Ep #36: Getting Over Your Fears About Running with Suzy Rosenstein

Welcome to The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. If you’re a woman who is midlife and plus sized and you want to start running but don’t know how, or if it’s even possible, you’re in the right place. Using proven strategies and real-life experience, certified running and life coach Jill Angie shares how you can learn to run in the body you have right now.

Hey, rebels, you are listening to episode number 36 of The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. I’m your host, Jill Angie, and today I am speaking with Suzy Rosenstein who is a fellow life coach and also a woman who’s decided to add running to her life. And you know how much I love that.

So today we’re going to talk about why Suzy wants to start running, what her fears and concerns are, how she’s going to get started, how she’s going to stick with it, and the best part about this story is Suzy is actually a master certified life coach. And she herself is on a mission to help frustrated midlife working women get really excited about their lives again.

She has a podcast called Women in the Middle, where she interviews tons of women who have made those life changes and shifted from feeling frustrated and unfulfilled to feeling unstoppable. And in Suzy’s life, running is one of those things that she’s wanted to implement for a really long time and she’s been struggling to do so.

So she’s an amazing coach. She’s personally helped me get through a lot of my own blocks, and I am super excited to be able to help her get through her block over running and really embrace it and make it part of who she is. So without further ado, here’s Suzy.

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Jill: Hey there, this is Jill Angie from The Not Your Average Runner Podcast.

Suzy: And Suzy Rosenstein from Women in the Middle.

Jill: So Suzy and I are here in my office, in the Rebel Runner headquarters, and we are recording together to bring you just a really, really fun series about running and being in your 50s and all the scary things that come along with that. So Suzy, why don’t you start by explaining what exactly we are doing.

Suzy: Well, you guys might – for my audience, you might know Jill because she participated in an interview a couple of months ago about somebody who did a really scary thing, left her pharmaceutical sales job and went on to become a running coach, and that is why we’re here today. I am a person who’s been fascinated by Jill and her community. I have been lurking and I have been wanting to be a runner, or at least somebody who did something other than walk for quite some time now. So as a woman in the middle, somebody who has just turned 55, I thought it was time to put my money where my mouth was and do something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time but was a little scared to do it.

Jill: And so Suzy and I have been – we’ve kind of been having a slumber party this week. Suzy’s staying at my place while we’re both at a podcast convention in Philadelphia, and we thought what better time. Tomorrow she’s turning 55, what better time to like, kick off her running career but during this auspicious event. And by the way, if you guys aren’t listening to – so this is for my listeners. If you’re not listening to Suzy’s podcast, tomorrow – is it tomorrow?

Suzy: Tomorrow.

Jill: Tomorrow is the one-year birthday of her podcast, Women in the Middle, so please go check that out. But yeah, so we are going to start tomorrow morning. Suzy’s going to go for her first run, but tonight we’re actually going to talk a little about, you know, what that means to her and why she’s choosing to do it now, and what her expectations are and we’re just going to get into all of that. So, to start with, Suzy, I want to ask you why you want to be a runner. Like, what is it about running that makes you want to get started?

Suzy: Well, and what makes me want to be so vulnerable and share it with you guys.

Jill: That is an important question.

Suzy: Yikes. Okay, well, one of the reasons I’ve always been fascinated about running is because it’s such an accessible activity. So you really don’t need to spend a lot of money on equipment. You just need a good bra and some good sneakers and you’re pretty much good to go. So that’s one of the things I always find is such a barrier. If you want to try a new thing, you have to get the right clothes and you got to get the right equipment and you got to join the right gym and make sure the classes all line up. So I like that running is a potential activity that you can just do on your own with limited funds. So that’s something that’s appealing, and I think it might be something that – one thing I’ve learned lurking about in Jill’s community is that you don’t need to be like a marathon runner to be a runner. So I like the idea that I can kind of find my own speed. And it might be – I’m hoping that it’s an activity that I can do for a long time. So I think those are the reasons.

And I’m looking for something where I can limit the number of excuses I have and I really wanted to talk to women in the middle about this because I know sometimes when you listen to podcasts and you find people that you want to learn from and be inspired by, it seems like they’re perfect, and I just want you to know that I am not perfect. I am working also on being a woman in the middle who’s being future focused and living my best life and being very intentional. And I have not been happy with the way I had this idea of something I wanted to do and I can see that some fears and thoughts and things are getting in the way from doing it. So that’s another reason I did want to just share it and at 55, double nickels, I just want to really do it. Just finally do it.

