No Finish Line: Mary Newell on Running, Reinvention & Defying Age at 74

What would you attempt if you stopped letting age define your limits? 💥

At 74, Mary Newell isn’t slowing down—she’s speeding up.

Three years after she first joined us on the podcast, Mary is back and more unstoppable than ever. Since our first conversation in 2021, she’s continued to challenge what’s possible in her 70s, racking up more achievements and embodying the bold spirit of reinvention.

Once a quiet bookworm with no interest in athletics, Mary transformed herself into a fierce, goal-driven runner who’s completed everything from marathons in Jamaica to climbing all 104 floors of the World Trade Center! Oh, and did we mention she ran 100 miles for her 70th birthday? 🎉🏃‍♀️

This inspiring conversation is a masterclass in self-belief, grit, and curiosity. Mary opens up about pushing past self-doubt, training through all kinds of weather, and how movement became her form of meditation and joy.

One of her most powerful declarations?

“I am my own heroine.”

A true Reinvention Rebel mindset—and a reminder that we all have the power to become the shero of our own story.

We explore:

✨ How Mary went from non-athlete to marathoner in midlife 🏃‍♀️📚
 ✨ What she’s learned over the last 3 years of her reinvention journey ⏳💫
 ✨ The myths that hold women back—and how she shattered them 💥🚫
 ✨ Why setting small, joyful goals can lead to unexpected triumphs 🎯🎉
 ✨ How she stays motivated, inspired, and energized at 74 💪🔥💖

This episode is a love letter to possibility, perseverance, and the rebel spirit that lives inside all of us. 

🎧 Tune in and be inspired to run toward your own bold next chapter.

Connect with Mary:

Follow Mary on  Instagram: @mlnewell12

💡 Resources & Links

🎁 Ready to take your next bold step? Grab my free gift to fuel your reinvention:

• ✨ Do It Scared, Do It Anyway mini-ebook — 3 powerful mindset shifts to help you get unstuck and take action in midlife

 👉 Curious about the program that’s helped me feel stronger, leaner, and more energized in midlife? Learn more about the Faster Way to Fat Loss program

🎧 Love hearing stories of reinvention and resilience? Check out the Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined podcast—featuring bold, brilliant women ages 70 to 110.

Kick your midlife fears and uncertainty to the curb and start your Reinvention Rebels journey today. Learn about my audio program, Midlife Reinvention From The Inside Out: 8 Essentials to Greenlight Your Life.

Chapters

• 0:00 Reinvention Rebels
• 15:46 Discovering Possibilities Through Reinvention
• 26:53 Empowering Women Through Fitness
• 42:05 Inspiring Motivation for Action

Transcript

00:00 - Mary Newell (Guest)
I am my own heroine now. Yes, I am in awe of myself. I'm looking at myself and going like you. You know it was like it's so my life is so different than I ever would have imagined, but I'm so happy with it. I think the end result and I didn't know that this was what I was looking for all those years when I was trying all kinds of you know, looks, activities, interests, whatever is I wanted to feel good about myself and that's what I have now. 

00:46 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Welcome to Reinvention Rebels Stories of brave and unapologetic women, 50 to 90 years young, who have boldly reinvented life on their own terms to find new purpose and possibilities. I'm your host, wendy Battles. I need to kick your fears to the curb. Do it scared and step into who you are meant to be in midlife and beyond. These amazing women, these reinvention rebels, can help light your reinvention path. Come join us and let's get inspired together. Hey, hey, hey everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Reinvention Rebels Podcast. I am your host, wendy, and I am so excited you are here today. 

01:44
This episode is special. It's my friend, mary. She's almost 75. She's amazing. She's a returning guest and her story will inspire you because, as you know, our theme for season seven is how I bet on myself and never look back, and her story embodies that so powerfully. You'll hear more about that in just a moment, but I do want to tell you that because we're talking about how I bet on myself and I never look back. It's all about doing it scared, reinventing ourselves, taking that first step even when we're scared. And and at the end of this episode, I've got a free gift for you Stick around, listen to our amazing conversation and then check out this free gift to help you get started or keep going in your reinvention. And after you hear Mary's story, trust me you are going to want to get into action. Details will be at the end, but now let me introduce you, or maybe I should say reintroduce you to. For those of you that already know Mary Some of you you're hearing about her for the first time. Let's get going with this fantastic conversation. 

