July 17, 2024 • 33 mins
Can you transform from a gym class avoider to a marathon runner? Join us as we explore Sarah Paupini's remarkable journey from someone who loathed running to training for a marathon in memory of her late father. Sarah sheds light on how she found strength and motivation from her community, turning an immense personal challenge into a source of inspiration. This episode is a testament to the extraordinary power of ordinary people breaking past stereotypes and embracing their fears.
Sara is an attorney with the NYS Office of Mental Health- she is active in the local theater community and proud pet mama to Puccini and Nala. She is a newbie to running- but has been secretly wanting to shake things up in her world by running a marathon. She got more than she bargained for!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to Ella Go.
My name is Lisa.
Join me on the journey inhaving real raw and
uncomfortable discussions aboutfitness, health and everything
in between, because, let's behonest, this journey would suck
if we don't get our shittogether.
Welcome back everyone to theElegoo podcast.
(00:38):
My name is Lisa, I am your hostand I'm super, super excited
because we had tons of technicaldifficulties.
Oh my god, today I have aspecial guest, sarah, welcome,
hello.
So, sarah, first of all, youare part of the running group
(01:01):
for Ella Go, and how did we evenconnect?
How did?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I don't even remember , okay, so I went to um, what
was that conference at power 518?
Were you there?
I was there on that horriblesnowy day.
That was like treachery.
I was there and then somehowyou were in, you were tagged by
somebody else and I was kind oflike bored like in just stalking
people and saw what you weredoing and I was like, holy crap,
(01:28):
I have to reach out to thiswoman.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
This is exactly what I need.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Yeah, that's so cool.
We didn't meet there.
I didn't, you know.
No, I was hiding in the backand yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Okay, well, that's how we met everyone, so, sarah,
introduce yourself to theaudience.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Sure, my name is Sarah Paupini.
I am a middle-aged attorneywith a state agency.
I work for the Office of MentalHealth and I decided this year
I needed to do something.
That really, really scared me.
And so I decided to run amarathon.
And I guess you'll ask are youa runner?
(02:08):
And no, no, I just forego the5K, everything.
And I went right for the bigenchilada and I was lucky enough
to get on the team in trainingwith the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society, so I was able to jointhat team and raise money in
memory of my dad.
Oh, was he a runner?
(02:28):
No, no, he's probably laughingabout all of this, which it
makes it even better, but he'sdefinitely been with me on this
journey and is keeping my senseof humor about it.
But yeah, so I am, hopefullyNovember 3rd, doing something
that I never thought I'd be ableto do, that scares me, humbles
(02:50):
me and that I'm so excited totry.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
That's cool, all right, so, sarah?
So back in the day, you neveronce in your life said, hey, let
me try running.
That seems like a cool idea.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
No, I lied at gym class.
I was one of those kids thatyou know, when you had a male
gym teacher you'd say you hadyour period, like to get out of
running.
That was me.
I'm sorry my gym teachers watchit.
Um, I just know.
And that was athletic, but thatwas like different.
I just I wasn't.
I wasn't athletic, I was a kidpicking daisies in the field,
(03:24):
you know dirty soccer andbaseball and all that.
No, I mean, I was in all of itbecause I just I couldn't wrap
my head around why somebodywould do this voluntarily.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
But no, no, yeah, Okay.
So what got you to?
Okay?
So we're talking zero, you'redoing zero to a hundred, okay.
So, yes, never, you didn'ttrain for a 5k.
Have you ran a?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
5k I have.
I train, I did the fry hoppersrun about seven years ago and I
met a great I was doing I wasgoing to this yoga studio and
they have this group that wasgoing to train and do it
together and do yoga and Isigned up and I remember the
first day we all sat and they'relike why are you doing this?
I like cause I can't sayrunning sucks if I've never done
it.
And they're like oh and I?
(04:10):
I did it.
I enjoyed the company, but Ihated it.
I didn't.
It didn't feel good, I mean,but I the finishing coming down
that Hill on the.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
that was awesome, um, but every second of it I hated
it so fast forward from thattime to the point where you're
like I'm going to do a marathon,no running in between, nah, nah
, not even running away from adog.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Maybe towards an ice cream truck.
That's about it.
I like dogs.
No, yeah, okay, I'd run from abee Like ugh.
So let's talk about thismarathon.
Like what are you thinking?
No, I'm sure wine was involved,I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I, I you know, like, uh, your whole life, you're you
know you're in junior high andthey're like wait till you get
to high school.
It's so hard and you do, andyou manage and you get through.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Oh, college it's so hard you do what you get through
.
I went to law school, like, andit was hard but you got through
.
And like, between then and nowI think you have your challenges
and work, your challenges andlife or whatever.
But, like I and I do theaterfor fun, right, and so putting
those shows together and andthat that can be hard, but I
needed.
I was just craving learningsomething different and doing
(05:22):
something that was like likeliterally something.
I thought like there's no wayyou can do this, there's no way
at all, and I just kind ofneeded that and the more I sort
of I just kind of jumped inblindly and then, instead of
people laughing at me, peoplelike my dad's friends and family
, and everybody was sosupportive about it that I was
like, oh crap, I got to do this.
(05:46):
And what's cool now is that youcan go online and see people who
, like, look like they they'renot.
You know the typical runner.
What do you think of a runner?
These tiny little.
You know amazingly athleticwomen and these little like you
know bikini bottoms or whatever.
Like they look like normalpeople.
And there's normal people outthere.
You know advocacy, advocatingfor like all times or running
(06:06):
times, and you know and and it'sreally kind of a cool thing to
see.
And you start thinking likewith training, maybe I can do,
maybe I can do this.
And you know, I've had somestumbles along the way, as you
know, but it just sort of wascool to kind of like dive in and
learn something new.
(06:27):
And you know, read about it andget inspired and and learn, you
know about shoes and toys, andyou know it was really it was
cool to do something like that.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Okay.
So when you were thinking ofdoing team and training,
obviously it's for to honor your, your father, who passed away,
and how long ago did he passaway?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
This summer, this July, it'll be nine years.
Just crazy.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
And so he would have been 80.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
In November, two weeks after I ran the race, he
would have been 80.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So wow, okay.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah.
So, and I'm kind of coming upon a milestone birthday 45, you
know you hit these milestonesand you're like, how do I want
to commemorate that?
And it just seemed to kind ofall come together.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, yeah.
So with team and training, youhave to like, um, you have to uh
, what is it Funds?
Right, Raise funds.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, yeah, you have to fundraise.
There's a set dollar figure andthen you pay for your race
entry and you're just kind ofconnected to there's about 120
people, I think, on the teamrunning New York City and
they're from all I'm probably.
You know there's some peoplewho live in the city, but people
are coming from Ireland andCalifornia and Washington and
(07:47):
Oregon.
I mean they're all over andthey all have such incredible
stories and we have a coach thatkind of checks in and you know
he's got an incredible story toohe lost his mom and so it's
just it's really motivating andit's another kind of group to
throw ideas off of.