Jill: I love that so, so much because I know that there’s – I mean, you’ve been in the Run Your Best Life community since September, so we’re coming up on a year that you’ve been in a running coaching group. And I know that there’s a lot of other members of the Run Your Best Life group that are feeling the same way. Like, they joined because they were excited about doing this new thing, but then it seems a little bit overwhelming. So I thought it would be really fun for Suzy to share her story, especially at age 55 too, right? A lot of people think, “Oh, once I turn 50 I’m too old to try something new like that,” and you’re definitely not. Okay, so let me ask you this, Suzy. Are you nervous about tomorrow morning?

Suzy: Oh my god, absolutely. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I had knee pain and I kind of was like, oh good, I don’t have to run, which is crazy. I mean, I was also scared about the knee pain but I don’t know – it’s going to be very interesting to dissect this whole thing because it’s definitely something I want to do. But I am scared and I am a little overwhelmed for sure.

Jill: Yeah, and I think that’s pretty normal when you’re trying any new thing. But so let’s figure this out. What do you think it means to be a runner?

Suzy: Well, right away, the thing that pops into my mind is like I said earlier, a marathon runner. So somebody who’s very athletic, very disciplined, and somebody who can do very hard things like go really long distances. Now, I know, like I said, from lurking about that there are all different ways to be a runner, but that is the image that comes to mind. As much as I don’t want to have the right clothing, somebody with the right clothing comes to mind and somebody who goes out when it’s really cold and goes out when it’s raining and just lets that discipline guide them, that’s the type of person, and that’s what scares me because I hate the cold and I don’t know, I just can’t see myself getting up every morning and doing something like that.

Jill: Well, and by the way Suzy, we’re going to get up at 5:45 tomorrow morning…

Suzy: Oh fun.

Jill: It will be dark, and it will probably be raining, so you’re going to get like, all three of the things. But you know, I think we should do a Facebook live tomorrow morning when we do this so that by the time this podcast episode airs, we can put a link in the show notes so people can like, actually see what happened. If you guys could see the look on Suzy’s face right now.

Suzy: You can’t even believe how bad the weather is in Philadelphia right now. I haven’t been in Philly in several years and I’m from Philadelphia, but the weather is crap. Like, it’s raining every single day since I got here. It’s humid as all – it is gross. Hazy, hot, and stupid as we used to say growing up.

Jill: That’s – yeah, ditto, agreed. Okay, so we understand – I mean, I think I can understand when you view a runner as somebody who goes really long distances and gets up early in the morning or runs in the rain and the snow, like, of course, no wonder, right? No wonder you’ve been avoiding doing this.

Suzy: Sounds horrible.

Jill: It does sound horrible. So what we’re going to do is make this really easy for Suzy, which is what I do as a coach is I make it easy for my clients to start running and we’re going to start out with some really easy intervals, we’re going to run a little and walk a little and run a little and walk a little. And so that’s just sort of a preview of what we’re going to be doing together. But I kind of want to get back to you’ve had this idea for a couple years. Because you and I have talked about you running for at least two years I think. And then we talked about it, then you joined Run Your Best Life in September.

Suzy: I bought a bra.

Jill: She bought a bra. She bought an Enell bra because that’s what you got to have. And then in January I think we said alright, like, we seriously – let’s get you started. And then I don’t know, we – she lives in Toronto and I live in Philly so it was hard for us to get together but then we were both going to be in the same place at the same time, i.e. my apartment, and I said alright, we got to do this. But you know, it kind of took like, your coach just saying, alright, I have you under my control. But I know you took a lot of steps before we got to this point, right? So I mean, talk to me about your thought process from two years ago when you thought, hey, I might want to be a runner to like, coaching yourself, managing your thoughts, to right here now this moment where we’re going to go tomorrow.

Suzy: Okay, that is a really good question, and it’s something that comes up on the Women in the Middle podcast all the time because basically, what we’re looking at here is regret proofing, right? So I had an idea of something I was a little bit fascinated with, and as soon as I thought about it, I had all these thoughts that popped into my head that squished it down. They were basically dream stealers. That’s what we talk about. So the first thing is I’m too old, I don’t want to get hurt, what if I look stupid, what if I fall, what if I hate the cold, what if I make a commitment and I can’t keep up, what if I get into this running community and I look like a dork, what if I don’t accomplish anything that is as good as what everybody else accomplishes?

