Ep. #400: Mid-Life Pivots

Welcome to the Not Your Average Runner podcast. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running coach, and your running BFF here to help you start running. Feel confident and love the journey no matter your size. Now, if you’ve ever felt like you just weren’t meant to be a runner, think again. I believe that running is for all bodies, even yours.

This podcast is your warmup buddy, giving you tips, motivation, and the support you need to lace up and get moving. I’ve helped thousands of women become runners, and now I wanna help you. Let’s go.

Hey, hey runner and welcome back to the show. Before we dive in today, I wanna quickly tell you about not your average 5K. It is my six week training program for plus-size women who wanna become runners, even if they’ve never really done anything like this before. It is built for midlife pivots. It is built for starting over.

It is built for women who have spent years putting everyone else first and are finally saying, all right, now it’s my turn. We start Monday, July 14th. I would love to coach you through your first 5K. All you have to do is head to not your average runner.com/ 5K class to sign up, or I have put a link in the bio for you to make it easy.

Okay. Now onto the show. Well, my friends, this is episode 400. Number 400. What is happening? We are actually not gonna focus on running today. I wanna do something a little different, um, in honor of this very auspicious occasion, 400 episodes. That number really kind of blows my mind. When I recorded the very first episode of this podcast, I had no idea if anyone would listen.

I knew that there were women out there plus size women, midlife women, women who’d been told their whole lives that they didn’t belong in running spaces. And I, I knew they were out there and they needed to hear a different message, a message that wasn’t run faster or lose fate weight first, or maybe walking would be better for you, right?

Um, that they needed to hear the message. You belong right now in the body that you have, and 400 episodes later, that message has not changed. But I have, and the thing about doing something 400 times, whether it is podcasting or showing up for a walk or trying to paint a portrait, um, is that somewhere along the way you change, you look around and you realize, this is not where I started.

Um, and maybe it’s not even where you thought you were going. But it’s where you were meant to be. And in the last couple of decades, I’ve made a lot of pivots. I pivoted from corporate life to running my own business. I pivoted that business. Twice in the past 12 years, um, and I have gone from hiding to showing up very boldly and from running a business to starting something completely new in addition to that business.

And that is writing a mystery novel. Yes, that is correct. I am writing a book. A lot of you probably already know this ’cause I talk about it all the time, but I’m writing a whole damn mis murder mystery. About a plus size runner who solves a murder. And I’m loving every moment of that experience. But this was not part of the plan back when I started.

Not your average runner. And even back, you know, 20, 25 years ago when I was a chemist working for a pharmaceutical company doing the thing I went to college for. Right? But. What happened was, I got curious. I started, you know, 20, 25 years ago, I started getting these little voices in my head saying, what if, what if we did something different?

Is this what you were meant to do? Is this what you want to do? And I started. Just kind of leaning into it and saying what could happen? What? What would happen if I tried something different? I did try a couple other side hustle businesses before I started, not your average runner. I. Okay. I, my pivot did not happen like overnight.

Like one day I was corporate girl and the next day I was running coach. Right? That pivot took some stops and starts some false, starts some misdirections before I really found the path. But it all started with me saying, what if I tried something different? And then I tried it. And I think midlife gets kind of a bad rap.

People talk about midlife crises, like there’s something to be ashamed of. And I don’t even think it’s a crisis. I think, you know, in midlife you start thinking, okay, well I’ve lived probably half of my life, you know, I think that’s where I was. Uh, in my mid forties, I was like, I’m probably halfway through.

And I just started taking a look around and saying, I think I want more. I want more joy. I want more purpose. I want more me. And that’s not a crisis. That’s a wake up call. That’s power. That is you coming home to yourself. And I work with women every day who are in their forties, fifties, sixties, and beyond.

Women who have raised families, built careers, cared for everyone else, and they’re now asking. What about me? It’s not too late, my friend. You’re not too old. What about you? You are just getting started. So here I am, episode 400. We started this podcast on, I think the first episode dropped on January.

January something two. It was January, 2018, so we’re seven years in and episode 400 doing something I never would’ve imagined two decades ago. Uh, I, it never would’ve occurred to me when I first started thinking, and I wouldn’t have even called it a pivot way back when. It was just more of that little inkling of, what if I tried something different?

No way could I have imagined that I would’ve written three books about running, that I would have, um, coached thousands of women that I would’ve opened a personal training studio for plus size women that I would’ve done 400 episodes of a podcast. I never, ever would’ve imagined that. In the beginning when I started asking those questions of myself, um, maybe way back when, if I had had an idea of like, this is really what I wanna do with my life and it’s not working for this company, then maybe I would’ve.

Been able to imagine this, but I didn’t have an idea, but I just started saying, what if, what if, right? And so, again, here I am, 400 episodes later, running a business, write writing fiction, which is definitely something I never could have seen myself doing, starting a whole new podcast about books, by the way, more about that later.

Stay tuned the, the first episode of this podcast. Comes out on September 4th. My book Bestie and I are starting it together, and I will definitely update you when we are ready to start making more announcements. But I think. You know, what is most fun about the pivot, about the, you know, the, the things that we do in midlife is letting yourself be new at something.

Again, it’s, first of all, it’s messy, it’s vulnerable. It is exciting and terrifying. And sometimes I wonder if I’ve completely lost my mind. I don’t think I have. Um, but it is, it’s very messy and it’s very vulnerable and it’s, I’ve told so many people that I’m writing a book ’cause I kind of felt like if I told.

Everybody I knew that I was writing a novel and told them what it was about. Then people would ask me about it and I would have to write it. Well, people do ask me about it all the time, and they’re like, how’s your book going? When can I read it? And I’m just like, I’m in the messy middle of it right now of like really learning how to be a fiction writer, which is very different from writing podcast episodes and writing nonfiction books and writing emails.

