I’ve got my partner in crime, Jen Lamplough, back on the podcast today! We’re here to have a little catch-up, see what’s been going on in each other’s lives, and to answer some listener questions!
We dive into questions on running fuel that isn’t going to be hard on your stomach – because having to run to the toilet is a bummer during a race – how to find the motivation to stretch and lift weights, as well as staying motivated once you’ve set your big goals. We’ve got a few races coming up for us too and we’re discussing what our fears are and what we’re excited for!
Join us today as we dive into some great listener questions and remember to email us if one of your questions was answered on the show to get your Not Your Average Runner car magnet delivered to you!
May is motivation month in Run Your Best Life, and Jen and I have been doing lots of research to lead the discussions in the group! If you need help on creating motivation and more importantly, keeping it to get to your goals, I don’t know what you’re waiting for. Join Run Your Best Life right now!
What You’ll Learn From this Episode:
- Our thoughts on the upcoming Wisconsin Ragnar.
- What’s new with Jen and me.
- Jen’s suggestions on running fuel.
- How to get past finding stretching or lifting weights boring.
- What you can do if you can’t find the time to stretch.
- How to make strength training efficient.
- Why I’ve changed my marathon goal.
- How to keep yourself motivated to reach your goals.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
If you have any questions you’d like answered on the show, email me at podcast@notyouraveragerunner.com
- Join the Not Your Average Runner Private Facebook Community
- Join Run Your Best Life to get exclusive content from a podcast accessible just for members!
- Not Your Average Runner Instagram
- Connect with Jen!
- Scandinavian Blessing:
- Wisconsin Ragnar
- My Favorite Murder podcast
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
- Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll
- Feed Zone Portables by Biju K. Thomas and Allen Lim
- GU
- Nuun
- Losing 100 Pounds podcast
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
Full Episode Transcript:
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.
Jill: Hey rebels, this is episode number 90 of The Not Your Average Runner Podcast, and I am here this week with Jen Lamplough, my partner in crime in the Not Your Average Runner universe and we’re here to kind of catch up with each other and then also answer a bunch of listener questions. They’ve been coming in and I’ve been collecting them and we’re going to answer a whole bunch of them today. So Jen, hi.
Jen: Hi.
Jill: How are you doing?
Jen: I’m good. How are you?
Jill: I am fabulous. So what is new with you lately? You’ve been a busy girl. You’ve got a lot of stuff going on. Tell me everything that’s new with you.
Jen: I do have a lot going on, including allergies. Everything decided to bloom in one day. Yes, super fun. But other than that…
Jill: How does that impact your running?
Jen: You know, it makes me congested so it’s always a little bit harder to run when I’m congested and my nose runs and my eyes water a lot. And so that makes it a little rough too. Makes it a little rough breathing sometimes too because sometimes I get like – this is gross – but post nasal drip and then it makes me cough so I just have to be really on it with all my – I have all this medication. So I have two allergy pills, I have an inhaler, I have an emergency inhaler. I’m like playing Dexter over here. But it works so I just have to be really diligent with my medication. And then I’m usually okay but I’m pretty congested today so that’s why I sound like this.
Jill: Nice. Well, you always sound amazing to me. So but seriously, what is new with you because you’ve got a lot going on. You’re training for some stuff and…
Jen: Yeah, training for a half marathon that’s coming up in gosh, six weeks or so, which man, that went fast from the last one. The last one was in February, it felt like yesterday and now it’s all of a sudden going to be here soon in June. So we are about six weeks out from the half marathon in Seattle and then we’re about five months out from the Wisconsin trail Ragnar in September. So there’s some big stuff happening over here.
Jill: I’m nervous about this. Can I just say like, I’m both excited and nervous. I think I’m more nervous about the Ragnar than I am about the Philadelphia marathon. I think there’s something wrong with me.
Jen: No, I think that’s totally legitimate because you know what road running is like, right? I mean yes, it’s a very long distance and you’ve never done that distance before so that’s unknown but you know what road running is like and you’re going to be in Philadelphia, which you know well. I mean, this is like, a strange place, strange kind of running. It’s in the woods in the middle of the night and there’s bugs and maybe serial killers. So yeah, you should be scared.
Jill: Well, and can I just say like, I’m completely obsessed with that podcast My Favorite Murder, which is kind of all about like, serial killers. And so I listen to that thing when I’m running and now I’m just like, oh great, I feel like I’m drawing the serial killers to be there. They’re going to be hopping out of the woods in the middle of the night.
Jen: Never going to sleep a wink when I’m there. And really for me, it’s really more the camping. I’m just not a camper. So like, the running in the woods is not as overwhelming to me as the actual idea of camping.
Jill: I love that you’re like, bears, no problem. Sleeping in a tent, fuck no.
Jen: Not so much. I like walls and I like to not sleep outside. I know that’s very prissy.
Jill: I’m with you on that. I like my sleep, but I understand we’re not going to be sleeping a whole hell of a lot anyway, so maybe…
Jen: I know, I just need to get over that part of it.
Jill: We’re going to be fine and it’s only for two nights.
Jen: Right. And I’m a sleeper. I’m one of those people who can pretty much sleep anyway. I slept the entire car ride home from Boston to Chicago. It was like, 17 hours and I slept the entire time in a car so I mean…
Jill: That’s crazy. Who was driving?