It's really motivating and it'sanother kind of group to throw
ideas off of.
But you're still sort of onyour own in that there's nobody
(08:08):
in the Albany area running it.
So I'm, you know, you're stillkind of an Island, but you can
check in with folks.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Oh, okay, so I didn't know that.
So let's talk about the, thewhole running process.
Okay, so you get your, your um.
I'm sure he gives you like awhole plan of what.
Where are you going to begin.
So can you just walk us throughthat first couple of days of
when you started running, Likewhat was going on in your head,
(08:38):
Like what tell us about this?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So I that those plans started like two weeks ago so
and there was, I was like no,this isn't.
So.
This was February when Iactually started.
And there's a group a friendgot me introduced online again
to the Slow AF Run Club and theyhe's got plans.
I read his book and so Istarted jumping in with his plan
(09:04):
to just his 10k plan.
I was like I didn't even do thefive.
I laughed at the five, I'll gofor 10k, Right, let's do that.
So to get me through to and anypart of it, it was talking
about intervals.
Right, you start off slow.
So I literally I think mystarting interval was running
for 30 seconds, walking for 90.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Wait.
Hold on Running for 30 seconds30 seconds, walking for 90
seconds.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Oh, okay, and let me tell you, it all was pretty much
the same speed.
So I mean, like, when it boilsdown, I was like, oh my God,
that's the same and that.
But you know what, like in thepast I think it would have been
like this sucks For what.
I don't know if it's because ofthe goal I had, you know, and
start I was like this is awesome.
I am woman, hear me, roar, Idon't know why, but it like I
(09:55):
wasn't frustrated, like it'salmost delusional, like I had.
Some friends were like you knowit's long, you know, make it
easy, it's a long, it's a longroad, but it was sort of a way
to ease into it.
And then, you know, slowlythose intervals kind of narrow
down.
And like yesterday, my plan had2.8 miles, like I'm starting
(10:17):
over over again after someinjuries, and I ran that the
whole thing.
I kind of started my littlewalk around and then it felt
good and I was going slow, I'mdoing my, but it felt better to
run which is like it's weirdcoming out of my mouth, but it
true, it just.
It's just patience and like Ithink I'm coming at it, like I'm
(10:39):
not looking.
I just told a friend today, myfriend Peter.
I was like, hey, no matter whathappens in November, I'm going
to have the PR.
Like how awesome is that.
Like I can't lose right.
Like how awesome.
So you know, when your goal isto get there and finish, it just
takes the pressure off.
You know, I just need to finish.
(11:06):
So I kind of keep that in mindand I just try to stick with the
plan.
I try to be smart, I try tofollow what you've been teaching
us.
I try to, you know, get therest in.
I try to do cross training, Itry to lift weights and, just,
you know, build myself up.
Like I thought you just go outthere and you keep running 20
miles over and over and overagain.
I didn't like when you do aplay, you do the.
You do the play 20 times beforeyou do it for an audience.
(11:28):
But like with the marathon, I'mlike, because my mom would be
like you're only running liketwo miles.
I was like, no, you never runthe 26.2 until that day, and
like that blows my mind as abackground in arts, and she was
like, oh God.
So I mean I'm still kind oflike I'm trusting it, but it's
still kind of mind blowing to methat like that day will be the
(11:51):
first day I try to do the thing.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
So yeah, that's you know, and that's funny that you
say that, because I don't thinkpeople realize that it's a
buildup.
So it's not like you know.
You know you want to practice,but it's a-up to that day and
the body is weird and I knowthere's a lot of people that
would argue, argue about whetheror not you should actually do
the marathon, um distance beforethe marathon, um, because I,
(12:18):
you know there's tons of peoplethat are saying different things
.
But your body, body, you knowis, you know it would suck if
you did the marathon before themarathon and then you were done
Like your body was like, yeah,that's great, but we ain't doing
this shit again Exactly, and Ithink not having it would also
be like it would mess with me,like the curiosity, like could I
(12:43):
?
Speaker 1 (12:43):
I think the highest mine goes is 20.
Like one day it's 20.
I don't know how.
I guess I got to start at seven, and maybe at seven at night
I'll be done, who knows.
But you know, 10 miles out, 10miles back, and it's like so
weird.
I'll get in the car and now Ilook just to see how far.
So like I'm like shoot, I'mgonna have to run, um, but it's,
(13:07):
it's, it's.
I don't know if I could, I mean, and I would love to read up
more about it, but I think, justlike mentally for me, like so
much of this is going to bemental for me, I think it's
weird.
Like yesterday I sort of itjust was like on autopilot, you
know the movement, right, therun, run, run.
But I, what the mind game wasjust like keep looking at, like
how far no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Interesting thing you said about you know driving and
you're like, wow, that's a lot.
Your, your mindset is going tochange because it's going to get
to the point where, like for me, when I see distance and I said
, oh my God, that's only 10miles, I can run, that, that's
not far.
You'll get to that point andthen you'll start thinking of,
like, if you can run it, it'snot that far.
(14:22):
You know, that's the mindset,yeah, and you know everything
about this process, especiallyas someone.
Something as daunting as amarathon, a lot of it is that
mental state of can I do this?
And that's why you know, reallythe biggest thing about this
(14:45):
race is the mental like can I dothis?
Because even through thetraining, how many times you
know what the hell am I doing?
Why am I doing this?
Am I crazy?
And then, um, how am I going tofinish this?
And I'm not.
And then you start panicking.
And then the next day you'relike, oh shit, I got this, I got
this.
Oh yeah, this is going to beand it's going to be like that,
(15:06):
and it's just, that's theprocess.
So, okay, what do you do to getyou like in that zone, like and
when I say zone, I don't meanin the zone while you're running
but when you start panicking,you're like, holy shit, how the
hell, how do you bring yourselfdown Like I don't?
Speaker 1 (15:26):
think I don't know if I'm like crazy or delusional I
haven't gotten to that about therace yet because, like, I think
I've had this little.
So I, I had a back injury thatlike Lisa's worked with me
through, where I was sidelinedfor it was like seven weeks and,
um, I just was like I, I, Ijust want to, I just want to
(15:48):
move, I just want to do it again, um, so I'm kind of like it's
still in the grateful, like, ohmy God, I'm back.
This is great.
So I need to remember that youknow when, when, the what the
hell am I thinking I'm nevergoing to be able to do this
comes back into my head which itwill, because it it does like
you know, at work, it doeswhatever you know trying on
(16:10):
clothes.
You know like it happens.
So I know it's going to happenand I think, if I, if I pull
back to like hey, you werereally kind of bummed when it
looked like maybe you weren'tgoing to do this, which was even
worse than the pain, like youreally really wanted to see if
you could get this done, and nowlike, oh man, this might not
(16:31):
happen.
So I haven't gotten there yet.
I'm sure I will, but I'm hopingthat I can.
I don't know if that sounds tooflowery, like the gratitude,
just the, the just beinggrateful that, like a newbie,
can jump in and try to do thisand on that day, like I'm doing
(16:51):
it, yeah, that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
You know, yeah, and I'm sorry that I brought that up
.