It’s totally different skillset. I’m trying to teach it to myself on the fly and I’m trying to be confident, but it is, it’s a messy process and so it’s kind of fascinating to watch myself be new at something and. Have people ask me about it and have to be vulnerable and say it’s going, I’m struggling a little, but I’m enjoying it.

But you know, I’m learning and, and to not be my normal, confident self and to just kind of be like, ah, I’m just sort of figuring it out. We’ll see what happens. But honestly, I really wouldn’t trade this for anything. And I think the beauty of the pivot, right, is. Is that it doesn’t erase what came before.

It builds on it. You, you actually don’t have to burn it all down to start over. And as a, as a person who’s been very, uh, enmeshed in the online business world for many years now. One of the things that like online business coaches will tell you is like, you just gotta burn it all down and start over. And I, I think that’s terrible advice.

I think it’s actually really good advice if you’re gonna pivot it. Pivot doesn’t mean. A 360 a pivot. A pivot is a change in direction. It is not, uh, not 360, it’s not a 180. Right. A pivot is a, a change in direction. I guess it could be a 180, but I, I think this concept of like, you have to start over again is bullshit because you have so many experiences as a, as a woman in midlife, you’ve got 40, 50, 60 years of experience on wish to build.

To launch your pivot. Right, and, and I think, you know, for me as a business person, my 20 years in corporate America. Helped me build my own business. I, I mean, I was not running the business, not running GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, but I learned a lot about systems and things that helped me run my own business.

So I’m babbling here a little bit. I’m getting a little vulnerable and awkward because I kind of feel like that’s what this episode is about, but I, I kind of feel like. API don’t regret what I did before. I don’t regret working in corporate for so many years. I don’t regret starting a personal training studio.

I don’t regret becoming a running coach. I don’t regret any of those things because each of them has led me to the next phase of my life and I feel like my life just keeps getting better and better. Every year. It’s so fun. So you, when you pivot, you can say, I am proud of what I have done and I’m also ready for what’s next, and I’m ready to pull forward what’s useful and leave behind what’s not.

Now this would not be a podcast without a list. I love my lists. So if you are feeling the pull, the pull to make your own pivot, whether again, whether it’s a huge turn, even a 180 or it’s just like a slight change, of course. Whatever it is, here are three kind of pieces of advice that I have learned that, that I have used as I have made each of my pivots.

And the first one is, stop waiting for permission. Stop it. Nobody’s gonna tap you on the shoulder and say, okay, you may now go chase your dream. There’s no like magic wand that somebody taps on your head and kaboom, you are given permission, right? If you’re waiting for the kids to be grown or for the job to calm down or for your body to look a certain way, like that moment, it might never come.

It really, it really might never come. You might have grown kids that have decided they’re just gonna stay and live with mom and dad forever, right? So decide that you don’t need permission to want something more. You, you just get to want something more and you get to take action on it in whatever way makes sense for you right now.

All right, so stop waiting for permission. Number two, let it be messy. I say this all the time to my runners. With their training. Let it be messy. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to have a five year plan or a color coded spreadsheet. Those things are nice. I love a good color coded spreadsheet, but you don’t need it.

Right? Your pivot might look like baby steps, detours, the occasional ugly cry. Ed is completely normal. In fact, if you pivot and you don’t cry at least once, I’m like. What is, what kind of magic sauce do you have to make it so easy? Right? Pivot’s not easy, okay? Let it be messy. The only thing you do need to do is be willing to try and willing to keep showing up no matter how many times you fail.

Now, number three is start small, but start now again, you don’t have to burn your life down to make a change, okay? You wanna become an author? Write for 10 minutes a day. Yes, it’s gonna take you a while to finish your book. Who cares? Right? There is no time limit. So start small, but start now. Maybe it’s going for a walk and saying out loud, I am allowed to want more.

I am allowed to want to be a runner. And then maybe you sign up for a 5K even though you feel terrified and unsure and you’re like, let’s just see what happens. Okay, big pivots begin with small, brave choices. So maybe your next pivot is writing a book. If it is, I love this idea for you. Maybe it is starting a business, maybe it is moving to the woods and raising goats.

I don’t know if you do that, let me know. I love goats. I would come and help you feed them. Um. And I would come and help you bottle feed them when they’re little babies ’cause that is super fun. I did that once. Loved it. Loved it. Highly recommend. Anyway, getting off track again. Maybe your pivot starts with something as simple as signing up for a 5K.

I for real here. ’cause running isn’t just about fitness, it is about showing up for yourself in a way that says, I matter, my time matters, my goals matter. Alright, so if your pivot is running, awesome. Because you matter, but whatever your pivot is, you matter. Your times matter, your time matters, and your goals matter.

A pivot is, you can think of it like a little bit of a reset button, a declaration, a door into a different version of you. I think. Um, do another little shameless plug here that not your average 5K is that door and it is open. Right now we start Monday, July 14th. All right. You don’t have to be ready. You just have to be willing, my friend.

So head over to, not your average runner.com/ 5K class. We’ll do this together. And I, if you are in a pivot, I don’t care what your pivot is, I wanna know, find me on Instagram. I’m at not your average runner, just like. Tag me on a post and be like, girl, I’m pivoting. Here’s what I’m doing. Let me know. I wanna, I wanna cheer you on.

All right. And I will be back next week. I have not pivoted off of this podcast anytime soon. I’ll be back next week with episode 401. All right? Get out there, get your ass out there and run my friend, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Real quick before you go, I’ve got a fun challenge for you. Take my exerciser personality quiz to find out exactly what kind of exerciser you are and how to make running feel easier and more enjoyable.

Just head over to not your average runner.com/quiz to take it and get your results. That’s not your average runner.com/quiz.