Spring Clean Your Running: 5 Tips to Refresh

Send us a text

After slogging through the long, cold months of winter, there’s this collective itch we all start to feel – an itch for change, for warmth, and for shedding the old to make way for the new. And what better time to "spring clean" our running routines than now?

It’s not just about getting back out there in shorts and soaking up the sun (though let’s be honest, that’s a pretty fantastic part of it). It’s about taking a moment to pause, reflect, and redirect our energies where they’re most needed. Whether you’re gearing up for the spring race season or simply looking to inject some new life into your runs, now is the perfect time to reset and refocus.

Welcome to the Do Hard Things Podcast with your host Jay Tiegs, Are you ready to amplify and improve your life? Then you are in the right place.  On this podcast we have unfiltered conversation with inspiring people who take on challenges and share with us, the wisdom from their journey. We talk about how doing hard things adequately enable all of us to deal with life's struggles and challenges and ultimately improve the quality of our lives. 

Big things are happening inside Do Hard Things Nation, and I want you with us.

Want more support? Join the Do Hard Things Wellness Academy. Four coaches. Weekly mindset training, movement, breathwork, meditation, book club, and challenges. Join as a member here:
👉 skool.com/dohardthings/about

Our book, Life on Offense, is now an Amazon Best Seller! Grab a copy and leave a review.
👉 Get the book on Amazon

Grab Your Do Hard Things Gear and Apparel. Show the world you Do Hard Things with high-quality apparel!

👉Gear — Do Hard Things Nation

And don’t forget—the Do Hard Things 5K, 9.11 Mile Run, and 9.11 Mile Ruck is happening in September. There’s even a virtual option—so no excuses. Sign up here:
👉 dohardthingsnation.com/events

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:43):
All right, welcome back everybody to another
episode of the Do Our Thingspodcast.
I'm Jay Teagues, your runningcoach, certified high
performance coach, mindset coach, founder of the Do Our Things
Nation, where our mission is toempower you to upgrade your life
through mindset and movement,and today we're going to be
talking about spring cleaningyour running.

(01:06):
So you just got me today andI'm excited to be here.
I just fresh off of springbreak.
If you were around last week,you noticed that we did a replay
and the family and I had theprivilege of having two spring
breaks back to back.
I got to take my kiddos toVirginia and I met Lacey and her

(01:26):
kids down in Florida.
So I feel refreshed andrejuvenated and life is good,
and it really had me thinkingabout the topic of just like
spring cleaning and springcleaning comes in a variety of
different ways.
I'm going to share with youfive strategies to help you
re-energize, refocus yourmindset and help you move even
better so you can crush yourgoals for this spring.

(01:49):
But before we get into today'sepisode, just a couple of
housekeeping notes.
Make sure you smash thatsubscribe button so you're
notified of future episodes.
Run all your major platformsSpotify, Apple, Pocket Cast,
YouTube and leave us a review oniTunes.
They go a really long way tohelping us expand the Do Our
Things Nation.
They matter.
So, whatever your favoriteplatform is, take a couple
minutes and leave us a review,and we always love to hear from

(02:12):
you as well.
So if you take the time to dothat, make sure that you share
it with us directly, Shoot us anote, Let us know.
Hey, I love this episode, orthis is a great topic idea.
We would love to hear from youand share it with a couple of
your friends, because it wouldmean a lot.
This episode is sponsored bythe Do Hard Things Nation.
We're a community committed toliving a life on offense, and

(02:36):
we're united by a focus oncontinuous self-improvement
through upgrading our livesthrough mindset and movement.
We offer monthly challenges.
We have merch that inspireslike stronger than yesterday's
shirt awesome Do Hard ThingsNation hat and so go grab
yourself some, some, some gearthat inspires you.
It's a great place to connectwith other like-minded people,
hold yourself accountable, andso go to do hard things

(02:58):
nationcom.
Wwwdohardthingsnationcom.
You can see our latest events.
What we have going on there andso with today is April 1st
April 1st of 2024.
And I noticed when I came backthe other day from spring
breakdown in Florida.
Just walking in the house, justyou can hear the birds chirping

