
Miles with Moms
This is a podcast for moms who run, by moms who run. Our goal with this podcast is for mother runners everywhere to never have to run alone–or feel alone in their mom life struggles or journey to accomplishing BIG GOALS–because guess what? Taking time to take care of yourself and to chase big goals as a mom is not only OK–it is AWESOME! For you and the lessons you’re teaching your kids.
Miles with Moms
The PROBLEM with trying to be PERFECT
The gang is back with all 4 of us today! This was a fun one to start and then we got serious talking about our own experiences with perfectionism and what has helped us battle this pressure. We share humorous anecdotes about parenting and the challenges of maintaining a perfect image, while also emphasizing the importance of embracing imperfection and authenticity.
Our conversation delves into the subjective nature of perfection and how it affects mental health, ultimately encouraging listeners to accept themselves as they are. We also explore the impact of these pressures on self-image and the need for an 'imperfection movement' to encourage openness and acceptance among individuals, especially mothers. Who’s with us?!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage
02:28 Exploring Perfectionism
05:21 Generational Perspectives on Parenting
08:09 Humor and Miscommunication in Everyday Life
10:53 The Imperfection of Professionals
13:36 Closing Thoughts and Reflections
15:55 Navigating Perfectionism in Parenting and Life
27:14 The Illusion of Perfection in Social Media
36:01 Embracing Authenticity and Messiness
39:45 The Illusion of Perfection
41:42 Vulnerability and Connection
44:28 The Pressure of Parenting
48:13 Celebrating Achievements and Personal Stories
52:05 Embracing Imperfection
55:50 Closing Thoughts and Reflections
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 now runs ultras (& sometimes even wins them!). 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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