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Welcome to the Not Your

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Average Runner podcast. I'm Jill Angie,

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a certified running coach and your

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running BFF here to help you

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start running, feel confident, and love

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the journey no matter your size.

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Now, if you've ever felt like

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you just weren't meant to be

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a runner, think again. I believe

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that running is for all bodies,

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even yours. This podcast is your

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warm -up buddy, giving you tips, motivation,

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and the support you need to

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lace up and get moving. I've

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helped thousands of women become runners and

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now I want to help you. Let's

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go. Hey

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runner, welcome back to Not Your

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Average Runner, the podcast that is

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here to make running feel less

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like punishment and more like play.

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Let's be real for a second,

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because sometimes running does get boring.

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I know, I get it. You

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do the same route, the same

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pace, the same playlist, and suddenly

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what started out as a fun,

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empowering activity becomes just another chore. Let's

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be honest, again, when you're in a

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bigger body, sometimes it feels like your

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options are already limited, so it's easy to

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fall into that, like, oh God, not

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this again, sort of mindset. So

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that's why it's important to mix things

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up, not just to stay entertained,

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but to stay motivated and excited and

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engaged with running, to keep

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it from turning into just one more

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thing that you resent. Now,

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adding a little variety, even if

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it's something goofy or lighthearted, actually,

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especially if it's like that, can

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change everything. It reactivates your curiosity.

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It gives your brain something to

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focus on besides how much time

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is left, and it makes the

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whole experience feel more joyful and

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alive. So today I have five

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fun challenges for you to help you

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shake things up. There are no time

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goals, no pace pressure. It is literally

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just some creative ways to get your

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body moving and keep your mind engaged.

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Let's do it. Now the first one

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is the run on every street challenge.

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And this is like a little urban

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or suburban adventure. And honestly you could

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even do this in rural areas if

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you're training for a marathon. Here's how

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it works. You're going to pick a

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section of your neighborhood. It can be any

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size. If you want to do it in

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just one run, maybe it's just a few

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blocks. If you want to do this as

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a project, it might be a larger area,

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but you're going to make it your mission

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to run every single street in that section.

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Okay, now I am actually planning to do

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exactly this in my own neighborhood this summer.

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One day Andy and I were walking home

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from a coffee shop, we passed a tiny

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little street that neither of us had noticed

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before. And so we're like, hey, let's take

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a walk down this street. And if you're

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familiar with Philadelphia, you know exactly the

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kind of street that I'm talking about.

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It is cobblestone. It's not quite big

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enough for a car, although sometimes people

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try. And it's lined with cute little

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row houses. And that gave me an

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idea. What if I ran on every

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street in Fishtown? So that's going to

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be my summer project. I'm going to

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print out a map of the neighborhood.

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It's a good-sized neighborhood. And I'm going

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to plan roots to cover every single

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street. And I'm going to document it

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on Instagram. So if you're not following

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me over on Instagram, make sure you

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are, because I'm going to be updating

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it all summer with my progress. Anyway,

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the beauty of this challenge is that

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it forces you to break out of

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your comfort loop, right? Your comfort zone.

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You know the one, the path that

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you could run blindfolded because you have

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done it so many times. When you

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start checking out unfamiliar streets, you might

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discover new parks, weird lawn ornaments, even

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your new favorite running route. And it

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makes every run feel like you're sort

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of unlocking a secret level in a

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video game. And again, you don't have

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to live in a city to do

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this. You can literally do it anywhere.

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Make it a project. Keep me posted

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on how it goes. I would love

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to know. OK, challenge number two is

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the Korgi Chase Challenge. And this is

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not chasing Korgi's. It's just kind of

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a clever name I came up with.

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It's just fun. Your goal is to

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spot as many dogs as possible during

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your run. Any dog counts. Corgis are

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the holy grail. Bonus points if they

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are in a sweater or rain boots.

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But this turns your run into a

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scavenger hunt, right? It gives your brain

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something to scan for besides how many

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minutes are left. It adds a little

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joy every time you see a wagging

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tail or a little like... panting tongue.

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You can keep a total on your

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phone. You could make a weekly leaderboard

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with your running friends. I actually love

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this idea, right? Like, you don't even

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have to be in person with your

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running friends, right? Like, you can just

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do it online. And yes, I get

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it. We are adult women chasing imaginary

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points for seeing dogs. All right, let's

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go. That's where we are in the

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world right now. You know, let's be

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honest, dog watching is really a valid

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form of therapy. There is a reason

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the dogs are chosen as therapy animals

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because they are calming and they make

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us happy. Every time I see a

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dog on a run, I smile. And

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sometimes it is a great excuse to

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take a little break to stop, say

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hi to the dogo. Just make sure

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that you ask permission before putting your

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hand near a dog that you don't

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know. always do that. Now if you're

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not a dog person you can just

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pick another animal that's fine. Squirrels, deer,

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cows, horses, cats, whatever it is. I

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love when I run by somebody's house

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and their cat is in the window.

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It just it always makes me smile.

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So just pick an animal and have

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fun with it. All right challenge number

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three is the gratitude challenge and this

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is not as woo-w as it sounds

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I promise. It's about tuning in and

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not zoning out because sometimes we forget.

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that being able to go for a

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run is a privilege. It is something

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that we get to do. And if

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you sometimes feel like running is an

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obligation and not a joy, I want

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you to give this a try. All

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right, what harm could it do? Give

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it a try. Nobody's even gonna know.

