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Ep 18 - Running is hard. Can we talk about that??
220 Plays23 days ago
Running can be one of the most rewarding things we do — but also one of the hardest. In this brutally honest episode, we open up about the emotions, self-doubt, and struggles that come with training and race day. We talk about the different ways our personalities shape how we run, why we run, what motivates us, and how we both face those “I don’t want to” moments. If you’ve ever questioned whether you belong, you've felt like you're not a "real" runner or maybe you just hear to know that you’re not alone — this episode is dedicated to you.
Plus, stay turned to the end for a conversation with friends who just finished their first runDisney race at Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend and share what the experience was like.
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Transcript
Opening Remarks on Running Challenges
00:00:00
Speaker
Running is hard, especially running long distances, and although it can be rewarding on the other side of the finish line, it can be a really tough battle sometimes to get there. Today, we're sharing the emotions, self-doubt, and struggles that we go through during training and on race day.
00:00:15
Speaker
Music
00:00:24
Speaker
Hey there, friends.
Introduction to 'One More Run' Podcast Episode 18
00:00:25
Speaker
Welcome to the One More Run podcast. Erica, this is episode number 18. Awesome. We are going to talk about a hard topic today, and that is running.
00:00:35
Speaker
Running is a hard thing to do. yeah Period. that that's That's it. That's the statement of the day. yeah We can just wrap this episode up. Running is Running is hard. We are going to talk about the emotions and struggles, I think, that
Comparison and Self-Perception Among Runners
00:00:49
Speaker
come with it. Balancing life, you know, when you're trying to do all this training and all that and the self-doubt and all that stuff. I think a lot of times um you look at another runner or someone who maybe has some great speed and they look athletic and you think that, wow, I wish I could...
00:01:06
Speaker
but yeah I wish it was as easy for me as it is for them. And I think what we're going to find today is that that's not always the case. yeah it's It's hard no matter what level you're at, what your enjoyment level is. And you and I were having discussions this week about just the differences between you and I. yeah And I think you even learned a little bit. like no I said, no, like that's really i don't I don't want to go run. you know like It's really hard for me, you know things like that. And you're like, what? yeah I thought you'd love to run. I'm like, I do love to run. But that doesn't mean it's not hard.
00:01:35
Speaker
Or that I don't want to go. yeah Or that I don't want to quit. So we're just going to talk through some of that stuff today. If you can identify with it and it helps normalize it and all that, whatever, that will be a win today. That's right And so that's what we're going talk about. We're goingnna basically going to be talking about how hard it is, how we balance, how we get through the hard things. yeah um And yeah, that's today. Erica, what do we have coming up next week?
00:01:57
Speaker
Yeah, so next week we're going to talk about how to travel to Walt Disney World ah for a run Disney race with minimal amount of stress. AJ, you are the perfect Disney planner, and so you are going to share all of your tricks with us so that we know how to get there.
00:02:13
Speaker
i don't know if I'm a perfect Disney planner, but i I travel a lot for work. You do, yeah. And so like just kind of ah minimizing stress and travel because I think you can basically just say, travel is stressful, period. You know what mean? Running is hard, period. Travel travel is stressful, period.
00:02:29
Speaker
You know? And so we've just done as much as we can to reduce the stress during travel. so we're going to share some tips and tricks. but Some of those you might already know, but we're going to do that. If you don't mind, leave a review on the podcast. We do not have one to share this week, Erica. No.
00:02:42
Speaker
I'm sorry. But we have gotten some really great emails. We have. From new friends now. A lot of emails, yeah And I just, I don't want to like violate the privacy of, you know, their encouraging comments they sent privately, right? But I did just want to like say, hey, thanks for sending us a note. It means a lot to us. You know? So we made sure to get some stickers in the mail this week.
00:03:02
Speaker
And we even got some suggestions on some topics yeah ah from a new friend. So yeah, those we probably will incorporate here sometime soon. So anyway, if you send us an email, we really, we really appreciate it.
Acknowledgments and Community Interaction
00:03:15
Speaker
Yes. We also want to give a huge thank you to our friends at Rise and Run. If you are not listening to their podcast, you should be. Oh, yeah. They're the best. They are so good. They um had us on last week.
00:03:27
Speaker
It was episode 213. It was fun guys. It was with those so fun. we love listening to them. And it was just it was very encouraging. and And it was awesome. So thank you guys so much for having us on. We really appreciated it.
00:03:41
Speaker
We said it on the episode. It was like the highlight of our year. It was, yep. but That was super fun. Great. So next up, we're going to dive into our main topic today. But I did want to encourage people to stick around at the end of this episode because we have a 20-minute chat yeah with some friends of ours who were at Wine and Dine. We weren't there, unfortunately. But they were, so they're going to tell us all about it.
00:04:02
Speaker
And even more importantly, it was their first run Disney. yes And so they you know i we asked them, yeah know what what was this like? How is it? Did it meet your expectations? All that kind of stuff. So stick around for that.
00:04:12
Speaker
But first, let's dive into this topic, which is going to be emotional,
The Reality of Running: Universal Challenges
00:04:17
Speaker
I think. We said at the top of the episode that running is hard yeah and that there's a lot of emotions that come with that. There's some struggles that come with that.
00:04:25
Speaker
So let's dive into it. perfect We shifted a little bit because this was not on our schedule yeah of episodes. And I don't even really remember now what we we're going to talk about this week, but this felt important enough to me totally that I wanted to have like an honest discussion about how running is hard and honest is the thing there, right?
00:04:44
Speaker
Transparent, open. i might not even have any answers right for anybody on this one, but maybe it just might be helpful to, oh, I feel that way too. Yeah. Or what?
00:04:55
Speaker
You feel that way? Like, I never would have thought that a runner like you or someone with that much experience or whatever would feel that way. So um we're basically just going to kind of talk about the impact yeah that that some of the you know struggles and hard things with running can have on us.
00:05:12
Speaker
Yeah. I think like you said, it's important to know that running is hard for everybody. We are two totally different types of runners. Like I am usually running injured with some sort of injury.
00:05:24
Speaker
Um, I do not really love the way that I feel running the like how you do. You know, like you will go out for a long run and enjoy it so much that you'll extend it by several miles. Like, I don't think I've ever done that before.
00:05:38
Speaker
i don't think you've ever run with an injury ever in the few years we've been doing this. I've had like soreness or like, you know, like my knee felt a little weird, but I've never had an ongoing injury that, you know, I had to like have physical therapy for yeah or take a break. i'm You're right. I have not. Yeah.
00:05:54
Speaker
Knock on wood, wherever there's some wood. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So I think, you know, it's important to know that no matter what type of runner you are, whether you're super slow or super fast, or you've been doing it forever, it's, it's always going to be a little bit challenging.
00:06:07
Speaker
Well, it's hard on the body, right? Like just the demotion of it. totally My running coach has even said that like he runs these incredible hard things and I'm like, ah my car doesn't go that fast.
00:06:18
Speaker
ah Right. You know? Yeah. And I'll talk to him after the race and he's like, oh, yeah it was brutal. Yeah. He's like, it it just tore me up. And I'm like, how? You were, you know? Right. But i mean, you're professional athlete and it's still hard.
00:06:29
Speaker
And so I think no matter what your level is, the physical act of putting one foot in front of the other at any speed. Right. Obviously you get stronger whatever. yeah It's a hard thing. Um, you're right that I love running.
00:06:40
Speaker
Right. But, but it's still hard. Yeah. Um, I think my personality type plays into my love for running for sure. Uh, and so I want to kind of want to talk about, talk about it but like, I think my personality type makes it look easy. Mm And it's that's not always what's really going on.
00:06:58
Speaker
Yeah. Does that make any sense what I'm saying? And you're we're going to learn about that in just a second yeah um where we're going to talk kind of like our two different personality types. But someone might look at me and say, oh, yeah, he's built like a runner or because he loves running, it must be easy. Yeah.
00:07:11
Speaker
And that's not – those two do not, for me anyway, always go together. Right. A true statement is I love running. Another true statement is I don't want to run. yeah yeah Yeah. Yeah, totally. my My kids have seen me wandering around the kitchen in my running clothes and my headphones in, like wiping down the counter, right putting dishes away, whatever. And they're like, I thought you were going for a run. I'm like, ah oh yeah, ah yeah. What I'm doing is delaying it.
00:07:39
Speaker
Right. I don't want to go. And so I'm finding any reason not to. Totally. Right. And so people don't see that side. Yeah. And I think that's probably because of my personality. For sure.
00:07:50
Speaker
So my question for you is how do you think or in what ways do you think our personality types impact who we are as runners or in our training? What do you think? I mean, for sure, like you are an achiever, you know, and you want to, you want to get stuff done and you want to look good doing it.
00:08:06
Speaker
yeah And so I totally see that playing out, um, in, in the way that you run and the way that you approach running. I am not like that. I'm more of a ah helper. Um, I sometimes feel bad about taking time to go run, especially when like you've been home with the kids and,
00:08:23
Speaker
I've been at work and, you know, I feel like the last thing I should probably go do is go for a run, like, and just leave you guys for longer. right Um, I also, you know, i don't necessarily love the way that I feel when I'm running, but I do love that sense of accomplishment when I'm done.
