Ep #205: Returning to Running with NYAR Ambassador Robyn Harvard

Welcome to the Not Your Average Runner podcast. If you’re a woman who has never felt athletic but you still dream about becoming a runner, you are in the right place. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running and life coach and I teach women how to start running, feel confident, and change their lives. And now, I want to help you.

Jill: Hey Rebels. So I’m here this week with yet another amazing Not Your Average Runner Ambassador. Her name is Robyn Harvard. And we are going to talk all things running today.

So, Robyn, welcome to the show.

Robyn: Thank you. Hello, how are you?

Jill: I am fabulous. I just got back from a week in Maine. And I’m just all relaxed and chill.

Robyn: I’m so envious. I’m so envious.

Jill: It’s a beautiful state. It’s a beautiful state. But we’re here to talk about you. And so you have been a member of Run Your Best life, we were just trying to figure this out, for at least two years, if not more.

Robyn: Sounds about right, yeah.

Jill: Yeah. And you actually joined, so most people join the Rebel Runner Roadmap, they take the 30 day course, and then they become a Run Your Best Life member. But you did it opposite because we didn’t have the Roadmap way back. You’re like an OG.

Robyn: I am.

Jill: Pre-Roadmap. But I kind of want to highlight for folks some of the amazing stuff that you’ve done. But I want to like kind of go back and start from the beginning and talk about what running was like for you before we knew each other. Tell me all the dirt on what running was like for you way back when. Because you’ve been a runner for close to 20 years now, I think, right?

Robyn: No, not that long. I ran for the first time ever probably back in 2006. I completed a 5K back then. And that’s when I ran my first ever continuous mile. And it was fantastic because the 5K that I did was not only my fastest, but it was my first 5K ever. Which is funny because I got lost, so I actually ended up doing more than the 5K and still had my best time.

Jill: I love that. I love that. Okay, so you’ve been a runner for 15 years. You started in 2006. And tell me about the journey. Where did running take you when you first started? Well, let’s start there. Where did running take you when you first started?

Robyn: When I first started, I was working with a trainer and I was actually lifting weights. And he had this crazy idea of my doing cardio, and running, and all that other stuff. And I found out I actually kind of liked it. And he took me out on the track after a few weeks of training. I did a mile and it was pretty good and all that. And that’s when I got the idea to do a 5K and he helped me train for that.

I kind of gave up running for a few years after that though. And I didn’t put back on those shoes again for probably a few years. I tried to do the couch to 5K program like so many of us do. I failed. I’m a couch to 5K failure, but it’s okay.

And then I was diagnosed with cancer at 38 and went through all of that fun stuff and all that. And afterwards, you always hear stories about people who beat cancer and then you know go on to do like an Iron Man or climb Mount Everest or jump out of a plane, which I did do.

Jill: Oh my gosh.

Robyn: Yeah, but after I was officially cancer free, it was like the weight of the world was just off my shoulders. So I just kind of made this decision that I was like, “You know what? I was tired of saying I can’t.” So I picked back up my running shoes and it was horrible.

It was horrible. It was like I signed up for a running program here locally. Three weeks afterwards I did my first 5K again. And I got my baseline 5K in, I did it in under an hour so I was pretty impressed. But it was horrible. It was awkward. My legs were heavy and my feet didn’t want to go where I wanted them to go and I was wearing all the wrong clothes. And I just kept thinking, “Oh, this is horrible and I’m a failure again.”

And thankfully there were some people in the back of the pack with me and we kind of bonded over our turtle power. And of course we started to improve, all of us started to improve. And I started noticing myself getting faster and stronger. My first year I shaved over five minutes off my 5K time.

But the entire time I was doing this, and I was getting stronger, and I was getting faster, my mind was just against everything I was doing. And then after a couple years a friend of mine, I won’t say her name I don’t want to embarrass her, but she told me about your podcast and I started listening. And I went, “Hey, I think this lady has something to say that’s really important and this is great. What do you mean I can change my thoughts?”

And it was funny, because I did. I started doing what you told us to do. And I did it, I started changing my thoughts. And it still kind of suck but the first mile always sucks. It’s just running. And so since then I just kept running, no matter what.

Jill: Well what were some of the thoughts that you had before while you were running? So you said you were getting stronger, and you were getting faster. But you were still thinking you were having thoughts that weren’t necessarily helpful to you. Maybe, I might be putting words in your mouth. But what were some of the thoughts that you had?

