Hello Plus Member and welcome to another Sunday bonus episode. How's your week been? Hopefully, it's been productive and you're feeling energised by that. I find that the weekend is really a time for me to recharge my batteries, even if that's simply getting on top of things, you know, over the week sometimes the house and the admin can get out of hand, but at the weekend, I've got a bit of time and space in order to get on top of things. And that makes me feel good. It sets me up ready to start a new working week. Normally, I take myself down to the gym as well at the weekend, do a little bit of exercise, get my body moving, which is always a relief if I've spent most of my time chained to the desk. And this weekend was no different. I went down to the gym, and I spent a few minutes on the treadmill. Now in London, this weekend, we had the London marathon and I have to admit, I'm always in awe of people who can run a marathon, even a half marathon. I just think it's really impressive and I would love to be able to do a marathon. It's something I always said as a youngster,"One day I'll run the marathon." Because it's, you know, it's the kind of thing that's right up my street. It takes a lot of work and dedication. And then you have to push yourself through the challenging event. And then it's done. And that's really my kind of thing. I love a challenge. I love working hard for an intense period of time and then it's done. That's my thing. But my problem is I have bad knees and now I have not very happy joints in my toes. So as an ageing woman, I just can't imagine myself ever being able to put my body through that level of stress. It's a lost dream for me, unfortunately, but I always am very impressed and intrigued to hear about other people's marathon experiences. Have you ever run a marathon? Are you a runner? The only time in my life I've ever been a consistent runner. And I say this, I feel a bit embarrassed, really. It's not really the kind of running that's like outdoors on the street. I'm talking about running on a treadmill or in my case, running around the deck of a ship. So, the only time I've been super, super, super fit in my life was when I was at sea working on the cruise ships, because my job was very physical, and I would often finish my big performances late at night and be filled with adrenaline because I've just performed. And though it was late, I just felt that I needed to continue jumping around. So, I'd head out to the gym. It was a tiny little room at the front of the ship, and I'd jump on the treadmill for about 45 minutes, and I'd do that on a regular basis. If we were somewhere like in the Arctic Circle where they have midnight sun and as I would step out onto the deck at 11:30 at night, if the sun was still shining and you had this beautiful ocean all around you, then I would do laps of the ship. I'd go around the deck, just run around in circles. That was quite dreamy. That was a really, really nice time in my life. So, the London Marathon this year was hailed as a glorious day by the London Marathon organisers. And they particularly enjoyed it because they raised more money than before. So, they surpassed their previous record amount. I think the last record was around 66 million and they raised more than that this time. So, there was that there was also a new women's only world record set by a Kenyan runner. I think there was also some standout performances from the male runners as well. And apparently, there was a quirky achievement set by someone dressed as a road vehicle. Because people like to dress up when they're doing the marathon and run dressed as these funny characters because essentially, it's all for charity. I always think that is real commitment to wear a full skin and run a marathon. But this year they had the fastest marathon. So, they had a new record set for someone dressed up in fancy dress while running the marathon dressed as a road vehicle. So, there we go. Interesting fact. So, I'm going to give you three idioms that are commonly used that include the word run. There isn't a strong link between the marathon and these particular idioms, but I thought it would be fun to include them. So, the first idiom is to hit the ground running. If you hit the ground running, it means that you start something and you proceed at a really fast pace, so there's not that period when you start something new, where you're learning, or you're just getting settled in. You kind of start as if you've been doing it forever. So, let's just imagine you start in a new job at a design firm. So, you're stepping in there as a designer. Now, if you are going to hit the ground running, then it means that you turn up on the first day, you already know what project you're working on. You know how to use the systems that they use, the software that they use to design with, and you know where everything is in the office. You know how to make a cup of tea. So, you go and make yourself a cup of tea. You sit down at your desk. You know how to log in and get access to all your assets and you can just start working straight away. That is hitting the ground running. What normally happens is you arrive on the first day, you need some level of induction. So, someone has to set up your password and your account. They have to show you how to use the software, where to find your assets. They have to show you around the office so you know, where everything is, all the facilities. So, normally you don't hit the ground running, but if something is important, then you might do work in preparation so that you can hit the ground running. The next idiom using run is to run out of steam, to run out of steam. Now this means that you lose energy or motivation because you've been doing something for a long time, and it's really drained you. So, you've run out of steam. I feel like this often at the end of a day, usually by about eight o'clock at night, I've really run out of steam. I'm a grafter. That's essentially the term that I use on a regular basis to describe myself. I am a grafter. I work hard and I put in additional hours and work at a fast pace. But by the end of the day, I really, really run out of steam. I just get to a point where I can't function. My brain just stops, my body stops, and it's hard to keep my eyes open. So, I'm mentally and physically exhausted. At what time in the day do you normally run out of steam? Next on the list is in the long run. In the long run. Now here,'run' is talking about time. So,'run' is the period of time. So, in the long run is an idiom that we use to talk about what happens or what will happen over a long period of time. So, it's kind of emphasising the eventual outcome. So, I could say to you,"Oh, I have been trying a new routine of getting up super early and going to the gym before I start work. It's been really hard this week. I feel tired. My body is hurting. My muscles are really sore. I think I've pulled something in my back. But if I keep it up, it will be good in the long run." So, the eventual outcome of doing this new activity will be good over a longer period of time. So, in the distant future, the outcome will be good. Or I might say to you,"You're drinking a lot at the moment. You're going out partying every night and that's okay occasionally, but if you do it every night, in the long run, you'll regret it." So, it won't be good over a long period of time. You will regret your decision to be a party animal. Right. Okay. So, those three idioms: hit the ground running, run out of steam, and in the long run. I do hope you found today's episode useful. If you did, don't forget to recommend The English Like a Native Podcast to a friend. Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.