In A Skirt Podcast

If you show up to the start line, you’re already beating most of the world.   Links: Mission Tejas Trail Run Texas State Forest Festival Regional Physical Therapy Website Regional Physical Therapy on Facebook   Follow In A Skirt: In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter

Lisa is a Pilates instructor and the owner of her own studio, PURE Pilates. She’s also a registered nurse and mother of four.  I learned so much from Lisa during our conversation, including what Pilates is, why we should squat more, how to take advantage of what Lisa calls “squapportunities,” how to move intuitively, and how we can learn a lot about fitness and wellness from our dogs!  Lisa is also a skirt girl, hence her fun Instagram name—Pilates in a Pencil Skirt.  This is one of my favorite conversations so far. Lisa is easy to talk to and full of great advice. I’m convinced I need Pilates in my life now. And all you runners out there…I know you’re just as inflexible and tense as I am, so you need Pilates, too! And this episode ends with great news: although Lisa lives too far away for many of us to join her classes in person, she is going to be offering Pilates virtually soon! Stay posted for more information about that when it becomes available. Episode links:   Joseph Pilates Secret Daughter by Shilpi

Episode 20 – Running is Better with Friends Don’t be shy. Join the club.   Links:   Mission Tejas Trail Run Texas State Forest Festival Regional Physical Therapy Website Regional Physical Therapy on Facebook   Follow In A Skirt:   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter   Trail Racing Over Texas:   Facebook Instagram Website

I always wonder what other runners eat. Why? Well, because I’m usually hungry.   Runners need lots of calories…and extra carbs…and more protein…so I like to ask other runners about their diets.   Aaron Davis’ running journey is similar to mine. I feel like we are kind of in the same “place” when it comes to why we run, our experience level, and what we hope to accomplish…so that’s why I was interested to hear about his diet. Aaron eats a completely plant-based diet. I wanted to know why he chose that diet and the effect it has had on his health and running.   Full disclosure here: Aaron is not a nutritionist. He’s not a doctor. Neither am I. We are just two runners talking about running and food and what works for each of us. Anytime you want to make drastic changes to your diet, then you should get a professional involved. And maybe I’ll have a nutritionist on the show one day, but for this episode, I just wanted to talk to someone who loves to run and ask him why he—and perhaps so many other athletes—are tu

If you haven’t listened to Episode 8yet, you really need to! Claudia and her coach Kait were my Episode 8 guests. They talked about Claudia’s amazing fitness journey. In that episode, Claudia said she was planning to run a Spartan race.  Now that Claudia has completed the Spartan race, I invited her back to tell me all about it.  Claudia, you are amazing, encouraging, and inspiring!   Show notes:  Episode 8 of In A Skirt Podcast (Claudia Cook and Kait Cook) Start your Spartan journey Joe De Sena interview on Runner’s World   Follow In A Skirt:   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter

Terry Hamlin is a lifelong runner. In fact, he started running before running was cool. In his 20s, he got to rub elbows with some of the greatest American runners ever.  In this episode, we talk about his love of the sport, starting a running club, helping create one of the most popular road races in the country, the loss of his left leg, raising money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project, coaching numerous people to the Olympic Trials, the science behind running, and his soon-to-be-released book, “Building a Better Runner.”  Who’s going to join me in Charleston next Spring for the Cooper River Bridge Run?   Links:   Terry Hamlin on Instagram Charleston Running Club Charleston Running Club on Instagram Cooper River Bridge Run Building a Better Runner (book) Freedom Innovations Wounded Warrior Project   Follow In A Skirt Podcast:   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter

Episode 16 — Chana Rachel Weinberg  Chana is a fashion designer in Israel. She is also a runner and a lover of art, colors, and nature. A few years ago, all of this combined with her religious lifestyle and she started Chanabana, a modest activewear and lifestyle company. Her clothing is fashionable, functional, comfortable, and beautifully vibrant.  In this episode, we explore what “modesty” means, her world travels, how alive running makes us feel, and her love for fashion.   Links:   Chanabana on Instagram Chanabana on Facebook Chanabana website Leonid Afremov   Follow In A Skirt Podcast:   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter          

