Category Archives: mindset

READY FOR LP REVIEW – Who Is The Best Beginner Runner? It’s NOT Who You Think!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

So, Who Is Really The Best Beginner Runner? It Might NOT Be Who You’d Think!

ARE 20 YEAR OLDS BETTER AT BEGINNING RUNNING?

Have you always had the desire to become a runner, but you’re 50+ and you think there’s no way that that’s probably going to happen? Well, think again! haha I call BS on that!

I think I’m pretty much an expert on this topic, not because of me my personal experience. I started running in my late 30s, just so you know, and that’s not that old! I hate to even use the word ‘old’.

If I think about it, I know that 20-year-olds sound like they’d be ‘the perfect beginner runner,’ right? Because they’re young, they’re fresh, and they can do pretty much whatever they want with their bodies. But that’s one of the reasons I think they’re not the best.

ARE 50+ YEAR OLDS BETTER AT BEGINNING RUNNING?

So let me tell you some of the reasons why I think a 50+ year old (woman, especially) is perfect to become a beginner runner. I’m a running coach – and again, I started a little later in my life, not quite in my 50s, but close – and the people I coach are mostly 50+.  As a matter of fact, I had one of my runners, who is now 64, do her first 100K last month! (A 100K is 62 miles, btw!) Now, okay, that’s a little bit out of control in the sense that, if you’ve never even thought about running, I know that sounds crazy to you! But that’s what happens when you actually get into a community of women who help support you and want you to do whatever you want and whatever feels good for you.
So let me tell you why I think again that we 50+ women are the best candidates to become beginner runners.

ASKING FOR HELP

First of all, we’re generally not afraid to ask for help. I teach ChiRunning – a running technique I think is a hugely beneficial skill for anybody starting to run, but especially as we get older! Learning technique is huge.In my ChiRunning workshops, I’d guess about 80 percent of the people who show up are women mainly 50+. I’ll get a couple of younger women, or maybe even a couple of guys, but I think as women in this age group, we’re just not afraid to ask for help. By the time you reach this age, if you need some help you’re going to look and you’re going to try to figure out the best way to find it.

MORE SELF-AWARE OF OUR BODIES AND PAIN

Another important thing is that we’re more aware of our bodies as they are aging. We want to make sure that we’re doing things the right way to avoid injury.

In my workshops you’ll learn how to run and get technique tips that will make your running easier and more efficient. As opposed to somebody who’s younger – and even though I’m stereotyping here – stereotypes are there for a reason. You’d probably agree that someone who is younger is maybe not as open to getting help or guidance, and is more likely to try to push through any pain or potential problems.

They might think, ‘Oh, this shin pain is probably normal’ or ‘This knee pain is normal. I’m just going to keep pushing through without really thinking about the consequences that are going to be there in 20 years or so.’

I think, as as we age, we’re just more aware of this. So, if you really think about those two things and what what that actually means or what they have in common – and I think this is just something I feel I’ve learned about myself as I’ve gotten older and wiser – is that we tend to drop the ego. Running can be a very egocentric sport. You see it all the time with people comparing their paces and how fast are you and as soon as you get done with a 5k or any distance. You’ve probably had people asking you, ‘What was your time?’ so it can be a very egocentric sport.

CARING LESS ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK OF US

As we age, we kind of really start caring less about what people think. Don’t get me wrong, this is still probably one of the biggest mindset things that I work with with my TRU Tribe ladies, but at the same time, I think we’re much more open to the fact that we have to let our egos go, right? So if that’s the case, then you’re going to be more likely to learn how to run (and, hey, I can definitely help you out with that! 😉 )

SURROUNDING OURSELVES WITH A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY

Then the other thing is, I think as women and as we get older, we tend to find other women that we can bond with around things that we enjoy. And that’s really pretty much exactly what my TRU TRIBE (this is my online community of women) is all about!

Bringing women together into a community is what I do! We have an online community and that’s exactly what we do there. Pretty much everybody’s about 50+ and at all different levels. I have people who have just completed their first 5Ks, and I have somebody who just did her first 100K!

does this sound like YOU??  

  • Do you feel comfortable asking for help?
  • Do you feel more self-aware of your body and avoiding the aches and pains?
  • Are you less worried about what others may think of you as you get older?
  • Do you enjoy the company and camaraderie of other women who feel like you do and are looking for more ways to enjoy their lives?

This is us! This is our TRU Tribe community! 

JOIN US TODAY

If you are even in the slightest bit interested in joining an awesome community of 50+ women, just send me an email Lisa@TheRunningUniversity.com and say, ‘Hey I saw your your video and I’m interested in a 30-day free trial in your TRU Tribe!’ I’d love to have you come in check it out. 😊

The ONE SENTENCE MINDSET HACK That Works Like A Charm

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

The Quick ONE SENTENCE MIND HACK That Works Like a Charm!

If you’re anything like me, I know I can be my own worst enemy when it comes to being ‘in my head,’ not only when running, but really anytime. Does this happen to you, too? 

YOUR RUNNING (and LIFE) MINDSET

You may not realize this, but your mindset is actually a huge part of your running. There’s a much bigger mental component to running than many newer runners may realize. Now, you may already know that it’s really easy to want to compare ourselves to other people. I just did a video with tips to avoid comparing ourselves right here  so go check that out, if you’re interested. I have one very specific mantra that I like to use that helps me get out of my head. Keep in mind that this takes practice, so don’t just expect to be able do it one time and ‘magically’ get it completely out of your head! But the more you practice your ‘mindset muscle,’ the better you will get at this.