Robyn: A lot of the thoughts had do with my pace. I was still back of the pack. I was still super slow. I didn’t feel like a real runner. There’s a local running group here in town, and they’re fantastic they’re super supportive. But I always felt like this fake. I’m like, “I’m running and walking out. I’m not a real runner.” And it was like I was constantly fighting my brain.

My brain was trying to tell me that I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t a real runner unless I could run the entire 5K or the entire half marathon.

Jill: Yeah. And so when you think that and you feel defeated, then you’re less likely to run and then you don’t get any closer to the goal that you want to achieve. So brains are jerks, I swear.

Robyn: Yeah, mine was great at being a jerk. I joined up with the local running groups pretty much every time they had a session, and I had never completed an entire session. Never.

Jill: Wow.

Robyn: Because of my brain.

Jill: It might be time to join again just to go say, “I finished this.”

So okay, you had these thoughts like, “I’m not a real runner. I’m not fast enough.” All those things that sort of got in your way. And you found the podcast. How do you think differently now about yourself as a runner than you did, say three or four years ago?

Robyn: A lot of it has to do with realizing that pace really doesn’t have anything to do with being a runner. If you’re picking up your feet and going out and hitting the pavement, or the treadmill, or the trails or whatever, you’re a runner. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 20 minute mile or a 7 minute mile.

Jill: Yeah. Right, because when you look in the dictionary, there’s no pace. It’s literally running is a way of moving your body. It’s a different gate than walking. Most people, not all people, but most people can run faster than they can walk. There are people out there who can walk faster than they can run because they’re like- I mean, walking fast is super hard.

But yeah, nowhere in the dictionary does it say, “Okay, if you’re running a 7 minute mile, you’re a runner, if it’s a 10 minute mile, you’re a jogger, if it’s a 12 minute mile you’re-” Right? It’s not there. So I love that you kind of embraced that concept.

You’ve done some pretty amazing things with your running though, throughout the years. Do you want to talk about some of those?

Robyn: Well, like I said, when I started running again, I started doing 5K’s. I signed up for the first group, three weeks later I’m running a 5K. So I call that my new baseline. I think my fastest 5K in recent history was probably 10 minutes faster than that first 5K when I came back to running.

I’ve done a couple of half marathons. I don’t know how many 5K’s, I don’t know how many 10K’s. My biggest accomplishment as far as running goes is probably a 20 mile trail race.

It was an eight hour race as many miles or as few miles as you want to do. And it was the best supported race out there that I’ve ever done in the region. Actually ever done period. Shout out to the Howl Ultra over there with Kennekuk Road Runners. Sorry I had to do that.

Like I said, they made it possible for me to keep going when I thought I couldn’t go any further. It was an amazing experience.

Jill: So this is, I mean, let’s just talk about trail running versus road running. Because road running is challenging in and of itself. But trail running kind of adds a new layer on. Because you have to be very careful about where you put your feet less you fall down, right? And of course that slows you down a little bit.

When you’re running on a street, you’re sort of running in two dimensions. When you’re running on a trail, you’re running in three dimensions. Because you’ve got the side to side, you’ve just got a lot more to contend with.

But how did you get into trail running? And how did you train to run 20 miles on a trail? Which is amazing. So can you talk a little bit more about that?

Robyn: The best piece of advice I can give is, if you think it’s a stick or a snake, just assume it’s a snake.

Jill: Fair enough.

Robyn: It was one of those crazy ideas. A lot of the people I know tried to get into this race, and it just sounded fun. And I said, “Oh, that’s a great idea. Eight hours of however many miles I can do. And oh, a trail race. Sure, why not? Why wouldn’t you?”

And training wise, I did not train for it. I did a half marathon about a month before, a road half marathon in Indy. And then we did this trail race. And it was just, I had no mileage in my mind. I had no anything. My friend and I, she and I decided to stick together through the whole thing. And we took a ton of breaks. Like every loop we stopped at our camp area.

And it was just fun. And when I got to the finish line, my husband was waiting for me and I crossed and I went, “Oh my gosh, I just did 20 fucking miles. When did this happen? When did I become a runner?”

Jill: Well, what were some of the thoughts that you had during the race? Did you ever think about quitting during that eight hours? Or were you just like locked and loaded the whole time?

Robyn: I probably thought about quitting every single loop. They had a hill that was actually on a road. But at the top of the hill you can get watermelon. So that was amazing. It was really good. It was like, “Yay, if we get to the top of the hill, we get watermelons!”

