The Conscious Runner Podcast

Hi Conscious Runners! As always, today we’ve got another amazing episode for you. Its all about running during the pandemic! One of the things we’ve found is a lot of people have fallen off the motivation to run during this time.

It’s just gotten harder and harder and harder to lace up those shoes and get out the door; especially when not knowing when races will open up. If you get this wrong, your fitness will continue to decline and you won’t be ready to race when they do.

But if you get this right, you can start running towards your dreams instead of away from them. Tune into this episode discover exactly how to get motivated to run during the pandemic.

If you’ve been dealing with injuries and sub-par performances for months or years and are ready to run pain-free, get faster and stay injury-free right now, go to consciousrunner.com/breakthrough, that’s consciousrunner.com/breakthrough and book a Free Body Breakthrough Session with us.

We will get on the phone with you for about 45 minutes and dive deep into what’s not working in your running and how that is impacting you and then we’ll take a look at your goals and the kind of running experience you want to create instead.

If all you need a tweak here or there we will tell you that. And out of integrity, if you need more we will tell you that too.

The goal of the call is to give you massive value, massive clarity, massive insight and your next steps. And if you want to talk about working with us, great! We can talk about that too, if not, that’s fine.

Again, go to consciousrunner.com/breakthough/.

Look forward to speaking!

With care, Lisah

Hi Conscious Runners! Today we’ve got another amazing episode. It is how to create your future self. If you get this right, it will make a massive positive impact on your running and your life… but if you get this wrong, it will lead to more suffering. The #1 difference between runners who overcome chronic injury, get faster and stay injury-free fast, and the ones who continue to struggle for months or years… is the future they’ve created for their running and themselves. If you want to know how to do this too so you can enjoy running for life, tune in.

If you’ve been dealing with injuries and sub-par performances for months or years and are ready to run pain-free, get faster and stay injury-free right now, go to consciousrunner.com/breakthrough, that’s consciousrunner.com/breakthrough and book a Free Body Breakthrough Session with us.

We will get on the phone with you for about 45 minutes and dive deep into what’s not working in your running and how that is impacting you and then we’ll take a look at your goals and the kind of running experience you want to create instead.

If all you need a tweak here or there we will tell you that. If you need more we will tell you that too.

The goal of the call is to give you massive value, massive clarity, massive insight and your next steps. And if you want to talk about working with us, great! We can talk about that too, if not, that’s fine.

Again, go to consciousrunner.com/breakthough/.

Look forward to speaking!

With care, Lisah

If you struggle with getting out the door to get your run in or doing the ancillary work you need to do that keeps you running, this episode is for you! In this episode we dive deep into the biggest things keeping you from being motivated and reaching your goals and what to do about it! You may be surprised at how little willpower has to do with it.

Tune in to discover why you’re not motivated and how to supercharge your running right now!

In this episode you’ll discover how to:

If you’ve been dealing with injuries and sub-par performances for months or years and are ready to run pain-free, get faster and stay injury-free right now, go to consciousrunner.com/breakthrough, that’s consciousrunner.com/breakthrough and book a Free Body Breakthrough Session with us.

We will get on the phone with you for about 45 minutes and dive deep into what’s not working in your running and how that is impacting you and then we’ll take a look at your goals and the kind of running experience you want to create instead.

If all you need a tweak here or there we will tell you that. If you need more we will tell you that too.

The goal of the call is to give you massive value, massive clarity, massive insight and your next steps. And if you want to talk about working with us, great! We can talk about that too, if not, that’s fine.

Again, go to consciousrunner.com/breakthough/.

Look forward to speaking!

With care, Lisah

We thought this was a good one because we see too many people who have been strength training (among a whole lot of other things )and are still in pain…some for months and some for years. Even just yesterday we saw a post in the group about the pitfalls of strength training.

So we wanted to shed a light on what we see as to why strength training is not helping you

In this episode, you’ll discover 3 reasons strength training is not helping you run pain-free and what to do instead.

There is so much information out there and so many people with good intensions giving it. On the one hand its good, because we want to help each other. We want to support each other and share what may have worked for us.