03:14
Mary Newell is a passionate runner who proves that it's never too late to start something new. She laced up her first pair of running shoes at 55 and hasn't looked back since. Now 74, she continues to hit the pavement with energy and enthusiasm. But running isn't the only reinvention in her story. At 37, after working in several different fields, mary made the bold decision to go back to school and earn her doctorate in psychology. She built a successful private practice as a clinical psychologist, which she still maintains on a limited basis today. Beyond her love for running, mary is an avid traveler who finds joy in combining both passions whenever she can. I'm so excited to welcome Mary back to the Reinvention Rebels guest chair. Hey, I'm so glad you are here and I already hear you laughing. And if y'all only knew. 

04:11 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Well, that's why I'm laughing at what it took for us to get home. I know it was like 20 minutes, wasn't it? I know. 

04:20 - Wendy Battles (Host)
It took us a while. We were having some technical difficulties. We kept hearing an echo, and usually it's just smooth sailing but we persevered, mary. We persevered, you know. 

04:30 - Mary Newell (Guest)
I cannot take any problem with tech. This stuff you know, and heaven forbid I have to call tech support for something you know. I already am nervous. Yes, because they're going to ask me questions that I don't know the answer to. Well, luckily. 

04:45 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I just want to say we are very resourceful. We figured it out on our own and we did not need tech support. So you know, not bad for 1675, I want to say, or 74. 74, I want to say I think we're doing okay, okay. 

05:00 - Mary Newell (Guest)
I think we're doing okay. Well, I'm here, so I am obviously doing okay, exactly. 

05:05 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Exactly, right, exactly. And I'm so excited that you're here because, believe it or not, it's been almost exactly three years. Wow, which I can't believe. Three years since you joined me initially for this conversation which, I'm going to tell you, mary, is one of the most popular Reinvention Rebels episodes ever. It's in the top five. So wow is right. There is something to your story. There is something compelling about the fact that you reinvented, that you reinvented in midlife and started running at 55 and are going strong 19 years later. I think that resonates with people, because I think that we're often figuring out well, how can I reinvent myself and is it too late? And one thing I see is that it's never too late. So I'm going to ask you this Since it's been three years, would you catch us up on some of the highlights for you since we last spoke? 

06:05 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Some of the highlights what has been happening. 

06:09 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Well, you know well COVID was. 

06:11 - Mary Newell (Guest)
We were in the midst of COVID, I think, when we interviewed, when we did the podcast before. 

06:18
And that sort of slowed my traveling down a bit because you know COVID, but I never stopped running and I did whatever race I could find, whatever small or local race. And you know, the thing is I have never stopped running, no matter what. I have never stopped running and I've said this so many times in my running career but I continue to say it. I love running even more now than I did when I interviewed, when we did it. I mean, it's like I just keep finding, and I'm going through one of those periods now in my running where it's like I've fallen in love with running all over again. You know, you know, and this is something that actually happens. It's like it can't be planned, it can't, but you know, in the midst of a run, get that. I really like this. 

07:18
I mean that I really do like this and it just then it's like looking forward again not that it ever. I mean, some days you just run and then some days you know it becomes this wonderful experience and you know it's just all about possibilities and stuff like that. But what I have done, let's see. I went to the. I did the reggae marathon in Jamaica. I did the split Croatia half last year in Croatia. Next month, april, I'm going to Ibiza. I have always wanted to go to Ibiza and I had forgotten about it in my running and stuff. Then one day on Facebook there was a pop-up about the Abiza Marathon and there it was. 

08:08 - Wendy Battles (Host)
You're like, I got to go there. 

08:09 - Mary Newell (Guest)
I got to go there. Yes, I have always wanted to do that. I think the biggest thing I did was last year. I did the climb up the World Trade Center. I will tell you. 