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So what you'll do is you'll set

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a timer on your phone or your

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watch, whatever you want, to just ding

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every five minutes during your run. And

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when it buzzes, you're going to name

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something you're grateful for. And you

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can name it out loud if you

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want to. You can name it in

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your head if you're more of a

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stealth gratitude, Ninja. But the idea is

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to gently shift your attention from discomfort

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or self-criticism to what is good. All

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right, maybe you are grateful that your

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legs are working today. Maybe you love

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the way the breeze feels on your

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skin. Maybe you went out for run

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and you're like me. and you actually

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like running in a gentle rain and

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it is a gentle rain and you're

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like this is awesome. Maybe you are

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just grateful that you got the F

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out the door even though you really

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didn't want to. And maybe you just

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have an awesome book to listen to

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while you run. It does not matter

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how small it is because what this

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practice does is it starts rewiring your

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brain to associate running with positive feelings

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with things that you like. Okay, with

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things that make you feel good. And this

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means you're more likely to want to go

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again on your next running day. All

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right, it's kind of like you're

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turning your workout into a little

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mini pep talk. And yes, I

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get it. You've got me for

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pep talks, but we only do

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this once a week, and there's

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other running days that you need.

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So this gratitude, again, it's not

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woo, it's not, this is not

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silliness, this is actual science, the

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more you think about what's good,

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the more you will associate it

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with running, it'll rewire your brain

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and you will be able to,

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you know. feel a little bit more

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excited about running. Okay? Give it

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a try. Let me know how

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it goes. Number four is run

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bingo. This one is ridiculously fun.

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You just, it's simple, you create

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a bingo card filled with everyday

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running moments and then you check

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them off, right? And it's things

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like, you ran even though you

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didn't want to, you saw a

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dog with boots on, you tried

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a new route, you got rained

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on, you wore your favorite leggings,

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you smiled at a stranger, you

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ran in new shoes, you found

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money on the ground, right? Whatever

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it is. make your you'll for

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a bingo card you need 25

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things okay and then every time

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you experience one of those things

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you check it off and your

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goal is to get five in

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a row vertically horizontally or diagonally

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fill the whole board if you're

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feeling ambitious but this challenge helps

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you notice the little things right

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the stuff that would normally get

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overlooked you know it helps you

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notice the little wins that you

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wouldn't that you would normally dismiss

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as not real progress. But honestly,

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this is the real stuff, the

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grit, the joy, the weird little

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moments that make running yours. Now,

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you can create your own bingo

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card. I actually made one for

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you. It's over on my Not

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Your Average Runner Instagram today, so

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you can actually go over there

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and screenshot it. Make sure you

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follow me while you're there. And

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then play runner bingo. And again,

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you can do this with your

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friends. Who's the first one to

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get a bingo on the runner

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bingo on the runner bingo card.

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Okay, all right, last one, and

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this is a long-haul challenge, 26

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runs to be specific, or I

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guess more or less runs depending

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on which alphabet you use, but

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if you use the ABCDE alphabet,

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it'll be 26 runs. On each

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run, your mission is to spot

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as many things starting with the

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same letter. If you're like me,

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you'll do it in alphabetical order.

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If you're a chaos monster, maybe

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you will pick a letter at

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random. But basically, you're going to

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say you start with. the letter

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A and maybe you see an

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abandoned armchair. Okay, I think that

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counts for two because it's abandoned

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and it's an armchair and that

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both of those start with the

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letter A. But basically you're going

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to look for as many things

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starting with the letter A. And

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keep score, work your way all

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the way to Z, one letter

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per run and see which letter

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gets the most points. It's silly.

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I get it. But. If you

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do this, you will be amazed

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at what you start noticing. It

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pulls you out of your head

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and into your environment. So, you

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know, on F-Day, you might spot

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a flamengo lawn ornament. You might

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spot a fence that is falling

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down. You might spot a... It

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doesn't really matter like what the

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things are just that you are

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connecting your brain with like looking

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at things spotting them naming them

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and having fun with it Okay,

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it makes every run a little

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treasure hunt and I recommend that

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you take pictures to document your

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fines. Put this up on Instagram.

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Okay, have some fun with it.

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Let other people know this is

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the letter I'm looking for today

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and see where it goes. This

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is a super super fun challenge.

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I promise you. So there you

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have it. Five running challenges to

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spice things up. Keep you engaged

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and remind you that running doesn't

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have to be serious to count.

11:37

All right? And hey. Speaking of

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trying new things, if you liked

11:41

these ideas, you will probably love

11:43

my new author Instagram account, okay?

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So I am writing my first

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mystery novel, Murder Mystery, it is

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super fun, and I am over

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there sharing behind the scenes, book

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recommendations, plot twists, important opinions about

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coffee and snacks, and sometimes you'll

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even see my cats. This is a

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different Instagram account than my running one.

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It is called Jill Wright's Mysteries. Again,

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I'm gonna put a link over in

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the show notes for you. And I

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would love to see you there because

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I'm writing this book. Hopefully it'll be

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done by the end of the year

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and out published in the world next

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year. I'd love to have you come

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along for the ride. And I am

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a compulsive reader. I read constantly, so

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I will be putting up my favorite

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books that I am reading. what I

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love about them. And again, we will

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be talking about snacks over there as

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well. So Jill Rates Mysteries is the

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Instagram. Come hang out. I would love

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to see you there. Until next time,

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go pet a dog. Say something nice

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to yourself and keep running your own

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damn way. All right, I will be

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back next week with more tips to

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help you run strong, happy, and again,

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run your way. Because remember, you

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are a runner, no matter your

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pace or your body size. And

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I'll talk to you next week.

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Real quick before you go, I've

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got a fun challenge for you.

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Take my exercising personality quiz to

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find out exactly what kind of

13:09

exercises you are and how to

13:11

make running feel easier and more

13:13

enjoyable. Just head over to

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not your average runner.com/quiz to

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take it and get your

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results. That's not your average

13:23

runner.com slash quiz.