No, that was, we went too farinto the journey.
I'm gone there yet.
No, you and you may not.
I thought you did, but you maynot.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I mean, I can't imagine.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
You may not.
It's not delusional.
You may not because you said it.
First of all, the goal it's inhonor of your father and you're
grateful for doing the run it'sthe New York City freaking
marathon.
First of all, that's likeeveryone's bucket list and you
also had.
Let's take a step back.
You also had an injury, solet's so tell us what was going
(17:39):
in your mind, because I wasn'tsure what was going in your mind
when you told me.
I know you were like concerned,but I don't know if in your
mind where you're like okay,this is not going to happen, or
where were you when the injuryoccurred.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I well, it just like I did a run.
And then I came I sat and itwas whatever.
And when I got up it was I.
It was the most pain I've everfelt going down my leg and I had
had sciatica in the past.
Um, back in grad school, fromsitting all the time, you know
study.
So I thought, oh, here we go,it'll be gone in a week.
(18:14):
So I sat on ice for like a week.
It got worse.
I was like well, I got to restanother week.
So I waited two weeks before Iwent to urgent care and they're
like yeah, yeah, yeah, it'ssciatica.
That sounds right.
Here's some steroids.
And I took those steroids.
And I think that's the one timeI came out and ran with the
group because I was like I feelgreat, steroids are awesome.
(18:36):
And I think I was like yellingthat, went to the gym, was
lifting heavier.
I had two amazing days and thenhit me again.
Waited two weeks, was like notleaving home, went into work.
One day my co-workers saw meand they're like holy, you've
got to go back to urgent care,you need someone.
So I went, they did x-rays,everything looked fine, but I
(18:58):
got uh, um, they suggested anmri and then that showed um two
bulging discs and um a cyst onmy spine, um, so in some
arthritis which I I knew fromdancing days.
So I went to the physicaltherapist, who is a runner, and
he, um was so awesome and gaveme some great exercises and
(19:20):
really explained, um, the why ofwhat I was feeling and why he
felt confident that movement, infact, would you know, help get
me to where I wanted to be andthat, yes, yes, it's going to be
possible to do it.
So that was like amazing.
I like cried in the car I thinkI voice messaged you, like
because it was just soreassuring.
I hadn't been sort of passedaround medically and not really
(19:42):
because I came in through urgentcare, I was just kind of in a
dead zone of practitioners.
So I've been doing theexercises he gave me, which like
seems so weird, but how weexplain things, it's really
making a difference.
And I've been moving and, likeI rode my bike today and went to
the gym.
It felt great.
So I'm just going to see howmuch the cyst on my spine plays
(20:08):
into like whatever I'm feeling.
But it's like nowhere near likeI couldn't move, I was like
crawling around and the dog waslike this is awesome, um, so I
can drive, it's great.
So I am, um, I'm cautiouslyoptimistic, but like I think
that there's a little bit offear still there, like I could
do something, but I know what itis now and I feel like I'm in
(20:31):
good hands.
Could do something, but I knowwhat it is now and I feel like
I'm in good hands.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
So when you were going through that whole process
, your mindset it wasn't saying,you know, oh, I'm not going to
be able to finish this.
I mean, what was it saying toyou?
Speaker 1 (20:55):
It was.
You know, part of it was likehere you go, Why'd you even try?
You know, like you did this toyourself.
Maybe if you lost some weight,maybe if you weren't so big
trying to do this, oh, you letyourself go.
If you had kept up right, likeall this stuff, oh, you'd have a
metal rod in your back andyou're never going to be right
from 45 to 95.
You're this is it, and I'm likeand part of it also was like I
(21:15):
just discovered this awesomecommunity, this thing that I
enjoy, that like feel so goodfor my mental health, feel so
good for my body, and I'm notgoing to be able to do it
anymore.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Like.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I just discovered this and that was really
frustrating.
That was really hard.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
So how did you keep yourself going?
Because, even though youweren't running with us, you
still showed up at the Sundaymeetup.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
It was good and like we have our group chat and just
like being able to cheer forwomen who were like a lot of I
think most of us were like newor hadn't done it in a really
long time.
So just seeing how other theothers were progressing on your
team like really was cool, likeit was really motivating.
(22:02):
You could root from people fromafar.
It just sort of like it's likeokay, when I'm ready, like I'll
be back and I can be with theseawesome women.
So that was like it was supermotivating.
I was reading well, there's likeso many funny memes about
running on Instagram and my lovelanguage is memes, so I send
them to people and I have allthese awesome books.
(22:24):
Like I got along the way thatI've been reading and hoping
that things would turn around,and like I could keep my head in
the game still, so to speak.
And in that, like you told me,you're still training, you're
training your mind.
So that really made adifference.
That really took me out of afunk and it was like no, she's
(22:45):
right.
Like eat healthy shit, don't.
Don't talk to yourself this way.
And like keep training, you'restill training.
So and that was huge.
That was huge.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Oh, good, good, Okay.
So now you're back on track,you're feeling good, you're
feeling very motivated.
How do you keep yourself?
I know you're saying you'regrateful, so what are some of
the things that you say toyourself besides being grateful
that you're grateful?
So what are some of the thingsthat you say to yourself besides
being grateful that you're inthis journey?
But what are some of the thingsyou say to yourself even as
(23:19):
you're running, like, what arethe things that come through in
your mindset to keep you going?
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah, like definitely the gratitude, but also I try
to you know like I feel strong,like if I, you know like I feel
strong, like if I, I likeyesterday, I remember, you know,
I looked and I was like, uh,like I freaked myself out
because I had been running aperiod without like a walk, and
and then the mind games oh, ithurts right, oh, oh, I think
you're out of breath.
(23:46):
And it just said, no, I feelstrong.
And I just kind of like saidthat to myself and it was like,
yeah, stop freaking out mind.
And it just I let my, you know,I let myself go into like
physically, felt the need thatit's like, okay, let's just now
have a little twinge in the back.
So I just like, okay, let'swalk out for a minute and then
start back up.
Um, I, I, I give myself alittle bit, I'm trying to not be
(24:12):
.
So.
I think the first, those firstcouple months, I was like, and
you know I was going to go tothe gym Thursday After work.
I got home and that was thekiss of death.
I didn't, I didn't change thatwork and I was like you know
what, I switched things aroundin my calendar and I'm like
today's my rest day, what Iswitched things around in my
(24:35):
calendar and I'm like today's myrest day.
So I did it yesterday.
I brought my clothes to the towork and changed in my office
and that made all the differencewent right to the gym and then,
like today, because we shiftedaround because of the weather
not running outside, so I wentto a gym class and tomorrow
around, and it gave me anotherday in between.
You know, the next time I'llrun I'll probably be Tuesday, so
kind of it worked out.
(24:55):
So I think, having theflexibility for life and like
how you're feeling, um, but notlike, not like making an excuse
for yourself, which I would havedone in the beginning.