So all these thoughts are spinning around in my head rather than doing all the stuff that we talk about in the podcast, which is to really be aware – well, I am aware of the thoughts, but I let them slow me down. And then when Jill and I had a bit of a hiccup with technology as we were thinking – we had this great idea of how we were going to share this between the two communities and the two podcasts, and we had a little bit of a technology hiccup and I was so relieved. I was like, oh good, I don’t have to run yet. So one of the things was I bought the bra because that was a big hurdle for me. I can’t stand when my boobs are moving around when I’m trying to exercise, and it’s just so uncomfortable. So that’s one thing. And Jill assured me that there’s this beautiful Enell bra, everything’s locked and loaded, everything’s under control and comfortable, which is true. Yes, amazing.

Jill: Yes. Also, if you want to get one for yourself and you go to the Enell website, put in code JILLSHIP and you’ll get free shipping.

Suzy: That’s amazing. And they come in pretty colors. So that is a really huge tip. And then the other thing is many of my clients tell me that they do and you tell me if you also do this is that you become an avid consumer. You start buying things but you don’t do the thing that you really wanted to do. So I bought Jill’s books, I joined her running group, so I had a running coach and I haven’t taken a run. I did buy the bra, I didn’t use it for any other types of exercise but I bought it. Oh, and my sneakers are fantastic and they match my bra.

So I bought all this stuff and I started to feel like a fraud, but I was like, inching my way into the community, and I still had this idea that it was something that I wanted to do but I was secretly relieved that it was taking a long time. but then when the Podcast Movement convention came up, Jill and I were both excited to go and it was an opportunity to hang together and do some talking about our businesses and I was able to get free accommodation but I knew that the price would be I had to start running.

Jill: I love that the price of admission is that you have to go for a run with me. I should just do that. That should be what everybody should have to do to stay at my apartment. And actually, it’s funny, I know my followers know that I’ve been – you know, I got my boyfriend to start running and so the price of dating me also is apparently you have to become a runner so be warned all of my listeners out there that are like, “Oh, I’d really like to hang out with you sometime.” Like, this is what will happen.

Suzy: We did walk the last two mornings at six in the morning so I was getting all warmed up.

Jill: Yes, we did. We walked and we got Starbucks. So I mean, Suzy, I think you actually did a really good podcast episode recently on sort of – what do you call it? Being a grown ass woman?

Suzy: That’s right. Episode 56. So glad you brought that up. So the idea is that sometimes you get these thoughts where you just want somebody to save you, or you don’t think you’re big enough or old enough that you can handle whatever it is, and then you just kind of forget. And then it pops into your head, you’re like, “Hey, I’m a grown ass woman, I can handle this.” So that’s kind of what I’ve been thinking about running. It’s like, hey, I’m 55, this is something I’ve wanted to do, I’m a grown ass woman, I can figure out how to make it work on my own terms.

Jill: Yes, you can. So alright, so let’s break it down. I mean, tomorrow morning, we’re going to get up. Let’s just talk about the logistics. So tomorrow morning, the alarm is going to get set for 5:45 and we’ll get up, we’ll get dressed, we’ll have our clothes laid out the night before. I will inspect Suzy’s gear to make sure it’s appropriate, but I’m sure it is. And then we’ll just get up, we’ll get dressed, and you know, we’ll have our phones charged the night before, and then we’re just going to go out. I mean, I live on the fourth floor of our apartment building, so we’re literally just going to like, walk downstairs and go out the front door.

And then we’re going to take a five-minute walk to warm up, and we’ll start out – it’ll be a leisurely pace and we’ll pick up the pace a little bit, and once we hit five minutes, we’re going to start doing run-walk intervals. And so that’s going to look like 30 seconds of very relaxed jogging pace. Suzy’s nodding her head empathically here. 30 seconds of a relaxed jogging pace and then we’re going to talk for about a minute. And then we’re going to do that 10 times. And then we’re just going to cool down and go directly to Starbucks. So see, you get Starbucks. I will buy you Starbucks at the end. How does that sound?

Suzy: Oh fantastic, thank you.