00:08:37
Speaker
And, and definitely, you know, the whole thing behind this podcast, like I love to be able to help other people who are trying to go after their big goals, whether that's you know, a 5k or a marathon. It doesn't matter. Like I want to celebrate their wins with them. So I definitely think our personalities play into our running styles.
00:08:55
Speaker
Yep. For sure. We're going we love the Enneagram. If you know what the Enneagram is, it's basically like a personality assessment yeah typing system or whatever. And we don't, we can't go into all nine types and all that, whatever here, but we'll talk about it.
00:09:08
Speaker
But kind of like a, I think a precursor for me is one thing I I've just maybe grow grew up with or taught as a kid or um just int work maybe growing up or whatever, like positive mindset or whatever has like always been a big thing, right?
00:09:25
Speaker
And so like for me, I think ah something might look easy or whatever because like – in a good way, refuse yeah to be negative right about something, even though it is a negative thing. It might be pouring down rain. I didn't bring my right fuel. I mean, like a bunch of things might be going wrong.
00:09:45
Speaker
yeah But like, I think that might be a little bit of a misconception or even between the two of us. Like you might be looking at me thinking, man, why is this so easy for him? And it's not, like it's still hard. my yeah My tummy hurts. My, you know, I'm dizzy. I'm but umm whatever.
00:10:00
Speaker
It's still hard, but I'm like... I don't know where it came from. It's probably my dad. My mom is that way too. um Just you know work-wise whatever, my days are long. I don't sit in an office. I'm always on the go. I travel a lot.
00:10:13
Speaker
And positive mindset is like a big thing. So I think for me, that plays into me as a runner in addition to my personality, if that makes any any sense. So let's dive into who we are personality type-wise on the Enneagram. If you know what the Enneagram is, it's nine different
Personality and Running: Enneagram Insights
00:10:28
Speaker
personality types. you know You've got the optimist and the romantic and, you know, you've got all these different, you know, the, I can't remember what, the loyalist, what I mean? You got all these different types yeah and you're motivated, you know, by, you know, different things, right?
00:10:42
Speaker
So let's talk about who we are and how we think that impacts us as runners. I am a three, which you don't really need to know the number, but what that is, is it's called the achiever. Yeah.
00:10:53
Speaker
bottom line, I like to get stuff done and look good doing it. Yeah. So there's some very clear distinctions there that are good and bad. Yeah.
00:11:03
Speaker
The look good doing it is the important piece, which might play into why you always think, wow, this must be so easy for him. Right. Yeah. Is that it's very important to me that I look good doing whatever I am i'm doing. Yeah. Sometimes that means cutting a corner.
00:11:19
Speaker
I'd never cut a corner on a race, by the way. Yeah, yeah. But like sometimes quality might get impacted because of my desire to make sure I look good doing it. right um People have commented that, wow, your podcast looks great, right? This took months of planning and everything to get dialed in yeah fairly well yeah because I wanted to make sure we looked good doing it. right And I don't mean that in a vain way. I just very...
00:11:48
Speaker
It's just my personality type is, look, if my name is on this thing, I want to make sure that it looks good. So that ties into my running in that if I'm going to go run a race or whatever, I'm not going to, even if I'm dead tired, I don't want to look like I'm huffing and puffing and dying. Although i I probably feel that way at times. yeah yeah a good example, running down the sidewalk, another runner comes the other way and I'm like dead tired. I'm like...
00:12:14
Speaker
flah la la la la lie isn't this a great day to go running hey there neighbor you know and yeah totally cool and the minute they pass me i'm like right yeah and so like for me that is like a a key piece yeah i love to mow the lawn because i can look behind me and see what i accomplished right it's not necessarily the pushing the mower that i enjoy Yeah.
00:12:38
Speaker
So it's not necessarily when I'm running, be one foot in front of the other that I enjoy. I love looking down at my watch, seeing what I accomplished. And then, sounds vain, but it's not about my appearance.
00:12:48
Speaker
But did I look like I knew how to accomplish it? Yeah. Right? Not necessarily looked good like, oh, those are nice shorts. I just mean look good like, oh, he looks like a runner.
00:13:01
Speaker
Right? Yeah. That's important to me. Should it be? I don't know the answer. Yeah. Lots of stuff going on on the inside. On the outside, though, guess who's got it buttoned up? that make sense? Yeah, totally.
00:13:12
Speaker
That's my personality type. What are you on the Enneagram, Erica? So I am a two on the Enneagram, which is a helper or a giver. um My sort of tagline, which not just mine, but like a lot of twos, would say, is this idea that I'm okay if you're okay with me.
00:13:29
Speaker
yeah So everything that fuels me is... how other people around me like feel and and do they feel like I'm caring for them? And do they feel like I am empathizing with them?
00:13:43
Speaker
um So the way that this, I would say, plays out for me in our running is um I love that you and i started doing this together, that it was sort of like our thing that we could do together.
00:13:55
Speaker
I am really big on, you know, if I have friends that are that are going to be running um or that are really idiot anything. Like, I just love to encourage my friends. Yes. So um with this podcast or if I have a friend that's training for a race, when I saw Kristen the other day before she ran the five k like – I just like, that's, that's what fuels me for the running is, um, being able to encourage and then be a part of, or share, you know, in those victories with other people.
00:14:23
Speaker
It's hard for me sometimes because I will think like, am I being selfish by going out for a run right now? Like there are a billion other things I could be doing for our family right now.
00:14:35
Speaker
But I will say that, i um, a concept that I have learned and grasped onto last couple of years is that, when I invest in myself, like physically, that I have more to pour out to other people around me.
00:14:50
Speaker
um And so it is valuable. And I feel like um I can be a better mom and wife when I am active and, you know, taking care of myself. So yeah. You go for a run anytime.
00:15:02
Speaker
Thank you. It does help that we are like married and both runners. and We've talked about that. Yeah. Yeah. Privately. And I think maybe we said it on the podcast. Like if you have another runner in the house, it's a lot easier to say to the other person, I had 12 miles today.
00:15:18
Speaker
And they understand what that means. Yeah, they get it. Yeah. If your wife girlfriend or whoever isn't a runner and you're like, I've got 12 miles today, they're going like, yeah, you know, they could be like that.
00:15:31
Speaker
Or they might think, OK, so 12 miles should be this amount of time. Great. We can go to brunch when you get back, right? No. No. I'm going to have to recover. So it's really nice. Yeah. And that's a luxury that you and I have. I understand that not all households are like that, yeah but we definitely do have that.
00:15:48
Speaker
Anything else on your personality type on kind of like overview, like whatever? There are some negatives, I think, that come with each personality type that we ah probably worth talking through.
00:15:59
Speaker
Yeah. You know what i mean? But do you have anything else before we move on to that? No, I think so. Okay. So as the achiever, there are a couple of things that like, um is Achilles heel? No. What kind of phrase am I looking for here? That's good.
00:16:12
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. A couple of things, you know, chinks in the armor, you know, that that aren't aren't always... You have to be aware of them. How about that? How about that? So for me, and I think all Achiever 3 type numbers, these things are true, ah but definitely true for me.
00:16:28
Speaker
True success is always out of reach. Okay. okay um We ran our first marathon and I said, oh, I'm only doing this once. Yeah. Yeah. We're signing up for our third.
00:16:39
Speaker
You know? Right. Yeah. Because,
Evolving Goals: From Marathons to More
00:16:41
Speaker
and the second one we did what had to be ah the goofy challenge, right? Because, yes, succeeded. Awesome. I also have a goal one day of running the marathon in a specific amount of time.
00:16:54
Speaker
Right. Whereas running a marathon at all was going to be a one-time thing. Mm-hmm. Running a half marathon at at a certain speed has now become an obsession. Yeah.
00:17:05
Speaker
And obsession is the right word. Yeah. But it's always out of reach. I can't, I can't like satisfy that reminder. Like, yes, I'm like trying to achieve these goals or whatever, which I'm not saying it's easy. I don't want people to think, oh he's got a time goal on a marathon. Like, wow, he must be a real runner.
00:17:22
Speaker
No, I'm an average everyday person. My personality type kicks in here yeah to where I'm like, okay, that almost killed me. How do I do better? You know, right like it's it's just kind of a driving factor for me.
00:17:35
Speaker
um Another thing is it's hard for me to put up with inefficiencies or incompetence. And so that's a driving helpful thing for me on this podcast. You want to be helpful because you care for people.
00:17:49
Speaker
And I like people too, but like really I want people to be um better and yeah You know, I want them to know how I want them to be as efficient as they can with their fuel and on the course.
00:18:01
Speaker
And I want good course etiquette. Yeah. Right. For them and for me. Right. Right. So like you and I are trying to help people. Yeah. with different motivators. I care for people. I don't want people to think I'm just there so that they'll be better on the course. Like I really want you to have a really great race so that you love running, love run Disney, you know, like whatever your goal is, I want you to reach it.