You know, shitty night of sleep.
You, you're hungry.
I am this right?
Like I would have found anyreason not to.
I think it's just like.
No, this will, I know it'llmake me feel better.
(25:16):
The hardest part for me isgetting to the gym.
Get you know, starting isalways the hardest, and and and.
Then there's times like I'mexcited about it, like it's,
it's, it's less.
I'm finding less and less.
It's like white knuckling,forcing myself and it's, it's,
it's less.
I'm finding less and less.
It's like white knuckling,forcing myself and it's, you
(25:37):
know, it's a minor flash andthen I'm like now, once you do
this, you're gonna feel good andI'm fine.
Um, or I'm looking forward toit, which is, I mean, my teenage
self out at the track at highschool would have been like what
are.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Are you doing so?
Um, do you?
Because you started runningsolo and you've ran in a group.
What's the difference?
Speaker 1 (26:05):
I see I like I'm um, for as outgoing or whatever as
people think I am, I I need alot of solo time, so I don't
mind the listening to music orputting on a podcast and going
or even like nothing, and going.
What's nice about the group isit does pass the time.
(26:27):
We can talk.
We're all.
You know, I thought I'd be.
I was kind of afraid the firsttime.
Um, you know, I didn't, wedidn't all didn't know each
other.
We were all kind of in the sameboat and I'm like what if I
can't keep up?
What if I see too heavy next tothem and I freak them out right
?
Like what if I can't do it?
I'm going to feel like afailure and um, it's just, you
(26:47):
know, we were all kind of thereand sometimes you know someone
would fall behind, someone wouldpush ahead, but like we could
all be there and we were talkingand it, it, just it made it go
so much faster.
And it was like fun.
It was fun and you know likethat was the quickest three
miles of my life.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The people take you, the womentake you, you know.
Yeah, people take you, thewomen take you, you know Um.
So, with the team and training,are you up to date with your um
donations?
Do you need more donations?
Are you still raising money?
Speaker 1 (27:21):
I am always raising money because I think it's such
an incredible organization and Iwould love, um, what happened
to my dad to never happen toanother human being.
I know people I grew up withwhose children are battling
leukemia and lymphomas.
So I I meet, I've met my goal,but I it's such an amazing
(27:43):
organization that I'm I'm goingto continue to pursue the
fundraising because it, you know, I I have friends I grew up
with whose kids have battled itand they're, like you know, run
for my kid and that is like somotivating.
So there's people I know who,in addition to my dad, that like
I'm doing this for.
So I am hoping to keepfundraising because it's
(28:07):
important.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
So Sarah runs a marathon.
Sarah runs a marathon.
She's going from 5K to marathon.
Did I say zero?
Speaker 1 (28:21):
No, it's zero to marathon.
You're getting nice saying 5Kyou said you did a 5K.
I was young and foolish and Ihated it.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
All right, zero to marathon.
Sarah runs a marathon.
I hated it.
Okay, all right.
Zero to marathon.
Zero to marathon.
Zero to marathon.
Okay.
So what do you hope to feel atthe end of this marathon, this
journey?
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Oh, I might cry thinking about it.
Like I, um, I hope my dad'sproud he probably is like you're
insane, but I knew you'd do it.
Um, I, I hope that it showsfriends who are watching.
(29:05):
Like don't, don't, don't beafraid to try the ridiculous
thing.
Like bet on yourself, go all inum anything you know, uh, and I
hope, um anything you know, uh,and I hope, I mean I hope that
I continue it for myself.
You know, right now it's it's,I'm, I'm, it's, it's a goal and
it's um for a lot of people andum, but I hope that this is
(29:28):
something I can.
I want to do it when I'm like75, like I want to be that chick
, um, so, but yeah, oh, my God,I don't know, I, when I'm like
75.
Like I want to be that chick, sobut yeah, oh, my God, I don't
know, I think I'm going to be ahot mess.
I better wear waterproofmascara.
Well, I sweat like a beast Likea beast.
So, yeah, it'll be waterproofmascara, but, and it'll be dark
(29:55):
and you know the crowds will begone.
But I mean, I told my mom thatmeans you can like get to the
finish line.
You know, if I finished on time, mom, you wouldn't be able to
go anywhere near the finish line, but because it's going to be
10 o'clock at night, you'll beable to get right up there, run
it with me, mom.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
So well, we're hoping that it's not 10 o'clock at
night, that's a long ass day,yeah that is a long ass day but,
Sarah, I'm really proud of youand you know the mindset as
you're learning through thisjourney is probably the critical
part of this journey and totake on something like this is
very brave.
(30:22):
And I'm proud of you for takingthis challenge on and not
giving up.
Because I was asking you thequestions about when you were
sidelined, you didn't give up.
I mean, most people were like,yeah, fuck this, I can do this.
I hate myself.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
I'm like, no, no, I'll crawl, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Yeah, you're like, I'm going to see what's going to
happen, I'm going to see what'sgoing on.
I want to run so bad and youkept saying how much you wanted
to run, so to think that this issomeone who did not want to run
a 5k, now excited to run amarathon.
Okay, all right, sarah, thankyou so much.
(30:59):
We're going to put the links toyour actually the link to to
raise the funds on the shownotes.
And when is the marathon?
What's the date?
November 3rd date November 3rd,already in July, coming up, not
(31:19):
too soon.
19 weeks, it's crazy.
Well, I know you're going to bedoing well and I know you're
going to finish before 10 PM andwe're all rooting for you.
You're going to be amazing andthank you so much for coming on.
You know, I wanted to hear yourstory because I wanted other
women who either were thinkingabout running or who are
(31:39):
beginner runners to actuallyhear what goes on in the mindset
of a beginner runner, and thisis a great example.
Like a lot of the things thatyou said are what a lot of
people are thinking, obviouslythe fear, and then the can I
keep up?
I'm breathing crazy.
Are they going to think I'm?
You know, those are all thethings that stop us from
(32:02):
reaching the girls their goals.
So if Sarah's doing it, you cando it for sure.
So 100%, yes, absolutely.
Well, let me, let me leave.
Let's leave the listeners withthis.
What is one advice you wouldgive to a woman that is
listening to the podcast andeither she's a beginner runner
or she's thinking about it, butshe's, she's, scared.
(32:24):
What would you tell her?
No one's looking at you.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
No one's like.
You know, I was so scared torun outside I avoided it.
I do.
I did it on the treadmill somuch because, oh my God, I don't
want people to see no one'slucky.
Do what you got to do and ifyou again, you can start.
You don't even need to do 30,90.
Right, if you can do 10, 60,whatever, who cares?
You got to start somewhere.
(32:49):
I mean, we're not trading theOlympics, right?
Yeah, so let that go and justdo it for yourself and do it for
your own personal challenge.
And I haven't found somethinglike this where you can see it,
maybe because you know I'm new,but you see such growth so
quickly that it's so motivatingthat you're like like yesterday,
(33:10):
I mean, I basically ran almostthree miles Like that's crazy.
