#057 – Plant-based runner, mom, and NASM-certified personal trainer & running coach, Hannah Seeley shares running tips for new runners. Hannah also shares her own personal running journey as we talk about family, mental health, and what inspires her to run as part of her health and fitness journey.
Topics Covered:
- Running tips for new runners
- Running for family and mental health
- The joy of running a race
Today’s Guest
Hannah Seeley
Hannah is a plant-based runner, mom, and NASM-certified personal trainer & running coach. As a hybrid coach, the goal is to spread self-appreciation and encourage peak performance at all fitness levels. Her mission is to inspire self-love by using outdoor running, custom fitness, and goals to prove capability beyond belief.
Hannah firmly believes that having her son was the fuel she needed to make running her career happen. Her son gave her the courage to stick with what she loves and turn it into something great. Running has been the missing piece to the puzzle all along.
Follow Hannah Seeley:
- Instagram – @hannahrunsccfitness
- TikTok – @hannahrunsccfitness
Listen to Inspire to Run Podcast:
Richard Conner
Welcome to Episode 57. In today’s conversation, we’re going to talk about how to get started with running for our new runners and beginners, how to prevent injury and how to improve your experience along the way. Our guests will also share her own personal running journey. Talk a little bit about family, mental health, and what inspires her to run as part of her health and fitness journey. Hope you enjoy.
Intro/Outro
Welcome to Inspire to run podcast. Here you will find inspiration. Whether you’re looking to take control of your health and fitness or you’re a seasoned runner, looking for community and some extra motivation. You will hear inspiring stories from amazing runners, along with helpful tips from fitness experts. Now here’s your host Richard Conner.
Richard Conner
Hi, everyone, welcome to inspire to run Podcast. I’m super excited to have our guests here today, Hannah Seeley, Hannah is a plant based runner, mom, and NASM certified personal trainer, and running coach. And I’m super excited to have her today here today just kind of to share with the community, her running journey, as well as some tips as a running coach to help all of you who are just starting out with running and just looking for those tips on how to get started. I’m really excited to kind of get into that conversation. But first off, welcome to the show, Hannah.
Hannah Seeley
Richard, thank you so much for having me. It’s an absolute pleasure. I’m super excited. Super excited to get started. Thank you. I’m
Richard Conner
excited to and I’ve been following your own journey online. And I think that’s how we connected. I’ve been following your journey on Instagram and all of the things and inspiration and tips that you share with your community. And I’m really excited to bring that here to our listeners. But you know, kind of before we get into a lot of that I’d love for you to share just a little bit about yourself and how you got into running. Yeah,
Hannah Seeley
well, as far as me getting into running it. It’s all happened with a 5k. And I was in downtown Chicago with my mom and her friends who are running the half marathon I ran a 5k There’s nothing like crossing the finish line for the first time. The the runner’s high, I just immediately fell in love with the sport it was it was everything I needed and didn’t know I needed until I did it. So running a 5k changed my life best experience I I recommend to all new runners just try out a 5k that’s something that’s wonderful that the runner’s high you’ll you’ll feel from that very first race is just unbelievable. So I ran downtown Chicago and I joined track actually that same year, track was the very best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t know how much I loved running until I was running with a group of people who loved running too. After that, things, things kind of went downhill a little bit for a while I fell into a really deep depression from junior year to senior year I gained 60 pounds. I went to a hospitalization for mental health. And from there, I guess I had a really hard time. And what’s interesting about my past is every time I really felt that I was at the lowest of lows, I started running again, which sounds kind of weird. It’s not like the right time to run. But for some reason, something just I was like, Yeah, you know, it’s time to run. So I started running again. And eventually I did lose some weight. Every time I was at a low, my journey always brought me back to the run. So I was I was in an abusive relationship with my ex. And towards the end of that I was like, You know what, it’s time to run again. So I started running again. And that gave me the fuel I needed to get out of that relationship. And then I kept running. I met my now husband and we we did our first 10k together, which was really cool. He didn’t really run until we got together either. And then I had had my son after that. And ever since I had my son Paxton, running just it became the only thing I needed in life other than him and my family. It just completely changed my outlook on life. I ran my first marathon after having packs within the year. And I never I never in a million years thought I could run a marathon. I was like no way. That’s just not possible. But I did and and I did it because I had my son and I had him waiting for me at the finish line. And that was just the most magical sorry. Try not to get emotional is the most magical thing that ever happened. So it’s what I want to keep doing and I want to keep inspiring others to, to really just take the chance because you’re not going to like it at first but once you push through and hit that, that that one run that’s just absolutely enchanting, then it’s it’s all uphill from there. You’ll you’ll love the sport from there. Not every day but most runs. You will you will love the sport. So yeah, that’s that’s my journey.
