Jumpstartrunning Presents:

In The Long Run

IMPACTful THOUGHTS:

Hello Reader,

Last weekend, I was in beautiful Arizona.

I was there for "business" - a continuing education course and a 16 mile trail race. I'm fortunate that I never see AZ as "business", because it was a place I called home from October 2008 - February 2017. I was 34 at the time, and moved from Michigan, the only state I knew to be home.

At the beginning of 2008, my brother and sister were already out West, and my parents had retired, built and moved to a beautiful log home in Colorado. I had spent just over a year recovering from a devastating breakup and double tibial stress fractures.

I didn't know a single person in Arizona, but felt an intuitive call to move there. At the time, I was still a clinical physical therapist, so job security was pretty high and luckily I had many options for employment.

What I also didn't know was how much of an IMPACT that move would have on my life personally and professionally:

Someone asked me the other day, "Do you think that your time in Arizona healed you?"

It was a great question, and I was nostalgic while reflecting on all of the incredible things that happened in my life during that time.

"No, but it was definitely the next right step for my life."

Professionally, I came to Arizona as a clinical PT with 8 years of experience and zero thought/desire to start my own business. When I left in 2017, I was no longer a clinical PT, but a business owner serving runners. Almost a year ago, I made the decision to leave Massachusetts for Boulder, CO and focus on serving female masters runners/athletes.

Change is hard, it can be bold, and can lead to the next right step in your life when you least expect that you needed it. When running gets hard, all you have to do is take the next step, which moves you forward.

If you face change or a big decision this week, I hope you remember this story and decide to make a bold move for yourself. And, if you happen to move out West, even better - I'll come visit!

Keep moving forward my friends, one step at a time.

Coach Nicole

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THE MAIN EVENT:

Last week, I shared two recent media publications for women.

The first was Mel Robbins interviewing Dr. Stacy Sims - the former is a New York Times best-selling author, motivational speaker, and podcast host known for self-help techniques and is wildly popular right now with the recent release of her latest book, "The Let Them Theory." https://www.melrobbins.com/letthemtheory​

Dr. Stacy Sims is an exercise physiologist, nutrition scientist, author, and women's health and fitness advocate. In 2019, she did a TEDx talk titled, "Women Are Not Small Men" https://youtu.be/e5LYGzKUPlE​

Dr. Sims TEDx talk was based upon years of her research and a book she co-authored with Selene Yeager (host of the podcast "Hit Play Not Pause" that I had the privilege to be on last fall): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unlock-your-fascia-to-go-from-stiff-to-swift-in-menopause/id1533088916?i=1000679983863​

I purchased their book ROAR in 2019, and have followed of Dr. Sims for years. I frequently listen to Mel Robbins in my podcast rotation. Once I saw the two of them were sitting down together, my nerd alert shifted into high gear, and I immediately watched it that night.

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The second publication was a special broadcast by Oprah Winfrey called "The Menopause Revolution". She had a panel of women which included actresses/advocates, physicians and journalists to discuss, educate, and share stories regarding perimenopause and menopause.

New research shows women as young as 35 are starting to show symptoms of perimenopause, and the special explores "the physical and neurological changes that occur during this life stage — a change that impacts every woman."

I watched each one of these shows twice, and I highly recommend them. If you want the summary, here are my top 3 takeaways from each:

Mel/Dr. Sims:

1. We are all an experiment of ONE. What works for one person may not work for someone else. Research helps guide us, but not absolutely applicable to all. If you are not happy with your current fitness routine, try changing it up and use some of the strategies that were described in this podcast. Better yet, hit reply, and let's talk about your needs and how we can create a program for YOU. Schedule a session with me here: https://www.jumpstartrunning.com/coaching-services​
2. PROTEIN COFFEE!!! Like many women, I don't love to eat first thing in the morning, and Dr. Sims described her "recipe" to get 25-30 grams of protein. I decided to try it, and I really like it! Here's a little video of what I do: https://youtube.com/shorts/V9b8KKlluxE?feature=share and I also said I would share the link of the pitcher/frother that I got for 10 bucks: https://a.co/d/9FtKXaX​
3. TIE: The last takeaway I had was a tie between Dr. Sims reminding people that 1) they need to understand how to move their body first, 2) acknowledging that change is hard, and 3) to simply start with moving your body for 10 minutes a day CONSISTENTLY. She said that she wants women to feel empowered and find 10 minutes for themselves - "What if everyone started to move 10 minutes a day - can you imagine how that would help our mental health as well?" Well said, Dr. Sims!

Oprah Menopause Special:

1. 40% INCREASE in mental health changes during perimenopause/menopause: there are structural and functional changes in the brain. IQ is NOT affected. There is a study that found that "73% of women blame menopause for their divorce." This was attributed to lack of awareness, support, information, finances, and compassion. Information is power.
2. Communication is imperative: every woman does not HAVE to be taking hormones. However, every woman has to have a conversation with her physician regarding her current heath and hormone therapy. If your physician does not have the latest information, it is not a "fault". There was little information available, but now many doctors have sought out newer information - find those doctors! https://menopause.org/ I am happy to have a conversation with you about this as well.
3. 2/3 of patients with Alzheimer's are women - is this connected to brain health? Maria Shriver has devoted much of her life to this disease. She has also contributed to the first Alzheimers disease prevention clinic specifically for women: https://thewomensalzheimersmovement.org/​

No matter what people's "opinions" for both of these publications, the INTENTION is awareness and education. That is part of my mission as well, and I will put together a document for you that has even more granular details from each of these videos. I'm open for discussion - hit reply and let me know your thoughts!

Even though we don't have ALL of the information, I feel lucky to be living in an era where we are now starting to have conversations. The next generation will be better prepared for it, and stronger because of it.

TREADMILL TUESDAY

Is that Nicole or Pinocchio on the treadmill?

I've not been able to put as many miles into my Boston training this year as I wanted. The longest run I had done with 3 weeks to go was 10 miles (usually my longest run is 20).

Knowing that I needed to get more miles but I didn't want to risk injuring myself, I found a solution: https://levermovement.com/​

I'll discuss the system another time, but I wanted to share with you how I did my longest run to be a "LEVER" run:

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TEASER/WHAT'S TO COME:

NEXT WEEK: I'll tell you all the incredible things I learned at my conference that pertains to masters athletes - the FASCIAL SYSTEM!

Boston Marathon Excitement - "the most wonderful time of the year"!

I'll also tell you about my "Dam Good Run" - yep, that's me, and I was NEVER so happy to see that finish line :)

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If you (or someone you know) are interested in learning more about JSR Coaching/Injury or Performance Consult - hit reply, and we'll have a chat!

Let me know if you have any questions or requests for topics in these emails. Thank you so much for reading, and forward to your running friends as well!

Have a question or a topic request? CONTACT NICOLE