Jen: My husband was driving. He was ready to kill me because he drove the whole way and I slept the whole time.
Jill: Was he like, swerving the car trying to wake you up? Oh sorry, I almost hit a deer.
Jen: Like, crunching his Cheetos really loud to wake me up. No, I’m a champion sleeper so I’m pretty much sure I’ll be okay.
Jill: Alright, well then, I think you’re going to be okay. And I just think it’s so funny. Your like, whole list of fears about this race and I’m like, but this was all your idea. Like legit, we are doing this race because you’re like, I think this sounds like fun, let’s put a team together.
Jen: I’m not sure I said fun. I said I think this would be a good challenge. I’m not sure I said fun.
Jill: Alright, yeah actually, but you know when you say the word challenge to me, I hear fun.
Jen: That’s true.
Jill: It’s just my own internal translator. I’m like, oh, we’re going to fuck it up, yes, sounds like fun, let’s do it. I’m all in.
Jen: As much as I joke, I am really excited about it just because it’s something new too. I’ve done a ton of road races. Like I said before, you know it well and it’s the devil you know, right? And so it’s like there’s a little bit of comfort in that, but I am very excited about trying something totally new and outside of my comfort zone.
Jill: Okay, so I don’t know if I’ve updated you on this but we only have one spot left on the team.
Jen: Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. Who is it going to be? Who’s going to join us on our team?
Jill: I know, right? Is it somebody that’s listening right now that’s like, what? Ragnar? Sleeping in the woods getting bit by bugs and attacked by bears and serial killers? Yes, fuck yes, I’m in. Like, if that’s you, we’re waiting for you. We have one spot open. But here’s the catch though, you have to be a Run Your Best Life member to be on the team. It’s a Run Your Best Life team and so it’s only for Run Your Best Life members. But if you’re a Run Your Best Life member and you’re like, what is this Ragnar you’re talking about, I don’t know how you could miss it because we’ve been talking about it incessantly but if you have missed it…
Jen: Hey, and listen, if you’re not a Run Your Best Life member, become one and join us.
Jill: Well now, that’s a good idea. You’re so smart. And because we’re just going to go into the middle of the wilderness in Wisconsin, going to get sweaty and dirty and eat like, campfire food for three days and it’s going to be a glorious, disgusting mess and we’re going to run in the woods in the dark with a headlamp. What are we doing? And it’s going to be fucking awesome. It’s just going to be fucking awesome.
Jen: It’s just going to be so unique, you know. It might not be even for other people but it’s very unique for me and I just am really looking forward to the uniqueness of it and not knowing what to expect. I can show up to most races either well trained or partially trained and know how it’s going to turn out, but I have no idea what’s going to happen in those two days.
Jill: Well, yeah. So let’s name things that we’re looking forward to because I’m super looking forward to sitting around a campfire and like, just sitting around a campfire. That, in and of itself is going to be amazing but I don’t know, making smores and talking about running and making inappropriate jokes.
Jen: There’s a shocker.
Jill: I know, right? I’m like, this campfire thing, I’m all in with the campfire and I’m kind of excited about sleeping in a tent. As much as I say I hate it, I haven’t done it since I was in college and I went camping as a college student. I mean, for real. The last time I went camping was – actually, it was my first year of graduate school so it would have been like 1990. We were on an island and we had to canoe back at like four o clock in the morning. Had to canoe back across the lake to get to our car and I was like, that’s it, never again. But I feel like this is going to be a slightly different experience.
Jen: Yeah, especially because we’re doing the glamping too and we don’t have to set up our own tents.
Jill: That’s right. I keep forgetting about that. I’m just like, why wouldn’t other people set our tents up for us. Obviously.
Jen: For sure. So that anxiety of that part of it is not there so I think that helps too. We’re just going to show up and it’s going to be ready for us so I’m all in for that, for sure. I think I’m really excited about the challenge of running in the dark in the woods. I am terrified of the dark. Terrified, and I want this to be something that’s going to snap me out of that and take me to a new level. And maybe even with the camping too. I don’t think I’m going to become a “camper” but maybe I’ll be a little less snooty about it.
Jill: Well, so you know what would be – I keep talking about this with the marathon about how 90% of my training is going to be in my brain. Like, obviously we’re going to need to take the same approach towards this, the Ragnar, and work on all of our thoughts about it because I do have a lot of thoughts about like, I’m really scared to run in the dark with nothing but a headlamp and who knows who else is going to be around there. That was my biggest block to this and then we kind of talked it through and was like, alright, well there’s always going to be somebody there so you’re not going to be totally alone. But I’m a little scared – maybe not in my own apartment but like, when I have to walk in a dark parking lot, I’m totally scared of the dark.
Jen: I’m afraid of the dark in my house. I won’t go into a room until I reach my hand in and turn on the light.
Jill: Oh yeah, that’s like, next level. Are we going to have to sleep with a night light on in our tent?
Jen: Perhaps. Perhaps we will.
Jill: But yeah, I think this is a great – because when you said that about the challenge, I think this is a really great opportunity to not just do a physical challenge but like you said, work on some of the mindset and the mental blocks that we have about doing something that’s outside of our comfort zone. Because this is really outside of my comfort zone and I know it’s really outside of yours, and I think of all the women that have signed up to join us, at least half of them have said yeah, this is outside of my comfort zone too. So I think that’s going to be kind of – we’re going to have to evolve again.
