Run to Write

Listen in to today's poem out loud—

Nothing To Prove

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“I’d accepted that running a marathon would be painful. I would hurt. I would get tired. My brain would tell me to slow down and would ask me why I was running.”

— Staring Down a Dream: A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission by Julie B. Hughes

Good morning,

In today's episode listen in to the poem out loud: Oasis

And learn more about Write Together Fridays and how to grab your copy of—Starting Down A Dream: A Mom, A Marathoner, a Mission.

I’m thrilled to share with you that Staring Down a Dream: A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission is published!

My children loved the book so much— they wanted to eat it!

Now for the Poem Out Loud: Let's Eat Cake...

Today will be the last sneak peek of Staring Down a Dream: A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission because next Thursday it will be out in the world! It’s definitely been a marathon writing this book!

But first…a poem out loud:

Take a Chance...

Good morning,

I’m so glad to have you listening in. Today I will share a piece from chapter four of my upcoming book Staring Down a Dream: A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission.

I’m thrilled to let you know the release date for the paperback book is March 1st! If you prefer the kindle version you can pre-order that now on Amazon if you would like.

Now to the poem out loud which will lead us into Chapter Four: Marathon Mom.

Purple Toenails

A piece from Chapter Four: Marathon Mom—

One morning after a run, I stood in the bathroom with my kids as we all got ready for the day. They were washing their faces and I seemed to think I needed to micromanage what was going on. Don’t forget your nose, make sure you floss and brush your teeth. I looked down at my bare feet. I crinkled my nose. My toenails were pretty beaten up from running.

I laughed in disgust, “My toenails are still purple.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud.

Delaney looked over at me and smiled, “Mom, you are unique.”

I nodded my head and grinned, “What a beautiful thing to say, Delaney. Yes, I think you are right, I am unique. Thank you.”

My inner judge, Aunt Phoebe, was ready to launch in. Your toenails are disgusting. You better get some socks on. Yet Delaney’s comment shut her down. My thoughts were full of gratitude towards my daughter and my running feet.

Thank you feet for the miles we continue to run.

Let’s give ourselves permission to celebrate our uniqueness... purple toenails and all!

Tell me what uniqueness are you celebrating today?

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The Scale

A piece from Chapter Six—Default Stories of my upcoming book Staring Down a Dream: A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission.

Managing my mind and meal planning went hand in hand. Each Sunday, when I would sit down to plan my meals for the week, I noticed the thoughts. Aunt Phoebe with her squeaking voice and fear tactics would show up.

That’s too many carbs. How many calories is that? That’s too much food to be eating.

The old thought patterns would float to the surface. This time instead of shoving them back down or agreeing, I nodded and took a deep breath.

I can do this. Yes, we used to think that carbohydrates were not good but now we think differently.

Carbohydrates would be my best energy source for running and I would eat balanced meals to be healthy, happy, and strong.

I went back to my why—my children and my future self. I would not pass down my default stories about food to my son or daughter. I would not sabotage my happiness or health by counting calories or tracking my weight anymore. I was in a position to teach my children—to help them establish a healthy relationship with food and I took this role very seriously. 

I had the knowledge to take into the kitchen to prepare healthy balanced meals for myself and my family and the confidence to teach my children to not be misled by diet trends, fads, and the diet industry. 

I was starting to write a new story for myself.

I am becoming the person who believes healthy food is my fuel for my workouts and to assist in my recovery after long hard runs. I’m committed to preparing healthy meals daily to be happy, healthy, and strong. I will treat my relationship with food as I do my relationship with myself and my family.

I was missing this piece for many years. I’m forever grateful for Marni guiding me and that our paths crossed. 

When Marni and I ended our time together, I felt tremendous gratitude and appreciation for her guidance and support. I knew deep down I was going to be okay. I had the foundation of my daily diet dialed in and my mindset was in a healthier place. I would lean on this new knowledge Marni provided me as I moved forward. During times of challenge or when my inner judge, Aunt Phoebe, would squeak in with her protective ways, I would pay attention. I would not forget what I learned and I would look back at my progress with Marni. I had an awareness that I didn’t have before. I was learning to question my thinking and had the tools and strategies to help me with a great team in my corner—Marni, Joel, my therapist, and the greatest member of all—God.  

As I reflect, I find it interesting that I believed not eating or restricting my calorie intake would help me run stronger and faster. I had no fuel or not enough—yet I believed by getting the scale to that magic number I would be a better runner. Where did I get these beliefs from? I had my ideas. It makes me sad when I still hear, “You need to lose 10 or 15 pounds and you will be better at your sport.” I’m grateful to Marni for teaching me to look at myself as a person instead of allowing the scale to determine my worth. Her philosophy was never about weight or a number—it was about how does your body feel? It was working with her that I realized food wasn’t the problem, it was my thinking and beliefs about food. 