But on the other hand, it does a real disservice because there has been no evaluation done on your unique situation so how can somebody possibly know what you need just because they have or had similar injuries. They can’t. You can have the same injury as someone else, but what caused it and what’s keeping you in pain could be very different.

So you’re out there and doing everything they can from advice and tips FB groups, you tube, podcasts, magazine articles and books and wondering why you just can’t shake your injuries.

First thing i want to point out there is a difference between functional movement and corrective exercise and strength training. Functional movement and corrective exercise reconditions your body so it is moving in the most optimal way for you (this may or may not include resistance training).

When that happens, chronic injuries drop away, you become more efficient and get faster and set yourself up for preventing future injuries. We see this all the time with the people we work with. Where they come in being in pain for months or years and then within 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 5weeks. they are pain-free.

I remember the quickest result someone got was in the first week.

The bottom line is strength training is not functional movement or corrective exercise. A lot of people don’t know that and think they are fixing themselves through strength training. And I’m not saying someone can’t get results from that… it may just happen to be that was what they needed to recondition their body, but without an analysis how do you know… it’s like throwing a dart in the dark and hoping you hit the target.

Maybe you get it or maybe like the people we work with you’ve been in pain for months or years and are watching the window to your dreams close.

I just spoke to a woman the other day who’s 45 and has had calf pain for 3 years and hip pain, IT Band pain and glute pain for 10 years

And one of the things she was doing (among a number of them) was strength training…but what she really needed was someone to show her what she needed to do to recondition her body so she could run without pain and STAY injury-free. Strength training could have been making things worse because it was throwing her body morvout of balance.

Get an assessment on your body from someone who knows what to look for in runners…someone who can determine the exact strategies you need to recondition your body so it can start working 100% for you instead of fighting yo reach step of the way, makes you more efficient and helps you STAY injury-free That may include resistance training, but strength training

This is a BIG one. I see this all the time; Especially at the gym I work out at. And interestingly, injuries are one of the top reasons people quit working out at gyms. They get all excited. Like on January first, sign up for a gym membership and 10-12 days later, they get injured, become de-motivated

Out of the 45 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions each year, only 8 percent actually succeed. Of the most popular types of resolutions, the two highest involve some level of fitness or healthy lifestyle adoption… of which fitness can be a part of.

So there’s this guy at the gym I go to…..been their for years and every time I see him lift a weight I cringe because he’s doing it ALL wrong. It is soooo painful to watch him. ‘Cause I know the damage his doing by lifting the way he is. And he’s a marathon runner and currently dealing with pretty bad knee pain.

Now why he doesn’t get help, I don’t know… Maybe because he thinks he know’s what to do, but one thing is sure, he is in pain and not moving towards his running goals. And I see this all the time at the gym and know they have little to no hopes of getting out of pain and most likely are going to cause an injury.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about heavy, heavy weight here. I’m talking about watching this guy do bodyweight squats, kettlebell thrusts, dumbbells….

And here’s the thing is a lot of people even if they read about how to do the exercise correctly, watch videos on it can’t do it cause they are simply limited by their body! For example, my sweeties got really stiff ankles… so stiff it prevents him from being able to point his feet! So how effective do you think he is at something like swimming where your feet are a part of your . W

hen he swims he looks beautiful on the surface… best stroke ever… but when you look at him under the water it is a mess… because his feet are pointing downward he is actually preventing himself from going forward. His arms are trying to move him forward while his feet are trying to move him backward so he’s not as fast as he could be.

So matter how much you try, if your body is limiting you from doing a particular exercise, you will not get the full benefit of it.

And in many cases, I see people who because they need a functional movement/ corrective exercise strategy first, perform strength exercises in all the wrong ways. And you top that with not knowing which exercises to do, sets, reps, etc. No wonder they’re injured for so long.

So if you’re going to strength train, it is important to do exercises correctly. If you have restrictions in your body, address those first before adding any heavy weight or else you’re just building a house of cards that at the slightest thing… putting on your sock, getting out of the shower, etc is going to come crashing down…because the foundation was never solid.

