Miles with Moms
This is a podcast for moms who run, by moms who run. Our goal with this podcast is for mother runners everywhere to never have to run alone–or feel alone in their mom life struggles or journey to accomplishing BIG GOALS–because guess what? Taking time to take care of yourself and to chase big goals as a mom is not only OK–it is AWESOME! For you and the lessons you’re teaching your kids.
Miles with Moms
Feeling Like You Lost Yourself in Motherhood
In this episode, we talk about something only moms can really understand—feeling like we lost ourselves in motherhood. We share our personal experiences of what it looked like for us in feeling disconnected to who we once were and our journey back to that (that some of us are still on).
We also talk about the constant tug-of-war between personal identity and societal expectations, and the importance of community and connection among mothers.
Our conversation highlights the need for social interaction, the significance of building a supportive village, and the understanding that struggles are often temporary. Ultimately, we hope episode serves as a reminder that every mother's journey is unique and worthy of recognition. Thanks for listening!
THIS EPISODE IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY RELAY ACTIVE.
Save 15% on these cute & comfortable running clothes with code MILESWITHMOMS.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Its Purpose
01:08 Feeling Lost in Motherhood
10:11 The Struggles of Balancing Motherhood and Career
15:53 The Struggles of Motherhood During COVID
19:37 Finding Support and Connection
23:18 Rediscovering Identity and Self-Care
27:40 The Impact of Running on Mental Health
28:00 Navigating Guilt and Societal Expectations
33:02 The Reality of Stay-at-Home Parenting
37:29 The Evolution of Friendships and Identity
45:00 The Power of Social Connection
48:56 Building Your Village
50:48 Finding Hope in Community
51:42 Navigating Motherhood's Challenges
54:19 Engaging with Your Community
57:52 Inspiration Through Shared Experiences
About your hosts:
- Whitney Heins is a mom of 2 kids, a VDOT-certified running coach for moms who run, and founder of the resource, themotherrunners.com. Coming out of a long injury cycle, she ran a 2:54 marathon and 1:20 half marathon in her 40s. IG: @themotherrunners.
- Shanna Birchett is a mom of 6 kids six years apart, including twins. She returned to running in 2022 after an 11-year break, running a 2:44 marathon in the summer of 2024. She is the co-founder of Endure 365 running, endure365.com, which offers heart rate-based training plans. IG: @motherhood_running.
- Tricia DeNardis is a mom to 3 young kids and a physical therapist specializing in the pelvic floor, pregnancy and postpartum rehabilitation. After running 10 marathons, Tricia now runs ultras (& sometimes even wins them!). IG: @burpeesandburpcloths.
- Olivia Garcia is a mom of 2 young kids, who used to work as a paramedic. She fell in love with running in 2019, despite surviving a marathon that didn’t go according to plan. With a 2:57 PR, she's cut more than an hour off her marathon time. IG: @watch_oliviarun.
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