Sarah Crouch: I've Always Been A Risk Taker - R4R 189

We talk about motherhood a lot on this show. It’s probably second only to running itself, and for good reason. Since starting this podcast, our fearless host, Tina Muir, has been pregnant twice, and given birth to her beautiful daughter Bailey. Not only that, but Tina first stepped away from professional running to get healthy and start a family.  Here we talk about what it’s like to be a mother and to be a runner. From professionals like Alysia Montano who competed professionally while pregnant (once when eight months pregnant!), to discussing how quickly to get back into running after pregnancy, to brands that support mothers, we love to talk about running and motherhood. Today we’re welcoming back another mother-to-be, Sarah Crouch. Sarah is a familiar voice for those longtime listeners. She is an incredibly fast runner, who has qualified for the US Olympic qualifiers three separate times. She is also a running coach, a birth doula, an entrepreneur, and has a knack for interviewing the interviewer, often getting the best out of Tina.  For those that don’t know Sarah well yet, you will get your chance as she will be a guest host on the Running for Real podcast for four episodes, as Tina welcomes her second child into the world. Sarah is a natural interviewer and will be speaking with four people she knows during her substitution. Today Tina spoke with Sarah, discussing Sarah’s journey over the last year, from running her best times in her life, to fracturing her femur, to deciding to start a family. Listen along and get to know our new host! Just Go for It Last time Sarah was on the show, she had just hit her first PR in four years of running. It was a tough four years, but worth it. Sarah was learning and relearning the reasons you work hard to accomplish a goal, and understanding that the doing has to outweigh the end results for you to be happy. After finishing the Chicago Marathon in 2018, she took three days off and started intense training for the next race. In hindsight, she would have decided to take a longer recovery period. Sometimes the best training you can do is to not train at all. The body needs to recovery before it can perform at its peak. Sarah went on, and in April 2019 she ran the Boston Marathon. Prior to the race, she found out that she had a stress reaction near her knee at the end of her femur. Deciding to run the Boston Marathon still wasn’t a simple one. She was in great shape otherwise, running some of the best times ever, and if she did well in this race, she would qualify for the 2020 Olympic trials before the competition peaked in the fall. She also had sponsorships to think about, missing out on a paycheck if she didn’t run or didn’t finish. Running Boston would be a risk, and in the end, one Sarah would take. During the race, Sarah’s femur fractured. She finished the race well behind her goals and her projected finish position and time. Going into the race, she knew that if it fractured, it would mean six months of recovery, still, she stands by her decision. “I will always be a risk taker,” says Sarah. She emphasizes that she wasn’t advocating that when you are sick, you should go out and play, but for her she was doing her job and doing her best to overcome a challenge. The risk-reward was worth it, and 100 times out of 100, she said she would do it again. In the end, people will have opinions about what you decide to do. Some will always be supportive, some never will. The best thing to do is be confident in yourself and accepting of the consequences, good or bad. We know that we can’t please everyone, so do your best to be happy with your own decisions regardless. Sarah Crouch We are over the moon about having Sarah as a guest host on the show. She will no doubt bring a smile to your face as you listen to her for four episodes this summer. See you then! Resources: Sarah on Twitter Sarah on Instagram Hypno Babies Thank you to my wonderful sponsor Altra and Tracksmith for sponsoring this episode of the Running for Real Podcast. I am thrilled to announce my exciting partnership with Altra, as an athlete and a sponsorship, I have loved their shoes as well as what this company stands for. So as a special treat to Running4Real listeners  they are going to give away a pair of shoes every month this year! Go HERE to enter to be a winner a free pair of shoes. And once you have entered once you will be entered for the entire year.   Tracksmith is a Boston based running clothing company that truly cares about the quality and care of their running clothes. Running can be a demanding lifestyle for our clothes, they definitely go through the wear and tear to where we may be purchasing new clothes constantly. Tracksmith designers truly work with the finest materials and think of you as a runner in mind with spots for your keys, phone, and fuel. You can get 15% off your first purchase, click here and enter code TINA.   I am now taking 3 months off to take some time to get to know my new baby, there is only ONE thing I will be continuing to work on while I am away, and that is my newsletter. I send it out once a week with just my thoughts, any updates, something I am appreciating, and it is just a way for me to stay connected with you all. :) If you want to join go here to sign up! Thanks for Listening! I hope you enjoyed today's episode. To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Join the Running for Real Facebook Group and share your thoughts on the episode (or future guests you would like to hear from) Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews will really help me climb up the iTunes rankings and I promise, I read every single one. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you to Sarah, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.