Richard Conner
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And thank you so much Hannah for are sharing, you know, a lot of what was going on with you personally, I know that can’t be easy for you to share, especially with our listeners. But I think there’s a lot of people out there that really can resonate with what you’re sharing and are probably going through some similar things and need to hear your message. And, you know, I really like how you you use running or running has kind of enabled you to kind of get back on track and feel great, you know, and feel good about yourself. So I really appreciate you sharing that. And it’s so wonderful to hear that you got your husband into running. So you know, that’s having having a support system at home. I think that’s incredible. And well, hats off to you.
Hannah Seeley
Thank you very much. Yeah, my husband just started and he’s he’s signing up for his first half marathon. So we’re super excited. Super excited about that.
Richard Conner
That’s so wonderful. And, you know, tell me a little bit about, I want to ask you about the your first 5k. And then, you know, kind of the longer races. So you mentioned, I think you’d mentioned that you had started running your first 5k with your mom. And then that kind of led you to track. But what was what was kind of the, the catalyst or what, what started that fire to say, Hey, I’m gonna run this, this first 5k
Hannah Seeley
There, my mom signed up for it. And she’s like, Hey, hang on, you want to do this with me? And I was like, I don’t really like running. But okay, I really don’t like it at all. Like, I would walk the mile. And Jim, I absolutely hated it. But I thought, hey, it’s you know, when do you get rid of 5k. So I was all gung ho for it just for the one time was just the one time I thought,
Richard Conner
that’s what you thought. And here you are. So that’s wonderful. And then, you know, kind of fast forward to some of the longer distances. Like what kind of went through your mind is okay, you’ve done five K’s and you really enjoy running and you want to help inspire others. But what about the longer distances? What kind of inspired you to move to those?
Hannah Seeley
Um, I the half marathon I wanted to do when I was working for a dealership, a Jaguar Land Rover, I was working for them. And I was like, I was running on and off. And I was like, No, I’m just gonna sign up for a half marathon 13.1 I can do that. And I didn’t do it. I never did it. So I wasn’t in. I don’t think I was quite ready for it yet. I actually didn’t do it until I had my son. So that was really the fuel to my fire. He he ignited something inside me and and I ran a half marathon after I had him. And I was like, You know what, that’s not enough. I think I can do more. So I signed up for a marathon and I did a marathon. So yeah, that’s was all my son, that’s I give all my credit to him. He’s done absolutely everything to to inspire me to want to do more.
Richard Conner
That’s really wonderful. And it’s wonderful that you know, that’s where you’re getting your inspiration. And you just made me think about one of my own my own stories. I ran a 5k a few years ago, and my family came to watch, which was really nice. And I remember, you know, I was I was just kind of rounding the corner for that third mile. And I’m, I’m running and it was hard. I that was a hard race for me for some reason. But I’m getting closer to the finish line. And all I hear is Go Daddy, Go Daddy, go. And I’m like, I’m coming up covered. And I’m running. And I’m sprinting and I pass that finish line. I felt so good about that. Which was really nice. And then I’m looking around. I’m like, well, where’s my family? Right, I thought I heard my son, you know, cheering for me? Well, it turns out that they were enjoying the bagels and bananas. They weren’t actually at the finish line. It was somebody else’s son cheering for their dad. That was it. But you know what, at the end of the day, that child, that kid motivated me to finish strong in the race. And my family was still there, you know, during the race, but probably didn’t work out? Well, I thought it was when I finished the race. But yeah, that’s my story.
