233. On the Job with Amanda LaVergne, Broadway Performer

"When talking about running, it’s where we have to be the most delicate with each other."   We're celebrating love all week long on the Ali on the Run Show: Welcome to Love on the Run Week! Today, we're kicking things off with professional middle-distance runners Aisha Praught and Will Leer, who live and train in Boulder, CO.   Thank you to Generation UCAN for sponsoring this episode of Ali on the Run Show! Click here and use code ONTHERUN for 20 percent off your order, plus free shipping. (First-time buyers, check out the UCAN Run Starter Pack here, and get 50 percent off.)   What you’ll get on this episode: How Aisha and Will met (3:15) How Will proposed (7:30) On Aisha and Will’s competitive sides (11:30) Why Aisha and Will moved from Oregon to Boulder, and how they made the decision (15:30) Why Will and Aisha don’t do workouts together (21:30) How Will and Aisha set goals individually and together (30:40) The impact Gabe Grunewald’s passing has had on both Will and Aisha (41:00)   What we mention on this episode: Aisha Praught Leer on Episode 197 of the Ali on the Run Show "No Sacrifices for Aisha Praught Leer," by Erin Strout for Women's Running Brave Like Gabe Foundation   Follow Aisha: Instagram @aishapraughtleer Twitter @aishapraught   Follow Will: Instagram @williamleer Twitter @william_leer   Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Facebook Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava   Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play   SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

10 Feb 20201h 1min

"There was an incredible amount of pressure that I acknowledged and then just kind of wanted to tuck away in the back of my mind and not pay attention to, because if I let that take over, I would’ve been scrutinizing it, and it would’ve gotten in my head, and I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did."   Rick Powell was the official 2:45 pacer at the 2020 Houston Marathon, who led a group of several dozen women hoping to qualify for the Olympic Trials. On this episode, Rick — a former Marine and current attorney who was fresh off a 2:31 finish at the Steamtown Marathon — reflects on his experience in Houston.   Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!   What you’ll get on this episode: Why Rick wanted to be the OTQ pacer in Houston (5:55) On the magnitude of the day for the women (14:30) On getting advice from the CIM pacers before the race (21:00) What it was like being the only pacer for the 2:45 group (25:30) What it was like at the start of the Houston Marathon (34:20) What happens when people fall off the pace group (39:55) What it was like pacing Neely Spence Gracey (48:25) The impact this experience had on Rick (51:00)   What we mention on this episode: The CIM Pacers on Episode 196 of the Ali on the Run Show Starla Garcia on Episode 200 of the Ali on the Run Show Neely Spence Gracey on Episode 201 of the Ali on the Run Show   Follow Rick: Instagram @rjp1210   Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Like the Facebook page Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava   Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play   SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

5 Feb 202055min

Welcome to a new monthly series on the Ali on the Run Show: Ramblings on the Run with Ali & Matt. Every month, Matt Chittim — host of the Rambling Runner podcast and the Road to the Olympic Trials show — and I will come together to talk about running industry news, our own running, and things we're loving right now, and to answer listener questions about running and podcasting. It's something new we're trying, so let us know what you think and what you want more (or less!) of. On this episode, we talk about each of our recent interviews with professional runner Neely Spence Gracey, the hype surrounding the upcoming Olympic Trials marathon, and what podcasting is like behind the microphone.   What we mention on this episode: Neely Spence Gracey on Episode 201 of the Ali on the Run Show Neely Spence Gracey on Episode 40 of Road to the Olympic Trials "Amy Cragg Is Very Much Still in It, Thank You for Asking," by Sarah Lorge Butler for Runner's World   Follow Matt:  Instagram @rambling_runner Rambling Runner podcast Road to the Olympic Trials podcast Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Like the Facebook page Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

31 Jan 20201h

"I wasn’t ready to run a marathon to my standards, and I did it anyway, and I was able to meet that goal, I was able to check off a goal, and I haven’t been able to do that in a long time."   Neely Spence Gracey just ran her first postpartum race since having her son, Athens, in 2018. She ran the Houston Marathon — and qualified for the Olympic Trials by running a 2:44. Not a bad return to the races! But Neely's journey to the OTQ hasn't been easy. On this episode, she talks about her pregnancy and postpartum running expectations vs. her reality, which included a series of injuries and other issues that kept her sidelined despite her best efforts to remain strong and healthy. She also talks about new motherhood, rest day-related anxiety, and why she stopped weighing herself.   Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!   What you’ll get on this episode: How Neely is feeling post-Houston Marathon, and why this marathon — her slowest — was also her proudest (2:30) Neely talks about running during pregnancy, and her postpartum running experience (6:30) Neely opens up about her nonlinear return to running (23:45) Neely shares how her perspective about taking rest days has changed over the years (34:45) Neely recaps her 2020 Houston Marathon experience (40:45) Neely’s message to new moms trying to get back on the run (58:00)   What we mention on this episode: Starla Garcia on Episode 200 of the Ali on the Run Show Neely Spence Gracey on Episode 42 of the Ali on the Run Show FITsplint ReCoreFitness.com "Neely Spence Gracey Is Ready to Chase the Olympic Trials Standard at Houston" by Taylor Dutch for Runner’s World   Follow Neely:  Instagram @neelysgracey Facebook Twitter @neelysgracey Blog Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Like the Facebook page Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play   SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