So that's the growth of me torun 26.
But let's see, like you know.
So I would just say, just justdo it.
Do what you can be proud of it.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, don't worry about anybody else.
Great advice, Sarah.
Thank you so much and thank youfor coming on and saying yes.
Thank you for having me.
Okay, until next time.
Everyone Bye, thank you.
Welcome to Ella Go.
My name is Lisa.
Join me on the journey inhaving real raw and
uncomfortable discussions aboutfitness, health and everything
in between, because, let's behonest, this journey would suck
if we don't get our shittogether.
Welcome back everyone to theElegoo podcast.
(00:38):
My name is Lisa, I am your hostand I'm super, super excited
because we had tons of technicaldifficulties.
Oh my god, today I have aspecial guest, sarah, welcome,
hello.
So, sarah, first of all, youare part of the running group
(01:01):
for Ella Go, and how did we evenconnect?
How did?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I don't even remember , okay, so I went to um, what
was that conference at power 518?
Were you there?
I was there on that horriblesnowy day.
That was like treachery.
I was there and then somehowyou were in, you were tagged by
somebody else and I was kind oflike bored like in just stalking
people and saw what you weredoing and I was like, holy crap,
(01:28):
I have to reach out to thiswoman.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
This is exactly what I need.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Yeah, that's so cool.
We didn't meet there.
I didn't, you know.
No, I was hiding in the backand yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Okay, well, that's how we met everyone, so, sarah,
introduce yourself to theaudience.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Sure, my name is Sarah Paupini.
I am a middle-aged attorneywith a state agency.
I work for the Office of MentalHealth and I decided this year
I needed to do something.
That really, really scared me.
And so I decided to run amarathon.
And I guess you'll ask are youa runner?
(02:08):
And no, no, I just forego the5K, everything.
And I went right for the bigenchilada and I was lucky enough
to get on the team in trainingwith the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society, so I was able to jointhat team and raise money in
memory of my dad.
Oh, was he a runner?
(02:28):
No, no, he's probably laughingabout all of this, which it
makes it even better, but he'sdefinitely been with me on this
journey and is keeping my senseof humor about it.
But yeah, so I am, hopefullyNovember 3rd, doing something
that I never thought I'd be ableto do, that scares me, humbles
(02:50):
me and that I'm so excited totry.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
That's cool, all right, so, sarah?
So back in the day, you neveronce in your life said, hey, let
me try running.
That seems like a cool idea.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
No, I lied at gym class.
I was one of those kids thatyou know, when you had a male
gym teacher you'd say you hadyour period, like to get out of
running.
That was me.
I'm sorry my gym teachers watchit.
Um, I just know.
And that was athletic, but thatwas like different.
I just I wasn't.
I wasn't athletic, I was a kidpicking daisies in the field,
(03:24):
you know dirty soccer andbaseball and all that.
No, I mean, I was in all of itbecause I just I couldn't wrap
my head around why somebodywould do this voluntarily.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
But no, no, yeah, Okay.
So what got you to?
Okay?
So we're talking zero, you'redoing zero to a hundred, okay.
So, yes, never, you didn'ttrain for a 5k.
Have you ran a?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
5k I have.
I train, I did the fry hoppersrun about seven years ago and I
met a great I was doing I wasgoing to this yoga studio and
they have this group that wasgoing to train and do it
together and do yoga and Isigned up and I remember the
first day we all sat and they'relike why are you doing this?
I like cause I can't sayrunning sucks if I've never done
it.
And they're like oh and I?
(04:10):
I did it.
I enjoyed the company, but Ihated it.
I didn't.
It didn't feel good, I mean,but I the finishing coming down
that Hill on the.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
that was awesome, um, but every second of it I hated
it so fast forward from thattime to the point where you're
like I'm going to do a marathon,no running in between, nah, nah
, not even running away from adog.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Maybe towards an ice cream truck.
That's about it.
I like dogs.
No, yeah, okay, I'd run from abee Like ugh.
So let's talk about thismarathon.
Like what are you thinking?
No, I'm sure wine was involved,I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I, I you know, like, uh, your whole life, you're you
know you're in junior high andthey're like wait till you get
to high school.
It's so hard and you do, andyou manage and you get through.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Oh, college it's so hard you do what you get through
.
I went to law school, like, andit was hard but you got through
.
And like, between then and nowI think you have your challenges
and work, your challenges andlife or whatever.
But, like I and I do theaterfor fun, right, and so putting
those shows together and andthat that can be hard, but I
needed.
I was just craving learningsomething different and doing
(05:22):
something that was like likeliterally something.
I thought like there's no wayyou can do this, there's no way
at all, and I just kind ofneeded that and the more I sort
of I just kind of jumped inblindly and then, instead of
people laughing at me, peoplelike my dad's friends and family
, and everybody was sosupportive about it that I was
like, oh crap, I got to do this.
(05:46):
And what's cool now is that youcan go online and see people who
, like, look like they they'renot.
You know the typical runner.
What do you think of a runner?
These tiny little.
You know amazingly athleticwomen and these little like you
know bikini bottoms or whatever.
Like they look like normalpeople.
And there's normal people outthere.
You know advocacy, advocatingfor like all times or running
(06:06):
times, and you know and and it'sreally kind of a cool thing to
see.
And you start thinking likewith training, maybe I can do,
maybe I can do this.
And you know, I've had somestumbles along the way, as you
know, but it just sort of wascool to kind of like dive in and
learn something new.
(06:27):
And you know, read about it andget inspired and and learn, you
know about shoes and toys, andyou know it was really it was
cool to do something like that.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Okay.
So when you were thinking ofdoing team and training,
obviously it's for to honor your, your father, who passed away,
and how long ago did he passaway?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
This summer, this July, it'll be nine years.
Just crazy.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
And so he would have been 80.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
In November, two weeks after I ran the race, he
would have been 80.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So wow, okay.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah.
So, and I'm kind of coming upon a milestone birthday 45, you
know you hit these milestonesand you're like, how do I want
to commemorate that?
And it just seemed to kind ofall come together.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, yeah.
So with team and training, youhave to like, um, you have to uh
, what is it Funds?
Right, Raise funds.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, yeah, you have to fundraise.
There's a set dollar figure andthen you pay for your race
entry and you're just kind ofconnected to there's about 120
people, I think, on the teamrunning New York City and
they're from all I'm probably.
You know there's some peoplewho live in the city, but people
are coming from Ireland andCalifornia and Washington and
(07:47):
Oregon.
I mean they're all over andthey all have such incredible
stories and we have a coach thatkind of checks in and you know
he's got an incredible story toohe lost his mom and so it's
just it's really motivating andit's another kind of group to
throw ideas off of.
It's really motivating and it'sanother kind of group to throw
ideas off of.
But you're still sort of onyour own in that there's nobody
(08:08):
in the Albany area running it.
So I'm, you know, you're stillkind of an Island, but you can
check in with folks.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Oh, okay, so I didn't know that.
So let's talk about the, thewhole running process.