Hannah Seeley
Oh, well, it’s still a motivation, you know? Yes. Your son, it was it was some little boy looking up to a daddy.
Richard Conner
It was. So that was apparently enough motivation for me. That’s all it takes. So So that’s really great to hear. And I appreciate again, you kind of sharing your story about you know, getting into running, why you did it, kind of what the challenges that you were able to overcome through running, I think, which is really inspiring to hear. And then getting to this point where you’re helping and inspiring others, especially as a certified coach, so, so thank you for sharing all of that. And I think, you know, we could talk a little bit about that because on inspire to run podcast, which we’re working to inspire others to really take control of their health and fitness, and take the next step through running. And hopefully they’re inspired by I’m sure they’re inspired by all the stories, but they may be wondering, like what’s next, right? If somebody’s thinking, I’m not a runner, I’ve never run before or I can’t run, you know, whatever it might be. I’d love to be able to help and support them on the next step. and their journey once they make the decision to do so, so excited to have you on and talk a little bit about, like, what would you say are what are those tips that you would give for those new runners who have kind of made that decision, but really just don’t know what to do next? Or maybe, you know, afraid of taking that first step?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. So for a brand new runner, I would highly recommend starting off with interval running. So maybe do a one to one ratio, where you’re running for one minute, just kind of easy pace, just get yourself used to it. And then you walk for a minute, and do that, you know, maybe for 1520 minutes, whatever, whatever you’re ready for it that time, you really don’t want to overdo it in the beginning. So so if you’re in it for longevity, you really, really want to start slow. And one thing I always recommend paying attention to is your heart rate, specifically, your heart rate. If it’s if it’s really high up there, you’re not really going to get too much out of your run. For some people that even looks like a walk. So you might be walking at the start, if you’re not ready to run quite yet, which there’s there’s no problem in walking, you have to walk to run. So I recommend, you know, a one to one ratio, starting slow, if you need to walk, go ahead and walk because it’s, it’s a lot easier to walk now than have to walk, you know, not being able to run later.
Richard Conner
And I’d like to talk about that for a moment. For that that first tip, I think that’s really interesting. Because, number one, for sure the walking piece is important just kind of time on your feet and, and kind of getting accustomed to it before you feel like you have to ride because I think people may think, Well, I have to go from zero to 60. Like, overnight. And that’s really not the case. So I really liked how you shared that because I could give them you know, reassure them that this is something they build up to. But the other thing that you mentioned around heart rate is actually new to me. So I wouldn’t say that I’m an elite level athlete or runner. But I’ve been running for a long time. And I never really ran according to like heart rate zones are really paid attention to that. So just talk a little bit more about that. If somebody, they may not know how to do that. So maybe share a little bit about like, how would they monitor or track their heart rate during you know, their their workouts?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, so the most accurate is going to be a chest strap that goes you know, if you have breasts, it goes on to your breasts or across, you know, across your chest. And that’s gonna be the most accurate, your secondary ones are going to be your watches that go around your wrist, usually, they’ll have a heart rate monitor in there, your garments, even even Apple Watches, I believe have the heart rate monitor in there. But yeah, you’re really going to want to pay attention to how high your heart rate is getting. The place you want to be is an aerobic zone. So that really depends on where you’re at, in an age, you’re the max heart rate. So you take to 20, you subtract your age, that’s going to be about your max right there. You don’t want to go any higher than that. Because at that point, you’re putting yourself at high risk. Other than that, as far as training, you really want to be in that aerobic zone most of the time, which is zone two, and then your threshold is zone three. So your threshold is your heart running when you you’re running at a pace where you can’t keep up a conversation. That’s really where we don’t want to be when we’re beginner, as a beginner, you want to be able to hold a conversation and talk you know, as if you’re singing a song or talking to someone on the phone to where, you know, your heart’s not beating too hard.