Jill: I buy everybody Starbucks. So that’s really what it’s going to look like. So when I talk about it that way, tell me how you think and feel about that.

Suzy: It’s funny, I was very tense when you started to talk about it, but then I did relax. I like knowing – one of the things I’ve learned with some of the thought work that I’ve done with my own self-coaching is that when you start to imagine all the elements and all the preparation of the thing that you’re doing, you incorporate all of it into the actual thing that you’re doing. So the running – in my mind, the running is not just where you’re picking up the pace outside and not walking. But it’s everything that you’re doing. So it is pulling your clothes out, it’s having the bra, making sure you have socks, the gear, the sleep, the alarm, all of it. And because in my mind, another thought that pops in is that I’m too busy. So then when things that you want to do take longer, you tend to get aggravated, or I tend to get aggravated and frustrated and it just builds up negativity. So I like the idea of thinking about the activity from the night before, all of the prep and the fun coffee at the end of it. I like that.

Jill: I finish every run with coffee. It’s my little ritual. And I mean, you have rituals that you do that like, are very comforting and often I think doing something hard when you follow it by a ritual that you really enjoy kind of makes that hard thing – I mean, it makes it more likely that you’ll do it but like, you start to look forward to doing the hard thing because you know at the end is the reward. So let me ask you this: because you exercise. I know you exercise, so what kind of – when you exercise now, what do you do afterwards?

Suzy: You know what, I have not been that great about exercise over the last year. I haven’t. I got out of my tennis habit and I really only walk. So the walking is sneakers, socks, it’s a fairly good walk. I have a large dog that a lot of you guys know, Niko the Newf. So he can’t walk during the day so it is usually at night. He can’t handle the heat. But it’s really just the walking. About an hour of walking regularly.

Jill: That’s amazing exercise by the way.

Suzy: Okay, I was comparing it to I used to play tennis and now I’ve gotten out of the tennis habit of course, I am still paying for my gym membership. I love to consume.

Jill: Right? That’s a good point because I think there are so many people out there that have a gym membership, they buy all the gear, they join the coaching program, and then they stop because there’s something – like, buying the gear feels like taking action. Joining a coaching program feels like taking action but it’s not until you actually get out there and run. And I think what happens is we do all these things and then we don’t use them and then we start to feel guilty. We think, “Oh, I’m wasting my money or I’m such a failure because I haven’t done this thing,” and we feel guilty, and when we feel guilty we are much less likely to take action. So I just want to encourage any – if you’re out there, if you’re resonating with Suzy’s story right now, you’ve done these things, like, it doesn’t have to be a big, complicated thing. Tomorrow’s workout from beginning to end, not counting the Starbucks will be 25 minutes. So we’re going to walk for five minutes, then we’re going to do 15 minutes of 30 second run, one-minute walk, and then we’re going to cool down for five minutes. So literally, the main part of the work out is only 15 minutes.

Suzy: I love that you broke it down that way, Jill. I like that, and I’m feeling better about it every second we talk more about it.

Jill: Plus, you’ll get to gossip with me the whole time, so that’ll be super fun. Okay, so I have one last question for you and that is what advice would you give to somebody else in your position right now that is – has done all these things and is kind of like, yeah but…

Suzy: Okay, that’s a great question and I know that this is really relevant for anybody in the Not Your Average Runner community and also the Women in the Middle community. So basically, the main advice is to be aware of what you’re thinking. So the feeling is definitely resistance for me, but it’s something negative. So basically, if you want to know what is going on in your mind, just look around. So in my life, what’s going on in my mind has something to do with the result I’m getting, and the result I’m getting is being lethargic. Like, I am just not taking action. I’m not running, I’m not playing tennis, I’m not doing anything but walking. And in my mind, that is not doing what I wanted to be doing this summer for sure. So my advice is to tune into your thoughts or your feelings, whichever one is easier for you to access.