Jen: And I’m actually really looking forward to that part of it. I’m looking forward to what I’m going to feel like when I’m done with it.
Jill: Oh my god, yeah, I agree.
Jen: And I love the people who are going too, so I’m very excited about spending that kind of time with the people we’re going with because they’re amazing people.
Jill: Yeah. I mean, this is going to be kind of low key, the first Run Your Best Life retreat ever.
Jen: Go big or go home.
Jill: We don’t fuck around. And speaking of the first ever Run Your Best Life retreat, we’re actually – so I mean, obviously Wisconsin is sort of low key the first one, but Jen, I am super excited about what we’re doing in Savannah in November.
Jen: Oh my gosh, me too. And I cannot wait to go to Savannah. I’ve never been there and I’m dying to go there.
Jill: And you’re like a big fan of that book, Midnight in the Garden of Evil, right?
Jen: Midnight in the Garden of Good Evil, yes.
Jill: I’m just like, midnight in the evil garden.
Jen: I love that book and I loved the movie too and I’m just very excited.
Jill: Savannah’s just got like, it’s got so much history and stuff but so it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll race weekend so there’s a marathon, a half marathon, and a 5K, and that’s like on Saturday and Sunday. So what we’ve decided to do is do the retreat on Thursday and Friday so everybody can come down, hang out with each other. Jen and I are going to be coaching you guys and just going to be off the hook. We’re going to do some group runs and then of course, if you want to do the races, like the races are right there.
So for those of you who want to do the half marathon, you can all do it together. You want to do the 5K, that’s on Sunday. Kind of weird how they have the 5K on Sunday and the other two on Saturday but regardless, that means that the marathon and the half marathon are on Saturday and so for anybody who comes down for the retreat then of course we’ve got the race the next day and so we’re actually going to do – so we’re doing the retreat on Thursday and Friday and then Saturday morning we’re going to do like a little pre-race rally together. And I think I might actually do this race. This might be part of my pre-Philadelphia marathon training. And Jen I think is probably going to do the race. So people come to the retreat, they’re actually going to get to run with us and…
Jen: I know, that’s so amazing.
Jill: Right? We get to run with them. And so that retreat’s coming up but of course you have to be in Run Your Best Life to do it, so if you’re not a Run Your Best Lifer, I don’t know why you’re not. It’s very confusing to me. Do you know why they’re not a member yet, Jen?
Jen: They just aren’t quite aware maybe of how amazing it is and they need to come find out.
Jill: Pretty freaking awesome. So join Run Your Best Life, come to this retreat because it’s going to be ridiculous. But yeah, I’m super excited because we’ve known these people online for so long and we just love them so much and it’s going to be so much fun to meet them all in person and just hug them and then coach them and it’s going to be great. So that’s what’s new with us, but we’ve got some questions from listeners that have written in to ask us stuff.
And by the way, if we read your question today, the deal is if you drop a line to support@notyouraveragerunner.com, say hey, you read my question on the air, I want my car magnet, I want my Not Your Average Runner car magnet, we will send it to you. You just have to email us, support@notyouraveragerunner.com and give us your mailing address and we will put a magnet in the mail for you.
So the first question we have – and let’s do this. I think we should take turns answering. You answer the first one first, and then I’ll give my input, and then I’ll answer the second one and you give your input. Does that sound good?
Jen: Sure.
Jill: I think this first one is perfect for you anyway. So it comes from Anita and Anita says, “I’m about a month into training for my first marathon. I’ve done a few halfs and those have gone mostly well. My question is my stomach doesn’t do very well with GU, Chomps, or things like that. They make me nauseous, sit in my stomach like a rock, and have you running to the bathroom. I’m terrified that I’m going to crash hard during the race if I’m not able to get some kind of fuel in me that doesn’t make me totally nauseous. Do you have some suggestions as to what I may be able to use that isn’t so hard on my stomach? Thank you so much. I absolutely love your podcast, you’re amazing.”
Jen: What an awesome question. I think we hear this a lot too from other people about what to eat, what to use for fuel, and I totally hear you on the GU. I have used it before but I have similar stomach reactions to it. I do not react well to it. I do use the blocks or the Chomps and I pretty much do okay with those but I like to also make my own fuel.
First of all, I know exactly what’s in it and I know how it reacts with me well. So I like to make my own. And so I will do things like a sticky rice ball, which sounds weird and hard to eat when you’re running but it’s actually not. There’s a great book out there, resource that we use called Feed Zone Portables, and I know there’ll be a link in the show notes about that book but it is so great. It’s got all these different options for making your own fuel and that might sound like a lot of work but it’s really not.
The rice balls are some of my favorite. You buy the short grain kind of sticky rice and then you can make them all different flavors. I tend to err on the side of liking sweeter things when I’m running rather than savory or salty things. I like that for after I’m running, after I’m done. So I make the ones that have like, honey and toasted sesame seed in them and they’re absolutely delicious.
I wrap them, make it look like a piece of candy, so they’re round and then you twist them on each end. And then I just put them in my pack that I carry with me when I’m running and then I just sort of like, use my teeth and I just sort of scrape it out of the wax paper. I don’t even have to touch it so I don’t get sticky or anything like that, and I love those. They’re so good. I know Jill has recommended baby potatoes before. You love those, Jill, those little tiny – sometimes they call them like, marble potatoes, they’re really little.