(03:21):
and the sweet smell of spring,with all of the flora and the
fauna, and you're seeing all theleaves and whatnot coming back.
And so it's here.
The weather's warming up andit's great, and so with spring
comes a rejuvenating energy thatit's just a time for renewal,

(03:42):
as you see the leaves coming andthe animals back and people out
just walking their dogs.
You're seeing more activitybecause it's warmer.
It's just a time for springrenewal and rejuvenation, and
your running routine and yourmindset routine are no exception
, and so I'm going to give youfive strategies to help you

(04:04):
spring clean your running andyour training so you can
rejuvenate and re-energize.
So the first tip we're going totalk about is embracing a break.
So spring break, spring breakLike I just came back off of a
break, it's good practice totake a little vacation with

(04:25):
beautiful weather, Just get outthere and just unplug from the
day to day grind and giveyourself the gift of taking a
break, some downtime.
Maybe it's traveling someplacenew, Maybe it's just simply a
staycation, but doing somethingwhere you can just break the
monotony from winter and just weneed these transition points

(04:46):
and we need time to just take abreak and unplug and when you're
on these vacations or takingthat time, just truly like
unplug.
When I was down in Florida, Imean, I've kind of been doing
like a digital detox.
I've really been working onsubtraction versus addition and
that means just unplugging moreand just taking time for myself

(05:09):
to be more present.
Taking that little time canrejuvenate your, your mind and
your body, and it just when itcomes to um, embracing spring.
It's just like knocking off theold cobwebs and just getting
revitalized for the new season.
So make sure you take a break,and that comes in a variety of

(05:33):
different forms but take sometime for yourself.
A lot of times, man, people arenot very good about taking
their vacation time.
They brag about how muchvacation time that they've saved
up and they pride themselves onnot taking vacation.
It's so incredibly important tobe able to unplug and do that
All right.
Strategy number two set freshgoals.

(05:54):
What do you want to achievethis season?
What do you want to achieve?
For many people, you might somepeople just take the winter off
to completely hibernate, butnow that it's warmer, you know
people are out there moving, butnow's a good time to uh, to
identify what you want toachieve the season, start
planning that out.
So maybe it's a new distance,Maybe you want to add some speed
.
Uh, maybe you just want to, youknow, just find more joy in, in

(06:18):
, in the steps.
Maybe you want more community,Maybe you want to connect with
more like-minded people.
Maybe you want to shake it upand maybe do like an obstacle
course race or maybe a bike race.
Maybe it's doing you.
I think the humans need novelty.
We need something new to do.
So setting fresh goals can getyou rejuvenated and excited and

(06:40):
shake up your training, becausethere's a lot of people that
just get bored with theirtraining.
It's because they're notshaking it up.
So what specifically do youwant to achieve this year?
And so look at, maybe adifferent distance, maybe adding
some speed work, maybe findingsome new events to participate
in, maybe finding some morecommunity.

(07:01):
Those are some ways to set somefresh goals and shake things up
, and shaking things up justgets you more motivated.
I know there's a lot of peoplethat get kind of burned out.
I saw someone on a blogyesterday saying they've fallen
out of love with running andtheir training.
Well, that's typically becauseyou're doing the same old thing

(07:23):
over and over and over again andyou're getting bored.
So we need new novelty, we needleading edge experiences that
are new, and that's a great wayto do that.
So, all right.
So number three, number threedeclutter and refresh.
So, just like spring cleaningyour home, it's a good time to

(07:46):
maybe, you know, declutter,revamp your running wardrobe,
and that might be.
You know, you've been wearingall that winter gear and whatnot
.
Maybe it's time to freshen itup, put that stuff away because
you don't need it for thesummertime, and maybe spruce it
up.
So maybe you donate yourrunning shoes and some of your
gear or you just put it away forthe season, and maybe it's time

(08:08):
.
This would be a greatopportunity to get yourself some
new running shoes or some newgear.
You know, anytime I get any newgear to add to the kit.
It's exciting, it's I don'tknow.
It kind of motivates youGetting a new pair of running
shorts and shirt, maybe a newvest, maybe some new ear pods,
whatever it is.