08:22 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I can't imagine this already. Tell us about what that was like, because you know, sometimes, mary, I'm going to tell you I'm at work and I go up like three flights of stairs and I'm like, oh, I got to take a minute or a few seconds, and so I'm just really fascinated by this idea of climbing up all these stairs. What was this experience like? 

08:41 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Well, it's 104 floors. You know that. So a friend of mine has done the climb up the Empire State Building and you know I put my name in it. I'll do anything. I put my name in it a couple of times. It's a lottery and I didn't get chosen. And so last year she mentioned on her Facebook page that there was the climb up the World Trade Center. Mentioned on her Facebook page that there was the climb up the. 

09:07
World Trade Center. Anybody interested? I thought I'll do that. See, I don't even think I'll do that. And so then I had to figure out a plan. What do I need to do to be able to go 104 floors? 

09:18
And for me, in addition to my regular running, in that was I added a day of hill repeats in, so what that is? I would go over to Cantor Street Hill, run from St Ronan's up to Loomis Place, that stretch of Cantor Street Hill and down, and so you just keep doing that. And so that is the, for me, the equivalent of running up steps and then going up, you know, just repeating it over and over again. And I got up to like 14 times before I stopped, and it's the monotony you know. You run up to run down, and so that's what you're going to do in stair climbing. So I was all set, I was all ready, I went down the day before and I was going to meet my friend there and we so we're going to spend the night, cause it started at five in the morning. Wow, well, that that works for me, but you know it started at five in the morning. 

10:16
So as I'm walking to the hotel which was near the tower. I see this tower and I had never been, you know, can you believe it? I had never been down there to see it before. I, I'm looking and it looks so big. It really is like, oh my God, it is so huge. 

10:40
And my heart started beating. So I went and dropped the stuff off in the room and went over to the expo, which was also in full sight of the bill, and my heart is just beating. I'm going, oh God, oh my God, what's going to happen? You know, just going totally crazy, picking my bill, that I have to get a picture with my bib in front of them. And so I walk over by there, still scared. 

11:13
You got to go up a couple of flights of stairs to this deck. You know where you get a good view of it. And you know I'm thinking, okay, I put my back to it with my bib. You know saying tomorrow I'm climbing that and. But I was just, I was shaking so hard and I asked these two women to take my picture and they couldn't figure out the camera. And I'm standing there and in that picture I am not smiling and I'm going to. And so I got the picture and then I had to sit down. I literally had to sit down because my heart was beating so fast, and so, you know, I took a few deep breaths and started down and going back to the hotel and I run into these two young women and one of them's parents. They were there to do it, and so we just started talking and it's like, oh my God, it's going to be awesome, and before I know it, I'm not scared anymore. 

12:10
I love it and so you know I went out to dinner with my friends and then the next morning we get there and I didn't realize we would start in the basement. But you know we just started climbing and you know my attitude once I get to a race is just get it done. That's it, get it done. It doesn't matter how fast, how pretty, how, whatever Finish. And so I just started climbing and you know it was just you just keep climbing, you just keep. 

12:38
And there's no stimulation in a staircase at all, as you know, no pictures on the wall, and they had like water stations maybe, like I think there was three of them, the third one being at the very top, but there was no place for people really to stand very much. But we were all talking to each other and just kept going and I never ran hard until I got to the hundredth floor and then I started running and then you saw my picture. You know I was like you know I was. You know I cannot believe I did it. It's the excitement of having done that it's like. So I'm going to do it again this year, cause I want to see if I can beat my time now that I know the layout. 

13:24 - Wendy Battles (Host)
That you can do it right. And you've been there Don't scare me this time. I love it. I love it. But you know, you just said so many things that really struck me about this experience, and one of them was about your mindset. Like you have this mindset and you got scared, but then you leaned in and you saw other people and you kind of decided, together, we can do this. And you're like, yes, I can do this. 