Richard Conner
That that’s helpful to know. So someone doesn’t have a watch with the heart rate monitor or you know, may not know how to track it. I think that’s helpful guidance, right to know, like how your breathing isn’t what you should be able to do. And let’s say a zone two, so you’re not getting your heart rate so high as you’re getting started. So that’s really helpful.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, you really want to keep at that conversational pace as often as possible, especially as a new runner, because that’s where you build up. So you build up your endurance. That’s where all the good stuff happens. You build up your mitochondria, which, I mean, you want to have that. Yeah, so it’s it’s great to have a heart rate monitor. If not use that conversational pace. Just kind of talk to yourself throughout your run, sing your songs and make sure that if you know, if you’re listening to songs, of course, some people listen to podcasts, but maybe talk back to the podcast. If you’re talking to a podcast that way, you’re just you know, making sure that your heart rate is in the area you want it to be so you’re not overdoing it.
Richard Conner
Okay, I tend to I tend to agree when I’m listening to podcast, and I find myself doing that out loud. Like yes, I agree. Oh, yes, I do on my runs. So people probably think I’m crazy. But
Hannah Seeley
yeah, well, we’re all crazy. We’re runners. Right.
Richard Conner
True story.
Hannah Seeley
The other thing I would say for a new runner, don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else’s run because you don’t know how long it’s taken them to get there to where they’re at that, that physical advantage. It’s Comparison is the thief of joy. If, if you’re you know, constantly comparing yourself to someone who’s been running for For three years, you’re really going to feel bad about yourself. But if you’re comparing yourself to yourself, then it’s, it’s a lot easier to kind of not stress about it to not feel as pressured to run hard or to be fast when you’re, you’re just starting another another tip, I would say, run slower now to run fast later, kind of, you know, again, going along with the same thing, you in order to run fast, really got to just take it back a notch and run slow. Now, for some people, that’s a 13 to 15 minute pace, even I mean, walking pace. But as long as you’re kind of paying attention to that heart rate, it’s they go hand in hand.
Richard Conner
And I think that’s an important point for any runner, right? Not not maybe not just beginner runners, but even experienced runners. And I could tell you personally, that’s something that I’ve had to learn the hard way, because I’m, I’m doing my trainings, and I’m thinking, okay, my speed work is really what’s going to tell me where I am and my fitness, and it’s going to get me to where I want to go. So I have some personal goals to be able to do a half marathon and an hour, 45 minutes, and my first half marathon was an hour and 50 minutes, I think. So I’m like, okay, that’s achievable over the course of a couple of years, or whatever the case is, and really focus on that speed work. But, you know, I was, I had a rude awakening, it was, you know, not really just about the speed work, which he needs some of that, but it’s really more time, kind of in that lower heart rate zone, and doing those types of runs is gonna get you there. So, for me personally, even as you know, somewhat of an experienced runner, I can certainly resonate with what you said, you know, really just kind of taking it easy or taking a slow now to go fast later.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, another thing I always recommend is strength training, strength training, it’s gonna give you longevity of the run, I mean, it’s going to help with injury prevention, it’s going to help build up those muscles so that you’re ready to run. Yeah, there’s, there’s a lot of different things within strength training, you’re going to improve your body composition, you’re going to improve your overall endurance, you can prevent injury, there’s just for so many reasons to strength train that it’s almost silly sometimes not to because there’s just so many benefits that if you really want to be a runner for a long time, or if you want to start running, and you want to get serious about it, then that’s that’s definitely a way to go. Even if it’s just, you know, bodyweight exercises at the start. And that’s what I do recommend for most people to start is bodyweight exercises, just so that they can get accustom to the the movements accustomed to how you’re supposed to do the exercises as far as your form. So the eye strength training is a huge thing. And of course, me being an awesome personal NASM certified personal trainer, but something I always, you know, I always want to promote to other people, because it’s something I’m passionate about. And it’s just great all around to add into running. I think those two are just best friends, peas and carrots.
