In this episode, I talk about my journey during this past year around the sun. Normally it would consist of athletic achievements and athletic adventures, but this year changed my path and many others goals as well. So I’ll be talking about a new type of challenge, the emotional and mental kind and how I’ve come through it so far and the lessons this year has taught me.
I discuss:
- Opening Up A Gym And Having To Close Up Shop
- The New Journey This Year Has Led To
- Continuing Daily Movement Even During A Pandemic
- Theme Of The Year: Prepare And Pivot
...and more!
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Looking Back At Last Year’s Birthday Episode
“I was spending a little bit of time listening to last year's episode before doing this one today,” Robin said. “In last year's episode, I covered two really big things. I covered the Spartan World Championships and I covered my first Ultra. So those happened in September 2019 and in October 2019. Those were big, big deal races. The world championships were in Tahoe, and it was freezing cold.”
“I had to deal with some really tough and adverse conditions. I’m the California girl, so I just wasn't used to it at all. So if you wanna hear my review and my sort of run through of that experience, definitely go back. It's episode 68 that you can go back and listen to my 45th birthday episode to hear that full story.”
Year In Review: Races Completed Before The Lockdown
“I can do my year in review of races really, really fast,” Legat said. “Let's see, I ran a turkey trot. I actually did really well in the LA Turkey Trot. I came in first in my age group in the Turkey Trot. That was exciting. It was pouring rain. I ran four Spartan races in December. I managed to get a couple of third place podiums in those races. That was cool. I ran two Spartan races in January, and a Spartan race and a Spartan trail race in February. I ran the LA Marathon in March. And thus concludes my race recap for 2020. I'm sure if you are someone who races or competes, you probably have a similar list of what you accomplished in 2020 because everything came to a screeching halt for you as well.”
Got A Double Podium With Husband
“My husband and I got our first double podium at the Spartan Trail 10K in San Jose,” Robin said. “This was in February, so shortly before everything shut down. My husband and I both got second place in age group. The 40 to 49 age group. It was his first podium ever, so that was really, really cool. It was really special. It was a really great moment. The funny thing was, they did not have the medals there, so we had to use loaner medals. I only just now got my medal for that like three weeks ago. So they finally sent them out, but it was a special moment.
Running The LA Marathon Pre-Lockdown
“When we were getting ready for the LA marathon in the weeks leading up, there was a lot of debate on whether or not it would even happen, and they decided to go forward with it,” Legat said. “Looking back, who knows whether that was a smart decision or not. But 20,000 people descended upon the city of LA, ran a Marathon in Covid times. It happened, and I did it. I will say, aside from the very, very beginning when we were in those entry corrals, it felt pretty distanced. I was pretty distanced from other people, so I felt pretty safe. I also made a last minute call to go self supported running the marathon. I brought a hydration pack. I brought my own fuel and brought my own food. I didn't take anything from any of the tables. I didn't touch anything that anyone was handing out and I feel good about that decision.”
“In hindsight, it was a last minute decision and it's sort of in line with the theme of this year, which is pivoting and making last minute changes. That's what I made for that race, and I'm glad I did it. It was a good call on my part, so yeah, I ran my first marathon. I ran it in 4 hours, 40 minutes, which people tell me was a really good time. I'm happy with it, it was very hard. It was really, really hard. It was definitely a mental challenge. I always say that every race is as hard as your first race.”
“Last year when I was talking about the Ultra, I was talking about how I was just as sore from running a 13 hour Ultra as I was when I ran my very first 5K. I'd say this was similar. The only difference was during the race, I was definitely feeling the pain, probably more so than I felt when I'm running my first 5K. I definitely was feeling the pain and you just have to suck it up and keep pushing. Mind over matter and all of that, and that's how I got through that marathon.”
Less Pressure Returns Better Results
“Sometimes the less pressure you put on yourself, the better you do,” Robin said. “I think that really does apply this year. Maybe part of it applies to fitness, because I think there's a lot of pressure to figure out what we're training for this year. When you think about the way you might have been focusing on your fitness and previous years in the way that I did, which was I trained from race to race. You have to change that way of thinking this year. But I found that when I took pressure off myself and just enjoyed the process of exercising and how that made me feel, how that helped me with my mental health this year... That felt good. So sometimes the less pressure you put on yourself, the better you do. Hopefully that translates to you in some ways, it especially resonates in regards to this year.”
