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5-MINUTE FRIDAY: I've Run 16 Marathons. Here's What First-Timers Need to Hear. · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Hey, everyone.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Emily Abadi here. You are listening to 5-Minute Friday on Hurdle.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: What a week here in New York.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: I let you know that I'm back as of last Monday,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: and the weather is peak.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Right now.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: In New York City. You can run with the long
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: sleeve on in the morning. You can wear a sweater.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: You can wear a short. You can wear whatever you want,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: and you're good to go. It really came full circle
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: for me when I was starting to slowly catch up
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: with friends and be in the mix, just how much
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: of a creature of my community that I am. It
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: I spend a lot of time alone and I love it.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I love doing things on my own, but it truly
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: felt like such a gift to like sit in Madison
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Square Park with a friend during lunch the other day
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: and just catch up or go to a run and
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: see so many familiar faces. yesterday morning. I feel so
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: grateful and a lot more grounded now that I have
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: my community back around me. We also threw a really fun...
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I don't want to call it a baby shower because
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: it was really just a dinner with a little bit
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: of a sprinkle, if you will, but a baby shower
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: for a good friend of mine over the weekend at
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: one of my favorite restaurants.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: And yeah, just so much goodness Being back. So much goodness.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: And back into the event circuit.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: So I mentioned this in my stories the other day,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: but a lot of things kind of coming down the
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: pipe when it comes to the New York City Marathon.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: If you are living, living, listening to this in real time,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: I will not be in Chicago this weekend, but it's
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: looking like it is going to shape up to be
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: so much fun. This is the first year in like
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: four years that I haven't been on the ground for
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: the marathon. So best of luck to anyone who is
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: listening to this and lacing up on Sunday. But for
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: New York City Marathon Week, I always joke that it's
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: kind of like my Super Bowl. I have a lot
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: of fun things in the mix, a lot of event
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: announcements coming down the pipe. So stay tuned for that.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: I was at an event last night. I'm getting to
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: the point of this. I was at an event last
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: night and catching up with a an acquaintance, a woman
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: that I met through some of the Media Miles stuff
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: that I've done with Nike.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Her name is Elizabeth. She works at Sports Illustrated.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: And she, like many, is gearing up for her first
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: marathon at New York this year. And she asked me,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: what's your biggest piece of advice? And I have two
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: of them. And that's what I want to tell you today.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: The first thing is that when you.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: do this thing, this really hard thing, you are already
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: exactly who you wanted to be at that moment. We
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: sign up for a marathon, we, me and you, because
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: we like to do a hard thing. And yes, finishing
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: is a great part of that goal. But I think
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: it's so important to recognize that you do it for
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: the process.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: You do it for the work.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: You don't do it necessarily for the medal, although maybe
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: it's a nice bonus. You do it because you like
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: who you become on that journey. And so when you
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: go to that starting line, wherever your starting line is,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: you are already exactly who you want to be. And
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: how rewarding and special is that? That you have put
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: in the work. You have made the sacrifices. You have
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: accepted the opportunity cost. And without a doubt, you are
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: better for it. Now, you may have realized in this
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: process that maybe it's not something that you're going to
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: do again, and that's okay. But you will always remember
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: the effort that you put in to go after something
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: that excites you. And that is really special. So the
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: first thing, Soak in how great it is that you
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: are this person, that you are an amazing person who
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: just did a really hard thing. And that is so
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: much to be proud of. That race, that destination, that
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: is truly just the victory lap.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: And the other thing is don't judge your beginnings too harshly.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: If you are going after any goal, it doesn't have
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: to be running related. And it is the first time
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: that you have done this thing you need to have
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: a little bit of grace with yourself. When we talk
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: about that in the scope of running, of course, of course,
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: it is natural to maybe have an amount of time
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: that you want to complete this thing in, but go out.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: There and be in it. Soak it in.
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  Speaker 2: Focus on being where your feet are and realize that
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: you only get to be a beginner at this thing once.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: And how cool is that? So don't let your nerves
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: ruin this for you. Don't let that anxiety take over. Instead,
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: of worrying about all of the what ifs. If you
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: just say to yourself, how lucky is it? How lucky
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: am I that I get to do this thing? How
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: lucky am I that I put in this work? How
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: great is it that I am so supported by people
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: both that I know and strangers that have come out
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: to cheer me on to do this hard thing?
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: It's awesome.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: So have that grace with yourself is really, you know,
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: the cherry on top of this Words of Encouragement Sunday.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: I want you to truly recognize that this is an opportunity.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: You've never done it before. You can't expect that you're
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: going to be an expert and you can't really expect
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: that it's going to go flawlessly. But what if you
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: think about the best case scenario and sit in that?
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: What if it all.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: Goes better than you imagined? Even though it is a
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: hard thing, it can be both. It can be hard
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: and it can be something that you can do. It
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: can be hard and it can be attainable. It can
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: be hard and And you can do it with confidence, yeah?