MY FAVORITE MANTRA RIGHT NOW

So my favorite mantra right now is:  “I am writing my own running story.” First of all, if you think about it, we’re all probably worried about what other people are thinking about us when we’re out running. But, in reality, guess what everybody else is thinking about?  They’re all thinking the exact same thing! So they really don’t care about you as much as you might think, because everybody else is too busy being worried about themselves! So there’s that. Why worry about it? Because, trust me, nobody else really freaking cares. And if they do, who cares?? Does this really affect you at all? I think not.

But truly, when I think about my own running story – and I’ve met thousands of runners since I’ve been doing this and everybody has their own story all coming from different backgrounds – anything could be happening to you on that very day that is not normal for you, either. So when you focus on the idea that ‘you are writing your own running story,’ you get to figure out what those chapters are. You get to figure out how you want to do. And you get to figure out how long you want to go or how fast you want to go.

Repeating that mantra for myself really does help me out, so I hope that it helps you out too.

How To Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Runners

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

 How To Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Runners

Most Runners Compare Ourselves to Others At Some Point

Hey, I’m a running coach and I still have issues with my self-confidence. Don’t get me wrong, I’m getting better at it, but, you know, there are a lot of times that you can really get in your head when it comes to running, especially when it comes to comparing yourself to everybody else.

Running is really one of those sports that it’s so easy to compare yourself to other people: you can compare your paces, how much time others run, how far everybody else is going. It can be really hard on your mind and you can they can really make you feel like s*#& and, honestly, that’s really hard to deal with, especially when you’re in the middle of maybe a run or a race and you just start going down the rabbit hole.

Strava and Garmin

This is one of the reasons that you won’t find me on Strava. I am on Garmin, but I keep that very I keep that secret and it’s only available to my TRU Tribe team to see. I’ve listened to people or watched people on Strava say things like, “Oh, the reason I was slower this time is because I was with so and so.” I’ve actually seen people stop their watches when they take walk breaks, so it’s only tracking their running. Hey, to each his own, I always say. Everybody’s writing their own running story, so I’m not judging, but for me, Strava was one of those things that, by comparing myself to other people, was just driving me crazy, so I just chose not to care. You won’t find me on Strava, because I just don’t need that extra pressure. So the great thing is that I continue my running journey and I keep learning more and more. So I’m going to share some of my tips about how you can really work on stop comparing yourself to others.

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote that ‘comparison is the thief of joy,’ and it really is! Think about it. When you compare yourself to other people, it doesn’t really serve any purpose, whatsoever. Also, you really don’t know what everybody else is going through, anyway, right? I’ve been in races and I’ve talked to people and discovered that somebody maybe did a marathon the day before, because of whatever their crazy training plan is. You know I’ve been in races where you have people who were sick just the day before, and they’re going to be a little slower than normal. There are so many reasons that can affect what’s going on in your run, and it really doesn’t matter what’s happening to everybody else. So here are some of the steps that that work for me that, hopefully, will help you out, too.

Becoming more self-aware of your thoughts 

Number one is really just becoming self-aware of when you’re going down that ‘comparison rabbit hole.’

Self-awareness is basically just being aware and realizing when you start going down the rabbit hole. For me to improve my self-awareness, I really found that meditating (that could be a whole other video, lol) really helps. The more you meditate, the more you become self-aware of your thoughts (especially negative thoughts!) that come your way. So, as soon as I notice those thoughts, the first thing I really do is I sit with it  (but not for too long, though). So, I just sit with those feelings for a little bit. I’m going to just kind of pay attention and observe what feelings I’m having, and just to allow myself to feel and consider them. So, that’s the first thing I do. I recognize it. I sit in it. Maybe take a couple of deep breaths to slow everything down mentally.

find a favorite running mantra

Number two. The next thing that I do is I think about my favorite running mantra: “I am writing my own running story.” Then, I think about whomever I might be comparing myself to, who either just sped by me, or whatever the case is, and try to focus on the fact that they’re writing their own running story too, right? I don’t know what their story is (and, really, it doesn’t even matter if I know their whole story), I just need to be focusing on myself.

I remember one thing that really struck me, when I was going through my meditation practice one day. One of the first meditations that I learned was from Deepak Chopra, and it was this whole idea of feeling inferior to other people, which is really what you’re doing when you’re comparing yourself to others. It’s not often that you’re thinking, “Well, I’m faster than everybody else.” When you’re comparing yourself to others, you’re more often in a bad place, because other people are faster than you, or are going longer than you, or something they’re just doing better… than you. This insight is something I go back to a lot now, when I think about comparing myself to other people:

If I am thinking that I’m inferior to maybe one person, then it probably means that sometimes I’m also feeling superior to another person. When I realized this, it really didn’t sit well with me.

I don’t want to feel superior to people, either! So, that’s one of the things that I always go back to. It’s always a constant in my head just to think about those words, because I don’t want to feel superior to anybody. And again, I’m writing my own running story. It doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing, really.

Practice Keeping Yourself Out of the Comparison ‘Rabbit Hole’

So, those couple of steps work for me, but here’s the deal. We each have these neurological pathways that we have created because of our life experiences. Over time (especially if you are somebody who finds yourself going down the rabbit hole and comparing yourself to other people quite a bit), you know that’s a pattern that you’ve built for yourself and it’s not going to go away on its own.

So, what I would recommend that you do is just to keep practicing. Anytime you’re out there, whether you’re in a training run, or you’re with a group of people, or you just realize that you start going into your head and comparing yourself to other people, follow those steps and I really hope that help you break these old ways of thinking about yourself and about those around you and creates more positive habits.

I hope you’ve gotten some helpful info here and hope to see you soon!