Richard Conner
And, you know, it’s interesting that you mentioned about the strength training, and I’m just wondering if somebody’s new, maybe not just a running, but maybe just fitness overall, I’m happy that you mentioned specifically around like bodyweight exercises, because it may, you know, it may be daunting, if someone has to know I have to sign up for a gym and get a membership and start to use these machines that maybe I’ve used before, maybe not. So you know, it’s really great to hear that even bodyweight exercises, I assume, even at home is something that they could do just really just to get started. You know, they’re not trying to boil the ocean right out of the gate. It’s, it’s having more of a I guess, holistic approach, right? Would you say? Absolutely training in the running?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, it’s something I actually started with is I got an injury. When I had first hand packs, I got an injury because I was running, I was only running. So I was like, I have to figure out how I can I can fix this because I love running. And I don’t, I don’t want to stop. So I incorporated some strength training. And I started with bodyweight and I moved up from there, but I highly, highly recommend just starting with your bodyweight, even, you know, three sets of 20 squats and your living room, you can you can do it, it’s it’s focusing on your form, your quality of movement over quantity, you really don’t have to do everything, you just got to do a few things pretty well. So you know, look up your YouTube videos, you know, see what other runners are doing for strength training, even contact a coach to see if, if they can create a custom plan for you. That’s something that if you if you want to run that’s, that’s really great as far as getting yourself in there, getting your foot in the door, and then keeping your longevity out of the run.
Richard Conner
And, you know, I also love what you said there about injury, right? And this is something that could either help help you through an injury or help prevent injury and that may be a concern that people may have is like, whoa, runners, all you hear is Oh, well that’s gonna be hard on your knees or there might be other issues that runners go through but kind of going through the strength training. I’m really I’m really happy that you mentioned that about how that strength training can really helped you kind of prevent those injuries, one of the ways to prevent injuries in the future?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. You know, there’s a lot of ways I mean, you can maintain your water intake, eating enough fruits and veggies, there’s, there’s a lot of different ways to prevent injury, as from the inside out, even. So yeah, strength training is a is a huge one. Great. Another thing I would recommend is signing up for a race, any race, something local, something small, you know, anything that hands out of metal, I feel like you’ll, you’ll feel amazing after. And they could, like I said, it’d be a 5k could be a mile, it could be anything. But once you cross that finish line, just once, I think you’ll kind of get a taste for rate a taste for the win, you know, a self win. Because you’re running against yourself, there’s nobody, we’re all a big community of people that really just cheer for each other. So I highly recommend signing up for a race as soon as possible. Even if it’s if you do like a couch to 5k program, those are excellent, you can find those online. And you know, you can reach out to me and I’ll help you out with a couch to 5k program. Otherwise, there’s there’s a lot of methods online that you can use that are free that are that are able to be utilized. But I feel like once you sign up for a race, once you cross that finish line, you’re just you’re you’re in it, you’re you’re a runner, you’re you’re really like, you’re gonna feel that energy from the crowd, and, and you’ll never go back.
Richard Conner
For sure. And yeah, I mean, I know it as a runner. But I’ve also heard this from other guests that I brought on the show who are new runners, they went from not running at all to doing their first 5k Or half marathon and they share the same thing. And in particular, one guests had mentioned that they did a couch to 5k program, but they wanted to run the 5k before the actual race. So they did their own, I you know, sort of like an informal virtual race 5k Because they, you know, they wanted to see if they could do it before they got out there in front of people. So, you know, for our listeners know that that’s, that’s an option. If you’re somewhat self conscious about, you know about your running, if you’re a new runner, and you don’t want to be in front of a crowd of people the first time. You know, that’s also an option before you get out there. But I definitely agree signing up for that race will give you something to look forward to, you know, something to look forward to and something to work towards.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. And those are, those are important. I always set little goals here and there. And I have my clients set little goals here and there just so we can always be kind of working towards something whether it’s something really small like getting to their full first pull up or something as major as you know, crossing a marathon line and getting their their PR so there’s a lot of little little things you can do to motivate yourself as far as smart goals.
Richard Conner
Very cool. Very cool.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah. Yeah, that’s, that’s about all I have another, I can throw in another one there. As
Richard Conner
far as a bonus tip.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, we’ll do a bonus. Let’s go with hydration because you know, that’s, that’s something that a lot of runners, new runners, older runners we don’t know about as much. So as far as hydration, you really want to get in about half your body weight in ounces of water per day. And that’s, that’s a way to keep your hydrated, especially if you’re in those hotter climates. That’s really something to pay attention to. If you ever see like white salty stuff, that’s because you’re losing that hydration, you’re losing your electrolytes, you really need to replenish and that doesn’t mean just water either. That means like salt, salt sticks, you need potassium, electrolytes, you really want to replenish those. And it doesn’t have to be a Gatorade. It doesn’t have to be a Pedialyte, it can be like a little too, they have chews now. So there’s lots of different methods if you don’t like drinks, but always got to hydrate. So half your body weight in water per day.