00:18:24
Speaker
But I also like want you to be efficient, you know, like I want you to be a good at it. yeah I don't want you to struggle, if that makes any sense. So that's a thing. And then I think there's there's the always having to be on, where like everything has to be kind of polished and perfect, and um you can't ever have a bad day, so to speak. like That's a thing for threes.
00:18:43
Speaker
And then a big one is the ah pitfall of not being defined by what I do. that That applies to everything. Work, all the things. It's like, I am a human being.
00:18:56
Speaker
You know what I mean? yeahre Not a you creative video director. yeah Right. Like I'm not defined by my output. The problem is I define everything by what i accomplish. Right. Yeah.
00:19:09
Speaker
Right. Yeah. And so I want it to look good. I want it to be good. I want my name associated with it to be good. Not because I want to be famous, but because I just want it to be good. Yeah. If that makes sense. And I'm defined by that.
00:19:21
Speaker
I'm not saying I should be that way. What I need to be is totally okay with, I gave it my best effort. yeah you know I did not quit. yeah i i' I should be happy with that.
00:19:31
Speaker
But what I'm always like, ah I'm known for this and I'm not. I'm not. You know what I mean? And really, like i don't need to be known as a runner. I should just enjoy running. Mm-hmm.
00:19:44
Speaker
Um, but my personality little flaws there kind of kick in. Yeah. Any thoughts on, on any of that? Like, is any of that true? Is any of that like way off course? No, I would say all that is very true.
00:19:57
Speaker
Okay. How do, how do you see any of that play out? Do you have any comments or do you want to move on to you? No, I just feel like, man, that sounds exhausting for you. A little bit. Yeah.
00:20:07
Speaker
I would say it's probably why I rest hard. Yeah. You know, you say you it's driven you crazy for the 23 years we've been married that I will lay down at night and be out.
00:20:21
Speaker
In like two seconds. So if I'm like in our little therapy session here, if I'm looking at the why behind that, it might be because I am exhausted. Yeah. Okay.
00:20:32
Speaker
That's good. Good insight. Anything else before we move on to you? No. Good. Because I got a lot of comments about you. Super. What are some of those things? Pitfalls, Achilles heel, things you need to work on. What are they for you?
00:20:45
Speaker
Um, so some of the things that are, that are hard for twos are struggling to say no. i feel like I really can't do that. Um, is that why we did the goofy challenge last year?
00:20:58
Speaker
ah Probably. Yeah. Because you didn't set out to do the goofy challenge. No. I did. Right. Yes. I'm laughing. I'm thinking of a moment that I've had with a good friend of ours, Doreen, and she's like, but why? But why? And I'm like, I don't want AJ to run without me.
00:21:15
Speaker
um Right. Yeah. Because that's like been our thing to do together. Look, we're like five seconds in and already crying. Super. Okay. We said we were going to be honest. We are. Yes, we are.
00:21:28
Speaker
um So, yeah, I think that I definitely would not have signed. Well, I don't want to say I definitely would not have, but... Last year, I would not have signed up to do to do the Goofy Challenge, except that you wanted to do it. And I'm like, okay, let's do it. but i think like But in a positive way, like you pushed me to do hard things that like I would not have thought I could do before. and so So there is a positive to that.
00:21:52
Speaker
But yes, I do have a very hard time saying no. um Another pitfall for twos is overdoing it for others, you know which i want to I want to help everybody to maybe...
00:22:05
Speaker
Can I make a comment? To my detriment, yes. I see that. We just ran a race together, a 15K, and I kept trying to give you what you needed, but you kept trying to make sure that I was good.
00:22:16
Speaker
And I'm like, I'm fine, Erica. How can I help you? Or what do you want to do Right. Do you need to walk? Do you want to run? Yeah. Do you want you want a snack? I have a snack. You know? Yeah. But you were trying to make sure that I was good.
00:22:32
Speaker
And I'm like, I'm fine. Right. You know what I mean? And they I wasn't mad at you. Yeah. But like, I'm covered. I'm good. don't anything. Which is so funny because like if anybody's good out of the two of us, it's definitely you. So it seems – I definitely wasn't like deferring to you like – If I was, it was like subconsciously is what trying to say. Oh, yeah, 100%. This is the context of your personality type, right? yeah. And so like you said, like, you know, same race.
00:22:59
Speaker
You're like, you did pull me back. You're like, hey, we're not pushing to the end. You know what i mean? Right. Because you knew my my inclination would be, I see the finish line. Yeah. Let's full sprint this thing. Right, right. So that all these people know how fast we are. Yeah. You know? Totally. so you knew that. Yeah. But in the same vein, I knew that you needed – support, but you weren't taking it.
00:23:20
Speaker
Yeah. You know? Yeah. Because, you know, you overdo it for other people. Right. Yeah. I think I'm thinking back to like a conversation we had last night where I was trying to talk to you about like what, what kind of like run, walk, you know, interval should I do or whatever. And, and then I was talking about like some pain I was having with my hip flexor and you're like, you were asking me about run, walk intervals. Yeah.
00:23:42
Speaker
Can I insert this? Sure. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. go ahead yeah I, I just made I'm like, well, what feels good to you? You're like, in terms of the intervals, why where when are you the happiest? Yeah.
00:23:53
Speaker
You know? and you're like, never. Right. And we got a good laugh out of it because you're like, it always hurts. Yeah, it does. It always hurts. I mean, there's something that always hurts. But I feel like as a two, yeah like I don't want to let our friends down that know that we're running. you know, I don't want to i want to let you down. I want to stay like on track with training and so that we can have a good marathon together in January. Like definitely, I mean, my personality definitely plays into all of this, I would say.
00:24:22
Speaker
Yeah. And the reality is very much like me, like just not being defined by what I do. Like you're not letting any one of us down, you know? Yeah.
00:24:32
Speaker
I would much prefer to run the marathon with you, but if you had an issue, whatever, yeah fine. We don't run the marathon. Okay, fine. If you're okay it I'll run it by myself, which you're not okay with, but but But we over here are fine.
00:24:46
Speaker
Yeah. You know what i mean? Everyone around you is, we we know how much you care about us. Yeah. We would rather you were happy and cared for for a second. That seems weird to me. i would rather just got one off yeah I would rather just take care of everybody else. Thank you.
00:25:00
Speaker
Well, we all feel cared for by you for sure. Thanks. But yes, i see I see those things playing out. Anything else you want to talk about in terms of ah struggle points or anything in in the... I mean, if you have things to ask me or tell me or whatever.
00:25:13
Speaker
Why do you have a hard time saying no? That would be a question. um What motivates that? I think I have a hard time saying no because like everybody's busy, everybody's stressed out.
00:25:24
Speaker
So I'm not like, you know, alone in that feeling. So if it's physically possible for me to help you or do something, then I feel like I should do it. Right. And also just genuinely you.
00:25:38
Speaker
seeing people succeed, like whether it's on the race course or really in any other area of life. Like it literally brings me so much joy to like see other people succeed. And if I can help in some way, then I want to be able to do that.
00:25:53
Speaker
Even if that makes it harder on you. Yes. That's why everybody loves you too. It's because you care for them. Yeah. You got to find a good balance. I know. Kind of like I have to balance slow down.
00:26:04
Speaker
You don't have to win the race. ah Yeah. I really think that a balance a good balance that I have achieved in the last two years of us running together, yeah or maybe in the last year, okay is like we don't have to do every race together.
00:26:18
Speaker
Okay. And I'm okay with that. Okay. Like we typically for a race weekend, we'll do a challenge. And so like we will run one together and then you will try to PR one. And so we'll run separately for that one.
00:26:30
Speaker
Or like a few weeks ago, we ran the Petrie City Classic together. And then the next day you went and ran the Atlanta 10 miler. And you were like, do you want to do that with me? And I was like, you know what? No, I don't actually want to. Yeah. I was proud of you for saying that. that's okay. Like it's okay for me to not want to do that. And you would have hated that race, if i'm if I can say so. Oh, absolutely, Like you would not have liked the hills, you would not have liked the rain, you would have not have enjoyed any of So I do i do see like some positive growth in that area.
00:26:59
Speaker
um i think because you know like if we so if we dig really, really deep like into the two you know whatever, I would say that at the, at the root of it all is this fear of abandonment. And so that's why i did not want, like, I'm like, we running is our thing that we do together. And like, we love it so much. And so I was afraid that like, if I didn't run every race with you, then the next thing I know, you'd be like off running without me, but that's really not the truth.
00:27:25
Speaker
And so I think that it is still hard for me to say no, but that I'm, I'm getting better at least in running. Thanks for sharing that. Yeah. um I think that what's nice for me at the moment is because I enjoy the process of running.
00:27:40
Speaker
I do enjoy it. Even when it's hard, even when it hurts, like I do enjoy it. yeah Right. Not everyone enjoys it. You know, um I get that. It's nice for me to sometimes do a race or long runs, whatever, put my headphones in and be in my own world.
00:27:53
Speaker
Yeah. Go at my own speed. I do not mind going at someone else's speed. I run with a running group sometimes. yeah I go at their speed, not my speed. Yeah. Right. Yeah. When you and I run together, go at your speed.
