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“We had been in and out the hospital so many times and thank God for my mom's my rock. She's my best friend. She was with me through everything. So she knew that I needed to start running again for like my own mental sanity.”

This week we feature Francesca Barbetta ( @5ammommyrunner on Instagram) because she is truly inspiring. And while her accomplishments & day-to-day commitment are so inspiring as a mother runner, it’s what she has overcome that is arguably the true inspiration.

While many on Instagram may know her as the mom who wakes up way too early to run far on a treadmill with her three littles at home—what they don’t know is the how and why she does it.

That’s what we wanted to get reveal. And Francesca was graciously so honest with us sharing how her life was on a total different trajectory.

She shares:

-how running saved her when she was in the depths of postpartum depression and anxiety while navigating a serious medical condition with her baby

-how she does those early morning runs and what helps her stay energized throughout the day

-the biggest lessons in her postpartum running journey

-& what she wishes every mother runner (or woman in general) would stop doing.

Francesca’s journey is a true story of adversity.

Big thanks to this episode’s sponsors:

Lagoon Sleep save 15% with code MOM at lagoonsleep.com &

Happy Curves save 10% with code MIlesMoms10. On Amazon

Please don’t forget to leave a review & check out our Patreon.com/mileswithmomspodcast

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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This week we are doing something extra special. We have two special guests Polly Cunes (@mommytosubthree) and Michelle Baxter (@therunnersplate) to talk about getting FASTER as a MASTERS runner.

They share what they changed to keep feeling good and nabbing those PRs. Polly has been slaying her PRs at the age of 41 including a 2:43 marathon and a 1:18 half. Michelle has PRed in 5 distances at the age of 41 including an 18:20 5k and a 2:56 marathon. Meanwhile, your over-40 co-hosts are also improving their running while "over the hill." Tricia, 41, is killing the ultra distances, placing first among women in her first 50 miler this year. Whitney, at the age of 41, also PRed in several distances including a 1:20 half. At 43, she's feeling better running than ever.

In this podcast, we talk about the training tweaks, nutrition changes, and recovery hacks that have made all the difference in training so that our best running years are ahead. We discuss the power of mindset and not letting naysayers (probably the same ones who told you to quit running when you became a mom) stop you from chasing your dreams. We hope to inform and INSPIRE with this very honest conversation.

MORE ABOUT POLLY & MICHELLE:

Polly is a full time teacher, a mom of two and a competitive runner. She started running in her early 20s after competitive sports as a way to stay fit and channel her inner competitiveness. She fell in love with racing but didn’t train seriously until after becoming a mom. She thrives on training hard, fitting running into her busy life and chasing big goals. This year, the age of 41, she has run personal bests in the marathon (2:43:35) and half marathon (1:18:22) and she’s not done yet!

Michelle is a mom of two, a running coach and founder of the running blog, therunnersplate.com. At the age of 41, she PRed in the mile, 5k, half marathon, 10 mile, and marathon. Michelle started running at the age of 10 and was an “average” runner in high school and at her Division III college. But with some dedication and more structured training, she was able to get faster as a mom—and even faster as an over-40 runner. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two boys.

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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In this episode, Shanna & Olivia catch us up on their training which leads them into an inspiring conversation about chasing goals as a mom. Olivia never thought she would be chasing sub-3 hour marathon times as a mom. In fact, she talks about how she still struggles to see the paces she is hitting. And Shanna discusses what it's like to compete on the track as a mom among a sea of college runners.

Both highlight the importance of believing in yourself and knowing that it is NEVER too late to go after your goals--whatever your goals may be. They also discuss what "makes someone a runner", how to hop into the track scene, and why the marathon distance is so amazing and terrifying. We also have our mother runner shout-out.

If you are interested in competing on the track, check out directathletics.com or athletic.net to find events near you.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Lagoon Sleep, for supporting this episode. Take your quiz at lagoonsleep.com and save 15% with code MOM.

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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In this episode, we (Olivia, Tricia & Whitney) answer a question we’ve been asked often by listeners: what it was REALLY like for us to return to running postpartum and when we finally felt NORMAL running after having a baby. (Shanna could not make it today—we missed you Shanna!)….

SPOILER ALERT: None of us had a BOUNCE BACK story to share. In fact, quite the opposite.

-We talk about the impacts beyond the physical changes recovering from pregnancy including sleep deprivation and hormonal changes.

-We share the impact of breastfeeding had on training.

-And we discuss how stress & anxiety around having a baby impacted our recovery.

-We also talked about lessons learned and Tricia, as a pelvic floor physical therapist, gives guidance for new moms.

