Episode 49: Running with Friends Series- How to make 2022 your best running year!
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Welcome to Chasing Life podcast, where we talk about fitness, running, career, and life tips to inspire you to live your best life. I'm your host, Sarah Kane, and I hope you enjoy today's episode. Welcome to another episode of Chasing Life. Today's guest is Leti. Welcome back, Leti. Thank you so much for having me. So Sarah, how have you been?

I've been doing really well. I've been working with a coach now for about six weeks. I'm up to five days a week of running. I'm running about between 30 and 32 miles a week consistently. My ankle's doing much better. Getting used to early morning cold runs here in the Northeast. Oh yeah, I've seen that on the weather report and I'm glad that you're healing up and training with a coach because this is

Perfect, because we're going to talk about running goals for next year and hopefully make next year your best running. I certainly hope so. Yeah, 2022, I hope will be a good year for me. So how's your running going?

My running is doing well. I mean, I guess I'm running. I still have some pain in my ankles that I'm trying to not think about and just focusing on my running goals for next year as well, which is the Paris Marathon in April. And hopefully my legs and feet will hold up until then. So why don't we hop into today's topic, which is how to make 2022 your best running year yet. Let's come up with some tips for our listeners so they can have a good running year as well.

So my first tip for making your 2022 the best running year is to actually make a conscious decision to make this your best running year. So put it out there, write it down, tell your friends about it, not just because of the law of attraction, but also because of the accountability that will create, you know, once you put it out there, then people will ask you about your progress and it makes it makes you take it more serious yourself.

Absolutely. Accountability is a very strong factor when it comes to your goals. So my first tip kind of relates to yours in that you should meet yourself where you are. So maybe you're coming back from an injury in 2021. Maybe you took some time off in 2021, or maybe 2021 just didn't go the way that you had hoped, but either way, any of the above,

To have grace with yourself at your current fitness level, just recognize, identify, say, okay, this is where I am. This is where I want to go and not give yourself a hard time that you aren't where you hope to be or that where you want to be. Maybe you've lost fitness, whatever the case may be, but just meet yourself where you are.

I mean, that resonates with almost all of us because the longer you run for, the more likely you are to have some sort of injury. And maybe we're a couple of years away from our last PR. And that's very tough to do because just like we were talking off air earlier, when I was telling you some of the paces I was hitting and they were nowhere near what I used to be able to do, it kind of sounds like it's difficult for us to go there.

Oh, it absolutely is. And, you know, I was sharing the same thing of, you know, where my pieces currently are and, you know, are they where they need to be and just, you know, recognizing that I need to trust the process. Yes. And I like that. I like that whole giving yourself some grace because it makes us realize that we train really hard, but we don't live and train in a vacuum. There's other things that we have other factors to consider.

Absolutely. And it's a great reminder too, that, you know, maybe you have a hard workout on your calendar and you didn't sleep well the night before, or you haven't been sleeping well, or, you know, maybe your nutrition has been off or you're dehydrated or whatever the case may be, but just recognizing like that, not every run will be great. And that could last for a couple of months. And if you can power through that and give yourself that grace to

then eventually that corner will turn if you just stick with it. I love it. Give yourself some grace. That's a great tip. Yeah. What's your next tip? So my next tip is to think about your goals. Take some time, sit down, think about where we are, what you just said, and then also use some running calculators and see where you want to be. So make a decision of what's important to you. So with that, I mean, ask yourself,

Ask yourself, what is your goal for the next year? Do you want to do a fast 5k? Do you have a marathon that you want to train for? Or are you trying to just finish a certain mileage? Are you trying to finish a certain amount of races or have you entered a new age group and you're trying to place in that? So be clear with what goals you have, because that way you can cater your training towards that. And you're more likely to achieve that goal that you set for yourself.

Yeah, that's a great tip because, you know, by identifying that goal that you're working toward, I've always found that that helps to motivate me to take those hard steps out the door and actually get started because you know that there's a race in the forecast or you know that there's something that you're really working toward and you got to put the work into it.

Yes, absolutely. And you're more likely to actually do the workout that you see on your training plan because you know, it's actually going to help you achieve that certain goal rather than when we're off and just doing base miles, then, you know, what is the reason for a certain speed workout? If there is no race in sight, then there's really no reason to do that. So that kind of helps us get through the workouts as well. Very, very good point. Very true.