Jill: They’re like, bite size, they’re really small.
Jen: Yeah, I think you roast them so they’re real soft with some salt. That is not appealing to me but I know it is to several people. I know a lot of people who use it. I also know a lot of people who use sweet potato. So they’ll just roast a whole sweet potato and put it in a baggie and just pull the baggie back and bite off of it. Again, not appealing to me. I don’t know if that’s a texture thing but what…
Jill: The – well, that sweet potato thing, somebody told me one time that they used to go buy those little single serve baby food packets. They kind of look like Go-GURT but they have baby food in them and they would get like, sweet potato baby food or there was something else, which sounds really gross to me but they’re like, oh no, this is so great for me.
Jen: Yeah, I mean really, it’s what you like and what you can handle on your palate and in your stomach. Another thing that I actually really like are little peanut butter balls. And so you can make those but you can also buy them now. I don’t know which peanut butter brand has them. They’re in the peanut butter aisle and they’re little tiny peanut butter balls and they’re delicious and they kind of – they don’t really melt in your mouth. You kind of have to chew them but then they kind of start to melt.
I like stuff that’s slightly chewy but that I don’t have to go to town on because I don’t want to be chewing so much that I’m verging on choking. So I like stuff that kind of goes down easily. So those peanut butter balls are awesome and they have sugar and salt and protein in them. And they’re little so you can just eat one or two and they give you sort of that nice boost. I really, really like those a lot.
Jill: Didn’t we have somebody at the New Orleans retreat, race-cation that was like hey, can you buy some of those for us, for me to take with me on my – didn’t we have somebody that was eating those?
Jen: Yeah, I think Sandy was. I think it was Sandy, or she was trying it. She was trying them out to see if she liked them.
Jill: That’s right, and we all tasted it and we were like, these are amazing.
Jen: They’re amazing. You don’t want to try to eat those like when you’re not using it as fuel because you can power down a whole container of them because they’re so delicious.
Jill: Yeah, agreed. They’re like candy.
Jen: I know people have taken a small half sandwich or something like that. I can’t imagine like, chomping on a sandwich while I’m running, but I know people have done that too. But I really like the rice balls a lot. There’s a couple of other great recipes in there. They have like a sweet potato waffle that I made that I really loved.
Jill: Those were so good.
Jen: Those are really good. So the best thing to do is to play around with some but don’t wait too long because you don’t want to get into your super long runs and then have something not work for you. So test it out maybe on a shorter run and just try out a few things and see what starts to sit well with you. Usually it’s probably best to avoid wheat products because they can make you sort of bloated and gassy.
Stuff like – sometimes it’s some of the beverage that I drink. I drink the Nuun. It’s got a tiny bit of caffeine in it but if you have too much caffeine, if something has a lot of chocolate in it or something like that, that might have a negative effect on your gastrointestinal system.
Jill: Yeah, I think caffeine’s definitely something that not everybody can tolerate that when they’re working out. For me, it like, sends my – it keeps me up all night long. I’m super sensitive to it, but it also sends my esophagus into spasms or something. I have reflux and if I drink too much caffeine, I get pain in that area. And so I’m not a super fan.
Jen: Not me. I’m made of about 75% coffee. Give me all the caffeine.
Jill: So one thing I wanted to point out about that Feed Zone Portables book, which like the recipes in there make a ton. So if you’ve – yes, it takes a little bit of time and effort to put the things together, but then it makes enough for like, an entire season of running. You just put it in the freezer and you’re good to go. So it’s not like you have to keep making it every week after week.
Jen: Unless you want to change it up. That would be the only thing. But yeah, those rice balls man, those are my favorite and the thing I like about them is they digest really easily and you can sort of instantly feel the fuel happening. I think that’s why people like the GU because it reacts really quickly. I feel like the rice does the same thing because you know I like white rice. It instantly metabolizes, and it’s got the honey in it too. I love it.
Jill: Yeah, and the nice thing about those homemade recipes if they have a little bit of fiber in them and so I think they just don’t go right through your system the way the other ones do. Okay, I hope Anita that helps, but congratulations on your first marathon. Super excited for you and let us know. Make sure you write in and let us know how it goes.
Okay, next question we have is from Wendy. And Wendy says, “I love your podcast. After finishing two half marathons in 2018, I took some time off during the holidays and couldn’t seem to get started again. Now I’ve found your podcast and I’ve fallen in love with running all over again. Thank you. Now the question. I love the run but I hate the stretching and I think that lifting weights is boring.” I’m using the emphasis that she provided in her email.
“But I’m tired of sore knees and ankles and tight calves and at 53, I know I need to do everything I can to take care of my body so I can run for many years to come. I’m worried that I’m risking injury with the stretching avoidance. Would love your advice on the most efficient way that I can do the work so that I can get back to the run. Thanks Jill.”
Okay Wendy, this – so I’m going to field this one but then I’m definitely going to talk about the stretching, but Jen, I’m hoping that you can talk about making strength training fun because you are so good and consistent with your strength training that I think you’re going to have lots of great ideas for Wendy. But let’s talk about this stretching business.