(08:28):
Whatever you need to motivateyourself.
But declutter and refresh yourgear and your wardrobe.
And I know for me personally,I'm preparing for the Ozark
Expedition which kicks off nextweek, and I've had to get some
new gear for it.
It's exciting to get some newheadlamps and some other running

(08:50):
gear.
I don't know it, just it'smotivational because you want to
get out there and try it.
I've gotten some kit in themail and I'm like man, I just
want to go out and try this newpiece of equipment.
So I found myself running atnight and doing some other
things I wouldn't typically havebeen doing in my training plan,
but just because I was excitedabout the new gear, Also got
doing in my training plan, butjust because I was excited about
the new gear, I also got somenew trekking poles.
That's been a new addition tomy gear.

(09:12):
Overall, I got some luckytrekking poles, typically used
for longer distances and overtougher terrain.
And I'll tell you what it's beenpretty fun to do something new,
to kind of shake it up.
So declutter and refresh.
That's strategy number three.
All right.
Strategy number four discovernew paths.

(09:34):
This kind of goes back intowhat I mentioned earlier about
just bored being bored, and alot of runners get bored because
they're running the same pace,the same path, the same thing
over and over and over again andit gets kind of boring after a
while.
So maybe this is a newopportunity to discover a new
path.
You can do that by just simplygoing to Strava and maybe trying
to find some new Stravasegments.

(09:55):
I found Strava to be incrediblyhandy when it comes to new paths
because it's an opportunity tosee where other people are
running.
There's some hidden gems inyour neighborhood and maybe the
neighborhood next to you.
Maybe go to the next town overand explore what's going on over
there.
But running some new routeswill shake some things up.

(10:16):
Seeing something new and freshsurroundings can be incredibly
motivational.
Surroundings can be incrediblymotivational.
So, um, and also, as you, if youfind yourself traveling, maybe
find some opportunities totravel, find some new paths.
I know, uh, you know, beingjust on spring break, uh,
finding some.
I found some fantastic pathsout, exploring uh, the uh,

(10:40):
Richmond, Virginia, which is, uh, I don't know if you've ever
been to Richmond, but it'sincredibly beautiful.
A lot of civil war historythere.
Uh, the city is, it's, it is.
I don't know if you've everbeen to Richmond, but it's
incredibly beautiful.
A lot of Civil War historythere.
The city is, it's not tooterribly big and it's got this
beautiful river that flowsthrough there, the James River,
and just finding myself justexploring new paths.
I opened up some Stravasegments and just kind of found
some places to run and it wasabsolutely beautiful.

(11:02):
I had an opportunity to go downto Florida and run on the beach
and just check out some sceneryand stop for some amazing
coffee on a morning run.
It was fantastic.
So it's always rejuvenating andexciting to run some new paths.
So shake it up a little bit.
Find some new routes to go runand train on.
All right.

(11:23):
Then step number five evaluateyour gear.
This kind of might go hand inhand with decluttering and
refreshing, but might take sometime to.
This is this is a common thingRunners want.
They tend to run, they overrunon their running shoes.
I am guilty of this myselfbecause I can be frugal

(11:44):
sometimes, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and uh, you know
.
But uh, uh, it's a good time tomaybe check out your running
shoes.
Um, typically running shoes 300to 500 miles, which isn't very
much, that's ideal.
That'll help keep you from uh,from mitigating uh for uh,
mitigating some running injury.
So evaluate your gear and uh,you know you're, running shoes

(12:07):
are the most critical kit inyour arsenal to uh, to keep
yourself from getting hurt anduh, you know, good time, check
out, check out the tread on yourshoes.
You know whether or not you needa new pair of shoes or not.
So go spoil yourself.
I tell you what it's.
Um, I've noticed a significantincrease in the cost of running
shoes, which I know can be kindof painful a little bit, but

(12:33):
getting a new pair of shoes iscritical.
So don't scrimp on that,because running or having a
running injury is not a goodthing and it's easy to do that.
So make sure that you're givingyourself the support and the
cushioning that you need that.
So make sure that you're givingyourself the support and the
cushioning that you need.
And I recommend you know, whenyou buy some shoes, adding a