“If you wake up with the knowledge that you're gonna do something, you're more likely to do it. I use that in reference to the Ultra race or doing back to back races where if I sign up for the race and I pay the money and I wake up knowing, ‘Hey, I'm gonna do this thing even though my body hurts,’ I'm gonna do it. If I don't sign up and I don't pay the money, I can back out of that decision, and I’ve done it both ways. If I don't sign up for the race, if I don't pay the money and I'm like, ‘Well, I'll decide tomorrow morning if I'm gonna do it,’ I'm not gonna do it, but if I do sign up and I do pay the money and I'll wake up that day going, ‘Well if that's my plan, then I do it...”
“Well, you know what, that applies to this year too. I think specifically for a lot of people, it applies to just getting up and exercising everyday. I find with this year being what it is, where everything's nebulous and everything's a little chaotic, the more that you can wake up knowing that exercise is a part of your day, the more likely you're going to do it. If you are winging it, you're less likely to do it.”
Closing A Gym And Creating A New Path
“My husband and I opened a small fitness studio two years ago in 2018 called Rise Up training,” Robin said. “It's based in Santa Monica, California, and it's an obstacle race training fitness gym in the studio. I'd like to say our gym members are some of the smartest people I've ever met. We are a gym for smart people. We are a gym for geniuses. We are a gym for quirky people. We are a gym for people who don't like traditional gyms, and we created a really amazing community there. I'm so proud of the community we created at Rise Up training.”
“We had to shut our doors and March here in California. We haven't been able to be open since March and that's just the way it is. I've been teaching Zoom classes. I've been teaching outdoor classes, but the gym, the space that we have been using, we haven't been able to use. Our lease is year to year, and my husband and I made a tough decision to not renew our lease at the end of the year. We're closing the gym. It's tough to create something that's a labor love, that you believe in, all that's special, that's important, and then to have to walk away from it. But your path is rarely a straight line and it's always your path.”
“So here's how my path has gone. The gym is closing but it also has led me to focus on building an online business. It's allowed me to focus on leaning in to help women over 40 pursue their athletic potential, which is something I've been passionate about. I started this podcast in 2017, long before I had the idea of making this a business and actually helping people. But it's something I always wanted to do. The gym is so time consuming and it's a labor of love, but anyone who runs a brick and mortar business knows. That's a time consuming thing. It is all encompassing and walking away from it is allowing me to put more energy into helping women over 40 specifically, discover the life changing benefits that come with exploring your athletic potential at any age. I can help people outside of this local community.”
Continuing To Have Daily Movement
“I don't know what I'm training for half the time, but I get up every single morning and I exercise daily,” Legat said. “I move daily, some more intense than others, but that's just a non-negotiable for me. I need that daily movement, and it's because I have spent so long focusing on these performance goals that have required training. It starts with those goals. It starts with having something you're excited to train for that when you get up each day, you want to move and you want to exercise. You want to feel good because it's in service to that goal.”
“But what happens when the goal goes away? You know, that's where people get tripped up. But if you spend enough time really working towards those goals that excite you, eventually, you don't always need them to get up and move. But it helps. I still love training for races. Those are always gonna be a primary driver for me, but if I don't have them, I'm still gonna get up and move every day. I'm still gonna get up and exercise because I love how it makes me feel.”
Prepare And Pivot
“Prepare and pivot, those things go hand in hand in,” Robin said. “It has been the word of the year. We've heard it over and over and over again, and pivot is important. I've done a ton of it this year, but the more you can prepare, the easier it is to pivot. Like planning my workouts; When I get up every day, I know what my workout is going to be. I have a coach who prepares them for me, because since I coach, I do not like to prepare my own. I do that for other people all the time, I don't like to do it for myself. So I have a coach do it for me. Highly recommended. But I wake up and I know, Hey, this is what today’s workout is gonna be. This is when it's scheduled, I write them down in my day planner, which I highly recommend as well.”
“But if things don't go as planned. You know what? No big deal, I'll get to it later, get to it tomorrow. Or I'll do tomorrow's workout, which is also planned, and I'll skip today's. That's fine and I'll do tomorrow's workout because that's there. But the problem comes when you say, I'll figure it out. I'll just figure it out later. If it's not already in your head or not already written down on paper, chances are you're not gonna figure it out later.”
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