But yeah, it was like, “Oh my gosh.” This hill was like Mount Everest. And when you’re doing the last lap, got to that hill and went, “There is no way. I can’t do this, there’s no way. Oh my gosh. But there’s watermelon.”

Jill: Right, because you had to do it over and over again, right?

Robyn: Yeah, it was a loop race. And it was a trail race but there are some road parts to it. So you had kind of a break, which was nice to kind of let your body kind of rest up.

Jill: Okay.

Robyn: But yeah, I had all the thoughts during the race. I want to give up. I want to quit. My feet hurt. My legs hurt. My head hurts. It’s sunny. It’s hot. I’m sweaty. Where is the water? Where is the station? Do we have any more beer at the end of the race?

Jill: Right, they’d better not be out of beer.

Robyn: Do I get beer if I stop early?

Jill: Yeah. But you stuck with it. And what did that feel like? You know, for eight hours on trails, and you finished. You walked out of the woods, and you’re like, “Holy shit, I just ran 20 miles.” What did that feel like?

Robyn: It was almost like I won the first place in my age group almost.

Jill: Yeah.

Robyn: Just finishing, it was this sense of pride. This overwhelming sense of pride that I did it. I didn’t even know that I could do it. I just went out there and I just kept going. In fact, my friend stopped and I kept going. I did a couple more laps after she stopped. She had a good reason for stopping though. She had these horrible blisters that made it, I mean, it was awful. I don’t know how she did as many miles as she did with those blisters.

Jill: Yeah. And I mean, I think with blisters there’s a fine line between I can keep going or I’m going to be hobbled. There’s sort of a point of no return with blisters. But I want to know how has that changed you going forward? Achieving that 20 mile trail run, did that shift how you view yourself? Did it shift how you approach challenges? The type of challenges that you take on? How did that experience change you?

Robyn: It definitely changed me. The idea that I could achieve something that I didn’t even know that I could do. And no matter what my mind told me. My brain was telling me I couldn’t do it. There’s no way. I wasn’t a runner. And there’s all these people there that are lapping me multiple times. And “Oh, you’re not a runner.” But I did it. And it’s because of that, that the last year I decided to make my next goal of 50K. I want to finish a 50K.

Jill: I love this. I love this. And which one are you choosing? Or have you not chosen it yet?

Robyn: I want to do the Tennessee Pistol Ultra Run. It’s in- I’m going to get the town wrong- Alcoa, I think it is. I’m going to get the town wrong. I did the 10 miler there. And there’s a group of us from the local area that go down there every year.

And it’s another well supported race, another fantastic race group. And the race director, everybody, there was just fantastic. And we were even out of town or out of state and they were just super welcoming. And it was awesome. So I can’t wait to do that one. That one’s more of a road race.

Jill: Okay. I love that. I love that because there’s so many members in Run Your Best life right now that they’ve all sort of conquered the marathon distance, and they’re like, “Okay, what’s next? Well, I guess I’m going to do an ultra.” So I love that you’re on that list of folks. Because I think that’s such an amazing accomplishment.

And I mean, the physical piece of it, for sure, is amazing, right? You can’t just show up one day and be like, “I’m going to do an ultra.” But the true achievement, I think, is the mental work and the mind management that goes into an event like that.

Because you know for an eight hour event you wanted to quit every single lap. You were like, “I’m going to quit now.” But you managed your brain around it and kept going. So I think that’s the biggest challenge for these really long races is, how do you keep your brain on track for the entire time?

And so I’d love to know how do you keep your brain on track when you want to quit? What do you think instead?

Robyn: Sometimes I’ll get these thoughts like, “Oh, this is a stupid idea.” Or This is crazy, or I’m too old, or I’m too whatever. Or I’m not enough of something. And then I think to myself, some of it is, I think to myself people who were way faster than I am have the same thoughts.

And it’s amazing to me that people who run seven minute miles have the same thoughts that I do. And I’m just like, “Well, if they’re having the same thoughts that I do, then maybe my thoughts are normal and it’s okay.”

Jill: Yeah.

Robyn: And they can be okay. And I can be okay with them being there, because they’re just thoughts.

Jill: Yeah, because it’s almost as if your pace has nothing to do with whether you’re a real runner or not.

Robyn: Exactly.

Jill: I love that you said that because I think that we just assume somebody who’s faster than us has the identity of a runner and has the confidence and everything. And to find out that they don’t, it’s very freeing. Because it’s like we all have those same thoughts and it sort of levels the playing field.