00:28:05
Speaker
know what mean? When I've run with our kids, I go at their speed. Totally happy to. But selfishly, too, I like to go at my speed sometimes. Yeah. And so I did the Atlanta 10 miler.
00:28:16
Speaker
I went at my speed and I had a great time, which does not mean that I don't love running with other people right or with you. Yeah. I just, I got to go at my speed and I loved it. don't have anything valuable about that. i was just making a comment.
00:28:29
Speaker
hey Okay. Where are were going next with this idea that running is hard and the emotions are, are, are a lot. So one of the, the negatives or the, the challenges, that's a better way to say that. One of the challenges for the three, which is you me yeah is this idea of, are you pursuing your goals because you actually want them?
00:28:50
Speaker
Or is it because you're competing or comparing yourself with someone else? Or what would you want if there were no rewards? Would you want to do this race? ah Rewards meaning um like a finisher medal or a time goal or whatever? that what saying?
00:29:07
Speaker
Yeah. Rewards? Are you trying to get faster and better yeah because you want to get faster and better for you or because you have to be faster and better than somebody else on the course? I see.
00:29:21
Speaker
I used to have a really hard time with being passed or needing to pass somebody. That I have let go of. Yeah. A lot of like growing up to, you know, put me on that one.
00:29:33
Speaker
Yeah. You know, I would in the early days, I remember our first 10K we did through the Christmas lights. I mean, the simplest race of all time. And this mom in her 40s, whatever passed me. And I just remember like, no.
00:29:48
Speaker
You know?
Growth Through Running: Personal Accomplishments
00:29:49
Speaker
Yeah. No. hindsight i mean killed myself to get to the end before this lady you know what i mean and then like now now aj would say she's probably been running her whole life aj you've been running for three years yeah she's probably a high school track athlete you don't know her story now i get races are competitive you can do that whatever um if you want to now i think i really enjoy running at my speed but i also genuinely love that sense of like
00:30:20
Speaker
ah I did it. Yeah. Right. I do enjoy that. But there's certainly an element of if there was no opportunity at the end to have my picture taken with my medal or my coach or whoever, I generally don't post on social media what my time was. Right. But if nobody knew my time, like nobody.
00:30:42
Speaker
Right. Like I just did it. And like, let's say my watch wasn't even running. Yeah. Forget it. Like I'm not doing this. If I had no record of it, no, forget it. but I probably wouldn't do it.
00:30:53
Speaker
Yeah. You know, like I do have that. So it's it's less about the enjoyment and more about the accomplishment. The thing is I really enjoy running. Okay. So I will say this.
00:31:03
Speaker
I really, I found my pace. Mm-hmm. that I really enjoy. And i I would do it for the love at that pace. This um PR that I'm trying to get, I've missed three times now. I have not gotten it three times, Erica.
00:31:18
Speaker
It's because it's so freaking fast, AJ. I got it. But I'm chasing that, right? I don't enjoy those races. I get to the end and I'm like, o Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:31:29
Speaker
I'm like, why did I do that? Yeah. And I missed it. I'm just, it's it goes back to that whole like chasing the unquenchable whatever. Yeah, yeah. It's like, know the minute I get it.
00:31:40
Speaker
You're going to want to go faster. Go faster. Yeah. I know that. Yeah, you're not going to be satisfied with- Correct. Yes. And I need to. So what I've really grown up a lot in, and I need to get even more grown up in, is this idea of, AJ, you know your pace. Yeah.
00:31:54
Speaker
You know what you enjoy. You know when your heart rate is perfect, right there in the middle. You love those races. Princess Weekend 2025 was that for me. I said, I'm stopping it. All the character stops, right?
00:32:06
Speaker
And I didn't stop at all of them. But what was great is between those character stops, I ran it more. my pace aj's pace yeah not the pace i said i want to for this uh pr i didn't run at erica's pace i didn't run at anybody else's pace i ran at what is super comfortable for me and and that's why that race has probably been my favorite like uh from like a uh running feeling.
00:32:31
Speaker
Yeah. Whatever. My favorite races are the marathons with you. But like that race is when I felt good because I wasn't holding back. Yeah. I also wasn't pushing hard. Right. You know, you're like in your sweet spot. I was. And I love those runs. I mean, those are, those are the best. And so, um, yes, long answer here is I would not chase the PR whatever at any race, local race, Disney race, anything. I would not chase those yeah if I didn't have the documentation on my watch, the chip time email, right and my coach didn't see it, and I couldn't talk to you about it.
00:33:06
Speaker
Yeah. I wouldn't do it. Forget it. It's not purely about the accomplishment for myself. There is an element of like, eh, need somebody to know. yeah I don't broadcast it. You don't see me putting my times, generally speaking, on the internet.
00:33:21
Speaker
I don't want people to feel bad. I also don't want to be embarrassed by like actual runners, you know, who are so much faster than I am. right And so, but yeah, that that's a struggle. If there was no no reward, I probably wouldn't do it.
00:33:33
Speaker
I don't know what that means. I don't know what that means I need to do next with that. But it's definitely those those striving for something I have not achieved yet runs are hard on on me. You know, ah a big thing for me is imposter syndrome.
Imposter Syndrome in Running
00:33:47
Speaker
Do you know what imposter syndrome is? Yeah.
00:33:49
Speaker
So this idea that I don't belong here. I start in Corral A sometimes. I'm standing there going, I don't belong here. Yeah. You know, i know you think I do.
00:34:00
Speaker
Yeah. I get that from your perspective. I get that. Right. And from a lot of our friends perspective, they probably think, oh, of course you do. Yeah. I'm standing there next to someone wearing their Nike super alpha flies and their short shorts and whatever.
00:34:14
Speaker
And their, their running top probably costs $200 and mine costs 30 and they're there to win. I'm like, what am I doing here? Yeah. You know? Yeah. I think one of the greatest things that i heard Clay say, and it's not like rocket science, it just it was nice, honestly, coming from him. Clay's my running coach. yeah you know We were talking about what was his like what's like his normal super speedy mile time.
00:34:36
Speaker
Do you know? wow What did he run this last week? Like 5.45 per mile. Yeah. And we were like, that's just unfathomable. Like you were like, that's so fast. And right he's like, yeah, but like the Olympic runner is so fast to me, like to him. yeah He's fast to you. You're fast to me. I'm fast to somebody in Corral E. Like, like we're always like going to be faster, better than some, like, you know, somebody else thinks that they are. yeah What am I trying to say here? Like we're going enough to have to all that out. No, I think part of that is that, um like like we said a little bit ago, Clay said when he ran that 5.45, whatever, that it was hard.
00:35:15
Speaker
Yeah. That he was exhausted. like Like, I'm not, I'm not trying to call him out, but yeah like, yes, he accomplished something hard and it was hard. Yeah. Yeah. And it's why not everybody's a runner. It's why less than 1% of the population run a marathon.
00:35:29
Speaker
Right. Right. So like, if you're training for a marathon, right, Keep that in mind. Yeah. That like, sure, AJ seems fast. Erica is so much faster than I would ever be. Yeah. But you're still accomplishing something that literally no one else yeah is willing to touch. Yeah. I think I was trying to, where I was trying to go when you said imposter syndrome is that we can all feel that. We all feel that way. hundred percent Like it doesn't matter whether you run a five minute mile, an eight minute mile, 10 minute mile, 20 minute mile. all feel that to some extent, I think.
00:35:58
Speaker
but to some extent i think Right. And yeah what I don't want anyone to ever feel is like they don't belong at a run Disney race or any race. yeah You know, like I want, like puts a little bit of blinders on. I'm pretty good at this. I put some blinders on and be like, you run your race, I'll run my race. That's right. You know what I mean? yeah um And of course you, the helper can't help but help the people that are struggling with that or whatever. But yeah.
00:36:22
Speaker
Yeah. I know we're kind of kind of all over the place on that one. yeah But I think for me, the takeaway there is like, yes, I deal with imposter syndrome. I'm i'm chasing the elusive thing I can't ever get. You know, my body hurts.
00:36:33
Speaker
Like, that's true. What everybody sees is the finish line photo. Right. Have you ever seen that like graphic of the iceberg? And it's like what people see. Yes. And it's like the finisher medal. I'm the, you know, the...
00:36:46
Speaker
the the time you know that you got over and all the stuff under that iceberg yeah is the going to bed early that thousands of miles like all the stuff you gave up yeah or you had to deal with or whatever in order to for people and mean the people only see the little bit yeah totally right we all have a million Yep.
00:37:08
Speaker
Cool. I have a question for you that it might not make sense, but I think it will. What time of day do you run and why? yeah And I have, the reason it makes sense is because I have a reason why I run the time of day that I run.
00:37:23
Speaker
And it ties into this. does that so i' I'm curious if it does for you too. What time of day do you like to run ideally? So throw everything else away. Like, because I work it, this time I can't run. Like, let's pretend you didn't have work, you know, that conflicted. You could choose the time of day.
00:37:37
Speaker
What would you choose? Can I say throughout the temperature as well? Because we live in Georgia and it's hot. Yeah, I guess that's ah that's a real factor. Okay, how about this? My favorite time of day to run in the fall yeah in Georgia is around three o'clock.