And first of all, when you think of any activity as boring, when you have the thought this activity is boring, whether it’s stretching or lifting weights or whatever it is, you’re feeling – you’re going to feel resistant. When you feel resistant, you’re much less likely to do it. So right there, the thought that you have like this activity is boring is making it boring for you. Just want to let you know right now.
So I mean, I know that that’s what you’re thinking right now but the first things I would suggest you do is like, start – instead of thinking oh my god, this is so boring, start looking at what it’s doing for you rather than what it’s not doing for you. Because when you say it’s boring, you’re basically saying I’m not entertained by doing this activity but really, you’re not entertained by brushing your teeth but you still brush your teeth. You’re not entertained by driving to work every day but you still drive to work every day because you want the result of keeping your job, having a clean mouth.
We’re not entertained by taking a shower and yet we do it all the time. So just because something is boring doesn’t mean that you can avoid it, I guess. So when we want the result of having a body that can run for many years, we need to start thinking differently about strength training and stretching.
And as far as stretching goes, stretching is like – it kind of blows my mind that people are just like, oh my god, I hate it so much because I kind of feel like three to five minutes of stretching after each run, while you’re catching your breath, while you’re drinking your water, it doesn’t really take all that much time and yet we avoid it so much. And I never quite understand because to me, stretching feels really good but I get that some people don’t think that it feels good.
And so if stretching is painful to you, if you hate it because it’s painful, we need to change how you’re stretching so that you’re not going so far past the point of sensation. You want to be stretching such that you can feel sort of a release in your muscles but maybe a little bit of tension relieved, but you don’t want to go to the point where you’re like, that hurts. So if stretching hurts for you, we need to dial it back. Dial back the level of sensation that you’re getting.
But the other thing is like, find ways that you can stretch throughout the day. If you think I don’t have time to stretch after I run, I promise that you do, but maybe you could just stretch for two minutes after you run and then do the rest of your stretching later. For me, often I’ll actually – before I go to bed at night, I’ll do like a really short stretching routine on the bed so I don’t have to get up and down off the floor.
Because for me I’m just like, I don’t know, the floor, not a fan of the floor. I’m like, Jen with the camping. Just not a big fan. So I’ll just do my stretching on the bed. What’s wrong with that? I’ll lay down on the bed, I’ll get my yoga strap out. I’ll stretch my hamstrings, I’ll stretch my IT band and so forth, and I’m just like – you know, take a shower so your body’s nice and warm and then do your stretching then.
Schedule it into your phone so if you’re struggling to get it done after you run or something like that, I would find different times of the day to do it but I also want you to start thinking about it differently when you think I hate stretching, you’re going to avoid stretching as much as possible. So I want you to start thinking about what is stretching doing for me, what is the result I’m getting as a result because I’m doing this activity.
And we always want the result of feeling better. Stretching is the path to that. So stop focusing on the fact that you hate it because that’s going to make you resistant to it, and start looking at stretching as something that is going to give you the result you want, which is running for many years to come. Not having sore ankles and knees and calves, and I hear you on that.
And honestly, when I was a personal trainer and I was seeing clients all the time, I was stretching with them every single day. I was so fucking flexible, I could practically turn myself into a pretzel. Once I closed down the personal training studio, my stretching went back to just stretching after I would work out and I noticed after about six months, I was like, my body is not as flexible as it used to be.
Any time you can fit stretching in, whether maybe you’re like, standing in line at the grocery store, put one foot way behind you and stretch out that calf and then stretch the other calf out just while you’re hanging out, waiting in line for something. There’s a lot of ways that you can fit stretching into your life if you are struggling with doing sort of a formal stretching routine.
The other thing I want to suggest to you, if you can go to like a restorative yoga class, not a hatha or vinyasa or hot yoga because those require a lot more effort, they’re much more cardiovascular based. Go to a restorative or a yin class where you will hold longer poses and you will have a teacher that guides you through it. They can be very, very, very relaxing and contribute a lot to your stretching routine. That was a lot of talking.
Jen: I wholeheartedly agree about the restorative yoga though. That saved me during marathon training. Oh my gosh, it saved me. I wrote my latest blog about sort of that – that feeling of I don’t really feel like doing this and I love – you coached me on this, Jill, and I love your point about like, sometimes we don’t feel like going to work or sometimes we don’t feel like – I don’t know about brushing your teeth or not, if you feel like it or not but you know, it’s the kind of stuff like yeah, maybe it’s not exciting, maybe you don’t feel like it, but you do it anyway because you don’t want the consequences of not doing it, right?
And so I sat down, I made this list of all the things I love about running because I was getting a little ambivalent about my running last week and I was like, I don’t want to not have those things, so even if I don’t feel like it, I’m going to do it because I know the result I’m going to get is going too far outweigh not doing it.
Jill: So talk about strength training. Lifting weights, because Wendy seems to think it’s boring. What do you think about it?
Jen: Well, Wendy’s never been to my boot camp class that I take at my gym. It is anything but boring. So I’m a big fan – I think the weight machines, they’re not as exciting as going to a class or something. I do both. I do the machines and then I do the boot camp class, which uses weights sometimes but it mostly just uses your body weight.