Okay, so you get your, your um.
I'm sure he gives you like awhole plan of what.
Where are you going to begin.
So can you just walk us throughthat first couple of days of
when you started running, Likewhat was going on in your head,
(08:38):
Like what tell us about this?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So I that those plans started like two weeks ago so
and there was, I was like no,this isn't.
So.
This was February when Iactually started.
And there's a group a friendgot me introduced online again
to the Slow AF Run Club and theyhe's got plans.
I read his book and so Istarted jumping in with his plan
(09:04):
to just his 10k plan.
I was like I didn't even do thefive.
I laughed at the five, I'll gofor 10k, Right, let's do that.
So to get me through to and anypart of it, it was talking
about intervals.
Right, you start off slow.
So I literally I think mystarting interval was running
for 30 seconds, walking for 90.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Wait.
Hold on Running for 30 seconds30 seconds, walking for 90
seconds.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Oh, okay, and let me tell you, it all was pretty much
the same speed.
So I mean, like, when it boilsdown, I was like, oh my God,
that's the same and that.
But you know what, like in thepast I think it would have been
like this sucks For what.
I don't know if it's because ofthe goal I had, you know, and
start I was like this is awesome.
I am woman, hear me, roar, Idon't know why, but it like I
(09:55):
wasn't frustrated, like it'salmost delusional, like I had.
Some friends were like you knowit's long, you know, make it
easy, it's a long, it's a longroad, but it was sort of a way
to ease into it.
And then, you know, slowlythose intervals kind of narrow
down.
And like yesterday, my plan had2.8 miles, like I'm starting
(10:17):
over over again after someinjuries, and I ran that the
whole thing.
I kind of started my littlewalk around and then it felt
good and I was going slow, I'mdoing my, but it felt better to
run which is like it's weirdcoming out of my mouth, but it
true, it just.
It's just patience and like Ithink I'm coming at it, like I'm
(10:39):
not looking.
I just told a friend today, myfriend Peter.
I was like, hey, no matter whathappens in November, I'm going
to have the PR.
Like how awesome is that.
Like I can't lose right.
Like how awesome.
So you know, when your goal isto get there and finish, it just
takes the pressure off.
You know, I just need to finish.
(11:06):
So I kind of keep that in mindand I just try to stick with the
plan.
I try to be smart, I try tofollow what you've been teaching
us.
I try to, you know, get therest in.
I try to do cross training, Itry to lift weights and, just,
you know, build myself up.
Like I thought you just go outthere and you keep running 20
miles over and over and overagain.
I didn't like when you do aplay, you do the.
You do the play 20 times beforeyou do it for an audience.
(11:28):
But like with the marathon, I'mlike, because my mom would be
like you're only running liketwo miles.
I was like, no, you never runthe 26.2 until that day, and
like that blows my mind as abackground in arts, and she was
like, oh God.
So I mean I'm still kind oflike I'm trusting it, but it's
still kind of mind blowing to methat like that day will be the
(11:51):
first day I try to do the thing.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
So yeah, that's you know, and that's funny that you
say that, because I don't thinkpeople realize that it's a
buildup.
So it's not like you know.
You know you want to practice,but it's a-up to that day and
the body is weird and I knowthere's a lot of people that
would argue, argue about whetheror not you should actually do
the marathon, um distance beforethe marathon, um, because I,
(12:18):
you know there's tons of peoplethat are saying different things
.
But your body, body, you knowis, you know it would suck if
you did the marathon before themarathon and then you were done
Like your body was like, yeah,that's great, but we ain't doing
this shit again Exactly, and Ithink not having it would also
be like it would mess with me,like the curiosity, like could I
(12:43):
?
Speaker 1 (12:43):
I think the highest mine goes is 20.
Like one day it's 20.
I don't know how.
I guess I got to start at seven, and maybe at seven at night
I'll be done, who knows.
But you know, 10 miles out, 10miles back, and it's like so
weird.
I'll get in the car and now Ilook just to see how far.
So like I'm like shoot, I'mgonna have to run, um, but it's,
(13:07):
it's, it's.
I don't know if I could, I mean, and I would love to read up
more about it, but I think, justlike mentally for me, like so
much of this is going to bemental for me, I think it's
weird.
Like yesterday I sort of itjust was like on autopilot, you
know the movement, right, therun, run, run.
But I, what the mind game wasjust like keep looking at, like
how far no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Interesting thing you said about you know driving and
you're like, wow, that's a lot.
Your, your mindset is going tochange because it's going to get
to the point where, like for me, when I see distance and I said
, oh my God, that's only 10miles, I can run, that, that's
not far.
You'll get to that point andthen you'll start thinking of,
like, if you can run it, it'snot that far.
(14:22):
You know, that's the mindset,yeah, and you know everything
about this process, especiallyas someone.
Something as daunting as amarathon, a lot of it is that
mental state of can I do this?
And that's why you know, reallythe biggest thing about this
(14:45):
race is the mental like can I dothis?
Because even through thetraining, how many times you
know what the hell am I doing?
Why am I doing this?
Am I crazy?
And then, um, how am I going tofinish this?
And I'm not.
And then you start panicking.
And then the next day you'relike, oh shit, I got this, I got
this.
Oh yeah, this is going to beand it's going to be like that,
(15:06):
and it's just, that's theprocess.
So, okay, what do you do to getyou like in that zone, like and
when I say zone, I don't meanin the zone while you're running
but when you start panicking,you're like, holy shit, how the
hell, how do you bring yourselfdown Like I don't?
Speaker 1 (15:26):
think I don't know if I'm like crazy or delusional I
haven't gotten to that about therace yet because, like, I think
I've had this little.
So I, I had a back injury thatlike Lisa's worked with me
through, where I was sidelinedfor it was like seven weeks and,
um, I just was like I, I, Ijust want to, I just want to
(15:48):
move, I just want to do it again, um, so I'm kind of like it's
still in the grateful, like, ohmy God, I'm back.
This is great.
So I need to remember that youknow when, when, the what the
hell am I thinking I'm nevergoing to be able to do this
comes back into my head which itwill, because it it does like
you know, at work, it doeswhatever you know trying on
(16:10):
clothes.
You know like it happens.
So I know it's going to happenand I think, if I, if I pull
back to like hey, you werereally kind of bummed when it
looked like maybe you weren'tgoing to do this, which was even
worse than the pain, like youreally really wanted to see if
you could get this done, and nowlike, oh man, this might not
(16:31):
happen.
So I haven't gotten there yet.
I'm sure I will, but I'm hopingthat I can.
I don't know if that sounds tooflowery, like the gratitude,
just the, the just beinggrateful that, like a newbie,
can jump in and try to do thisand on that day, like I'm doing
(16:51):
it, yeah, that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
You know, yeah, and I'm sorry that I brought that up
.
No, that was, we went too farinto the journey.
I'm gone there yet.
No, you and you may not.
I thought you did, but you maynot.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I mean, I can't imagine.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
You may not.
It's not delusional.
You may not because you said it.