So I know some people have a much easier time grabbing a thought, some people have a much easier time connecting with their feelings. But just know that they’re connected, that you have a thought that’s creating that feeling for you, and ultimately creating your result. So for me, the feeling was resistance. And I’ve seen this in other things, and it came out in that episode about the grown ass woman. I have this thought about looking stupid and all the other thoughts that I shared with you. And even as we’re talking about it right now, here I am in Philadelphia, not in my home in Toronto, and I’m already noticing that I feel a little bit more relieved that I’m a stranger here. And I started imagining myself doing this what seems to be very accessible, very easy walk-run interval practice in my own neighborhood, and I can sense a bit of resistance. So even as Jill was talking, I was spacing out a little bit and I saw that thought and I can see that this thought of looking stupid if popping into my head. And I did talk about it in an episode recently about the grown ass woman concept. So whatever is going on for you, doesn’t matter what it is, but it matters that you’re aware of the thought and that you are aware of the feeling it’s created. So you know, the first step is awareness. That’s what I would recommend. Tune into what’s going on.

Jill: I love that so much because we cannot change what we don’t know about. And that’s kind of it for us today. So here’s the deal. We’re going to take Suzy on her first run tomorrow, and you can follow her shenanigans on Facebook, on Instagram, we’re going to use the #runsuzyrun. So if you go to Instagram and just search for #runsuzyrun, you could follow her journey, or you could just follow her on Instagram. What’s your Instagram handle?

Suzy: My Instagram is midlifecoach4women. And on Twitter, it’s Suzy Rosenstein, The 50s coach.

Jill: I’m so impressed that you figured out Twitter because I have not yet. So I’m going to coach you on running, you’re going to coach me on Twitter. Twitter scares me. I have many thoughts and feelings about Twitter. Okay, so we know where to find you on Instagram and Twitter, and what we’re also going to be doing is popping into each other’s podcasts over the next several weeks as this happens. So we’re just going to like, do a five, 10 minute catch up and so you can keep listening to my podcast, keep listening to Suzy’s podcast to follow along and then also, Suzy’s going to be doing a little Facebook live-ing here and there in the Run Your Best Life group. So if you join the Run Your Best Life coaching group, you can actually watch Suzy’s Facebook lives in that group. And then Suzy, you have a Facebook group too where people can kind of connect with your progress. what’s that group again?

Suzy: The Facebook page is themidlifecoach and the Facebook group is a private group, and it’s Regret Proofing 101. And I would encourage anybody in my groups, anybody else who’s interested in taking this journey with me, please reach out to me, and Jill, if you have a guide that’s free, maybe you could mention that download because that might also help people just get their head around what we’re doing.

Jill: Yeah actually, that’s a great point. So if you go to notyouraveragerunner.com, there’ll be a little pop up right there that says hey, if you’re ready to get started running, you can download my free six-week guide. And what’ll happen is I’ll send you a free six-week training plan that’ll kind of get you off the couch, up and running in a way that feels good to you and you’ll actually get an invitation to join my Facebook group where you can connect with all the other not your average runners, and Suzy’s in that group as well.

Suzy: Yes, and in Regret Proofing 101, I am going to be talking about this, and if anybody is in that group or wants to join the group and participate with me, that would be great. I would love a running sister.

Jill: Yeah, and so make sure if you are going to join Suzy, #runsuzyrun on Instagram so that we can find you. Alright, that is it for us this week. Do you have anything to add, Suzy?

Suzy: No, that’s it. I just appreciate your support, all of you guys and I appreciate Jill’s guidance and coaching, and I just want to remind you that we’re all in this together. I say this all the time on Women in the Middle that we need each other, and this is one of those moments where I know that this is something – this is a big, scary thing for me. It has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and you know what, life is short, it’s time to get moving and that’s what we’re going to be doing together.

Jill: Yay, so excited. Alright, thanks so much Suzy.

Suzy: Thanks so much, Jill.

Jill: Talk to you guys later. Bye.

Suzy: Bye.

Hey, rebels, I hope you enjoyed my chat with Suzy, and if you want to see more of her journey, you can follow her on Instagram @midlifecoach4women where she will be documenting her progress and you can also follow the #runsuzyrun. You can also find her at her website, suzyrosenstein.com, or if you want to join the private Facebook group that she mentioned, you just go to facebook.com/groups/womeninthemiddlepodcastcommunity.

And I know all of that was a mouthful, so we’re going to include all of those links in the show notes at notyouraveragerunner.com/36. And of course, if you want to get results like Suzy, or if you just want to join in the fun, I’d love to have you join us in the Run Your Best Life group at runyourbestlife.com. Have a great week, rebels, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Thanks for listening to this episode of The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. If you liked what you heard and want more, head over to www.notyouraveragerunner.com to download your free one-week jumpstart plan and get started running today.