(12:55):
couple different pair,especially as I've done more
longer distance have a coupledifferent pair in your kit and
I've got right now I've been ona Hoka kit and Hoka kick.
I've got some Hoka speed goatsfor trail.
I got my Hoka Clifton's for forrunning the road and I still
got my new balance and a coupleof the pair of shoes and they're
just kind of mixed up a pair ofultras.
And, yeah, Lacey's got her car,who's, but which I make fun of

(13:20):
her, cause I've never ran in acar who's?
What are they?
What are they from?
What are they from?
She's sitting here right herenext to me.
Are they Swedish?
From Sweden?
Yeah, it's your car.
So, anyway, I've also noticedyou can get more life out of
your running shoes when you havemore in your arsenal to rotate

(13:40):
from.
So they last a bit longerbecause you're spreading the
mileage over a bunch of them,but a good way to, yeah, just
kind of extend the life on ofthem.
So, but a good way to, yeah,just kind of extend the life on
your shoes.
So, evaluate your gear.
I know also I'm looking at, Iknow there's water bottles, new
vest, just a couple of pieces ofkit that I need to added some
lights to my gear.

(14:01):
But, anyway, evaluate your gear, make sure that, check shoes
out, make sure you get new pairof running shoes, All right, so,
um, so, yeah, five tips bracethe break, set new and exciting
fresh goals, declutter andrefresh, discover new paths and
evaluate your gear.

(14:21):
So spring isn't just a season,it's a feeling.
So I just want you to noticethe feeling that you're feeling.
I know it's living in theMidwest where it can be kind of
gloomy and the weather can bekind of cold.
It just feels refreshing,there's.
It just feels, I don't know.
I always feel re-energized andrevitalized and I like finding
new runs for the uh, uh, for thespringtime, and it's also a

(14:43):
time, a season of growth and aseason into stepping into a
renewed sense of purpose and joyin your life.
And you know, here on the DoHarder Things podcast, we're all
about embracing thoseopportunities to grow and push
through the hard things, andspring is a season of growth.
So just embrace growth and I'mlooking forward to running in

(15:06):
some warmer weather and just newopportunities.
In general, Life is good.
Life is good, All right.
So I'm running a little fastthis morning.
So I'm going to go ahead andget into this week's spotlights
what I have here for you all.
All right, ladies and gentlemen,this is Ashley Combs and her

(15:26):
coach, Rebecca Kirchner, and shejust recently finished her
first 5K.
Ashley is from Waynesville,Missouri, and she is part of the
fun group, FUN at the ARC inWaynesville, and Ashley has some
special needs and is justovercoming a lot of health

(15:50):
challenges that she's had withthe great and amazing support of
her coach and her team that arefun she was able to finish her
first color run.
And so, Ashley, for overcomingsome significant challenges and
crushing your first 5k, we'regoing to send you a Do Hard
Things shirt on behalf of the DoHard Things Nation and, Rebecca

(16:12):
, we're also going to send youone for being such an
inspiration, being a coach and alighthouse.
To Ashley, we're going to sendyou one as well, and that's what
Do Hard Things Nation is allabout.
It's about overcomingchallenges, embracing hardship
and being a leader and shiningyour light to encourage other
people to overcome and upgradetheir life through mindset and

(16:33):
movement.
So congratulations on yourcolor run and hopefully that
you've got some more 5Ks in thefuture, maybe even a longer
distance out there.
So we appreciate you andRebecca.
Thank you so much for yoursupport.
Rebecca is always pouring intothe community.
I've known Rebecca for a fewyears now and she's just so
incredibly selfless.

(16:53):
So, Ashley, Rebecca, weappreciate you both.
All right, so that's it fortoday.
Short and sweet podcast, butjust embrace spring.
I know today here inmid-Missouri we've got some
spring storms.
I hope I know you know, um,today here in mid Missouri.
We've got some spring stormsare coming, so, um, be careful
out there as well with, uh, withthe spring season.

(17:13):
We're just quick to have sometornadoes today.
So, uh, I love spring.
Um, you gotta be careful withthe storms.
Anyway, that's all we got fortoday.
Uh, we appreciate y'all.
In the meantime, keep doinghard things.
We'll see you guys in the nextepisode.