Robyn: Exactly. And not only that though, but those faster runners I’ve talked to I don’t know how many people that they can run a mile in, say 10 minutes. In fact, I was just talking to somebody the other day, and she’s like, “Oh, well, I just ran a mile in 11 minutes and I was really slow. I’m not a runner.” I’m like, “Yes, you are. You are a fantastic runner. You are a runner.”

Jill: Yeah, it’s all relative. And when we recognize that we are able to choose our opinions and that the circumstances don’t dictate those opinions, that’s just true freedom. True freedom.

Okay, so I wanted to talk about your injuries because I know that you’ve had a couple injuries that have sort of plagued you. And yet you’re still super committed to seeing that through. And so can you talk a little bit about that?

Because I know there are folks out there that have had the same struggles that you have. And we all kind of struggled during COVID for various reasons, but I know that you had some injuries last year that kind of plagued you a little bit.

And I’d love to hear your take on how you keep focused on your recovery and how you’ve kind of come back around to running. Because I think there’s a lot of people that could benefit from it. Because you have been super committed. It’s impressive because a lot of people say, “Fuck it. I give up.” And you’re like, “No, I’m just going to figure this out.”

Robyn: That’s exactly what it is, is I’m just going to figure this out. When I made that decision back in 2015 that I was tired of saying the word “I can’t” when it came to running. I just remember that feeling of what that felt like to make that decision. The one thing I love about running is the road is always going to be there for you. The treadmill is always going to be there for you. The trail is always going to be there. So if you’re injured, it’s okay. It’ll be there.

But yeah, I’ve had a lot of problems with plantar fasciitis. I’ve tried physical therapy, I’ve tried shoes, and inserts, and stretches, and all kinds of things. And it’s eased up over the last three months or so. And so I’m kind of pushing it a little bit more with my running little by little. But when it flares up again, I have to take a couple of weeks to rest.

And it’s really derailed that 50K goal of mine. I was supposed to finish it in 2020. Nope, didn’t happen. Probably not going to happen in 2021. So 2022 or 2023 is my year. Yay!

Jill: Well, it wasn’t going to happen in 2020 anyway because of COVID. Everything was canceled. But I love that you are still going. That you’re kind of like, “Okay, well, I have this injury and I’m just going to work with it and keep going.” I mean, that’s, that’s the kind of mental work that leads to success rather than giving up. Because who knows, you could be this close to figuring out the exact thing that you need to continue, like to progress past the plantar fasciitis.

And honestly that is something that plagues a lot of people. So I love that you’ve been very diligent and very relentless in your pursuit of a solution.

Robyn: I was going to say don’t think it’s been easy though. I have done all the thought work, I have done TDLs. Oh, good lord, in fact I still fight with that every day, every week about, “Oh, is this going to be the run that’s going to be my last run because I won’t be able to run again? Oh my, well don’t do it. Don’t go out and run. You’re going to hurt yourself and make it worse.”

Jill: So how do you turn that around? Because, I mean, those are for sure thoughts that many of our listeners have had. Like, “I don’t want to hurt myself so I’m not going to run.” And it’s sort of a catch 22. So how do you turn that around?

Robyn: Physically, what I do is I do a lot more walking instead of running. I do a lot more stretching and things like that. But the mental part is I’ve just come to the realization that there will be a day when I can’t run. It’s probably not today, but there will be a day. But I’m going to do my best to make sure that it’s not today.

Because I want to be that 70 year old lady who is somehow maybe still able to pass that lady pushing the stroller. We all want to pass that lady pushing the stroller.

Jill: Yes, there’s nothing more frustrating than having somebody push a stroller and go faster than you. And you’re like, “Oh my God.” Actually, no, I got passed once by somebody on crutches. And I was like, “Wow, she’s got a broken ankle and she’s faster than me.” But I just laughed at that.

But yeah, and I think that’s it. I think we get really wrapped up with our running and just I need to focus on the next race or I need to do really good in my goal race this year. And we forget about the long term and we forget about like, “Okay, I can push really hard and do great in this race. Or I can kind of take a longer view and do things now that are going to support me being a runner for the next 20 or 30 years.”

And we are such a society of instant gratification. And I just think the human brain is wired that way, not to like look too far into the future. Because 10,000 years ago we didn’t live to be 80, 90 years old.

But with running it is so easy to get focused on the details of the now and lose sight of the long term. And I think that that’s to our detriment because when we have a terrible run, or we have a run that doesn’t feel good or it just feels really hard and we think, “That’s it. It’s over. I suck at running.” Instead of looking at it in the long term of like, “Okay, well I had a crappy run. But maybe I’ll take it easy on the next one, because I want to be a runner for the next 30 years.”