And sometimes it’s cardiovascular but it’s really strength training because it incorporates a lot of like, burpees and squats and jumping rope and things like that. And so I think people think like, oh strength training is like the weight machines and it certainly can be and you can find some – this is going to sound really weird, but I find a little bit of peace in the weight machines because I don’t really have to think about what I’m doing. I just do the motions and the machine makes my body have good form and that sort of stuff.
So I actually use it almost like a – I wouldn’t go quite as far as saying meditative practice but I kind of get a little zen about the weight machines because it’s kind of peaceful and I know that sounds super weird, but I don’t know, I don’t get a lot of alone time so I’m just like, I’m just here doing some bicep curls by myself, it’s kind of nice.
Jill: I love that. So you basically use a combination of group strength training and solo strength training, so you mix it up a little bit.
Jen: Yeah, and it just kind of depends on what my week looks like. I have to balance the boot camp because I do get very sore from it so the Saturday class is in the morning and that’s my favorite one but I can’t do it on the weekends that I have a long run. I would say anything over six miles because I’m just too sore. So I’ll end up doing it every other week, and then the ones that we have during the week are all – they focus kind of on different things and so I’ll try to go to one of those or during the week if I don’t have time or it’s a little bit later in the evening and sometimes that’s hard for me, so I just go do the weights myself.
And I just do the machines. Sometimes I just do all arm machines because I feel like I do a lot of lower body stuff already with running, so I’ll just go and do all the ab and arm machines. But tonight, I went and I did arm – I varied it between arm and leg so I did an arm machine then a leg machine, then an arm machine, then a leg machine, and I just went back and forth. And I’d usually do like three reps of 15 on those and if I’m feeling like that wasn’t much effort then I’d go back and do another round.
Jill: So one of the questions Wendy has is like, how can we make it more efficient, and one thing Wendy, that I think is a misnomer is that people assume that you have to be in the gym for like, 45 minutes three times a week to do your strength training and like, there are ways – grab a resistance band and Google resistance band strength training for runners and do some of those workouts.
You can do them while you’re watching Game of Thrones. It doesn’t require driving to the gym or anything like that and it’s a little bit different. Download an app. Download a free strength training app that will have you do body weight exercises at home so again, you don’t need to go to the gym and it’s super-efficient.
So maybe 20 minutes twice a week I think is enough. You can totally do more than that and if you want to that’s awesome, go for it, but I think bare minimum, 20 minutes twice a week focusing on your glutes and your hamstrings and your quads and your calves and your core is like, enough to keep you – combined with the strength training to keep you injury free.
So work on the thinking that it’s boring because I don’t think it’s helpful for you to be thinking that it’s boring, and it’s optional. You don’t have to think that way. Work on making it – set your expectations where they need to be so you can do less and still get a great result out of it. And then like, mix it up a little bit. You don’t have to just go to the gym, pick things up and put them down. You can do machines one day, you can do boot camp one day. There’s a whole bunch of stuff that you can do.
Jen: And you know what else I love to do? I don’t love to do this but it’s really one of the most efficient – it’s more cross-training maybe than straight strength training, but jumping rope because it works every muscle in your body basically and it really causes you to have good balance and it really works on your abs. You wouldn’t think that but it really does. And it gives you a little spring in your step too and so our boot camp class, our first warm up is 200 jump ropes.
Jill: Oh my gosh. Now that’s awesome. If you’re going to jump rope Wendy, make sure you wear your Enell.
Jen: Oh yeah.
Jill: I know I would knock myself unconscious with that but I love that idea. Oh my gosh, we’re totally going to jump rope together at the Savannah retreat.
Jen: I used to be really good. I used to be able to do the double jump rope but I haven’t gotten back there yet. But yeah, jumping rope, it’s a good one. And can I make one more point about strength training and this is sort of a side from running. Strength training is the key to anti-aging. The cardio is great and we all need to do our cardio too, but if you are going to stay healthy and active and avoid joint and muscle issues and those sorts of things as you age, the key to that is strength training.
Jill: Yes, 100% agree on that. People with strong muscles and strong bones, when they fall down, they don’t break a hip. Bottom line, because Wendy, you and I are about the same age and I’m thinking that as well. I’m like, alright, in 10 years I’m going to be in my 60s and I want to make sure that my bones and my joints and my ligaments are ready to kind of – because I’m living to be 100, just FYI. Just already decided that, so I got another 50 years with this body, I want to take the absolute best care of it possible and weight-bearing exercises are a great way to strengthen your bones.
And I don’t mean just running as a weight-bearing exercise obviously, but lifting heavy things is a weight-bearing exercise and it’s not going to help you just with running. It’s going to help you with activities of daily living. It’s such a great point, Jen. Love it.
Okay, so we are moving on to Lisa, which is probably going to be our final question because we’re chatting a lot about these things. So Lisa, we’re going to move on to you, and Lisa writes, “I’ve been an on and off runner for many years.” I hear you, this is my aside. I hear you.
She says, “I get excited, sign up for a race, usually a half marathon, then I start training, lose interest after a few weeks and it’s a slog to get myself across the finish line if I can even manage to show up for the race in the first place.” Oh gosh, yes. “I’ve done this a bunch of times and each time I swear it’ll be different and each time I quit on myself again. How can I break out of this loop? I heard you say that your goal is to show up for your marathon fully prepared and that’s what I want to do also but it feels like I’m just reliving the same pattern over and over again.” And when she says that, all I can think of is Groundhog Day.
