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Lifestyle Strength
We discuss ideas, principles, and tactics that help people improve their position in life. With a background in fitness, Lucas strives to empower others by sharing amazing stories of challenge, transformation, and growth.
Lifestyle Strength
Behind the Scenes of a Runner's Life with Logan Jolly
Discover the inner workings of a champion's mindset with Logan Jolly, an inspiring track and field athlete whose journey towards the Olympic Trials offers invaluable lessons in resilience and discipline. Logan opens up about her methodical approach to training, revealing how she breaks down colossal goals into manageable, seasonal objectives. Her insights remind us all of the power of patience and consistency, drawing parallels between the gradual progress in sports and other long-term endeavors. Tune in to understand the mental fortitude required to maintain peak performance and the dedication needed to achieve greatness in professional athletics.
In the world of professional running, the true sacrifices often go unnoticed. Logan pulls back the curtain on the demanding lifestyle of a runner, where dedication extends beyond the track to encompass recovery, nutrition, and the delicate balance of personal life. She candidly addresses common misconceptions and shares how her husband's unwavering support plays a crucial role in her success. This episode sheds light on the unseen support systems that fuel athletic achievements, offering a raw and honest look at what it truly means to live a life dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.
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Welcome to Lifestyle Strength, your guide to mastering health and well-being in the real world.
Speaker 2:I'm Ariel, a massage therapist with over a decade of experience in holistic health, and I'm here with Lucas, a seasoned fitness coach, who's transformed the lives of hundreds in Northwest Arkansas.
Speaker 1:We're here to share real stories and expert insights about embracing a healthy lifestyle while balancing the everyday hustle.
Speaker 2:Join us as we explore practical ways to achieve wellness and thrive amidst life's challenges.
Speaker 1:Let's dive in.
Speaker 2:Hey y'all, welcome back to Lifestyle Strength. Today we have an awesome guest, maybe a little biased, because she's a client of mine and I think she's fabulous. Logan Jolly, welcome to the show. I'm excited to be here. Wow, no, I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Wow, I saw that you are an athlete track and field runner. Did you run for the U of A?
Speaker 2:I did. I came here for grad school so I was able to run two years at the University of Arkansas. Now I stick around and use their facilities, but I'm an alumni.
Speaker 1:Okay, were you currently in pursuing? She was telling me a little bit about what's on the tables of like what could be.
Speaker 2:Yes, or what just happened? Yes.
Speaker 1:What just happened? Maybe Tell me yes.
Speaker 2:So this past summer I competed at the Olympic Trials it was my first time running there Hopefully to set the stage for four years from now, which would be the olympic trials again and then the olympics in the us. So those are the goals long term. Just to snippet um, that's what I trained for every day. So I was talking to her the other day and I thought that this was an awesome opportunity to have somebody like in studio for us to kind of talk about those short-term, long-term goals, because we talk about it on the podcast all the time but what that really looks like because four years, I mean my mind is like four years, that's like way too long. And what does that look like, whether it's on the daily or even like yearly, because obviously track and fill the seasonal. So what does that look like for you and so that kind of other people kind of get a good idea that sometimes when we talk about goals we really mean it's years of that goal and so like for you. I would just love for you to be able to share kind of what that looks like for you.
Speaker 2:As a pro athlete, I think four years does seem a little daunting even for me. But when I think back four years ago I just moved to Arkansas and those four years have flown by and to think of the progress that I've made in four years from 2020 to 2024. It makes me have hope that in 2028, we can make the same amount of steps and progress then. But yes, four years. It seems a little daunting to see what I need to be at in four years to make the team and I was telling Ariel that will likely mean I've got to run low nine minutes in the steeplechase and be top three in the race to make the team and there's one race to do that, which is daunting because you have nine minutes to make it happen.
Speaker 2:But I try to take a step by step approach. So I take it back year by year and focus on different things and for running and for my event that strength or speed, and I can go which way I want depending on the season. Right now, four years out, we're going to focus on strength, so I'm upping my mileage, I am doing longer workouts, I might raise some longer events just to get comfortable with the strength side of things. Then next year I could switch to speed, I could stick with strength. It's all puzzle pieces putting it together so that in four years I'm the best equipped I can be to run and compete and hopefully make the team. That's awesome. So seasonally, it's either one of these two things.