Do the same exercises week to week, month to month. Continuing to do that can actually build up and start working against you.

This is why we think it’s so important to periodically assess your body, assess your program and make adjustments.

If you get this wrong (doing wrong exercises, doing exercises incorrectly don’t have a plan of progression, you’re really condemning yourself to more misery, injury, pain, frustration and sub par performances. But if you get it right you can, you can recondition your body, overcome your chronic injuries much faster than you think, get faster and shatter your PRs! The runners we work with are doing this! And they are doing this in half and full marathons…many of them weren’t even running or had to walk during their runs when we first started.

So, if you would like help with this it all starts with booking a FREE body breakthrough call with us. Go to consciousrunner.com/breakthrough/.

On this call we’l get you clear on three things.

Again, if you would like our help with this go to consciousrunner.com/breakthough/.

Book a call with us at consciousrunner.com/breakthough/.

Hey Conscious Runners! So excited to bring another episode of The Conscious Runner podcast to you. Today, I’ve got Jens Jakob Anderson on the line with me. Jens is the founder of RunRepeat.com. RunRepeat.com helps you find your next pair of running shoes in an unbiased and transparent way. The amazing thing is every time I search for shoes on the internet, RunRepeat.com pops up top of the results. With over 1 million runners visiting the site per month, that’s no surprise. One of the best things about the site is the shoe reviews. 134,886 runners have reviewed 1,287 pairs of running shoes from dozens of brands.

All the reviews culminate in a run score. The Runscore is a 0-100 score that indicate how liked a running shoe is based on reviews and ratings from running shoe experts and users. Anyone can sign up to be an expert. The more shoes and expert reviews the more weight the review carries. It is really interesting how it is all calculated. We get into that more in the episode and there is even more on RunRepeat.com. As far as running,  Jens is a fan of short distances and has a 5 km personal record of 15:58 minutes. He now runs to stay in shape, as his focus is primarily on growing run repeat.

It was such a pleasure chatting with Jens. He is truly passionate about helping runners find that perfect shoe, and he does it in such an honest, open and transparent way.

Until next time, run strong, run long and be present.

Hey Conscious Runners! I’ve got an inspiring, entertaining and all around funny episode for you, that also happens to be packed with nuggets of training gold that will take you from the couch to completing your first marathon laughing all the way. I’ve got multiple marathon finisher,writer on the Simpsons Tv Show and author of How to Lose a Marathon: A starter’s Guide to finishing in 26.2 chapters, Joel C. Cohen on the line with me.

Joel decided to run a marathon after being inspired by the book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super athletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen. Born to run is about the mega-distance running Tarahumara Native Mexican tribe in the Mexican Copper Canyons, who run in thin sandals (almost barefoot), and rarely, if ever, get injured. I read it years ago and was equally inspired.

Through self depricating humor, wit, and inspiration Joel and talk about How to Lose a Marathon: A Starter’s Guide to Finishing in 26.2 Chapters.

I complete enjoyed my chat with Joel and know you will too. So listen in as I drop you into the conversation between Joel and I.

Until next time, run strong, run long and be present.

Hey Conscious runners!

Of course I’ve got another fanstatic episode for you. Today, I chat it up with Dr. David Geir, an orthopedic and sports medicine specialist who practices in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Despite being an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Geir first tries to treat injuries without surgery. He does this through activity modification, physical therapy, injections, taping and more. A lot of the times, we runners don’t know how serious an injury is until it literally forces us to stop running. And even then, we try to limp along. So one of the things Dr. Geir has done is to put together a checklist that helps athletes determine how serious an injury is and and what signs suggest they visit a doctor or orthopedic surgeon,  You can download the checklist from his web site for free. As someone who is passionate about injury prevention and recovery, I recommend do that as soon as you can.

I complete enjoyed my chat with Dr. David Geier and hope you will too. So listen in as I drop you into the conversation between Dr. Geir and I.

Until next time, run strong, run long and be present.