First of all, the goal it's inhonor of your father and you're
grateful for doing the run it'sthe New York City freaking
marathon.
First of all, that's likeeveryone's bucket list and you
also had.
Let's take a step back.
You also had an injury, solet's so tell us what was going
(17:39):
in your mind, because I wasn'tsure what was going in your mind
when you told me.
I know you were like concerned,but I don't know if in your
mind where you're like okay,this is not going to happen, or
where were you when the injuryoccurred.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I well, it just like I did a run.
And then I came I sat and itwas whatever.
And when I got up it was I.
It was the most pain I've everfelt going down my leg and I had
had sciatica in the past.
Um, back in grad school, fromsitting all the time, you know
study.
So I thought, oh, here we go,it'll be gone in a week.
(18:14):
So I sat on ice for like a week.
It got worse.
I was like well, I got to restanother week.
So I waited two weeks before Iwent to urgent care and they're
like yeah, yeah, yeah, it'ssciatica.
That sounds right.
Here's some steroids.
And I took those steroids.
And I think that's the one timeI came out and ran with the
group because I was like I feelgreat, steroids are awesome.
(18:36):
And I think I was like yellingthat, went to the gym, was
lifting heavier.
I had two amazing days and thenhit me again.
Waited two weeks, was like notleaving home, went into work.
One day my co-workers saw meand they're like holy, you've
got to go back to urgent care,you need someone.
So I went, they did x-rays,everything looked fine, but I
(18:58):
got uh, um, they suggested anmri and then that showed um two
bulging discs and um a cyst onmy spine, um, so in some
arthritis which I I knew fromdancing days.
So I went to the physicaltherapist, who is a runner, and
he, um was so awesome and gaveme some great exercises and
(19:20):
really explained, um, the why ofwhat I was feeling and why he
felt confident that movement, infact, would you know, help get
me to where I wanted to be andthat, yes, yes, it's going to be
possible to do it.
So that was like amazing.
I like cried in the car I thinkI voice messaged you, like
because it was just soreassuring.
I hadn't been sort of passedaround medically and not really
(19:42):
because I came in through urgentcare, I was just kind of in a
dead zone of practitioners.
So I've been doing theexercises he gave me, which like
seems so weird, but how weexplain things, it's really
making a difference.
And I've been moving and, likeI rode my bike today and went to
the gym.
It felt great.
So I'm just going to see howmuch the cyst on my spine plays
(20:08):
into like whatever I'm feeling.
But it's like nowhere near likeI couldn't move, I was like
crawling around and the dog waslike this is awesome, um, so I
can drive, it's great.
So I am, um, I'm cautiouslyoptimistic, but like I think
that there's a little bit offear still there, like I could
do something, but I know what itis now and I feel like I'm in
(20:31):
good hands.
Could do something, but I knowwhat it is now and I feel like
I'm in good hands.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
So when you were going through that whole process
, your mindset it wasn't saying,you know, oh, I'm not going to
be able to finish this.
I mean, what was it saying toyou?
Speaker 1 (20:55):
It was.
You know, part of it was likehere you go, Why'd you even try?
You know, like you did this toyourself.
Maybe if you lost some weight,maybe if you weren't so big
trying to do this, oh, you letyourself go.
If you had kept up right, likeall this stuff, oh, you'd have a
metal rod in your back andyou're never going to be right
from 45 to 95.
You're this is it, and I'm likeand part of it also was like I
(21:15):
just discovered this awesomecommunity, this thing that I
enjoy, that like feel so goodfor my mental health, feel so
good for my body, and I'm notgoing to be able to do it
anymore.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Like.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I just discovered this and that was really
frustrating.
That was really hard.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
So how did you keep yourself going?
Because, even though youweren't running with us, you
still showed up at the Sundaymeetup.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
It was good and like we have our group chat and just
like being able to cheer forwomen who were like a lot of I
think most of us were like newor hadn't done it in a really
long time.
So just seeing how other theothers were progressing on your
team like really was cool, likeit was really motivating.
(22:02):
You could root from people fromafar.
It just sort of like it's likeokay, when I'm ready, like I'll
be back and I can be with theseawesome women.
So that was like it was supermotivating.
I was reading well, there's likeso many funny memes about
running on Instagram and my lovelanguage is memes, so I send
them to people and I have allthese awesome books.
(22:24):
Like I got along the way thatI've been reading and hoping
that things would turn around,and like I could keep my head in
the game still, so to speak.
And in that, like you told me,you're still training, you're
training your mind.
So that really made adifference.
That really took me out of afunk and it was like no, she's
(22:45):
right.
Like eat healthy shit, don't.
Don't talk to yourself this way.
And like keep training, you'restill training.
So and that was huge.
That was huge.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Oh, good, good, Okay.
So now you're back on track,you're feeling good, you're
feeling very motivated.
How do you keep yourself?
I know you're saying you'regrateful, so what are some of
the things that you say toyourself besides being grateful
that you're grateful?
So what are some of the thingsthat you say to yourself besides
being grateful that you're inthis journey?
But what are some of the thingsyou say to yourself even as
(23:19):
you're running, like, what arethe things that come through in
your mindset to keep you going?
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah, like definitely the gratitude, but also I try
to you know like I feel strong,like if I, you know like I feel
strong, like if I, I likeyesterday, I remember, you know,
I looked and I was like, uh,like I freaked myself out
because I had been running aperiod without like a walk, and
and then the mind games oh, ithurts right, oh, oh, I think
you're out of breath.
(23:46):
And it just said, no, I feelstrong.
And I just kind of like saidthat to myself and it was like,
yeah, stop freaking out mind.
And it just I let my, you know,I let myself go into like
physically, felt the need thatit's like, okay, let's just now
have a little twinge in the back.
So I just like, okay, let'swalk out for a minute and then
start back up.
Um, I, I, I give myself alittle bit, I'm trying to not be
(24:12):
.
So.
I think the first, those firstcouple months, I was like, and
you know I was going to go tothe gym Thursday After work.
I got home and that was thekiss of death.
I didn't, I didn't change thatwork and I was like you know
what, I switched things aroundin my calendar and I'm like
today's my rest day, what Iswitched things around in my
(24:35):
calendar and I'm like today's myrest day.
So I did it yesterday.
I brought my clothes to the towork and changed in my office
and that made all the differencewent right to the gym and then,
like today, because we shiftedaround because of the weather
not running outside, so I wentto a gym class and tomorrow
around, and it gave me anotherday in between.
You know, the next time I'llrun I'll probably be Tuesday, so
kind of it worked out.
(24:55):
So I think, having theflexibility for life and like
how you're feeling, um, but notlike, not like making an excuse
for yourself, which I would havedone in the beginning.
You know, shitty night of sleep.
You, you're hungry.
I am this right?
Like I would have found anyreason not to.
I think it's just like.
No, this will, I know it'llmake me feel better.
(25:16):
The hardest part for me isgetting to the gym.
Get you know, starting isalways the hardest, and and and.