That long view is missing from a lot of people’s perspective. And I think you’ve got that long view. Which is why you are so persistent and why you’re still going. You’re just like, “This is going to be a long-term thing.”

Robyn: Yeah, like I said, I want to be that 70 year old lady who’s still doing 5K’s and everything. And there was something, I can’t remember where I heard it first from but it might have even been you, the idea that you do not quit on a bad day.

Jill: Yeah, I’d love that.

Robyn: Just don’t quit on a bad day.

Jill: Right, make the decision of clear mind, not of crappy mind.

Robyn: Yeah, exactly. Just because you had a frustrating run, yeah, that’s the worst time to quit.

Jill: Yeah, I’ve heard that too. I’ve heard that from parents who have kids that want to quit sports. And they always say, “All right, well you have to have a good practice before you can quit. And then you can decide.” Yeah, that’s so great.

So let’s shift gears a little bit. I’d love to know, because you were a runner before you joined Run Your Best Life and before you went through the Roadmap. But how is running different for you as a result of learning the stuff that we teach? Because we teach a lot of thought work, but we also teach a lot of physical skills as well. So what are some differences in your running as a result of Run Your Best Life?

Robyn: Coach Jen would love this, strength training. I know I have to do it.

Jill: Yeah.

Robyn: Strength training is huge. That was something I picked up from you guys for sure. It just, yeah, it’s something that needs to be done.

The biggest thing though, I think is the thought work. The fact that it’s just a thought it’s not going to hurt me. Those thoughts are normal. There’s all sorts of different ways when my brain gets going, how I kind of try to counteract it. In the middle of a run, you know, your brain is like, “Okay, we’re done. Let’s just go home.” No, I’m not finished yet. That’s just a thought. Netflix will be there when we get back, no matter what time we get back.

And I think that’s the biggest thing for me, is that really changed my running from when I first started running again to now is I realized all those thoughts I had them were normal. It was because I was wanting my body to do something different and my brain wasn’t ready for it. It’s like, “Whoa, wait a second. You’re changing the game here. What’s going on? We don’t have a plan yet.” So it thinks it’s an emergency and your brain just starts going crazy.

Jill: Yeah, and that’s so funny. I’ve been out running before where it has seemed very urgent that I need to cut my run short and go home right now. And it just seems so true and so powerful in the moment. And then if you give in and you go home, you’re like, “Oh, that was dumb.”

Robyn: Exactly.

Jill: Yeah, and so I think the more you can be on to yourself in the moment and sort of question your faulty- Because there are sometimes when you do need to stop, right? Like okay, my feet are covered with blisters. Or I think I pulled a muscle or I’ve got an injury brewing. But 90% of the time it’s just some bullshit brain panic that has no place. It has no place in our brain.

Robyn: Well, yeah, your brain wants it easy. Your brain wants to go watch Netflix all day inside the air conditioning.

Jill:  Mine does for sure. So what are some of your favorite things about being part of the Run Your Best Life community of being an ambassador? Talk to us a little bit about what that’s like for you.

Robyn: It is an amazing group of women that have come together that have this common, I don’t want to call it identity because it isn’t identity. But we all have this common bond together. We all have such similar struggles and such similar thoughts about running. And it helps you realize that it’s okay, it’s normal. It’s fine. It’s going to be okay.

And then you can go into the group and you can talk about all sorts of things. Sometimes we get a little TMI, but it’s a good thing because there’s going to be so many people that go, “Yes, I know what you mean.” Or “Here, try this body glide instead.” Or “Do this instead.” Or “Maybe you need to change your shoe size.”

And it’s this wealth of information, this wealth of support that you never knew you wanted. And you end up needing that support because you’ll have a bad run or you’ll have a good run. And next thing you know, you’re taking selfies during your run just so you can show off things.

And it’s just an amazing group. And that’s why I’m so proud to not only be a member of the group, but I’m so proud to be an ambassador and to be chosen as an ambassador. I love it. I love what you’re doing with this group.

Jill: Yeah, I mean, I’ll be honest, that there are days when I’m struggling to get myself out the door and I’m like, “Oh God.” And then I’ll just go and I’ll look in the Facebook group and see what everybody else is doing. And suddenly I’m motivated to run. I’m just like, I’m the leader of this group but you guys motivate me on a daily basis. It’s so cool.