00:37:53
Speaker
PM. Why? Yes. Because I feel like, like, okay, let's say three o'clock on a Saturday. Okay. Cause I've not come from work or whatever. yeah um I feel like I didn't have to rush. I got to sleep as long as I wanted to until I felt like I was recharged.
00:38:07
Speaker
Um, cause I'm not a morning runner like you. Yeah. I feel like I could do all of the stretching and eating and digesting and all the things. And then that's just usually when I feel like the calmest.
00:38:17
Speaker
I don't know why. really Yeah. Now, if it's a weekday, then normally I would go like around, you know, six, six o'clock right before it gets dark. Can we double click into that feeling the calmest?
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah. You enjoy running at that time. It's more enjoyable to run because your sensory, like all this stuff is at its most peaceful. Yeah. At three o'clock in the afternoon.
00:38:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Okay. That's interesting. Do you perform best at three o'clock in the afternoon? Like, like, you know your, your actual running form and energy and all that. Yes. I think so for sure. Okay.
00:38:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I don't, I do not like, even if I could get myself out of bed in the morning, like you super early, yeah my mind is grumpy. My body is definitely grumpy. Like, yeah so yeah, I don't, I don't enjoy doing things in the morning like that.
00:39:08
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. I think, um, that's important. that people and you, like to all of us, find what works really good for us. Yeah. That just because lots of people, I'm doing air quotes, run in the morning doesn't necessarily mean that's your time. Yeah. but You have experimented with it. You know all the things about yourself. yes I'm a morning runner. Yes. I love running in the morning. If you asked me to go on a 3 p.m. afternoon run, I'd rather die. i would.
00:39:34
Speaker
That's how I feel about your 6 a.m. runs. Just run me over with a truck right now. And I think I'm at peace in the morning because nothing's happened to me yet. You know this about me.
00:39:45
Speaker
Nobody's emailed me yet. Or if they have emailed me, I have not checked it. Right. I haven't been on social media yet. Yes. I don't know anything negative. My kids haven't come at me with whatever they need. Right. You haven't come at me with, you know, don't forget you need to do this today. Yes.
00:40:02
Speaker
No one's bothered me yet. Right. Right. So my mind is as clear as it will be yes all day. And then food is another factor. i Look, I love Mexican food for lunch or whatever. yeah yeah I can't run and after carrying that.
00:40:16
Speaker
You know what i mean? Personally. Yeah. Right? So for me, I'm at my freshest. You said calm. I'm at my freshest, calmest, whatever, first thing in the morning. Okay. So I've got to say this before I forget. Yes. I think...
00:40:28
Speaker
you're like tapping into a personality thing that I didn't even know was the thing until right this very moment. Okay. While we're talking about this in the podcast. So, um, what I do for work is I work with patients that have, um, Alzheimer's, dementia, traumatic brain injury, things like that. So all day long I'm taking in their input and I'm trying to help them yes get through what we need to do.
00:40:50
Speaker
And so I think that By that three, four o'clock time of the day, yeah I have, and I'm doing air quotes, helped as much as I can help. Right. Like I am helped out. Yeah.
00:41:02
Speaker
And so that is why I enjoy writing at that time of day because like you're just talking about like you, you got to get it done first thing, like before everything hits you. yeah Because my entire being is driven to help people. yeah Like, I think by that point of the day, I'm like, I'm, I'm completely spent. i' have nothing left to give anyone else. And so running at that time is enjoyable for me because it's, I feel like I can finally breathe. Interesting.
00:41:29
Speaker
Yes. It's funny. I'm the same way, but my motivators are different. Right. You said you have nothing left to give. That's exactly how I feel. I have nothing left to give. I can't put one foot in front of the other. know what mean? Yeah, but because I'm motivated to help others. Yeah, that's right yeah yeah i agree with you. yeah my thing is efficient the inefficiencies... you're Right. We talked about that. i've I've done everything I can do to look good all day. I made sure that everything was efficient as possible. Right. We got rid of all the junk.
00:41:59
Speaker
You know what mean? Like yeah all the emails have been checked off. I'm a doer. Right. They've all been responded to. All whatever. At this point, I'm like, is it too early to go to bed? You know, six o'clock, um i I would go to bed.
00:42:11
Speaker
Yeah. You know, because I've, and and then the other factor here I'm an introvert. Right. Right. So all the peopling all day, now I'm like, I can't, you know, which doesn't mean I don't like people, yeah but it just, it takes all my everything. So I like a morning, which doesn't mean morning running is better.
00:42:30
Speaker
Yeah. Right. I found that it works better for me. Yeah. Great. I knew that was going to be a good discussion. Yeah. All right. You want to take the next one? Um, what impact do you think running has on the rest of your life, negative or positive?
00:42:44
Speaker
Yeah. Um, this was part of a question we got in an email this week, um, from a new friend and, uh, we'll probably dive into more of that, yeah you know, later, but I do think that like, um, you have to be prepared for, if you're going to run long distances, train for something like, mean, it could be a 10 K, it could be a half marathon. It could be a full marathon for sure.
00:43:05
Speaker
um if you're crazy enough to do the dopey challenge, um, Bless you. Yeah. It takes over your life. It does, yeah. Especially your weekends. Remember, you have to give up stuff.
00:43:15
Speaker
There's things I've given up yeah because of that. I'm not just talking about like giving up alcohol on a Friday night. like You give up a lot of your Saturday and you say no to things. yeah um Also, if I have to run 17 miles or something like that, I have to get good sleep before that.
00:43:31
Speaker
I still have to work. Yeah. Right. So like, that doesn't mean like, well, you know what? On Friday, I'm just clocking out early. No, I still got to get all the work done. Right. Now I'm extra tired. Yeah.
00:43:42
Speaker
And I need to go to bed early because tomorrow I have a long run. So now guess who's not hanging out on Friday night? Yeah. Or if the kids are like, can we go blah, blah, blah? I'm like... okay, how do I so conserve energy right and still love on my kids at the same time? Right. So I think that, yeah, it has a big impact. And I think that and like running for me gives me like good clarity of thought and mind and whatever, which is another reason I like to do it in the morning, blood flow to the brain or whatever.
00:44:10
Speaker
But then i'll tell you what, by two in the afternoon with a run and work and all that stuff, I'm just so tired. So now like I'm like, sometimes I question like, was this a good idea? Because now I feel like I've used all my creative juices or whatever. yeah And but I feel like maybe my work has been impacted.
00:44:27
Speaker
You know what I mean? or the other side of that is days I don't run, I'm like feeling all groggy because I didn't get the exercise in. So yeah, I think it has an impact. Does it have an impact for you, positive or negative, all the running? Oh yeah, for sure.
00:44:40
Speaker
I agree with a lot of the things that you just said, like definitely mental clarity. i feel like it helps with that I feel like it helps me to recharge my battery. um I don't know if you want to include this in the podcast, but two of our kids have special needs and um that's that is that can be exhausting if I'm just being honest. Yeah, of course. And so i think that you know by investing in ourselves, we have more to give back. like We're keeping ourselves healthy. We're keeping our bodies moving. like We're trying to keep ourselves young you know to help take care of them as long as we need to.
00:45:15
Speaker
Um, but I think just in general, like when you take care of yourself, you have more to pour out for other people. Yes. You look like you have something you want to say. Well, yeah, but the long distance running is the hard part of this. So like you can do Pilates or you can go to orange theory or you can.
00:45:30
Speaker
yeah Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The long, it's the long distance running.
Resilience and Perseverance from Long-Distance Running
00:45:34
Speaker
Right. Now, let me say the benefits in the rest of my life, like my grit, that my was just going to go my perseverance, yeah my, you can't rattle me if you tried. Yeah.
00:45:46
Speaker
Excuse me. I can run a marathon tomorrow. Right. Yeah. You think you've got a leg up on me? Nice try. Yeah. Like in terms of just like grit. Yeah. Totally. Those are all positives. Yeah. Right.
00:45:57
Speaker
Negatives are I'm tired all the time. starving all time. You know, like I'm just always hungry. Yeah. You know, so like it definitely has a big impact.
00:46:08
Speaker
Yeah. I think. Yeah. I think like you said, like you, it, running is mental and it helps you just become really strong, like strong mentally to get through difficult situations. And we've talked about, like we see this carry over into really every area of our lives. yeah Yeah, I see it on work trips when I'm exhausted whatever, and I see other people gas out.
00:46:29
Speaker
yeah I might be tired. I might be exhausted. I might not have much left to give. yeah But because we've trained our mind and body on the- Dig deep. On the course, yeah I know I have two hours left of this yeah work assignment.
00:46:42
Speaker
yeah So we're going to have a snack. And we're going to drink some water and we're going to do it. That's right. know what I mean? Which is what you do when you run. I can and I will. Oh, yeah. That's your saying. Yeah. Well, certainly. Certainly.
00:46:55
Speaker
Yeah. Cool. This was fun discussion. Any last thoughts, Erica, on like what advice you would give to anybody who's struggling right now? Like all this we said, we struggle, we struggle. This is hard. This is hard. But like, you know, we're positive people and yeah we we know the benefits whatever.
