035 Andrea Ripley - It’s the Process, Not the Outcome: Good Things Are Happening Right Now

Episode Summary

Andrea Ripley is a mother, running coach, and elite distance runner from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials with a Marathon best of 2:43. She’s currently coaching with her husband, Zach Ripley, at A to Z Running, where they help runners thrive. Today, Andi joins the show to share her own journey of running, overcoming injuries, and handling adversity. Whitney and Andi talk about how to battle significant running injuries with grace, patience, and perseverance. They share their own personal experiences with injury, how the running community has helped them, and other enlightening lessons and insights that will help with injuries or any challenges in life.

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Key Takeaways

00:56 – Whitney Heins welcomes Andrea Ripley to the show to share her running story, overcoming injuries and shifting her perspective on what running means to her

16:34 – Pregnancy, overcoming health conditions, and leveling up in the face of adversity

19:08 – It’s the process, not the outcome

22:23 – Returning to running post-pregnancy and Andi’s first labrum tear

31:43 – Maintaining a positive attitude through patience and perseverance

37:57 – Finding identity through running and ‘The Phantom Ponytail’

43:01 – Struggling with being surrounded by the running community while injured

45:36 – Self-protective habits to make sure you stay healthy when returning from injury

50:09 – Final thoughts and Andi’s mantra for this year

53:47 – Whitney thanks Andi for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can connect with her

Tweetable Quotes

“My biggest growth has been through finding my own intuition as a runner, and really putting aside the expectations of others, and what I perceive they think I should do, or could do. But that has been kind of a journey, for me, to let go of the outward and really focus on what running needs to do to meet my satisfaction in the sport.” (13:15) (Andi)

“I ran until I was 20 Weeks, and then I was having really terrible Braxton-Hicks, and then I started getting the symptoms of my condition, which kept me from training. But I still walked a lot and I was still active. But that was disappointing for me because I thought if I tried hard enough and I was dedicated enough that I’d have this dream, fit pregnancy, and that was not the case for me.” (18:06) (Andi)

“I think that the most difficult moments, for me in my running journey, are the ones that helped me most in my development. And I feel that I leveled up - even if it took time, I leveled up - because of the challenges that I was experiencing, and pregnancy was one of those challenges for me.” (19:08) (Andi)

“My main goal is not the performance. That’s not my main goal. It’s fun, and I like to chase hard things. But my main goal of running doesn’t have to do with an outcome; it has to do with the process.” (21:09) (Andi)

“I call it the ‘phantom ponytail.’ I have had this imagery in my head for a long time of this girl and she’s myself. And I see her ponytail and she’s always ahead of me, and I can’t catch up to who I was at that ideal moment in my life. And, I chase after her and it’s unattainable, and it’s frustrating. And I compare myself to either something that I’ve been or achieved, or it’s what I hope I will be.” (39:30) (Andi)

“I feel like when you get back to running, it’s almost like you’re dating again. Yes, we know each other, but let’s get reacquainted with this discomfort and how this internal dialogue is going to go. And you kind of get back into a rhythm of self-talk.” (48:41) (Andi)