Hey Conscious Runners! I’ve got another fantastic interview for you today. For the second time, I’ve got 2x Olympian, businessman, public speaker, entrepreneur and creator of Run Gum (performance gum), Nick Symmonds on the line with me. Nick got started running in a very interesting way. In high school, a girl he wanted to get to know better suggested he try out for the cross country team and he did. What Nick discovered is he was good at running. And not just good, very good. And although he didn’t particularly enjoy running itself, he loved winning and loved being a champion. It was his heart of a champion that would push him to become one of the best 800 meter runners in the World.

Nick became a seven time outdoor track champion at the NCAA III level in college. After college he joined the Oregon Track Club Elite. In 2007, he won the 800m race at the Prefontaine Classic meet in Eugene, Oregon, with a then personal best time of 1:44.54. In 2008, he won the United States Olympic Trials 800m final held in Eugene, Oregon with a time of 1:44.10.He was the first of three Oregon associated athletes to finish at the top of this race before the home crowd. Nick continued to place at the top in both national and international competitions. In 2012 he was 5th in Olympic Games final (1:42.95); Olympic Trials champion (1:43.92).

Unfortunately, Nick came down with an ankle injury right before the 2016 US Olympic trials and had to withdraw. When asked if he was disappointed about the injury, he was quoted as saying, “Honestly, no. If this had happened when I was 24, I would have been [crushed]. But at 32, I know I’ve been on borrowed time. I’m grateful this has held up as long as it did. I’m more disappointed for my sponsors and friends and family who were coming who are not going to see me run.”

Nick has dedicated much of his time, finances, effort and energy campaigning for fair compensation of runners and the right for a runner to wear the logos he or she chooses. In addition to this work, Nick used his biochemistry degree to co-found Run Gum with coach and business partner Sam Lapray. Run Gum is energy gum used to maximize your performance.

Nick and Sam found that the current methods of delivering these important stimulants to the body often required drinking large quantities of liquid in the form of coffee or energy drinks. To achieve optimal performance, they needed to eliminate the water, acid and slow absorption.  It was on the track during one of their many training sessions together that the idea came to them. GUM. This lightweight, zero calorie option would allow an athlete to run free without the unwanted liquids around in their stomachs. Truly, the smarter caffeine kick had been found.

Nick is always up for a challenge, with his latest one being running his first marathon in December of this year. Up until marathon training, Nick’s longest run was 15 miles, and now he’s going after 26.2 . And the best thing is you can follow his training every step of the way. 

I completely enjoyed my chat with Nick and know you will too.

Until next time, run strong, run long and be present.

Hey Conscious Runners! I’ve got another fantastic episode for you. Today, Julia Chi Taylor and I sit down for our sixth episode of Soul Sessions with Lisah and Julia. Soul sessions with Lisah and Julia is a monthly series on The Conscious Runner Podcast where Julia and I share honestly and openly about our running, ourselves and our lives. I met Julia last year when I interviewed her for The Conscious Runner Podcast.

From a very early age, Julia and I have been on parallel journeys –from representing our respective countries at world class international running events, to questioning why we run, to our pursuit of inner freedom and adventure and the names of our sites– The Conscious Runner and Running Conscious. Julia is a runner and Transpersonal Performance Coach and Counsellor, where she works at the core level helping her clients move towards living with more peace, joy, creativity and fulfillment.

She is also an author. Her book Girlfriend for a Year charts the beginning of her relationship with her now husband Anadi.  And her book Running to Learn tells the compelling story of an international running career in which each step led towards healing and awareness. In this book, Julia shares her journey behind her unique and dynamic approach to life – the struggles behind the performances, her battle with an eating disorder and the challenges of her personal relationships.

One of the things I find fascinating about Julia is she is a nomad, traveling the world while remaining settled within.

I am so excited to bring these soul sessions to you. Although it is challenging for me to put myself out in such a personal way, I believe by hearing the stories of others, we affect our own. I hope you’ll find inspiration, motivation, understanding and connection as you listen in to the chat between Julia and I.

“All the different ways to clear are the spokes to the hub which is the place we know we have reacted and something needs clearing.” ~Julia Chi Taylor

With care, Lisah