Episode 15 -- A Sweet Breakup   “I don't like you, but I love you Seems that I'm always thinking of you Oh, oh, oh, you treat me badly I love you madly, you really got a hold on me...”   The old song by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles became my personal saga about sugar.   But unlike Smokey, I decided to split now.   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter  

Episode 14 – Deborah Barton  “A force of nature” – that’s what Deborah’s friends call her.  As soon as I walked into Deborah’s house last month, I knew I’d like her. Pictures, books, relics of past travels…her house showed how she lives her life and how I long to live mine.  The hour or so I spent with Deborah proved my initial assumptions were correct. She is 71 years old; a psychologist who has recently retired. She used to run, tried swimming, and then picked up cycling when she was 54. She averages a couple of hundred miles a week on the bike.  In this episode, she tells me about her cross-country trips on the back of a bike, the beauty she has found in back roads and friendly strangers, why she continues to ride despite being hit by a car (three different times), what motivates her to compete in the National Senior Games, and her definition of a quality life.  We also found out we share a love for Cheetos and she told me about the coffee parties she has each Saturday morning.  You’re going to love Debora

Episode 13 – We Finish Together  Maybe you like to display your medals for all to see…like I do. Maybe you throw them in a drawer when you get home from a race. Maybe you’re looking for a third alternative for that hard-earned hardware… Kim Stemple, a runner, learned how powerful of a symbol a medal can be to someone struggling. Yes, even someone else’s medal. After a friend gave her a medal when Kim was sick and hospitalized, Kim decided to share the joy of medals with others. She started We Finish Together to collect and distribute donated medals to people who need to know they’re supported.  Links: We Finish Together Site We Finish Together on Facebook We Finish Together on Instagram   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter

Episode 12 – Charity Morgan Charity Morgan is the owner of Sweet Lemon Thyme Health, a company that specializes in modest activewear for girls and women. The skirts are handcrafted in San Francisco, which allows customers to choose the length of the skirt and the length of the leggings. Charity is also a nutritional therapist and runner.  In this episode, we talk about her business, the fun options she offers, being an entrepreneur, what running a business has taught her, running, Chip and Joanna Gaines, and even french fries! One of my favorite things about this episode is how Charity explained that she, as a business owner, and each of us, should constantly be willing to learn, change, accept lessons from mistakes and criticism, and keep growing and improving.  Links: Sweet Lemon Thyme website Sweet Lemon Thyme on Facebook Sweet Lemon Thyme on Instagram Peloton   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter  

Episode 11 – Kaytha Potts  Running, cycling, old homes, shiplap, art history, my complete and utter lack of knowledge when it comes to art and famous artists—this episode has it all.  Kaytha is a local runner and cyclist. We met on a group ride last year. She is really strong cyclist, but I am also fascinated with all the other sides to her.  To see pictures of her beautiful artwork, visit her website or Instagram profile using the links below.    Kaytha Potts website Kaytha Potts on Instagram Houston Fit Zwift Bayou City Art Festival Huichol people of Mexico John Nieto Franz Marc Fauvism   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter

Episode 10 – Recovery & Rest Sustainability. Growth. You need recovery and rest to achieve both.  I want to be in it for the long run.   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Twitter

Fun. That’s the word that keeps popping into my head when I think of these four and the time I spent talking to them. They know how to enjoy life…and not just bits and pieces of life, but the big picture of life. One works at a prison. One is a nurse. One is a beauty salon owner/master stylist. One is a fourth-grade teacher. On the surface, they are the “average Joes” you meet every day…except that there’s nothing average about them.  All four of these people are ultrarunners. They have completed several extremely long-distance races, including 100 milers. I invited them over to my house to get to know them and ask them why they decided to start running ultras and what keeps them going. Warning: there’s a lot of talking over each other and laughing in this episode, and that’s because we sat down in my dining room and simply had fun sharing stories.    Trail Racing Over Texas (website) Trail Racing Over Texas (Facebook) Lufkin Area Pacesetters (LAPS) Tejas Trails Screaming Monkey 100 Chevron Houston Marathon H