13:51
So I think it's powerful when we're able to, because I think a lot of times we do things when we're scared. And we start off when we're scared because we don't know what the outcome will be or how it will unfold, when we're reinventing ourselves. But I think that's such a great lesson in we can do things when we're scared, we can still be successful. When we're scared, we can get started and we can feel our way through. And now you're like I'm going to do it again. So we right. And then you had this amazing feeling when you actually did it, which I think is so key for any of us. To keep going is to have some sense of accomplishment or success whether it's tiny success or it's huge success to motivate us to keep moving forward. 

14:27 - Mary Newell (Guest)
It's the reinforcement. It's like look at that, look at that, look on my face, you know, and that tells me how I felt about this accomplishment. And it was funny as we were walking back to the hotel, I saw the parents of the girl and they said Mary, I'm running over. 

14:48
You know, it was just it was a wonderful, it was a great experience and it was something that I never would have thought of, but I try to stay open to all the possibilities. One of the things that going into my 70s is, you know, I know that there's not a lot of time left for me, and that's not. You know I'm not trying to get depressing and that, but every moment is so precious. I love living, I love seeing what I can do. That's the thing, and this is what running has brought me. I'm seeing what I'm capable of. You know, for years I could tell you and I could list the reasons why I could not possibly run. You know, when people say, do you run or have you ever thought about running? And it's like, you know, I'm Black-footed, I'm Black, no Black people run you know the whole. 

15:40
thing all of these things. But I am a runner. I was home at Christmas time and I was talking to my oldest brother. I was going to go, I was telling him I was going to go out for a run the next morning and you know, they've. They've been looking at me like with kind of a strange look for a long time and so he's saying to me, uh like, so what if it? This is Michigan in the winter. So he says, what if it's snowing tomorrow morning? I said, well, I'll decide that tomorrow morning, if it's snowing too hard, maybe I will, maybe I won't, but if it's just light snow, I will. You know what if it's raining? Well, once again, if it's raining, I'm sure you're running the rain a lot. 

16:19
You know, you know it always looks worse on the inside than it does once you get. I never figured you for a runner. You know, the biggest compliment to me, I mean, and that was and I said me neither. I never imagined that this would I'm known for athletics. Out of all of the things that I could be known for, I'm known for being an athlete, being a runner. That's to me, is that's mind blowing. 

16:53 - Wendy Battles (Host)
That really is, and I think it speaks so much to the possibilities we can spark in our lives. Yeah, we can have this thing like well, I'll never. I'll never do that Because when we met before in our first interview, you talked about how, growing up, you weren't very athletic, right. 

17:11
And you were a bookworm and you'd rather be inside, you know reading a book, than outside, you know, playing or running or doing whatever, and I think it speaks to how one we have all have the capacity to change if we decide that we want to, if we have the desire, and that sometimes we just play so small. We just put these limitations on ourself. It's not like someone said well, Mary, you're never going to be a runner, Right? No one said that. I told them Right, right, you, actually, that's true, you did tell them. 

17:41
And then here you are, where everybody knows you now as this amazing runner in your 70s it started in midlife and the way you talked about how excited you are about doing this, the sense of adventure that you have about it, the way you described it, like you said well, I just decided I'm going to just sign up, like and I think that to me is a spirit of saying yes to myself, like believing in myself, even though we don't always know the answers because you just said I'm going to do it and then I'll figure it out and you did right, you got there. You're like wait a minute. But then you're like but I can do it. So I feel like those are such key components this curiosity, the sense of adventure, the going for it of continuing to reinvent, right that tries something new. 

18:27 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Once I started running and I thought about how many times have I said no to things without even trying them? And you know that was like nah doesn't sound good, nah, I can't. You know it was like you know I didn't, I didn't even give myself a chance. And that's what running. I gave myself a chance, yes, and look what happened Exactly. And so that's you know, trying to take other risks, trying to see what else is out there, what else I can do. 

19:03 - Wendy Battles (Host)
You know, once again seeing what I'm capable of, I love that, and it reminds me that we are capable of so much, no matter our age, where we are in life, what's going on, that we can find something that resonates with us. We can find something that gets us excited as you are about running, whether it's rediscovering something we used to do, or it's trying something new, taking violin lessons or Anything, anything, anything. 