Speaker 2:But something that I noticed, even just within one, is, at the start of the season, as you gear up and as your body, you know, readjusts, and as you kind of get this idea, you're like, and talking with your coach, you're like oh yeah, you know what I need to work around when to you know, accelerate past somebody, or I don't know what is that called actually. I mean, is there a word for that? Oh, I bet your coach said that, yeah, that's what it is so yeah, that's awesome, that's great right.
Speaker 2:So being like intentional and like knowing when you're supposed to pass somebody I think that's something you worked on this past season, right, which was super cool, so so, even so, we got the four year, then we've got yearly for the four years and then we've got each season, kind of what you're working on, um, and I think again just reiterating to people like the importance of this is, you know you're not gonna lose that 25 pounds in in. You know two months, right, always. You know what I mean. And if you are, maybe maybe it's not as as healthy of a way to do it, and so you know, could you theoretically accelerate and be able to do something in less than two years, but do it optimally? Maybe not, versus if you had that four year season to really hone in. And I think something that you told me and look, as I found this very like, I mean to me mentally I don't know that I could sit with this every day, but she said this like very casually. She's like, yeah, because I was like, well, what if you get under nine before then? She's like, yeah, well, you just hope you sit there. So what if you get it in a year? And then you sit there for three years. Well, in my practice we know that we speak that no existence and we know that's going to happen. So let's say that does happen in a year. What does that look like If you? You're not just like in limbo, I would assume. So what does that look like for, say, the next three years before you compete and you really put it to the test? If you're already kind of say, at that goal, what would you do otherwise? So the quicker I can get there, the better. So I'm not trying to extend that, I can get there now. I would be happy to.
Speaker 2:Consistency and health is the name of the game. So once you get there, I mean you can continue to get faster. But the world record, I believe, is 844. So the closer you get to that, like you're kind of reaching maybe not the limit of humanity, but like that's where women are in the world right now. So we want to always keep inching better and maybe one day set a world record. Yeah, but I think right now the four year goal is to get to the nine minute and I think that's that's fair. But you want to be healthy on that day and the more you can do that, that the better you can race at that fitness.
Speaker 2:So, like you brought up, um, being able to compete and pass with authority and respond to moves. Um, in our world of track and field, you run races differently every time. So I could run nine flat over and over and over again, but none of those races are going to be the same. Right, one could start slow and you finish really fast. You could start really fast and hang on or even die a little bit. Um, so, being able to repeat consistently and staying healthy, you get more comfortable competing at that level and you're more dangerous when other people are in the race, because you know I can do this anyway. Yeah, decide to run, you've done it before. So so you keep saying healthy.
Speaker 2:What does it look like, not just for a pro athlete, but for you yourself? What do you consider the standard of health, because that's what we talk about on here. Yes, well, at the base level. As a professional athlete, you train at the top, so you're towing that line of possibly getting injured or competing at your best. We always want to be on the side of healthy and competing at your best. We always want to be on the side of healthy and competing at your best. So I've got to stay on top of recovery and that's one thing. I use aerial for health sleep. There's so many components, but for me it's feeling strong and eating clean and not feeling heavy all the time and just feeling rested and energized. And not feeling heavy all the time and just feeling rested and energized. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Do you follow any specific types of diets or eating routines?
Speaker 2:Not specifically. I just try to eat pretty clean and be aware of what I'm putting in my body. But I don't want to limit too much. Because I train so much I burn a lot of calories and if I get too specific I might not have enough calories. So most of the time if I'm hungry hungry I choose a healthy snack and eat it. Um, not limiting, but making good choices. What is a healthy snack for you? Because, like I know with my you know lifestyle diet, you know a healthy snack for me if I want a little bit of protein but I also want something sweet, as I take local honey and I put it with peanut butter and then I add some carbs because I put it on a tortilla. So what, like what, would be a healthy snack for you? I get these little snack packs from Sam's Club and they're like cheese crackers and nuts and I think there's some raisins or something in there. You do the trail mix.
Speaker 1:Those are always good, I think we both had it.
Speaker 2:We were both eating the same ones. There's some peanut butter yogurt with chocolate chips, sometimes blueberries. Granola Edamame is a fun snack that I like to eat. Sometimes I'm going for less sweet, more savory. Okay, just small things that are high in protein and carbs. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:So you said that you kind of pivoting back a little bit. You said you were increasing your mileage in a strength phase right now, how many miles are you running a week?