Yeah. So Sarah, what is your next tip for our listeners? So mine is almost a little bit of an opposite of that, but I guess, you know, for, you know, our listeners could be experiencing different things. So if you're ready to set a new goal, I think they should follow your tip, but if maybe they're just trying to get back into running, yeah.

to just take the pressure off yourself and run for the fun of it. For one, be mindful of social media use. So maybe you used to share every workout, every pace, you know, taking that selfie after the run and sharing it and sharing other runners on an Instagram or whatever the case may be. But then you're, now you're finding yourself

that it's not enjoyable for you to partake in posting or see other people running because you might feel like there's some envy there. So be mindful of your social media usage. Just take that pressure off of having to

Prove yourself to somebody else because the only person you're competing against is yourself and just go and have fun at races, go and have fun on a run and just find your love of running again, if you've lost it.

I like that one, Sarah. And I agree with you. Social media can be the devil sometimes because it can bring out so many bad things such as envy and competitiveness when it's really you yourself that you're competing against.

So my third tip would be to get excited because they always say for traveling, one of the big perks and fun parts of traveling is planning it. And I feel like that's kind of the same with races. It'll motivate you. It'll put you in that headspace that, you know, in two months you have a trip planned and you're going somewhere and you're doing that for yourself and to run. And so I feel like that's a huge motivator and can create a lot of happiness.

Yes. And I think it's been proven that a key to happiness is having something to look forward to. So having a trip and that race, it definitely will add to your happiness. So then Sarah, what is your number three tip for our runners? So mine is also similar to races and yes,

This is to consider a more laid back race. So sure, in line with what you're saying, book a race, have something to look forward to, but maybe it's not a huge race. Maybe it's not a huge city. Maybe it's a fun run. Maybe it's with friends and family.

Maybe it's a, you know, we just had turkey trots. Those are often really big, just fun events that people run together with friends and family. Or maybe it's a, you know, St. Patrick's day run or, you know, whatever the case may be, like just pick a race and have fun. I like.

I like that. That kind of makes running also more fun because you're not looking at it as this huge competitive event, because in reality, we're all just people that are very likely not elite runners. And that way we kind of know this is our hobby and it's supposed to be fun. And it's always the best when we involve friends and families with stuff like that. I agree. And just remember too, even if you're in a competitive race, that your friends and family,

will love you regardless of what your finish time is. My husband reminded me of that and he said, it doesn't really matter. Your kids, me and everybody else is just going to look at you and love you the same, no matter whether you run two minutes faster or slower. Right. All right. What's your fourth tip? So my fourth tip kind of, I guess, goes with that as well. Submerse yourself in this amazing running community. So with that, I mean, join some sort of running club or

or our running Facebook group. We have renamed our Facebook group to the Speed Striders Running with Friends. And you can have a lot of fun meeting new people and having people that have the exact same interest as you running and have discussions about it. So that way you're not...

you know, talking to the wall when you're at home and telling your family members all about how much you're worried about a registration, et cetera. It's just, it's this nice to have this amazing community of runners. And especially if there's challenges and stuff like that, where you see people living all over the world, India, Canada, Australia, wherever everyone lives, you know,

doing the exact same thing that you're doing and just a completely different lifestyle and scenery yet you're all connected through running i just think that's super beautiful

It definitely is really cool to just have that instant connection with people because you know that you're a runner. I mean, I talked about this before that I went to a running camp alone with no friends, but I wasn't afraid to go because I knew at least one thing I had in common with everyone who was there, which was running and fitness. And I'll tell you, I had a great time because we all had that base interest. That's amazing. And that was over how many days?

It was only three days. It was just a long weekend. And you left there with a bunch of running friends and now you're even going back to it. Yes, I am.

That's amazing. Yeah. So Sarah, what is your fourth tip for our listeners? So my fourth tip is very similar to yours, which is to join a local running group. I know for me, so I was a runner for about eight years before I officially joined my local running group. I had known about it, but I was always as an introvert.

And someone who's used to running alone, I was like, I don't know, like, I don't think I want to go near other people. But what I realized was what I was missing out on by not being a part of this group is exactly what you were saying is that you find other people that you can talk to running about. You're like instant friends because you have that commonality. There's people you can run with. There's accountability there.