19:35 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Anything you're curious about. All you need is a. I wonder if that's that's all you need. That's all you need to start. 

19:46 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love that. I wonder if dot dot dot right there. 

19:51 - Mary Newell (Guest)
And you'll you'll either you will be able to do it, or you will be able to do it later, or you will have learned something in trying to do it. It's a win, no matter what happens. 

20:03 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Right. It is because, even if sometimes things you know, I have found in my own life that sometimes things don't work out the way I want them to or expect them to, sometimes things don't work out the way I want them to or expect them to, and then it feels so disappointing like, oh, you know, we have these expectations, it doesn't work out. But I always feel like, no matter how it works out, there's a lesson in there, there's something I gain. Maybe it wasn't the right time and it's redirecting me to something else, right? 

20:30 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Well, you know and that's the thing. We look at life from this little slice and we make judgments and decisions based on that. But when we you know years, we look back and we see this was a piece of the puzzle. It wasn't you know, and it fit in. And so in terms of reinvention, I sort of think more of myself now as evolving as opposed to becoming you know sort of reinvention. It sort of implies coming something new, but maybe that's because I landed on what I am a runner, and so it's just every evolution since then has been in the surface of that. 

21:14 - Wendy Battles (Host)
So yeah, and I totally hear you. I mean I think that is reinventing and evolving Absolutely. I mean it's to me it's even reinventing that you, you did something out of your comfort zone, that you did this hundred mile thing that you know I mean a hundred miles, but this, you know I did a hundred mile, I did. Oh, that's right. 

21:41 - Mary Newell (Guest)
You did that too. You know I did a hundred mile race for my 70th birthday. That was, that was how I was going to mark my 70th year. So I did this a hundred mile, 28 hours, 32 minutes, 28, 32, 57, 28 hours, 32 minutes and 57 seconds. That is the only time out of all of the runs not my first 5k, my first marathon. The only time out of all my races that I still remember to this day, but that you know once again. You know I'm standing at the start of that going. Oh my God, I am getting ready to start out on a hundred miles continuously. You know this is what I go how, who, what was I thinking? 

22:21
Hello, but then you start running and I hooked up with this really nice group of people within that first quarter mile or so. And you know, we just went together and we just kept going and kept going and once again got to finish, got to get it done, you know. But yes, so I did a hundred mile, in addition to the 104 floors that I climbed for the World Trade Center Amazing. 

22:45
That is absolutely amazing, and this year, for my 75th birthday, I am going to do a 12 hour endurance race. That's where it's a one mile loop and you do as many or as few as you want, but you have 12 hours. So I'm just going to see, rather than you know, doing like a 50 mile race. I don't think I'll do another hundred miler, but you never know. 

23:11 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Never say never, especially with you. 

23:15 - Mary Newell (Guest)
You know, next year I'll be telling you about the hundred miler I signed up for, but uh but you know that, just for me taking the pressure off, I have 12 hours to run as many miles as I can, and that will be. That's what I'm doing for my 75th. Isn't that amazing at 75? 

23:33 - Wendy Battles (Host)
That. That's what I'm doing. It is amazing Like girl. Amazing in all caps, okay. 

23:37 - Mary Newell (Guest)
I just want to say that. 

23:39 - Wendy Battles (Host)
And I love it and I love the enthusiasm you have for this, how you're so excited, how you're challenging yourself, because sometimes people just kind of you know, well, I'm good, I'm retired, I'm going to kind of, you know, kick back, which is fine, but I think that there's something to be said about staying engaged when we challenge ourselves, when we sometimes feel that fear, but we again figure out how to make it work for us, like building community, finding your people when you're running Right. That's part of the equation that I see in what you're doing is that you're not doing it alone. 

24:12
You have this you have right, right, this amazing community of people and you support each other, right. 

24:19 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Right, it's just. It's so amazing it really. Is it really? 

