“I absolutely believe that I could do whatever I want to do. It's not gonna be easy. Maybe I'll fall on my face, maybe I'll fail ridiculously… but I wanna try.” — Nat Mitchell
4 Things We Learn from Nat
1. Relationships
Relationships are beautiful, intricate parts of our lives. Whether it’s marriage or friendships, relationships have profound impacts on us and overtime you peel back layers of people and get to know them better. You learn what makes them tick and what makes them happy. “Relationships are so important when you can dig deep within someone's heart and just really figure out who they are,” Nat says.
And it's not always perfect. It's messy and it can be disappointing, but the more you get to know people at their core, that relationship can be the thing that gets you through turbulent times.
2. Family
Nat’s love of running and sport can be traced back to her family. She was just 7 years old when she started running with her parents. Her dad would even run 14 miles to work several times a week. From him, she learned persistence and discipline. Her mom was a model but made it her mission to shield Nat from society’s norms about women and their bodies. She taught her to love who she was, no matter what.
3. Patience
Life, like running, has no quick fixes. Just like there’s no quick way to get fit, there’s no quick way for us to go back to pre-2020 normal. There’s no quick way back into running after pregnancy. There’s no quick way to achieve your goals. It all requires patience.
Even back in Nat’s pregnancy, patience was key. Early on, she developed preeclampsia, a complication affecting the kidneys and liver. She shares how it affected running during pregnancy and her ease back into it afterward. Nat recognizes the importance of listening to your body and her advice for women coming back into running from pregnancy or injury, that it’s okay to take your time. Ease back into it.
4. Just Try
Nat just turned 48 years old and is still running far. “I know I’m not 21 years old and don’t have the freedom someone who can solely focus on running… but I believe I could do whatever I want to do. It won't be easy, maybe I’ll fall on my face. Maybe I’ll fail ridiculously, but I just want to try.”
Suite Run Podcast
Nat and her husband, Jerold recently launched their podcast called Suite Run. Runners know that every time they’re in a new city, they want to find places to run that are safe and easily accessible. Places that allow you to explore the beauty of where you’re traveling. With their new podcast, listeners can learn from other runners what their favorite hometown run routes, trails, coffee shops, and cafes are. Next time you're in a new city, you know which run routes to go on and places to check out.
Resources:
Thank you to my wonderful sponsor Momentous, Tina's New Podcast, and Athletic Greens for sponsoring this episode of the Running for Real Podcast.
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Launching my new podcast with my co-host
Knox Robinson from my 200th episode in February. These episodes are going to go a bit deeper when it comes to the running world and the problems we are facing. I am very excited to have Tracksmith funding this project for us.
If you want to sign up to be the first to know more about this new podcast sign up
here to get more information.
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Thank you to Nat, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.