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: So stand in that. It's really special.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: That's my beginner advice about maybe marathoning and about maybe
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: some other stuff too. My, maybe a little reflection, a
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: reflection of the week for you right now.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: What is one.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Thing that perhaps you wish you gave yourself a little
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: bit more grace on in the last year or two?
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: What is one thing that maybe you wish you gave
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: yourself a little bit more grace on over the last
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: year or two? And now we have a listener question.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: This comes from Jen.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Okay, Jen. Repeat listener question offender over here.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: No, this question comes a little, okay, a lot close in,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: but I am running Chicago on Sunday.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Let's go. First time at Chicago, second time overall marathoner.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: And after what has been a solid training cycle and
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: high hopes for this marathon, have recently been working through
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: a new plantar fasciitis diagnosis. Girl, it is speaking up
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: in my right heel right now. So I hear you.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: I am a longtime listener, she says. So I know
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: you can empathize. Well, I have completely shifted my race
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: day plan over the last two weeks to include a
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: new non-plated shoe, smart, and have been focusing on much rolling, stretching,
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: and body work. My new goal is to just finish
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: healthy and safely. I've been keeping the mental game positive,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: living in that this is where we are now stage,
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: and reminding myself I am grateful for my body and
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: what it is doing for me. However, while I keep
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: repeating these mantras, some days my mind and my competitive
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: spirit gets the best of me.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: How do you truly embrace these sentiments?
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: Not just say them, but allow yourself to let go
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: of what is not and live in the resolve of
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: what is. Thanks for all that you do for women
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: in sport and sharing so much of your personal life
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: with us. I hope you know how motivating you are.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: Jen from Seattle.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: P.S.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: Totally understand if you can't answer this ahead of the marathon.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: I prioritize this listener question, but I want all of them.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: So if you have one for me and you send
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: it to me, I promise you I'll get to it.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: You can email me over at hello at hurdle.us or
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: always feel to shoot me a DM over at Emily
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Abadi and.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: At Hurdle Podcast. Jen. My heart, my heart goes to you.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Plantar fasciitis is the most frustrating thing. And so right now,
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: to answer your question, because we're not talking about solutions
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: at this moment, you said it best. I am here
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: in this place to accept what is. And yes, it
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: can be frustrating, but all you can do is the
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: best you can with what you have. And so for me,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: whenever I'm struggling with anxiety, struggling with things not being
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: exactly how I had hoped, It starts with those I
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: am statements. And I have talked about those so many things,
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: so many times. When frustration seeps in, when anxiety creeps in,
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: the best thing that you can do is remind yourself
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: who you truly are. I am confident. I am an athlete.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: I am capable of running this marathon. Sit down and
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: write down these affirmations, these I am statements, so that
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: you can look at them and remind yourself of what
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: is true when the feelings seep in.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Okay, that's number one.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: The second thing, you're asking me, how do I truly
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: embrace these sentiments, not just saying them aloud, but allow
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: myself to let go? You have done something that's so important.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: You are meeting yourself with where you're at. And that's
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: easier said than done. You cannot move forward until you
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: recognize what really is. And we're doing that. So I
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: want you to commend yourself on that, okay? Now, when
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: it comes to really embracing it, I want you to
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: think of the best thing. I want you to think
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: that it could be better than you hoped. I'll share
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: a little story. So when I had really bad plantar fasciitis,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I ran both London at the beginning when it was
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: pretty gnarly and then ultimately was healing mostly when I
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: towed the line a year later for Tokyo. And the
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: night before London, I called my physical therapist and I said,
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: is it possible that I could rip my plantar tomorrow?
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: The good news is that he told me, and I'll
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: share this with you, it's highly unlikely.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: It is highly unlikely that you'll do that.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I am not certified to give you medical advice. I
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: just want to say that out loud. But that is
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: what he shared with me. And so I went to
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: bed that night and I felt probably pretty similar to
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: how you do right now.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: I was really frustrated.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: I went from running just like you in a plated,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: a carbon plated shoe to a non-carbon plated shoe. I
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: did everything I could to set myself up in the
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: best way possible. And when I woke up to run
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: that marathon, I literally said, just like you're saying here,
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: this is how it is now. And I am going
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: to make the conscious choice to focus on the good,
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: to focus on the things that are within my control
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: everywhere around me. And easier said than done. But you
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: get to continually make that choice over and over that day.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: You can be the person that notices the good around you.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: You can be the person that focuses off of the
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: crowd energy. When it feels hard, you can remember how
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: lucky am I that I get to do this. Again,
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: it's all so understandable. And I have truly been exactly
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: where you are right now. But this is an opportunity.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: It's a special day. And no matter what happens that day,
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: just like I said at the top of this episode,
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: remember that you are exactly who you want to be
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: when you're crossing that finish line already. So be proud
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: of yourself. Be proud of the work that you've done
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: and go out there and have a good time. Again,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: listener questions, I want them. Hit me up over at
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: hello at hurdle.us or also in the DMs at Emily
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: Abadi and at Hurdle Podcast. Another hurdle conquered. Catch you
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: guys next time.