Then there's times like I'mexcited about it, like it's,
it's, it's less.
I'm finding less and less.
It's like white knuckling,forcing myself and it's, it's,
it's less.
I'm finding less and less.
It's like white knuckling,forcing myself and it's, you
(25:37):
know, it's a minor flash andthen I'm like now, once you do
this, you're gonna feel good andI'm fine.
Um, or I'm looking forward toit, which is, I mean, my teenage
self out at the track at highschool would have been like what
are.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Are you doing so?
Um, do you?
Because you started runningsolo and you've ran in a group.
What's the difference?
Speaker 1 (26:05):
I see I like I'm um, for as outgoing or whatever as
people think I am, I I need alot of solo time, so I don't
mind the listening to music orputting on a podcast and going
or even like nothing, and going.
What's nice about the group isit does pass the time.
(26:27):
We can talk.
We're all.
You know, I thought I'd be.
I was kind of afraid the firsttime.
Um, you know, I didn't, wedidn't all didn't know each
other.
We were all kind of in the sameboat and I'm like what if I
can't keep up?
What if I see too heavy next tothem and I freak them out right
?
Like what if I can't do it?
I'm going to feel like afailure and um, it's just, you
(26:47):
know, we were all kind of thereand sometimes you know someone
would fall behind, someone wouldpush ahead, but like we could
all be there and we were talkingand it, it, just it made it go
so much faster.
And it was like fun.
It was fun and you know likethat was the quickest three
miles of my life.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The people take you, the womentake you, you know.
Yeah, people take you, thewomen take you, you know Um.
So, with the team and training,are you up to date with your um
donations?
Do you need more donations?
Are you still raising money?
Speaker 1 (27:21):
I am always raising money because I think it's such
an incredible organization and Iwould love, um, what happened
to my dad to never happen toanother human being.
I know people I grew up withwhose children are battling
leukemia and lymphomas.
So I I meet, I've met my goal,but I it's such an amazing
(27:43):
organization that I'm I'm goingto continue to pursue the
fundraising because it, you know, I I have friends I grew up
with whose kids have battled itand they're, like you know, run
for my kid and that is like somotivating.
So there's people I know who,in addition to my dad, that like
I'm doing this for.
So I am hoping to keepfundraising because it's
(28:07):
important.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
So Sarah runs a marathon.
Sarah runs a marathon.
She's going from 5K to marathon.
Did I say zero?
Speaker 1 (28:21):
No, it's zero to marathon.
You're getting nice saying 5Kyou said you did a 5K.
I was young and foolish and Ihated it.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
All right, zero to marathon.
Sarah runs a marathon.
I hated it.
Okay, all right.
Zero to marathon.
Zero to marathon.
Zero to marathon.
Okay.
So what do you hope to feel atthe end of this marathon, this
journey?
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Oh, I might cry thinking about it.
Like I, um, I hope my dad'sproud he probably is like you're
insane, but I knew you'd do it.
Um, I, I hope that it showsfriends who are watching.
(29:05):
Like don't, don't, don't beafraid to try the ridiculous
thing.
Like bet on yourself, go all inum anything you know, uh, and I
hope, um anything you know, uh,and I hope, I mean I hope that
I continue it for myself.
You know, right now it's it's,I'm, I'm, it's, it's a goal and
it's um for a lot of people andum, but I hope that this is
(29:28):
something I can.
I want to do it when I'm like75, like I want to be that chick
, um, so, but yeah, oh, my God,I don't know, I, when I'm like
75.
Like I want to be that chick, sobut yeah, oh, my God, I don't
know, I think I'm going to be ahot mess.
I better wear waterproofmascara.
Well, I sweat like a beast Likea beast.
So, yeah, it'll be waterproofmascara, but, and it'll be dark
(29:55):
and you know the crowds will begone.
But I mean, I told my mom thatmeans you can like get to the
finish line.
You know, if I finished on time, mom, you wouldn't be able to
go anywhere near the finish line, but because it's going to be
10 o'clock at night, you'll beable to get right up there, run
it with me, mom.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
So well, we're hoping that it's not 10 o'clock at
night, that's a long ass day,yeah that is a long ass day but,
Sarah, I'm really proud of youand you know the mindset as
you're learning through thisjourney is probably the critical
part of this journey and totake on something like this is
very brave.
(30:22):
And I'm proud of you for takingthis challenge on and not
giving up.
Because I was asking you thequestions about when you were
sidelined, you didn't give up.
I mean, most people were like,yeah, fuck this, I can do this.
I hate myself.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
I'm like, no, no, I'll crawl, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Yeah, you're like, I'm going to see what's going to
happen, I'm going to see what'sgoing on.
I want to run so bad and youkept saying how much you wanted
to run, so to think that this issomeone who did not want to run
a 5k, now excited to run amarathon.
Okay, all right, sarah, thankyou so much.
(30:59):
We're going to put the links toyour actually the link to to
raise the funds on the shownotes.
And when is the marathon?
What's the date?
November 3rd date November 3rd,already in July, coming up, not
(31:19):
too soon.
19 weeks, it's crazy.
Well, I know you're going to bedoing well and I know you're
going to finish before 10 PM andwe're all rooting for you.
You're going to be amazing andthank you so much for coming on.
You know, I wanted to hear yourstory because I wanted other
women who either were thinkingabout running or who are
(31:39):
beginner runners to actuallyhear what goes on in the mindset
of a beginner runner, and thisis a great example.
Like a lot of the things thatyou said are what a lot of
people are thinking, obviouslythe fear, and then the can I
keep up?
I'm breathing crazy.
Are they going to think I'm?
You know, those are all thethings that stop us from
(32:02):
reaching the girls their goals.
So if Sarah's doing it, you cando it for sure.
So 100%, yes, absolutely.
Well, let me, let me leave.
Let's leave the listeners withthis.
What is one advice you wouldgive to a woman that is
listening to the podcast andeither she's a beginner runner
or she's thinking about it, butshe's, she's, scared.
(32:24):
What would you tell her?
No one's looking at you.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
No one's like.
You know, I was so scared torun outside I avoided it.
I do.
I did it on the treadmill somuch because, oh my God, I don't
want people to see no one'slucky.
Do what you got to do and ifyou again, you can start.
You don't even need to do 30,90.
Right, if you can do 10, 60,whatever, who cares?
You got to start somewhere.
(32:49):
I mean, we're not trading theOlympics, right?
Yeah, so let that go and justdo it for yourself and do it for
your own personal challenge.
And I haven't found somethinglike this where you can see it,
maybe because you know I'm new,but you see such growth so
quickly that it's so motivatingthat you're like like yesterday,
(33:10):
I mean, I basically ran almostthree miles Like that's crazy.
So that's the growth of me torun 26.
But let's see, like you know.
So I would just say, just justdo it.
Do what you can be proud of it.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, don't worry about anybody else.
Great advice, Sarah.
Thank you so much and thank youfor coming on and saying yes.
Thank you for having me.
Okay, until next time.
Everyone Bye, thank you.
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