Jen: Totally.
Jill: Oh my god. So Lisa, oh my gosh, I totally feel you and Jen, do you want to try this one first? Do you want to feel this?
Jen: Yeah, I mean I think that kind of goes back to that – what we talk about a lot is sort of like the finding your why, and so we set the big goals and the big goals are great and we want to work to achieve those. But the end result, the big goal, the race is actually not the best part of working towards that goal. It’s all the work that you do going up to it.
And so that’s why Jill, I love that you have switched your goal not to complete the Philadelphia marathon but to show up fully trained. Because we can’t control what happens on race day so I just love that and I think that’s really – what it boils down to is staying motivated. And so how do you keep yours because you’re the only one that can motivate you, so how do you keep yourself motivated?
And it’s not anything other than the thoughts that you have in your head and if you tell yourself I’m a person who doesn’t show up, I’m a person who quits, I get in the same pattern loop over and over again, you talk about your running and your racing and like I said, I had that sort of this week where I was just feeling sort of meh about it and it was because of the thoughts I was having.
My thoughts were meh, so that’s what I was getting. And so it doesn’t have to be a ticker tape parade every time you train but it’s make it non-negotiable and figure out why you want it so that you are more inclined to do the thing, rather than not.
Jill: Yeah, that’s a great point. I remember that conversation that we had and you were just like, I don’t know, I just feel meh, and I’m like, well, you’ve got to be thinking something and you’re like, I don’t have any thoughts. And I was like, there’s got to be something in there. But really, your thoughts were just like running is meh. You weren’t – even if you had any, didn’t have any specific thoughts that were making you feel meh, you had an absence of thoughts so you didn’t have thinking that was creating a feeling of motivation and determination. And so the absence of that was just meh. It’s like my new favorite word, meh.
Jen: Because it’s kind of like a sound and a feeling.
Jill: It’s a statement and a feeling, for sure.
Jen: There’s a grammatical term for that, is that when something sounds like what it is, like buzz. The word buzz sounds like…
Jill: Onomatopoeia.
Jen: Onomatopoeia, is that what it is? Yeah. Gosh, we’re smart.
Jill: I don’t know. We are smart. I think we’re probably wrong, so if somebody can write in and tell us, I don’t know where I just pulled the word onomatopoeia from or…
Jen: I think you’re right because that’s the word I was thinking too but I didn’t want to say it and sound stupid, so thanks for taking one for the team.
Jill: Awesome, alright. You know me, I’m all about looking stupid.
Jen: Oh my gosh, that’s funny.
Jill: But yeah, I mean that’s so great Jen, finding your why and also what you said earlier about it doesn’t have to be a ticker tape parade. And Corinne Crabtree, she has this great saying about food. Every time I see this meme come across my Instagram feed it cracks me up. It’s like she says it doesn’t have to be an orgasm in your mouth. It’s just breakfast.
Jen: Real descriptive. It’s like a – wow.
Jill: But it’s so true. I love Corinne, she cracks me up. And you guys, if you do not listen to Corinne’s podcast, it’s called Losing 100 Pounds with Phit-n-Phat. It’s like, the best podcast. It’s like – and Corinne and her podcasting partner Kathy are like, as different as night and day. Like, Kathy is just very reserved and super sweet and she’s just that way in person too, and Corinne’s like, kind of like me and Jen. She’s just a little more direct and outspoken.
But she does it all with this amazing southern accent, so even if you don’t want to lose 100 pounds, just listen to her podcast because she does all kinds of thought work and it’s the same stuff that we do here around running. But that one cracks me up because she’s like, there doesn’t have to be an orgasm in your mouth. It’s just breakfast.
And like, there doesn’t need to be a ticker tape parade for your run. It’s just a training run. Just get the fuck out there and do it. So Lisa, I apologize, we’re getting way off track here. We’re talking about all kinds of good stuff. I think you don’t necessarily – we think that okay, if I set a goal, if I sign up for this race, the race, the circumstance of me being signed up for this race is what is going to motivate me to do all the training, and that is not true.
The race is just a circumstance and you have thoughts about it that keep you motivated. So in the beginning, your thoughts are oh my god, it’s going to be so amazing to cross that finish line, but our excitement wanes usually after a few weeks when each individual run gets progressively harder and harder. And so if you’re expecting the race to motivate you, you’re going to be disappointed.
You need to come up with thoughts to keep you motivated and thoughts for me, for this marathon, my thoughts are not I want to finish this marathon, it’s going to be amazing. My thoughts are I want to see what it’s like to do this training. So my goal is to do every single training run that is assigned to me by my coach, which is me, but that is my goal.
So that means every single time I have a training run, I’m thinking about my goal, which is like I want to do all the training runs. I want to see what it’s like to go through this process and give it my all. So that means I’ve really released the goal of running the marathon. I am going to show up there on race day for sure, but my goal is not t run the race. My goal is to do all the training, and I think that that is what is – it’s a shift that you need to make in your brain so that you’re not resentful of the race.
Because that’s what happens I think. Do you agree, Jen? And I think you’ve probably experienced this too like, we sign up for this race and then we’re like, now I have to do this fucking training run and it’s 17 miles or whatever and we become resentful of the goal of the race instead of – the race becomes the reason we’re pissed off and I’ve heard – I know I’ve heard you say this, I’ve heard other clients say this, I’ve probably said it myself.