00:47:09
Speaker
Like what if what if it just doesn't feel positive right now? any Any suggestions at all? Yeah. I mean, i'm this isn't my original thought. I'm stealing this again from my friend Doreen. But she told me, you know, when we were training for our first marathon, like your why has to be great enough to keep you doing it.
00:47:27
Speaker
Like on the hard days when it's raining, when you're sitting at home knowing you're about to go run 20 miles yeah for hours. Like if your why is not strong enough, you will not continue.
00:47:39
Speaker
And so I would say like if you're struggling with running right now, like... really ask yourself, like, dig deep. what is What is the reason that you want to do this? Like, it's got to be something really motivating.
00:47:50
Speaker
Right. yeah What is your wire why, Erica? You're training for a marathon right now. Why? yeah I mean, I kind of just touched on it a minute ago, but our son ah has pretty severe special needs and may potentially be with us, you know, forever.
00:48:05
Speaker
And so it's important to me that I don't let myself go like physically. Like the reality is that and we need to be around to take care of him, right you know,
00:48:15
Speaker
um mentally, physically, but mentally a lot mentally. Um, and so for me, like just watching what I'm eating, staying active, like that's a, that's a big why for me.
00:48:29
Speaker
Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. Yeah. Your why is a lot more, important than mine. Mine's the finisher medal. You're such a nerd. Oh my word. Oh my gosh.
00:48:42
Speaker
Okay. this was This was a good, healthy discussion, I think. Yeah. I don't know that we provided any helpful tips or anything other than you're not alone. No. Yeah. Also, when you look at somebody, you don't know their story.
00:48:56
Speaker
That's right. You don't know what they're struggling. You may not have known that we have two special needs kids. You may not have known that you know things are hard sometimes. Yeah. you don't know You may not know that somebody else has been running their whole life and now they have to have knee surgery and that's why they can't run. You just don't.
00:49:12
Speaker
No. yeah And we don't know your story yet either, which is why we don't pass any judgment at all anymore on the race course. That's been a big growth thing for me. If you need a friend, come find me. Erica will hug you and you will feel better.
00:49:24
Speaker
I will cry with you across the finish line. You would. Yep. Yep. Yeah. Don't come to me for that. Not because I don't care, but you're just, you're not going to feel the same vibes you get from Erica. not so much.
00:49:38
Speaker
Awesome. This is a great discussion. Thanks for having it with me today, Erica. Yeah. Okay. So a hard left turn. We're going to lighten things up a little bit and have a discussion with some friends of ours who ran Wine and Dine. It was their first run Disney.
00:49:51
Speaker
So we've got that discussion, that little chat yeah coming up next. So let's do it.
Guests Aaron and Tricia: Friendship and Running
00:49:59
Speaker
Aaron and Tricia, longtime friends, welcome to the podcast. hi We are so excited to have you can you. Can you help us out with a little bit of the history? Erica and I said we've known you for, we think, more than 20 years. Is that, that's right, right?
00:50:12
Speaker
Definitely more than 20 years because our boys are 21. Right. Right. So we've known each other since at least, what, three years, four years before that. AJ and I met in 1999. Yeah.
00:50:25
Speaker
Yeah. I was four years old. That's right. That was in the nineties. Yeah. It was in a whole different like century. Yeah. vint Vintage era. or What do the kids call it? I don't know, but we've just dated ourselves. old yeah What's your Disney background? Just so people kind of have like a reference for like, this was not your first time to walk onto Disney property, right? At a run. It was our first time um since Wednesday walk on Disney Perfect. um Yeah, so it's pretty, we're there more often than we're home probably. We're there at least twice a week.
00:50:57
Speaker
Okay. and we We live here in Central Florida now. So we grew up in Southern California. So obviously a lot of time at Disneyland. Working there is a lot of time. ah Big fans of Disney Cruise, AJ. You know this.
00:51:09
Speaker
Oh yeah. um I think 13 Disney Cruises we've been on so far. So cruise, cruise line parks, people, you do California every once in a while, right? You still do that. Yeah. Um, and anything else notable on your Disney, on your Disney knowledge? We're Disney vacation club members.
00:51:25
Speaker
Cool. So that's really big. We, uh, bought into that on our honeymoon. Um, so, you know, 20 some odd years later, we, uh, still have it. Uh, we stayed on property even this time at, um, animal kingdom lodge using our DVC points.
00:51:39
Speaker
Cool. Um, we're annual pass holders. yeah yeah Um, and we just, we just started Disney a lot. Got into the art stuff now. Oh yeah. We're a little obsessed with the art. It's become a problem. Well, we got a little bit into the running and it's a problem.
00:51:52
Speaker
So I think that's going to be next on our list. yeah yeah Hopefully it's less expensive. Uh, don't, don't, don't. So tell us you guys, what is your running background?
00:52:05
Speaker
I hate it. um Well, I don't hate it now. i If you would have asked me a year ago, and i I literally have said this for decades, I will only run if there's a clown with a knife chasing me.
00:52:19
Speaker
like Anything else, I'm not running. She started running a year, year and a half ago. I remember you guys talking to us about doing Disney races. And I literally laughed at you and said, you're not going to get me to run no matter what. I remember that. yeah um And I was like, ah I don't run. It just got received. Yeah, exactly. It's recorded somewhere. i was um I was a swimmer. I've always been a swimmer. I hate running. um yeah But a year and a half ago, my friend said, hey, I want you to do this 5K with me. And I was trying to be supportive of her life changes. And so I was like, sure.
00:52:48
Speaker
The first time I ran, I couldn't run more than a minute at a time. And I was like, well, I'll just show up to the 5k and see what happens. I was not fast. I was not good, but I didn't die. yeah But then I decided I was like, you know what, I kind of like this. I like the competition. yeah um And so I decided that I was going to sign up for a 5k a month.
00:53:07
Speaker
Um, and so that's what I started doing was doing five K's a month. And then he decided to join in with me to be supportive, which was really great because honestly, I probably would have given it up a long time ago.
00:53:18
Speaker
Had he not been there being like, no, you have to go run. like We're running. This is what we're doing now. yeah So it's having goals works. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the why for you is, is, uh, is, is achieving. Is that, is that what it is or what, what what is it for you? why Why, why'd you join in Aaron?
00:53:36
Speaker
There were times where her friend couldn't go with her. well, whenever she's not around, if she can't make it to a race or something, I'll go with you. If you've got to run you know late at night, sure, I'll go for a run.
00:53:46
Speaker
um My kids are older, so I no longer have the excuse of, oh, I have little kids, so I can't do this. And so that's why i was like, well, if i give myself a goal of 5K a month, I'll achieve it because it's a very achievable, attainable goal.
00:53:59
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. But still hard work. So don't, don't just, hard work yeah, don't discount it. Yeah. Well, now I have other goals that are related to running, like being faster and, you know, running longer distances. That's good.
00:54:11
Speaker
that's Yeah. That's awesome. So we need to talk run Disney because that's Erica and I's favorite thing of all time. Right. So why did you decide to sign up for a run Disney race? And you went like, you skipped a step, by the way, you were supposed to do a 5k first and then a 10k, but you didn't, you went straight to the 10k. Why?
00:54:28
Speaker
Yeah, we've done a lot of 5Ks in local races. And we we have some friends who we know who really like Run Disney. They hadn't quite started their podcast yet. But we'd heard a lot of good stuff about Run Disney from them. yeah and And now they have a podcast. And so I listened to this podcast. I'm like, yeah, that's that's that's probably why I signed up. I think we were visiting you guys last year right yeah in November, I think it was. And by yeah at January, we're like, OK, I think we're going to sign up for a Run Disney race.
00:54:57
Speaker
I had told myself that I wasn't going to do Disney because that I always wanted to do one because they look fun. um But I wasn't going to do Disney unless I could run a 15 minute mile. And so um and when I started, there was I mean, I was running like 20 minute miles like I and running was a loose term.
00:55:11
Speaker
um So like but I was like, if I can get down to a 15 minute mile, then I'll sign up for a 5K. Well, I actually did that pretty quickly. And so then I'm like, well, I can run a 15 minute mile and I can maintain that for a five k Um, and so we just, on a whim, I was like, instead of the 5k, why don't we sign up for the 10k?
00:55:29
Speaker
Um, because once again, I'm very goal driven. So if I give myself a bigger goal, then, um, I know that I can run the 5k. So if I give myself the goal of the 10k, I'll work harder to get there. Yeah. Awesome.
00:55:40
Speaker
That's awesome. That's so exciting. Yeah. Um, so how was the race weekend for you guys? Like the expo, the corrals, the parks, how was the whole weekend? It was a lot of fun. Uh, we, we did the expo twice, did some shopping on Thursday and then came back Friday a second time to walk through it with a little more time.
00:55:57
Speaker
Yeah. how How was the merchandise? Was there ah much left over? How did they do this this year? I couldn't find any open rack space. It seemed like there was enough for everyone. i I think the virtual queue kind of held back the crowd enough that it was... Again, we were there Thursday and Friday and nothing... I didn't notice anything that was empty.