And I think one of the other things that I love so much about Run Your Best Life is because it’s all women there’s a feeling of safety about sharing, like you said, TMI. Like body functions and you know, okay, like there’s a lot of likes, “Okay, I’m going through menopause. Is this normal? I’m struggling with this. Is this normal? And people are like, “Yes, this is totally normal. Here’s what I did about it.”

And so it goes beyond just the discussions about running and really kind of bleeds into just it so many struggles that women of a certain age have. Because I would say that the average, I don’t know the exact median or average age of the group, but I would say it is probably the late 40s to early 50s is probably the peak if we were to put it on a bell curve.

Robyn: Yeah, that sounds about right. Although we’ve got quite a few 30 year olds in there though too. And so many with kids, so many without kids. The struggles with your children and without the children.

And yeah, if anybody has ever thought about joining Run Your Best Life I’m of course going to sit there and go, “Yes, you must join. It’s the group you never thought you needed or wanted to be in.” Even though there’s people that I’ve never met yet but I feel like I know them.

And like you said, you can trust each other because it’s this open space to share. And you share your joys, you share the crappy runs, and the crappy days. And it’s a fantastic group.

Jill: It is a fantastic group. It’s like the nicest place on the planet, I’m pretty sure.

Robyn: It is, and I’ve never been around this many women in one collective group so to speak that are this supportive of each other.

Jill: Yeah.

Robyn: I mean that is the biggest thing, is we are so supportive of each other. We’re not judgey, we’re not putting any of that negativity out there. It’s just us supporting each other in this fantastic world we’re creating with all the corgis and everything.

Jill: Right, there is zero snark and just a lot of compassion and love. It really is unusual, I think. Because I mean, I’m in tons of Facebook groups and I’m always amazed at how people speak to each other sometimes, strangers, the things that they say. And literally that’s just never ever happened in the Run Your Best Life group, it is kind of magical.

And I think it’s because the women in that group are managing their thoughts and managing their minds so that they don’t ever feel the need to lash out at somebody else for having a different opinion. Because it’s like we all recognize other people’s opinions are none of my business. It’s so fun.

Robyn: Yeah, it’s just their thought, it doesn’t matter to you unless you want it to matter.

Jill: Yeah, I love that so much. So I guess I want to close with, is there anything that you want people to know that we haven’t covered today? What are things, either about you or about running in general, what else would you like to say before we close today?

Robyn: Goodness. When I first started running again, I wore a lot of cotton. No, no, no, no. Cotton is not good for runners. I’m just telling you that right now. Cotton socks, cotton pants, cotton shirts, no. No, you will chafe in areas you should not chafe in.

Jill: Yes.

Robyn: I think the biggest thing though, is whether you’re a beginning runner or you’ve been running for years, you’re a runner. If you lace up your shoes and you get out the door or you jump on the treadmill. Whether you run by yourself or run with your friends or whatever, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter if you do one mile or 100 miles, you are a runner.

Jill: I love that. I love that so much. Because if somebody can just embrace that one concept, if you run, you’re a runner, that’s it, you’re golden. You’re golden. Because I think once you embrace the identity of being a runner, then everything else just sort of falls into place.

Robyn: It really does, it really does, yeah.

Jill: So how can people follow your adventures? Do you have an Instagram or Facebook where people can follow you?

Robyn: I do have an Instagram; I tend to post more of my public things on Instagram. My Instagram handle actually came about as a combination of recognizing we need self-care and recognizing that sometimes you just have to make the damn decision and do it. My Instagram handle is doitnowforyourself.

Jill: I love that.

Robyn: And again, I did that on purpose because it also reminds me that if you do it now, your brain- If you can make a decision and you do something now, your brain will catch up with you. It’s okay. It will freak out. But if you do it now, you do it for yourself, it will be good.

Jill: I absolutely love that. Oh my gosh. Okay, so they can find you at doitnowforyourself on Instagram. And of course, we’ll have a link in the show notes. But I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your story today, Robyn. It’s been my pleasure.

And like I said, you’ve been in the Run Your Best Life group for quite some time, you’re an OG. And it’s just been delightful watching your journey and your evolution as a runner. And I cannot wait to see you cross that 50k finish line.

Robyn: I cannot wait to cross it and get it over with.

Jill: So good. So good. All right. Thank you so much.

Robyn: Thank you so much, Jill.

Oh, and one last thing. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you have to check out the Rebel Runner Roadmap. It’s a 30 day online program that will teach you exactly how to start running, stick with it, and become the runner you’ve always wanted to be. Head on over to rebelrunnerroadmap.com to join. I’d love to be a part of your journey.