30 Jan 20201h 8min

"I dropped so many F-bombs the last 10K! I just kept saying, 'It’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen!' I was just so hyped up."   This past weekend, Starla Garcia ran the Chevron Houston Marathon in 2 hours and 43 minutes — officially qualifying to run the 2020 Olympic Trials. On this episode — the 200th episode of the Ali on the Run Show! — Starla talks about her road to the OTQ, including missing the cutoff by just two minutes at last year's Grandma's Marathon, and a DNF at CIM. She talks about developing an eating disorder in high school, and finding recovery as a division-1 athlete in college. Today, Starla is a registered dietitian living in Houston, TX.   Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!   What you’ll get on this episode: Where Starla’s OTQ dream came from (3:10) On bouncing back from disappointment (8:45) What Starla’s pre-Houston training was like (14:45) What it felt like to cross the finish line with an Olympic Trials qualifying time (27:00) Starla reflects on her relationship with running when she was growing up, and the pressure she felt as a D-1 collegiate runner (31:00) Starla talks about her past with an eating disorder (36:20) On becoming a registered dietitian (49:40)   What we mention on this episode: Carly Gill on Episode 182 of the Ali on the Run Show Neely Spence Gracey on Episode 42 of the Ali on the Run Show "Elated Runners Are Headed to Trials After Grabbing an #OTQinHOU," by Emilia Benton for Runner’s World Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison   Follow Starla:  Instagram @starla_shines Twitter @starla_shines Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Like the Facebook page Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play   SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

23 Jan 20201h 5min

"I can’t sit around waiting for things to happen."   New year, excited me! On this short-ish solo episode, I'm sharing my 2020 vision — an Ali on the Run Show State of the Union of sorts. I talk about my personal and professional goals for this year, and reflect on my lululemon goal setting process. (Speaking of new: Come join the Ali on the Run Facebook group! We're having fun in there!)   Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!     What you’ll get on this episode: Looking back on 2019 (2:15) On becoming a lululemon ambassador (4:45) My goals, plans, hopes, and dreams for 2020 (15:30)   What I mention on this episode: Today Show Modern Motherhood Series "I'm a New York City Marathon Race Announcer" 2019 United Airlines NYC Half Recap 2019 Popular Brooklyn Half Recap Garden State Plaza lululemon Align Pants   Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Like the Facebook page Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

16 Jan 202038min

"The goal isn’t to stop feeling anxious or to judge yourself for it. That’s like saying, 'Oh, it shouldn’t be raining.' But it is. So now what?"   Rachel Gersten is a New York City-based licensed therapist, and is the co-founder of Viva Wellness. On this episode — perfect for the new year! — she dishes out advice about dealing with burnout, anxiety, and what to do when you realize you have no idea what you want to do with the rest of your life. She also talks about her lifelong battle with chronic pain, and how running more than 150 races, including marathons, has actually helped her cope with the pain.   Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!   What you’ll get on this episode: What does it actually mean to be a wellness coach? (2:30) Why are most people going to therapy these days? (10:30) What to do when you realize you’re not sure what you want to be when you grow up (18:00) What do appointments with Rachel look like? (24:25) On chronic pain, and becoming a runner (34:00)   What we mention on this episode: Hannah Montana: The Bone Dance Find a Way by Diana Nyad   Follow Rachel: Instagram @rachelgersten Viva Wellness The Viva Wellness Podcast Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Facebook Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

9 Jan 202056min

"Most people would describe me as kind and warm. But I have this other part of my personality: I am insatiably competitive." Aisha Praught Leer is a professional middle-distance runner for Under Armour, a national record holder in the 5000 meters, a 2016 Olympian (she competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase), and a gold medal winner at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. On this episode, Aisha talks about her progression as a professional athlete, her decision to race for and represent Jamaica (she's a Jamaican-American dual citizen), and her dedication for giving back and helping inspire the next generation of runners. She talks about what it's like being married to fellow professional runner Will Leer, and opens up about her decision to leave Eugene, OR, where she trained with the Oregon Track Club Elite, and move to Colorado to train alongside Emma Coburn, under the direction of coach Joe Bosshard. She also shares her thoughts on imposter syndrome, working with a sports psychologist, and building mental strength. Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!   What you’ll get on this episode: Why do you do what you do? (4:30) On building mental and physical strength as a professional athlete (14:00) On competitiveness (23:30) What it’s actually like working with a sports psychologist (25:30) Why Aisha left Oregon Track Club to train with Joe Bosshard and Emma Coburn in Colorado (30:00) Aisha’s decision to switch from the steeplechase to the 1500m (42:00) Aisha’s decision to race for Jamaica (49:00) All about drug testing (54:50) How Aisha met now-husband Will Leer (1:03:00)   What we mention on this episode: The Biggest Little Farm Oregon Track Club Elite Melissa Todd, Sports Psychologist The Overstory   Follow Aisha: Instagram @aishapraughtleer Twitter @aishapraught Facebook Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Facebook Twitter @aliontherun1 Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

1 Jan 20201h 15min