Because there's often scheduled group runs. So, you know, that gets you out the door. And, you know, I, I was missing out on that because I was too afraid to kind of put myself out there. And so it's a great way to mix it up and, you know, you don't have to do every run with everyone in the running group, but maybe you'll find somebody who's your pace and that can help the long runs go by a lot faster and,

Or, you know, you could still have your individual or solo runs throughout the week, but you have those Sunday long runs to look forward to. And, you know, afterwards, I know like my local running group, they like to have coffee afterwards. And so it's that social aspect, which is especially important, you know, during the pandemic when maybe you don't see people very often. And so it's a great way to just connect with people who have that similar interest, you know, mix it up.

Maybe that running group will introduce you to a new route or a new trail or encourage you to try a new distance or they just become your cheerleaders. And so I think it's really important to be a part of that running community. I love that. And I think that's true for anywhere you live. So what's your last tip? So

So my last tip would be to kind of reward yourself and get yourself new running gear. And I don't mean a reward as in you haven't even finished the year yet, but you really put it out there and you know, you're going to follow through with this running thing. Then maybe do invest in some gear that's going to make your runs more pleasant. I know you and I have talked about this a little bit before of

what our favorite type of gear is, but get yourself some good running shoes and the light that's really going to be comfortable when you're running in the dark. And for you guys up there, up North, anything that makes you feel warmer when it's blazing cold outside or just stuff that can help your run be better. And if you've invested some money in it, I don't know about you, Sarah, but if I spend the money on something, I usually try to make use of it.

So with that in mind, if you buy yourself this expensive pair of shoes and you look at them, you really kind of feel guilty if you're not going to use them.

I agree. Yeah. And buying like new clothes might excite you to go and do that run. And so I definitely agree with your tip. So what is your last tip for our listeners? So my last one is to try to immerse yourself a little bit more in running, pick up some running books, listen to more running podcasts like ours, immerse yourself more in the passion because that will exalt

Excite you. You'll learn new things about it. It'll help you improve. And there's just this whole positive reinforcement cycle in 2021. When I couldn't run much, I, uh,

ended up turning more toward the running community, running books, running podcasts. And that has still made me feel connected to the running community, even if I wasn't able to run. And then when I was able to run again, I could take those tips I was learning in the podcast or the books or the motivation and inspiration I found from the books. And it just kind of all compiled onto my running and helped to reinforce me to chase goals and, and

to trust the process and like all this kind of positive reinforcement as a part of your world. I like that a lot. And it's so true too, because that really helps you mentally feel more like a runner. And then it's that whole struggle that a lot of people have that they don't identify as a runner because they're not running certain pieces when that's the hugest mistake, in my opinion, because if you're running, you're a runner.

I thousand percent agree with that. That's awesome. So those are wonderful tips there. And with all those tips in mind, what are the new year's resolutions that you're going to do for yourself for 2022 to be the best running year for you? Oh, that's a great question. So I think of the 10 that we shared two that I'm going to focus on is, um,

Meeting myself where I am, which means that I'm going to give myself grace for my current fitness level. But at the same time, take one of your tips, which is sign up for that big race, put it out in the universe and chase it down.

And if all goes well, as we've talked about, I've been talking about this for months. I've definitely put it out in the universe. So I did officially register for my spring marathon since we last talked. So I will be making my BQ attempt in Buffalo, New York on May 29th, 2022. And we'll all be watching and cheering you on. Well, thank you. So I'm going to turn that question back on you. And what are some things you're going to be focusing on this year?

I'm going to take your tip to give myself some grace because I'm always super hard on myself. I'm going to meet myself where I'm at and I'm gonna, I think just go for finding really cool races that I like and run them without putting too much pressure on myself to, you know, get another PR or best time in anything, just because right now I'm nursing this injury that,

but in my head, I really love running and I still want to participate in these marathons. And I think the way for me to do it is not to push it as hard as I did during the last training cycle, but rather find quality races and enjoy them

and continue submerging myself in this beautiful running community that we've established here on our podcast through Facebook and all that, because it's just been such a great year this year, even injured.

Yes. I mean, I had an injury, as you know, earlier this year, and I want to just say thank you for reaching out to me earlier this year so that we could have created this podcast together and also just, you know, created the community and our friendships through running. Yes, that was really lovely. That's, you know, again, some of the perks of running that you have when two complete strangers connect online together.

for the love of running and then are able to create and share ideas and other things with, with other runners out there. And I have to again, say another thank you of just your encouragement and support and

of my bq attempt and my future goals has really meant a lot to me so i just want to say thank you for that oh you're so sweet i can't wait for you to get your bq and then boston 2023 it is thank you yeah and hopefully by then we'll have a big reunion in boston yes that would be great and maybe one of these races will run together before boston absolutely let's try that

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