00:56:19
Speaker
And I actually went to the um ah expo at Marathon Weekend last year with my friend. And I can tell you, we were there the second day and... a lot of stuff was gone. Yeah. um And she was very disappointed. She couldn't get the jacket she wanted and anything else. Like there's all this stuff she couldn't get.
00:56:34
Speaker
um This time it wasn't like that at all. There was so much stuff. I walked in and I, you know, I picked up the jacket I wanted and although he actually pre-ordered it. So, but they were able to switch out sizes because they the sizes did run really, really, really small this time. That's what I heard.
00:56:49
Speaker
And so, especially the shirts, like, It was ridiculous. I don't know how small a shirt the woman's shirt was. I was like, okay, let's go up like three sizes. It's not going work. Oh, no. Awesome. Anything else about like the weekend in general that either surprised you, anything that like we've said or told you about and you're like, that wasn't true or, oh yeah, this is exactly what they were talking about. Like anything like that? I think the only thing for me was you'd mentioned that, uh, your favorite resorts and that animal kingdom being so much further away.
00:57:17
Speaker
Yeah.
Disney Race Experience: Lodging and Strategies
00:57:18
Speaker
That's been our experience. So we stayed at Kidani village and the, the bus, uh, ride seat would didn't know like we i didn't i didn't notice anything the extra long bus rides we got there pretty quick perfect yeah i really liked it actually being a little further away because it wasn't so crazy um having gone last year like i said with my friend we walked around one of the all-star resorts oh yeah thank you crazy crazy busy And so when we were talking about this, I was like, I don't want to stay at the All-Star Resort. It's insane there. I'm like, not at all.
00:57:47
Speaker
um And so being at Kidani Village, it was really nice. It wasn't super crowded, super busy. We were able to go to the pool and the spa. um for some recovery because we definitely needed that when we were done. yeah um I think overall it was a great experience.
00:58:00
Speaker
Awesome. um The only thing that surprised me was I didn't realize that they had charter buses for all of their transportation for the run Disney. Okay. It was just a surprise. That's all. I was like, oh, there's a charter bus, not a Disney bus. did go to the wrong place.
00:58:14
Speaker
ah Originally we went to the bus stop and then they're like, no, that's not where the bus is. I'm like, but it's the bus stop. They're like, nope, it's at the front entrance. and so I was like, oh, okay. Someone should start a podcast and mention stuff like that. Yeah. Somebody don't go to the Disney transportation area. Go, go to, and go to the front of the, uh, of the resort. That's right.
00:58:32
Speaker
Hey, uh, we want to hear about the race. So the good, the bad and the ugly, right? Like tell us about the 10 So our we had some pretty specific goals. On one end, it was, and we don't want to get swept.
00:58:44
Speaker
The other one was, don't die. and And we were right there in that sweet spot where we didn't die and we didn't get swept. So we're we're going to call that a win. Yes. We unfortunately did start in Corral G. I can tell you that we lined up and we were at the, towards the front of Corral G. So we're like, we'll be okay. We'll have a couple of minutes in between.
00:59:01
Speaker
um but then right as the Corral G was getting pulled forward, this whole group just like swung around and then everyone was in front of us. Oh yes. That happens. yeah And we were like, what just happened? Like we went from being in the front to now the balloon ladies are our next door neighbors. Yeah. Yeah.
00:59:16
Speaker
The whole back half just pushed ahead or right around the left side. and then we're just standing there like, oh, yeah, great. It's the balloon ladies. They're right there. yeah yeah And there's there's a pace group right in front of them. And then it's just us.
00:59:28
Speaker
You have to be a little aggressive in the corrals if you're trying to, you know, be as far forward as you can, which is against both Erica and I's personality type. Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm like, I'm not going to push through a crowd. I'm like, it's just not worth it for me. Correct. And we still don't, we still don't do it.
00:59:43
Speaker
You know what mean? But if you are really, really concerned about your position or whatever, like it gets a little hunger games in there. People get crazy. Well, and for us, we knew we could beat the 16 minute mile. Yeah. Um, we had trained that we had done two runs, uh, well, really almost three runs where we had beat that. Um, and it was the full distance.
01:00:00
Speaker
Um, Uh, but it was also a whole different start scenario. We woke up at three 30 in the morning running on less sleep. Uh, we'd been on our feet already for two hours at that point. And so like all of our muscles were getting tight from just standing there and we could no longer, uh, like decently like bend over and stretch. Yeah. Um, so it was one of those things where I'm like, okay, well, I think I can beat these balloon ladies, but I was nervous because we were so close to them, but we started out and we decided we were just going to, we were going to start out running, not full force out, out of the gate, but we were going run for as long of a distance as we could do comfortably without like my heart rate going too high. Yeah. When we finished, we finished about
01:00:36
Speaker
it was like almost seven minutes in front of them. yeah So I'm like, we, we made it, we didn't get swept. Um, we didn't stop for any character stops. Cause at that point we didn't feel like we had the time to do that. I see. yeah How did you like the vibe of the race itself? Right. Were you so stressed out about the balloon ladies that you didn't get to enjoy it? Did you actually enjoy it? Tell me about it. No, once, once we got started, uh, again, like we, we knew, we knew we could run the race. We knew we could run that distance at that pace. We've done it before.
01:01:03
Speaker
um You know, the the the Jeff Galloway training stuff is just it it makes sure that you run the full distance plus a little bit before the day. So for us, that wasn't our first time running.
01:01:15
Speaker
And we did six and a half miles two weeks earlier. yeahp We knew we could do it. So it was just, hey, well, we were hoping we'd have a little more time, a little more re cushion. yeah um But we didn't have to worry about it. We just just ran and the music playing and everything. And, you know, it's it was really, really nice to get out there.
01:01:31
Speaker
Um, other than it being three something in the morning when he got to roll out to get on the bus. right It was way more exciting than any of the local races. Um, like, I don't know if going to be able to look at a local race again and be like, Oh, this was fun. Right. Um, I'm to be like, Hey, where's the music in the cheering section. Right. Yeah. So that's, that's a little different.
01:01:51
Speaker
Uh, but it was, I thought it was a great vibe and anything that i was worried about, like Disney took care of. And so that was the biggest thing for me is I was really worried about a lot of different things. And then I got there and i was like, well, i shouldn't have worried about that.
01:02:03
Speaker
Well, I shouldn't have worried about that. Well, that was a non-worry too. good Um, did y'all have a favorite part of the race? I really loved running through the World Showcase at Epcot. It was hard going through Norway because the bakery was going. Oh, yeah. smelled amazing. Yes. I'm hungry. Yes. And, you know, we're probably probably about halfway through the race at that point. I'm like, oh, that smells like cinnamon rolls. Yeah.
01:02:27
Speaker
and So. And he kept going, can I stop for a cinnamon roll? But he told me I wasn't allowed to have a bathroom break unless it was an emergency. So I was like, I don't get a bathroom break, you don't get a cinnamon roll. We're going to get swept if you you take the body break. cinnamon roll is okay.
01:02:42
Speaker
There's no line. It'd quick. I just break in the window, take the cinnamon roll, and go. and Usually, for a 10K, usually on the boardwalk, Cape May Cafe is making the bacon for the morning. Did they did you smell that?
01:02:55
Speaker
and I did not smell bacon. I may have stopped for bacon. Yeah. we its brutal right It's terrible. Oh my gosh. So you might've been lucky enough that they might've told them, please stop cooking the bacon because right.
01:03:08
Speaker
Every time we've gone through there. It's miserable. I mean, the whole backstage area smelled like Disney backstage. was like, oh, I recognize that gross trash smell. Yeah,
Future Race Plans and Concerns
01:03:20
Speaker
dumpsters. Wait till you guys sign up for your first marathon and you go by the sanitation plant. It's just so disgusting. I don't.
01:03:29
Speaker
and mean I mean, it this is being recorded, so this may come back to bite me, but I don't think we'll do a marathon, but we are talking about a half marathon, maybe looking at wine and dine and doing the two course challenge next year. Okay. So potentially wine and dine half marathon potentially, but I also know you've got springtime surprise, right? Isn't that already an official thing? And are you glad made that decision? We we've booked springtime surprise. So we're there for the challenge. So we've got the five, 10, the 10,
01:03:56
Speaker
And the 10 K and the 10 miler. Awesome. Awesome. We've already got, I think old key West is where we're staying yeah for, for that. I'm not sure why we're signed up for it. I'm not going to lie because I, um, although I do have to say like, even today I woke up, I was like, I could run a 5k today.
01:04:12
Speaker
yeah Um, and that was the day after, like I easily could run a 5k right now. yeah um I'm hoping by April it will feel like I can do that distance. You guys will be great. Oh, yeah. Look, the worst part is getting up at 2.30 three mornings in a row. That's the worst part.
01:04:27
Speaker
That's what you need to train for. Yeah, I ended up not – I kind of woke up at about midnight and then couldn't go back to sleep. So, yeah, we i I had two, two and a half hours of sleep maybe. I slept great.
