finding myself at in the last few years. As much as I say I don’t care, I would give anything to feel like myself again in this sport.

I’m grateful I can still train the way I want to, just have to keep reminding myself it isn’t for the finish lines anymore. Just a test of my own limits on where I’m at today.

Thanks for the bib @ellaaaaaaaaa_______ ☠️
and thank you for all the support out there today and congrats to all the finishers! Especially my athletes who SMASHED their PBs. I would have to say I’m a much better coach than runner 😅😂 (at the moment anyway) by @lydiaodo

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21 days ago

I guess we’re running a marathon tomorrow 😤😩😅 thanks Ella, you’re gonna regret this.

@goldcoastmarathon by @lydiaodo

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22 days ago

June. You beauty. Turned 36 this month. What a privilege it is to age.

I was going to share everything I’ve learned over the past year, but then I scrolled back to a post from 5 years ago and realised... younger me had already said most of what I needed to hear (last slide).

Maybe that’s a lesson in itself.

The richness of your life isn’t measured by how much you have. It’s measured by your ability to notice the beauty in what’s already there.

Just don’t forget to take notice. by @lydiaodo

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a month ago

Spent my birthday weekend with @vogueaustralia ❣️at Vogue Codes: Optimism in motion.

Speaking on a panel for Vogue was never on my bingo cards. Never in a million years did I think running would lead me here. But after I spoke yesterday, the incredible @aussieastrokatherine took the floor - Katherine is the first Australian to qualify as an astronaut under Australia’s space program. No, not first woman, just first person ever. Katherine spoke about imposter syndrome and was asked how to combat that when you’re a woman working in a male led industry. Katherine said you’re better to take action and use the opportunity to the best of your ability than to be sitting there wondering why you.

Of course speaking about FemTech is my expertise, I’ve been in this world for over 5 years. But it feels surreal to be speaking on behalf of all women in sport about the importance of building space for us in the sports tech ecosystem.

I spoke about the need to make sport more inclusive for women, both digitally and IRL. The need for more female specific research and the risks of AI being built off a system that has never prioritized women’s health or credible and science backed research on our bodies. Lastly I spoke to the importance of community, and how the only way to make change is TOGETHER. A collective of voices is much louder than a woman standing alone.

Thank you @vogueaustralia
A core memory, a special birthday and an inspiring day to continue to drive for change for women everywhere. taken in Sydney, Australia by @lydiaodo

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a month ago

Justiiiiiiiiiiiin 💃🏃‍♀️🚰

❤️‍🔥Generations X, Y, Z all united by Bieber and the LOVE OF RUNNING ❤️‍🔥

Happy Global Running Day to all who celebrate.

Remember, life is about perspective. We almost turned around 1km into this run when the mud started to get annoying.... 25km later, it's safe to say we embraced it. There is no bad terrain, only bad attitudes.

Thanks for the cameos, Jesse Bieber & no-insta-Steve

#globalrunningday by @lydiaodo

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2 months ago

May. Let’s do it again.

Two races.
Lots of women led running events.
Many KMs.
Plenty of puppy love.
House build nearly complete.
And more black toe nails (for your sake, pic not included)

This month was all about progress over performance perfection. I’m enjoying being a novice in this sport of trail running and feeling like I’m in a constant state of learning. Thanks to all the beautiful people who have made the past month so special. Running has never been just running for me, and the older I get the more I realize how lucky I am to have found a sport that gives me so much life to my life. ❣️ by @lydiaodo

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2 months ago