Thanks for reading and listening in to Run to Write! Subscribe for free to receive new posts, join Write Together Friday on zoom and support my work.

Welcome back!

I would like to share with you a little of Chapter Five: Thinner Does NOT mean Faster in my next book, Staring Down a Dream: A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission.

I want to give you a little context—I linked up with Marni Sumbal, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N, owner of Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition. She is a registered dietician with extensive experience in sports nutrition.

I had the opportunity to work with her for a few months. I wanted a healthy relationship with food and she asked me some really great questions to get there.

If your struggling with the idea of “Thinner means faster, or “Thinner means you will be a better runner”—I encourage you to consider asking yourself these questions that Marni asked me below.

Please feel free to share this with someone you love.

Take good care,

Julie

A sneak peek at chapter five: Thinner Does NOT Mean Faster

I hesitated. She continued, “What are you struggling with?” 

“I don’t want to get fat.” I was so sick of that belief. I can’t believe that I just blurted it out.

Marni’s wisdom prevailed, “Julie, let’s focus less on your weight and more on your body—is your body working for you or against you?” 

“Yes, I want to do that. How do I do that?” I wanted to let go of the belief that I needed to be a certain weight to run fast or to run better.

Marni continued, “I want you to focus on how you are feeling and assess what your body can do instead of what it looks like. This will allow you to better understand if you have limiters beyond weight.”

I loved that she was focused on me as a person instead of my body mass index or my weight on the scale. She wanted me to keep these questions in mind as we worked together. “Do you have good energy for your workouts?” “Do you feel strong, resilient, and healthy?” “Are you able to recover well after your workouts?” “Are you feeling stronger, faster, or fitter?” 

I loved these questions and was so grateful to be working with Marni. Not only was she extremely knowledgeable and passionate but she was also real and caring. Marni encouraged me to stop worrying about gaining weight and instead get to know my body. She was right. I would get so mad at my body. (Reflecting on this now, I see how this was one of the contributors to my pain.) 

I was gaining confidence every day planning my daily diet and balancing each meal. It was getting easier. I sent my sheets to Marni so she could take a peek to ensure I was on track. I liked this accountability as well. I needed it. I didn’t want to fall back into my old habits and it was nice to have her support and encouragement when I felt that pushback.

I’m really excited about my next book and thought it would be fun to share a little over the next few Thursdays.

This is a small piece from Chapter Three: Morning Runner:

I looked down at my watch—time to pick up the pace. I took a few sips from my water flask and then increased my cadence. Playing with speed today as I alternate my pace from easy to hard, that’s a fartlek. I enjoyed these training sessions—it was fun to switch up the pace and it kept me focused mentally. The runs seemed to fly by— an hour had already passed. 

I slid open the door, sweat dripping from my face, Brindsley and Delaney were at the breakfast table. They were already eating. I was happy to see them and started to smile as the word fartlek came to mind.

“Hey mama, how was your run”. Brindsley asked between spoonfuls of granola. Delaney looked up from her bowl.

“It was great! I did a fartlek today.” I managed to keep a straight face.

They both stopped eating and exploded with laughter. I was pretty sure all they heard was the word fart!

“Mom, you said fart!” they both said in unison.

Yup, I was right. I began to laugh too.

Yes, I guess that was all I heard as well, and laughed with them as I grabbed a cup of coffee.

Oh, how I love that my children laughed at that silly word. This is what I love most about motherhood, the laughter. Isn’t it the best sound? They always find something to laugh about and that makes me so happy. It helps me lighten up. I can be so serious and stiff— more laughter is what I need these days. I’m still laughing now as I write this and grateful for the word fartlek, as odd as that sounds. When I’m having a tough day or getting all bent out of shape, I’ll just say the word fartlek in front of my kids or to myself. It’s better than cursing.

Fartlek…say that out loud a few times today if you need a laugh-I hope it lightens up your mood a bit too. Go ahead—give it a go.

Ode to Fartlek

You’re invited to Friday Write Together on zoom. Click the button below to join us at 11 am (EST) tomorrow, 1/27/23.

Hi! I’m so glad you are here. Welcome to my new subscribers! I’m so glad to have you with us. Every Thursday I read a poem out loud and Fridays are when we gather to write together. I hope you can join us tomorrow 1/13/23 at 11 am (EST). The link is posted below.

As I finish the last of my edits for my next book, Staring Down a Dream— A Mom, a Marathoner, a Mission—I find myself wanting to write more poems about my experience racing The Boston Marathon.

Heartbreak Hill comes to mind and the poem out loud is inspired by this Hill!

What is your dream? Mine was to run The Boston Marathon and it took me over 2 decades for it to come true…don’t give up!

Mile 20

Happy Thursday and thank you for joining me. Today’s poem out loud is called Thank you, Sun.

Thank you, Sun.

Our writing group is tomorrow at 11 am (EST). I hope you can join us. Click the button below to write together.