24:24 - Wendy Battles (Host)
is so amazing. You know, Mary, the theme of this season of the Reinvention Rebels podcast is how I bet on myself and never looked back. And I know we've talked a lot about some of the things that you've done. But is there any moment, as you've been running or reinventing yourself, where you feel like in that moment you said I feel good, I'm betting on myself? You know, I'm a little unsure, but I'm going to do it anyway and I know it's going to work out. 

24:55 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Well, actually after my first race, the 5k, the Labor Day road race, you know I was just going to do one, see what and done right Right. 

25:06
Check, did a 5k you know list. You see on Facebook Check how many of these things have you done? You know five, eight check. But you know, after I finished I felt so good and then I just thought let's see, let's see what this is like. So that's where I bet on myself and from there, you know, it's just continuing because you get confidence. 

25:33
And that's what betting on yourself gives you confidence. You know yourself, you know you will do the work, whatever it takes, you're going to get it done. You got the discipline, you got the desire. You don't need anything else. You need a plan and you need to work that plan. I mean you can do anything if you just plan for it. So you know, betting on myself is a calculated risk. I figure out what is it I need to do? When you know climbing the tower, okay, how will I be able to do that? Well, I need to do continuous climbing. I need to do continuous climbing and I need some monotony because there's not going to be any stimulation. So that's how the hill repeats came in. You know, just run up, run down, run up, run down, run up, run down. You know, and that I mean it's. 

26:27
And you know I have placed in my age group from the very beginning of my running. This is the girl who couldn't run. I have played, you know, and all the way through for 19 years. Every year I've gotten some kind of prize, you know. So you know mostly, you know more than one, but I am my own heroine now. I am in awe of myself. I'm looking at myself and going like you. It was like my life is so different than I ever would have imagined, but I'm so happy with it. I think the end result and I didn't know that this was what I was looking for all those years when I was trying all kinds of looks, activities, interests, whatever is I wanted to feel good about myself, and that's what I have now. I don't need to copy anybody. I don't need to. How do you do? You know, I am okay with myself. I'm very pleased because I work hard. When I set a goal, I accomplish it, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much work I have put in, I'm going to do it. 

27:55 - Wendy Battles (Host)
That's such great thinking about, whatever is in front of us, this idea that I'm going to set a goal. 

28:01
I'm going to move forward even if it's hard because it reminds us, in what you're saying too, that we can do hard things, and we could do hard things at any age. Our age has nothing to do with whether or not we can accomplish that, as evidenced by here. You are placing in your age group, and you've always done that. But my favorite part, though, mary, is when you said I am my own heroine. I love that idea, because I think we don't give ourselves enough credit. We often look to others for validation. You said I don't need that. I see right here what I can do and what I've done, and I have all this evidence of that. That tells me I got receipts. 

28:39 - Mary Newell (Guest)
You have got some serious like a whole pile of receipts over 19 years. 

28:45 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Yes, all because you took a chance on yourself. You bet on yourself and you did this 5K. All because of that Right Amazing. You bet on yourself and you did this 5K. All because of that Right Amazing. That's just like you just never knew. You know, one of the things I love about this conversation is that you are amazingly fit at 74, going into 75. I remember three years ago you said at 71, I'm in my best shape ever of my life, and I know that. 

29:10
So much of the narrative about midlife especially is that our bodies change. Our hormones slow down. We start to get that, you know fat around the middle. We get thicker. We, of course, because of hormone loss, can lose muscle mass, but at the same time, while that is one narrative and it is a fact that our hormones slow down, it's also true that we can be incredibly fit, that we can right, we can be flexible and strong, we can build strength as we age, no matter how old we are. We can start at any time to do that. 

29:43
So it so that narrative that society says about how we are as aging women. Well, it's a myth or it's reality. It depends on how you look at it. And as someone at 60, who has been really focused, like I hit 60 and I was like wait a minute, wendy, while you work out, you're not truly working out in this integrative way to truly build strength and to really think about what you can do with your body. So I just started this program and I'm already in just six weeks. I've seen such amazing results going back to this idea. 