A few years ago, Claudia decided to make some physical changes to her life. At first, she changed the way she ate, but over time she added walking, running, and strength training to her life. The result? About 115 pounds lost and a transformed body AND mind. In this episode, Claudia and her niece and personal trainer, Kait, talk to me about natural weight loss and going from an “I could never do that” to an “I know I can do that” attitude.   Claudia Cook on Instagram Kait Cook on Instagram Kira Stokes (Kait’s favorite Instagram trainer) Couch to 5K Fitt Life Lufkin Spartan Stadion — AT&T Stadium  Skyline Burrito Bowls   In A Skirt Website In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Twitter

I met Tennessee Love through cycling and running. She also swims...in fact, she’s basically a fish. Tennessee’s son, Gabriel, is a swimmer as well. Gabriel is a sophomore in high school. He is friendly, likable, a math whiz, and has beautiful blond hair. Gabriel is also autistic. For Autism Acceptance Month, I asked Tennessee if I could meet with her and her husband, Bruce, to talk about their experiences, and Gabriel’s experiences, on the high school swim team. I learned a lot about Gabriel in this interview, but I learned even more about his parents. They know their son’s gifts and have never doubted his abilities. They’ve worked hard to balance their desire to protect him with their desire to push him and watch him grow as a person. This is one interview that made me wish we had more than just audio to share with others. Gabriel is beautiful inside and out, but I could honestly see and feel his parents’ love for him and desires for him while talking to them. In A Skirt In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on

Episode 6 – Karena McElhaney Karena is a certified personal trainer, music director, and mom of three.  While she is in excellent shape now, she had to work really hard to get there. In this episode, we talk about her struggle to find a healthy lifestyle – even trying a watermelon and cornflake diet one summer! Nothing resulted in long-term change until she learned about nutrition, transformed her mindset about food, and started lifting weights.  Karena is fun and inspiring. Her goal now is to educate and help others who want to change their lives like she did.  Also, Karena is a skirt girl! Her active lifestyle is carried out while she’s in a skirt.  Links: Karena on Instagram Karena on Facebook Snoga Athletics (Karena’s skirt-of-choice) East Texas Fittest   In A Skirt on Instagram In A Skirt on Facebook In A Skirt on Twitter In A Skirt Site         

Show Notes Each November, Lufkin ISD’s special needs students get to participate in an athletic event that is just for them. They are the VIPs, the athletes, the winners. The annual Turkey Trot for special needs students has been running strong for seven years at Lufkin. Special needs students are paired with Lufkin High School athletes for a fun run and games on the John Outlaw Memorial Field in Abe Martin Stadium. I sat down with directors and coaches from Lufkin ISD to discuss the Turkey Trot and the impact it has on special needs students, athletes, and the district as a whole.   Links:   Lufkin Independent School District Lufkin ISD on Facebook   Connect with In A Skirt Podcast:   In A Skirt Follow In A Skirt on Facebook  Follow In A Skirt on Instagram Follow In A Skirt on Twitter

CASA of the Pines is an organization that advocates for abused and neglected children involved in child protection cases. CASA and its volunteers serve as the guardian ad litem for children who have been removed from their homes and help courts understand a child’s best interests. For the last several years, CASA of the Pines has been putting on a 5K and half marathon called the “Superhero Race” to raise funds for the organization. This year’s race was held on March 23rd on beautiful country roads in Kennard, Texas. For those who didn’t want to run, they could opt for the “bRUNch” at Larry Bruce Gardens, a farm-to-table restaurant tucked deep in the Pineywoods.  We set up a tent at the race and talked to volunteers and runners and compiled those interviews into this episode. We got to talk to a lot of people, including the Executive Director of CASA of the Pines, a man who is on a mission to run a race in every county in Texas, some fast teenagers, Curbside Café’s brewmaster who was keeping all the runners ca