We hope sharing our journey shares a REAL account of what it is like to return to running after having a baby—not just someone’s highlight reel.

As usual, we give a mother runner shout-out (to Shri!), read a listener review (thank you!), and give a reminder to drop a review and check out our secret podcast on Patreon.com/mileswithmomspodcast.

Thanks for being here!

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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Welcome to Season 2 of the Miles with Moms podcast! In this episode, we share our “mother runner hacks” for making our mom lives easier.

These hacks help with:

-Keeping the house clean

-Post-run recovery

-Fitting in strength training

-Meal prep

-Treadmill running with small kids around, and

-Making your kids self-sufficient (the gift that keeps on giving!)

We also catch up since we have been on a short break between seasons, chat about an annoying Instagram comment someone made to Olivia, do a mother runner shout-out, share a review, and thank our first official sponsor, Lagoon Sleep! Save 15% off your Lagoon Sleep pillows with code MOM. Take your quiz at lagoonsleep.com.

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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For this fun episode, Tricia, Olivia, Shanna, & Whitney answer a wide array of listener questions sharing our advice & experiences. Some questions we covered:

-at what age do you stop doing stroller runs with your kids?

-how do you push past your mental barrier in a race?

-what is harder? breastfeeding or training for a marathon?

-where to stash your energy gels during a marathon?

-& what's up with pooping in a marathon?

Tricia also shares how she is woefully unprepared for her ultra (spoiler! she ended up WINNING IT for females!). & we have our usual mother runner shout-out & review. We will take a break next week for spring break & resume with season 2 in April. Thanks for listening and being a part of our community!

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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In this episode, we (Whitney, Shanna & Olivia -- we missed you, Tricia!) share our running hot takes. Some of many: Running is NOT self-care. The running culture can be TOXIC. Strava is RUINING RUNNING. Downhill races need an *. & MARATHONS are OVERRATED. We also share our usual shout-out and banter. We would love to hear your thoughts on our hot takes as well as your own! Connect with us on Instagram @mileswithmomspodcast! And get more on our Patreon at Patreon.com/mileswithmomspodcast.

Chapters

02:58 Hot Takes in the Running World & Shout-out Emily Gannon

05:58 Emotional Eating and Coping Mechanisms

09:00 Toxicity in Running Culture

11:59 Balancing Goals and Enjoyment in Running

14:58 The Impact of Social Media on Running

17:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

20:01 The Guilt of Self-Care

22:58 Redefining Self-Care

25:57 The Importance of Rest Days

29:59 Hot Takes on Running and Recovery

33:57 Downhill Races: Pros and Cons

38:48 The Downhill Race Debate

42:27 PRs and Course Transparency

44:38 The Boston Qualifier Controversy

48:54 The Marathon vs. Other Distances

51:54 The Joy of Running and Self-Care

Keywords

running, motherhood, emotional eating, running culture, social media, self-care, hot takes, coping mechanisms, community, goals, self-care, running, motherhood, guilt, rest days, recovery, hot takes, downhill races, fitness, wellness, downhill races, PRs, marathon, running, course transparency, Boston qualifier, running community, self-care, race experiences, running distances

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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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In this episode, we share how we got faster—something we have been asked about a lot. But this conversation comes with many caveats: running is not just about being fast or getting faster. And we don’t know everything there is about running & getting faster. But we do know what helped us shaved time off our PRs—so we are sharing that.

In this episode, Whitney, Olivia & Shanna (Tricia had to work) talk about how we improved our marathon performances over time. We share insights on difference training methods, the importance of fueling, and the challenges of balancing motherhood with running—and also just being a woman with hormonal shifts. We share what hurt and helped our training, & hope this gives you some helpful info on what to do to go after your goals (whatever they may be). We urge you to run your own race, put on your blinders, and enjoy the process (without comparison!).

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context

07:06 Personal Journeys in Running

20:38 Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Growth

23:00 Embracing the Journey of Motherhood and Running

24:09 Navigating Hormonal Changes and Training

25:38 The Importance of Coaching in Running

27:31 Understanding Heart Rate Training

29:53 The Balance of Pace and Effort in Workouts

31:58 Adapting Training to Life Changes

34:31 Finding Your Own Path in Running

35:40 The Role of Self-Belief in Running

37:06 Reality Checks and Learning from Experiences

39:45 The Importance of Coaching and Training Plans

42:04 Evaluating Fitness Through Marathons

44:54 Learning to Enjoy the Process of Running

46:43 Finding What Works for You

48:32 The Need for Flexibility in Training

50:57 Encouragement and Community in Running

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 completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! 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...