30:12 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Isn't it amazing how quickly you can see the results. It's like it's discipline you do it and you will get the results. 

30:21 - Wendy Battles (Host)
You will totally get the results. So my question for you is for women that are listening, that are motivated by your story and maybe they're not going to start running, Maybe they're never going to run in a marathon or even a 5K, but they just want to feel better in their body as they age. What's one or two things that they could do just to get started? 

30:43 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Well, I think that you could start by doing some kind of cardiovascular, some kind of. So walk, start small, set the bar low. This is one of the things that I've learned in all my years of training, cause you know I was oh gotta go. You know you gotta. You can't reach it, you gotta jump up and try to catch. It gets easy every time you try. So maybe just start walking 30 minutes three times a week. That's not a big commitment. You can do that. Then you can build on that. I do weight training and that is for muscle building. Muscle weight training is necessary. So you know and not the little pink, you know not to throw shade at people who use the. 

31:36
You know but, I, mean serious weight in there. You'd be surprised at how strong you can get when you start lifting heavy. It's just like heavy. It's just like, oh my God. You know I'm doing 20 pound bicep curls and I never, yes, 20 pound bicep curls. You know a 40 pound lawnmower row, you know it's like yes. So you know I, I lift three times a week. 

32:06
I do Pilates barre but, most importantly, do Pilates bar, but most importantly, I do the stretching, regular stretching, mobility work, yoga, those things to keep the joints loose, to keep everything loose. And then I always allow one day a week for recovery. I'll do a stretch. I'm going to do something every day. So I do a stretch or yoga, a slow flow, yoga class, and that's it for that day to allow my body because your body does need to recover. And also, nutrition is important and rest Rest is so important. That's where recovery happens is during your sleep. So anybody, yes, you can start at any minute. You can start where you are right now and it's small steps lead to huge gains if you make it every day. You know you just keep doing those little bitty steps so it doesn't hurt that much. 

33:10
Yes, and that's it. Then you will start to want it. When you start seeing those results, you'll start to want it. Then it's easier to do it and then you'll be adding things. You'll be talking to people about what you're doing. 

33:24 - Wendy Battles (Host)
It's so true, and I see that from my own experience and I think today is my 43rd straight day of working out in this program where you know you do, you do strength training, you do high intensity cardio days, but then you also do two recovery days. So, to your point, you can't just go, go go, your body also needs a break. So on Fridays and Sundays it's like Pilates on Friday, yoga on Sundays, and you know I do it like through this app, but it's so Mine is all through Peloton, yeah, yeah. 

34:01
And now I'm in such a rhythm with it and you know how it is, once you get a streak going, you're not going to break it, okay. Okay, I was like I'm not breaking my streak. 

34:11 - Mary Newell (Guest)
You know, if I stop this today, then what if I change my mind tomorrow? 

34:17 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Right, I don't want to start my streak over. 

34:20 - Mary Newell (Guest)
But the rewards, the rewards from doing something for yourself, making yourself the best person you can be physically, mentally, spiritually it's a package. I really do believe it's a package. 

34:40 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I agree, I love that idea of it's a package, that it requires all those things as we think about reinventing and what's next? That when we can involve all those things, introduce all those things, find a rhythm. It takes a while. It took me a while to get started, but then I'm like I'm so good now, I'm so into it. I see the changes in my body. I see how I've like lost a whole, like stomach roll. I was like I am getting my body back and it doesn't matter what they say, like we can't. You know that. 

35:03
I think the thing about it is, because our bodies are changing, it does require a different level of effort. Right? You're 20 something. You're like, you're like I'm going to lose five pounds this week, no problem. And you know, obviously that's not how it is now, but it doesn't mean it's not doable, it's just different. There's different ways to approach it and I think that's it. So I really, really love what you have to say about this. I have loved this conversation so much. I'm so happy we reconnected and you told us about your journey in the last three years, what you're up to, what you're looking forward to going to Ibiza for this race. I mean this is really exciting. 

