Run, Selfie, Repeat

What do you do when your community tries to define who you are and what you do? That's the position I found myself in recently and after speaking up for myself (despite the fact that no one thought to include my voice), I was made to feel trivial because of what I do. I'm a storyteller. And it's because I started this blog and and podcast that I found a way to tell my story and find my voice and purpose.  Today I want to talk about the power of storytelling and the dangers of those who try to define, delegitimize, and define us.

Today on the Run, Selfie, Repeat podcast, I have a very special guest. This woman is someone who I consider to be a true game changer in the running community. She's a co-leader of the Boston November Project tribe and in addition to being the physically strongest woman I know, she just might be the kindest as well.  Join me and this incredible and possibly immortal woman, Emily Saul, in an insightful conversation about strength! How we get it, why we fear it, and why it's important for everyone to strive to put their strongest foot forward. 

What do you do when trust is broken? When you make a mistake and discover that you're being vilified online? Do you hide your head in the sand? Pretend you didn't do anything wrong? Or own your mistake and ask for forgiveness? It's been a rough few days. The cyber bullying I'm facing is nothing short of horrifying and disappointing and in this episode of the Run, Selfie, Repeat podcast, I want to talk about my mistake, the bullying, and forgiveness.  Mistakes happen. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't let myself, my sponsors, or all of you down. A part of me wants to retreat and give up. But my mission to give the transformative and empowering gift of running to women everywhere is so much bigger than my hurt and my fears. So let's talk about mistakes, online bullying, and forgiveness. 

You know, this may sound crazy, but I was pretty awful to myself and my body the weeks leading into this photo shoot. I was terrified about being on the cover of a magazine in my sports bra. So much so, that I almost went on a juice cleanse in an attempt to lose as much weight as I could as quickly as possible. Look, I know I'm the leader of the #SportsBraSquad but I'm still human. I'm still working and fighting to be the strongest version of myself possible both mentally and physically.  I really underestimated how intimidating it would be to shoot the cover of Women's Running. So...let's talk about that whole experience.

What are you worth? Take a second to grab a pen of paper because during today's episode of the Run, Selfie, Repeat podcast, I want you to write down your answer. I want you to ask yourself what your worth is, what makes you stand out, and why you matter. Because I know this is something I struggle with, I often find myself selling myself short. And sure, sometimes it's because self deprecating jokes here and there keep me human but sometimes, it's because I actually doubt myself.  Today is all about inner confidence and trusting our worth. So buckle up, because this episode is an important one.

Save the date because on Saturday June 24th, women around the world are ditching their shirts along with their insecurities to show the world what strength looks like for Global #SportsBraSquad day!

On a car ride back from a family reunion, we listened to episode 589 of This American Life titled "Tell Me I'm Fat". The episode started off with this eye opening statistic-- ⅓ of Americans are classified as overweight and another ⅓ are obese. And then, the four acts went on to pose the idea that maybe it’s time to rethink the way we see being fat. YES. OF COURSE IT'S TIME TO RETHINK THE WORD FAT. The fact most people who are struggling with their weight, fat or not, struggle with such intense feelings of shame, self loathing, and disgust is unacceptable. I’ve lost so many years of my life consumed with how much I weighed, convinced that I needed to lose X amount of weight in order to be beautiful or happy. I don't care how many times I have to say it, strength doesn't look a certain way, it feels a certain way.  We don't just need to change the way we feel about the word fat, but we need to change the way we (specifically women) see themselves. Today's episode is a tough one but it's an important one.

This week, I'm in Seattle visiting with Oiselle talking Girls on Track (GOT Bras) and what we can do empower the sisterhood. (Hint Hint -- National #SportsBraSquadDay is coming. June 24th. Mark your calendars.) One of the serious badasses here at Oiselle, Megan Murray, shared some sobering statistics with me that broke my heart and it is my hope that they make you really, really angry as well. Ready? The National Eating Disorders Association found that 70% of women report they don’t like their bodies, and that 89% of women have dieted by age 17. THOSE NUMBERS AREN'T OK. Here's what I want to ask you, at what point will we be happy? What will it take for you to realize that you aren't just good enough but that you're already the best version of yourself possible? I need to talk about what we can do to make this number disappear.  

For hundreds of thousands of runners, breaking 2 hours in the half marathon is the goal they fight for. It requires grit, determination, perseverance, and patience because for so many of us, it takes year to break through that mental barrier. And this weekend, after we launched Project 1:59, I saw first hand how difficult it is to believe in yourself when you don't think you can do it. I want to take a second to celebrate all the runners who try, fall short, and dare to try time and time again. 

Live every single day like it could be your last. It sounds cheesy, but it's true. This morning, one of my friends sent me the Tedx talk called "The Magic Of Not Giving A F**k" by Sarah Knight. In her speech, Sarah talks about how to stop spending time you don’t have doing things you don’t want to do. But here's the thing, it's really hard to put yourself first. So today's episode is all about about what it means to live for today. 

Today on a very special episode of the Run, Selfie, Repeat podcast, Physical Therapy wizard Mike Riccardi and superwoman athlete and massage therapist Sarah Hunninghake of Finish Line Physical Therapy are joining me to explain why recovery is the bane of every runner's existence!

Today on a very special episode of the Run, Selfie, Repeat podcast, Physical Therapy wizard Mike Riccardi and superwoman athlete and massage therapist Sarah Hunninghake of Finish Line Physical Therapy are joining me to explain why recovery is the bane of every runner's existence!   

How often do you take the time to actually celebrate yourself for your accomplishments and achievements? Rarely? Sounds about right. Now, how often do you kick yourself when you misstep or make a mistake? What's that? All day every day? Yeah, sounds about right. Let's take a second to talk about why it's important that we take the time to celebrate ourselves!  

I'm in the throws of the post marathon blues and I feel totally and completely disoriented and lost. And I can’t escape this idea of what’s next. I hate "what's next". I love setting goals and working towards something. And right now, I don't have a tangible finish line to move towards. And I feel so much pressure to have my next chapter figured out and the truth is, I don't really know what's next. And I'm embarrassed to admit that. 

Anyone who has ever chased a goal that felt intimidating and unattainable, put in the work, and then either stood in their own way or "failed" trying knows how disappointing it can be to fall short. After reading through a few billion emails from readers and listeners urging me not to feel disappointed in how I handled the London Marathon, we need to talk about the fact that it’s ok to feel disappointed in yourself. What's not ok is to take disappointment and turn it into a sign that you should give up.  Nobodies perfect. We all make mistakes. What I experienced during the London Marathon isn't something I'm particularly proud of but when I was out there on the course, struggling to find a way not to give up, I remembered what Sophie Walker had said during the Women Run Strong event. Sophie told a story about how one particularly rough day, she realized that no one was going to save her. She had to save herself.  Sometimes the cards are stacked against us. Regardless of what happens, there's no such thing as game over. When you stumble, you have to give yourself permission to feel whatever it is you're feeling. Feel disappointed. Or sad. But remember, set backs don't define you. They're just apart of the journey.  The only way you'll fail is if you fail to try. No regrets, no excuses.