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.
Episode Sponsor
RunnerClick Pro – https://pro.runnerclick.com/
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… Click To Tweet (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… Click To Tweet (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… Click To Tweet (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. Click To Tweet (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… Click To Tweet (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… Click To Tweet (48:41) (Andi)
Links Mentioned
Whitney’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitney-heins-02ba3b5
The Mother Runners Club – https://www.themotherrunners.com/
Andi’s Twitter – https://twitter.com/andiripley
Andi’s Podcast – https://www.atozrunning.com/podcast/
A to Z Running Website – https://www.atozrunning.com/
A to Z Running Email – [email protected]
A to Z Running Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/atozrunning/
A to Z Running Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/atozrunning
A to Z Running Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/atozrunning/
A to Z Running Twitter – https://twitter.com/atozrunning
A to Z Running Articles – https://www.atozrunning.com/articles/
Books Mentioned:
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast Production by FullCast