35:47 - Mary Newell (Guest)
And Sunday I'm running the New York City half, so send me positive vibes. 

35:50 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Oh my God, it's going to be amazing. New York City half. So send me positive vibes. Oh my God, it's going to be amazing, Because every time you do something, I see all the pictures on Facebook. I just get incredibly inspired. So I love this. I do want to ask you if people want to know how they can follow you on social media, reach out to you. Where can they find you? 

36:07 - Mary Newell (Guest)
You can find me on Instagram at MLNull12. 

36:12 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Fabulous and we'll put that right in the show notes because you want to follow Mary. She's amazing and, as you can hear, very inspiring and a reminder to me if Mary can be running this half marathon and if she can do this special thing on her 75th birthday, if she can run in Ibiza, okay, I can totally do these workouts every single day and not even break my streak. So you motivate me. No, I'm not breaking it, I'm on it. I am on it. Mary, thank you so much for joining me today. This has been such a treat and a pleasure joining me today. This has been such a treat and a pleasure and I know that you are inspiring so many people, listening about what's possible when we're in midlife and beyond to reinvent and really, as you're doing, live our best life. 

37:04 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Exactly, Exactly, Cause you don't know how much you have. So enjoy, you know I want to max out my life. I know how to max out credit cards. I want to max out my life. I want, I want to just do everything I can. You know that I, you know, I just I want to run until I die. I want, I just want to be able to do that. And there's, there's people older than me that are running. There was a woman who started running at 100. And she lived. She ran for five years. She died last year but she started running at 100. They're running to run in their 80s and 90s. 

37:44 - Wendy Battles (Host)
It's simply amazing, and it speaks to a lot about what happens when we take care of our bodies Right exactly. They're much more capable than we often think they are. 

37:54 - Mary Newell (Guest)
You have to try, you know, you got to try. 

37:57 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Yeah, you got to try. Don't assume that you can't Exactly, and you epitomize that. I'm going to try, even when I'm scared, I'm going to go for it. So thank you. Thank you so much, my friend. 

38:08
Thank you for joining me today okay, it's been a pleasure my favorite part of this whole fabulous conversation has got to be I am my own To step into the light like that at almost 75, to recognize just how amazing we are. That's what Mary's doing and that's a reminder for all of us that that exists within us. We have the potential to be as great as we want to be, to reinvent as many times as we want to, to not have age be our limit. And I really, really hope you were inspired the way I was by this episode and just a reminder that we can do pretty much anything when we decide we can, when we bet on ourselves. This episode was all about stepping into the light and shining that light on ourselves. This episode was all about stepping into the light and shining that light on ourselves, seeing just how powerful we are as midlife and older women, as we re-invent. And if that inspired you, check out my free gift for you my Do it Scared, do it Anyway Guide. It's a quick way for you to begin to think about how can I get started, even though I'm a little unsure or nervous about it. That's very typical. I felt the same way, but let's figure out how we can get into action about it. Details are in the show notes. 

39:47
You probably also noticed that I was talking about that streak I had going, and when we recorded this episode I was 43 days into my exercise streak. Today is day 140. So I have come so far, still going strong, and it's all thanks to this program I've been doing, called the Faster Way to Fat Loss, because I was feeling so stuck with my midlife body and not that I didn't like it, but I wasn't happy with it. I knew I could do more, I could do better, and this has enabled me to do so. I just thought you might want to check out this program because it's so cool and they make it so easy to really tune into yourself, reconnect with yourself and see gains in your energy, in your body fat, in your strength, in your hydration. It is so cool, so I just dropped a link in if you feel inspired to check it out. I think you might actually like it too. 

40:50
All right, y'all, this has been such an amazing episode. I loved it. If you loved it too, don't forget to just share it with a friend or two. Let people know who are looking for inspiration or just love being uplifted. Let them know about this conversation that mary and I had, because it is one of my favorites, and I don't think it can help but motivate us into action. All right, y'all, until next time, keep shining your light. The world needs you and all that you have to offer. 

41:22 - Mary Newell (Guest)
Thank you.