01:04:42
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Okay. So do you guys have like a piece of advice for other first time Disney runners? What would you say to them? I'm going to say, don't worry about the bathroom situation. I was really worried about the bathroom situation. And I'm going to say, and I know that sounds stupid, but like it doesn't most adult females are terrified about a bathroom situation. There were more porta potties than I think there were runners.
01:05:04
Speaker
I mean, it was, there was plenty of places to go to the bathroom. Um, they had bathroom monitors at each bathroom telling you like if there was a line or not, so you could run past or stop. yeah That's new. that's new it Yeah. They were like, there's there's no line here at the next one, just down there.
01:05:18
Speaker
Just go. Um, oh that's all which was kind of nice. And it like in each country, there was a bathroom monitor that was like bathrooms back this way, bathrooms back this way. So, Oh my God, that is brand new. That's super exciting. Yeah. It was exciting for me. And I'm like, i already know where the bathrooms are.
01:05:34
Speaker
Right. Right. I'm assuming for someone who doesn't know where the bathrooms are, that's a great idea. Totally. Or the fact that there were so many porta potties, even running down the freeway. Awesome. Aaron, any comments on advice for first timers?
01:05:46
Speaker
I hate to plug it, but honestly, the podcast has been helpful. There there was a lot of stuff where like, I, and I told you this, i was just watching the little 15 minute, the short things on YouTube. I thought that was everything.
01:05:57
Speaker
So I'm texting you with questions that I have after watching. And I'm like listening to the podcast. and And then and then i've I've gone back and listened. like, well, he answered that question. I must look like an absolute moron where I'm like, I swear I listened to your podcast and I'm left with more questions. I'm going to bug you about it.
01:06:13
Speaker
And it was, it was covered in the longer format. So I'm, I'm, we've, I've gone through half of the longer format. I'll get caught up before. Well, wait till you get to the one about the buses being charter buses. Right. Yeah.
01:06:28
Speaker
Well, and it's like, and it's such a non-issue, but it was just one of those things. I was like, oh, it's a charter bus. i i'm I'm at Disney property all the time. Yeah. um So there's lots of things like that, that I was like, oh, they took care of this or like they can handle crowds like no one
Strengthened Relationships Through Running
01:06:40
Speaker
else.
01:06:40
Speaker
Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was so smooth. i We've been to race where there were thousands and thousands of people and it was a hot mess. It was a bunch of people just running at the same time to the starting line and it took forever to start and there was no organization. And it was a madhouse.
01:06:57
Speaker
And this one was so smooth that even though we were in the corral for over an hour, it did not feel like we were in the corral for over an hour. Yeah, with the stage going and the people talking and it really was, you wouldn't know you were in there for an hour other than your legs yelling.
01:07:11
Speaker
ah yeah Awesome. Besides that. Yeah, no, it it it was, it was really great. And people were friendly. That was another thing is we didn't, I don't think we met a single person who was angry or that you know, you get on the Facebook page, a lot of whiners who worry about things. Unfortunately.
01:07:29
Speaker
But I didn't encounter any of those when we were actually there, like talk to several people. you know, I talked to a lot of people anywhere I go. So I felt that that was real friendly and Disney like, like what I would expect from people who like Disney.
01:07:40
Speaker
Perfect. Awesome. Any questions for us or anything else you want to talk about while we've got you for a minute or two? Anything you want to talk about or ask? Um, thank you for the peer pressure for getting to Aaron to run with me because it was after that conversation that he was like, Hey, how about I run with you? Was it really after that conversation? yeah it was, it was less than a week later.
01:07:59
Speaker
He's like, Hey, how about I run with you? Hey, that's like, yeah, that's the power of, you don't know what you're, uh, what you say will have on somebody else. Cause I didn't know that this is a year ago. I didn't know that you actually, that was part of it.
01:08:12
Speaker
i think it's awesome. And I don't know if it was, I think it was part of his decision. it it was part of it, yeah. Because hearing in that, yeah how, and and I know you you two, you run separately and sometimes you run some races apart, some together. Yeah. yeah Yeah, the idea that it's it's something we can do together and that she wanted to do is, a well, I can support that even if there isn't a clown with a knife chasing me. I mean, in the meantime, because of the running, I have lost a lot of weight.
01:08:36
Speaker
I have, um, all my blood work is looking way better. It was never bad to begin with, but it's just now it's like in the prime area is much better. Um, and my blood pressure medication, I've been able to come off half.
01:08:48
Speaker
half of it. And I know that that's because I've been running as much as I i have been. Totally. I think it's awesome that you guys are doing this together. You say that you won't do a marathon, but if you ever do, it'll be because y'all are doing it together. That's right. Y'all get each other. The only reason that I would ever want to do a marathon is because I want to run in front of the castle.
01:09:07
Speaker
Well, you can do that in a half. yeah you can do that. Oh, okay. See, we can do in the half. No reason to run a marathon. I mean, no, no, no, no. You say that now. you do You're going to do it. You're going to do it. Right? You can only do it in the full. That's right. Yeah. don't Hey, just so you know, if you want to run through the castle, you totally can. it has to be princess weekend or marathon weekend.
01:09:24
Speaker
It can be either of those halves. The wine and dine doesn't do it and neither does springtime surprise. Oh, good to know. So it's princesses. so So yeah, it's got to be ah the princess half then. Mm-hmm.
01:09:34
Speaker
or the or the Or the marathon. No, no, princess half. That's all heard. there a half marathon? No, there's a half marathon on marathon weekend. Yeah, there's a half marathon on marathon weekend. Oh, okay. Then that's fine. I heard that part then. You say the word marathon and the audio cuts out. Driving through a tunnel can't quite. So on marathon weekend, there's a 10 miler. Is there and a 10K too?
01:09:56
Speaker
is there a five k and a ten k two ah You're close. It's 5K, 10K, half full. And Dopey is all of those. Dopey is stupid. You have to be stupid to run Dopey.
01:10:06
Speaker
That's why they picked that character. There's a running podcast that we're that we're talking to and you're calling runners stupid. Only Dopey runners. Erica and I don't plan to run the Dopey, but yeah, we try not to call people stupid for running it.
01:10:24
Speaker
I didn't. Well, I did. Can't take her anywhere. Well, you know, whatever the guest says, the guest says. going to challenge you on that. We don't edit things out of our podcast. oh yeah Tell me, are do you edit things now? Oh, yeah.
01:10:40
Speaker
Maybe. I can say it again, but nicer. i don't think that people should run the Dopey Challenge because it seems hard. Is that better? Okay. yeah Authentic.
01:10:54
Speaker
Yeah. Perfect. This was super fun. Erica, you have anything else? No, just we're so we're so proud of y'all like for getting up to your goals and doing this. and Like it's awesome. And I love, love that you guys are doing it together. That's so cool.
01:11:06
Speaker
Well, we wouldn't be doing without you guys. So thank you for the help, the the nudge off the ledge. Even if you didn't know you were nudging me off the ledge. Yeah. Sorry about that. Peer pressure. Sometimes it's good.
01:11:17
Speaker
yeah Sometimes not not so good. I'm i'm not going to... We'll leave college behind us. but Why you were the peer pressure. I know. Yeah, you want to bring up some stories at this point? Right, right, right. Oh, look at the time. did it involve some running. Yeah, the cell signals dropping now.
01:11:36
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Oh my gosh. Awesome. Thanks, guys, for being on the podcast. where
Closing Encouragement and Feedback Request
01:11:40
Speaker
We'll keep track of your journey and everything, and we will we'll talk to you real soon. Okay. Thanks for having us. Bye.
01:11:49
Speaker
Okay, that was super fun to get to chat with some friends. And what an episode, Erica. Like we've kind of ridden the entire roller coaster today. We made you cry. we made you laugh. Yeah. Yeah. Well, at least you cried. If no one else cried, you cried. I cried and laughed.
01:12:04
Speaker
And it was, you know, good to good to lighten up a little bit and laugh with some friends that we've known for so long that we've gotten, you know. Yeah, so long. i don't really love the fact that they aged us on on air, but yeah. But we got history with them. So yeah, was great talk them. We'll see them at future races. So yeah. Let's wrap this episode up with just any training updates or anything like that for you.
01:12:24
Speaker
I know that we've we've had a couple of races recently. And so ah our training runs have been a little bit impacted because we've been doing some races. Yeah. And so- we We did do some bonus episodes on some of those races. We did. So I guess really let's save it for that. If you want to know kind of where we are with some of these races that we've done the last two weekends, yeah we've got a couple of bonus episodes. So check those out. We just, you know, they're very short. We just cover kind of about the race, what our experience was like and all that stuff. So let's just do that. Let's leave. let's Let's leave this where it's at.
01:12:55
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode. If you don't mind, leave a review. We love that. We love to know what's working. And especially on this episode, if if it was valuable, email us and let us know. yeah If you're like, hey, don't do that format ever again, that was a little too emotional, then let us know that as well. You can always email us. Also, you can get some stickers if you email us. Just email us at hello at ajanderica.com.
01:13:19
Speaker
Thanks so much for listening. We'll catch you next week for One More Run.
01:13:28
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode of One More Run, the podcast. If you like what we're up to, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram. You can find links to all of that at ajanderica.com.