Speaker 2:Yes. So right now, like last week and this week, I'm trying to run 70 miles, which is the most I've ever run, and I was telling my coach this morning I'm feeling that it is, I feel heavy, I feel tired, and he was letting me know that it takes 21 to 28 days to adapt to that training and so we're trying to push through a little bit of discomfort, get used to it, and then we'll be able to train at that level for a couple months and then we'll back off when races come around. That's a lot of mileage. I'm finding that out too. I'm having to run twice a day some days. I just feel like I'm always teetering between running, showering, resting and doing it again.
Speaker 2:You know what's crazy? I don't know if you know this, but marathon runners that are at their peak are sometimes running less miles than that. And it's just crazy because you're not a marathon runner and I think we've had conversations about kind of just different style of runners, you know, whether sprinter, long distance and and kind of those in between. And of course sprinters think marathon runners are crazy, and then the ones that are in between think everybody's crazy. And you know, I know that something that affects that is that mindset. And what does that look like for you on the day? Like cause you're saying like I mean, I just rinse and repeat all day, and sometimes I can imagine that can feel like you kind of just get in this rut or like you're just that's all you're doing, that's what you're I mean, and you are living, breathing, doing that.
Speaker 2:That's essentially it's your job. But how do you persevere and continue on with that? It definitely becomes my job and everyone asks how is running a job? But when I wake up, run and recover and then run again, it's a full eight hour day and if you add in recovery and count that as part of your job and refueling like it, it takes up all the day. But when I treat it like a job, I think it becomes less like daunting. It's like everyone wakes up every day and goes to their job and they get things done and then in the evenings they rest and enjoy time with family, and so when I treat it like that, it just seems like a normal day-to-day thing. Um, it's just my passion and my hobby that I get paid for it and do for a living, so that's the bonus that's awesome.
Speaker 1:It's setting yourself up to succeed on the daily, even if you fail hitting your goals sometimes. What do? Yeah Right, you're waiting in the long run because you get to wake up every day, do you find? And well, we all win if we get to wake up, but you win if you get to wake up and do what you love, do you find? So we've talked a lot and lifestyle strength isn't just health and wellness. It's kind of what we use to teach and express, like how we help people improve their lives. Do you find that, since it is a full-time job and maybe you can check off a couple of those things like, okay, obviously I'm taking care of my body, that's checked off. And because it's your career, you get paid to do it, you check that off? Do you find that you still, just like everybody else, have to find ways and systems to support those other important things in your life?
Speaker 2:Yes, and because my job is very physical, I can be taxing at the end of the day when I try to then hang out with friends or do fun things in the off season. Like I went camping a weekend or two ago and I had to change my week around and I wasn't too happy about it, but I was like I've got to enjoy life outside of running too, especially in the off season, and give myself some grace, to have some fun and move my days around, and so sometimes I'm a little bit more tired and maybe less fun around my friends when we're hanging out or in the evenings, but I think the payoff is worth it.
Speaker 1:Well, that's why we do what we do, right, we set our sights on something that we really want and that's why we make those sacrifices. But I think it's important for people to know that, just because you know, somebody might look at it from outside perspective and say, oh well, you just get to run, or you know, you just get to eat and recover, and they kind of brush it off until you're up on that stage.
Speaker 2:Right, and you're accomplishing.
Speaker 1:Everybody's like oh wow, you know it's amazing. Uh, the grit that goes into it. I think is is really important for other people to see, to know that, no matter what you're doing.
Speaker 2:It's not easy, well, or that just a lot of sacrifice, right? So it's not just the illusion of well, she loves running, so she gets to run. She quote, isn't working. But, like you said, this is a job, you are working. You're just working in a different capacity than somebody who sits at a desk, you know. So you are sacrificing things and I think people do forget that, that you know, on our ways to our goals, we kind of have to sacrifice a little bit but, like you said, extend grace to yourself and still be able to do the things that you love. Ultimately, I'm super thankful for my husband because he sees all the sacrifices and Saturday mornings are not sleeping for us. We get up and I run and he bikes with me and that's our routine every weekend and he didn't have to choose that, but he does, and I think he sees a lot of that sacrifice that goes on in between and not just on the big stages.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. We want to invite you back next week as we continue the conversation and be sure to follow us on social media to get all of our content and clips and anything you might've missed. Again, thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.
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