Why the fuck did I sign up for this race? That was a terrible idea, I don’t want to do it anymore. And if your goal is to just do the training, then it totally shifts it. Then you can’t be mad at the race because your goal is just to do the next training run.
Jen: You and I are reading the book Atomic Habits right now by James Clear and one of the quotes that I wrote down from that book which really resonated with me around this whole idea, he talks about – and I hope I get it right, and James Clear, if you’re listening, hopefully don’t get mad at me if I get it wrong because I don’t have it in front of me but it’s something around the line of you don’t rise to the challenge of the goal. You actually fall to what your systems are.
So just saying you’re going to run a marathon, just saying that goal, you’re not going to automatically rise to that goal. You’re going to fall to whatever your system is to get there, and I love that concept because that’s really like yes, the real work is in the system. It’s not in this one time this is why I’m going to do this goal.
Jill: My brain is exploding right now because I’ve heard you mention that quote before but I never put it together in the context of like, setting up systems to train for a race.
Jen: Yeah, I mean it was like – it totally blew my mind. I know, I’ve been doing this thing with Google and my driving. I listen to books and podcasts in the car and when I’m driving and I want to write something down and I can’t, I use the Google voice and I’m like, you say okay Google, and then – oh, my phone just turned on, that’s so funny. And then I say take a note and then they’re like, what do you want the note to say and then I say the quote from the book and then they send it to my Gmail. They, like their people.
Jill: Such an awesome life hack. I’m going to start doing that.
Jen: I know, I really felt smart doing that.
Jill: So good. But that concept like, really my brain is exploding with possibilities. So in May in Run Your Best Life, we’re doing motivation month so we’re working really hard all month in May on how to get – what is motivation, how to create it, how to stay, how to keep it, how to get it back when it disappears, and Atomic Habits is one of the books like Jen and I are both doing some research in that book to help lead those discussions.
Jen: Can I resay the quote because I really screwed that quote up so can I resay it because I found it? I botched it.
Jill: Google’s like, you fucked that up, my friend, here’s the right quote.
Jen: Google’s like, excuse me Jen, that’s not the quote I took. Stupid shit. Always correcting me. That’s so funny, I said that, it turned back on again. My phone is creepy. But the quote is, “You do not rise to the level of your goals but you fall to the level of your systems.”
Jill: Oh my god, so good. So good. And you guys, we’re going to have a link to that book in the show notes. If you have not read Atomic Habits by James Clear, you must. You simply must. And if you want to study the book and all the other – Jen and I know a shit ton about motivation.
So if you want to study the book and all the other stuff we know about motivation next month and do it with us because we’re amazing and do it with everybody in Run Your Best Life because they’re amazing, you just have to join Run Your Best Life. I know, I keep saying this. People are like, why do you keep saying that? I’m like, well, I will stop saying it when everybody in the world is in Run Your Best Life.
Jen: Listen, this is going to hopefully be motivation enough for you guys to join if you’re not already members. Our webinar, we do that webinar every month and our webinars in May is called Willpower Does Not Exist. Mic drop.
Jill: Yes, I know, exactly. Willpower is bullshit. It is, and we’re going to tell you exactly how. But it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be lit. Is that what the kids are saying? It’s going to be lit.
Jen: Maybe. I thought saying things was dope was still a thing, but apparently…
Jill: It’s not a thing anymore, I’m so sorry. It’s not. It’s alright, we middle-aged women have our own vernacular, which mostly involves saying things like I can’t remember what I was supposed to do anymore. Menopause brain, that’s a good one. Anyway, alright, we’re getting way off track. I’m getting loopy and you’re on some sort of allergy meds so we should probably bring this to a close.
Jen: Can I close this with – it’s a quote, but it’s actually an old Scandinavian blessing, which it’s nothing to do with religion or anything but I just love it and I think it’s so sweet and talk about sort of silly, so can I close with this little blessing?
Jill: Yes please, I would love that.
Jen: This says may the light always find you on a dreary day, and when you need to be home, may you find your way. May you always have courage to take a chance and never find frogs in your underpants.
Jill: Oh my god, thank you for that.
Jen: You’re welcome.
Jill: Are we going to have frogs in our underpants in Wisconsin?
Jen: Most likely.
Jill: Is that going to happen at the Ragnar?
Jen: Yes, most likely. So that’s going to kick off our Ragnar training is that blessing.
Jill: I love this. Can we laminate that and hang it on everybody’s tents at the race?
Jen: I actually have it. I have it on a really cute bookmark with a little frog on it so I’ll make copies of it for everybody.
Jill: I love this. I love this. And we need to get a picture of that in the show notes so people can see it. That’s awesome. Alright, well this has been super fun. It’s always fun when we get to do a podcast episode together so thank you for spending your Thursday evening with me.
Jen: Thank you for having me.
Jill: Alright everyone, everything that we talked about in the podcast is in the show notes so just go check it out and go get that book, join Run Your Best Life. What else did we mention?
Jen: Your training run.
Jill: Two books. Get your fucking training runs done, stop fucking around, all of y’all. Alright, have a great week, we will talk to you next week.
Jen: Bye.
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.
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