Richard Conner
Excellent, excellent. Well, really wonderful tips. And I appreciate you sharing that, Hannah. Because, again, we’d love to help our new runners in our community kind of get started and you know, kind of take away maybe some apprehension or some of the fears and give them some actionable steps on how they can get running. So really appreciate it. And what I’d love to do is I’d like to turn you know, the attention back to you in here. Just a little bit more of your story before we wrap up. But you know, one of the questions that I really like to ask our guests is, you know, kind of during your running journey, what do you think is one of the biggest obstacles that you faced, and how did you overcome it?
Hannah Seeley
The biggest obstacles are definitely those moments of why am I doing this? And that, that is more so on those little bit longer runs, where you’re just you’re tired. Your feet are hurting, your body’s hurting, you’re like why why am I doing this? And then all of a sudden, I’ll try to envision my son and his face and just him waiting for me or running up to me when I’m done and big super excited like he does because it’s always mama mom was so just Hearing that in my head is just a huge motivator in a way to overcome obstacles. So I highly recommend getting yourself a vision of some sort of your of your finish of your ending so that you can keep going and use that as fuel.
Richard Conner
Excellent, excellent. Thank you for sharing Hannah. And then one final question before we wrap is, what would be the one thing that you would say to our listeners to help inspire them to run?
Hannah Seeley
It’s gonna be kind of cliche, but keep going, keep going. There’s there’s going to be so many bad runs, but once you hit that good run, it’s going to outweigh all the bad ones and you’re going to be feel you’ll feel like you can fly. It’s It’s the weirdest thing but you feel like you can fly after that one. Perfect run. And until you hit that, just keep going. Keep trying.
Richard Conner
All right, well, I really enjoyed this conversation. You shared a lot of great information. Your story is inspiring. The tips as you shared are very, very helpful. How can our community find you and follow you online?
Hannah Seeley
Of course, I’m on Instagram, I’m on Tik Tok. I believe my tags are Hannah runs CC fitness. So that’s Hannah runs CC as in Charlie fitness, and I’m on Tik Tok Instagram. Facebook is my horrible name Hannah Seeley. But I’m here. I’m here to help you guys in every way, shape, or form. I’ve got a lot of different informational stuff on my Instagram, particularly as far as getting into running and maintaining running.
Richard Conner
Perfect, perfect. So what I’ll do is I’ll include that information in the show notes to make it easier for our listeners to find you, Hannah. I just want to say thank you again. I really enjoyed this conversation. I learned a lot from it. I know everybody else will. So thank you so much for coming on the show and have a great day.
Hannah Seeley
Thank you, Richard. It’s been a pleasure. Have a great day.
Intro/Outro
That’s it for this episode of inspired to run podcast. We hope you are inspired to take control of your health and fitness and take it to the next level. Be sure to click the subscribe button to join our community. And also please rate in review. Thanks for listening
Welcome to Episode 57. In today’s conversation, we’re going to talk about how to get started with running for our new runners and beginners, how to prevent injury and how to improve your experience along the way. Our guests will also share her own personal running journey. Talk a little bit about family, mental health, and what inspires her to run as part of her health and fitness journey. Hope you enjoy.
Intro/Outro
Welcome to Inspire to run podcast. Here you will find inspiration. Whether you’re looking to take control of your health and fitness or you’re a seasoned runner, looking for community and some extra motivation. You will hear inspiring stories from amazing runners, along with helpful tips from fitness experts. Now here’s your host Richard Conner.
Richard Conner
Hi, everyone, welcome to inspire to run Podcast. I’m super excited to have our guests here today, Hannah Seeley, Hannah is a plant based runner, mom, and NASM certified personal trainer, and running coach. And I’m super excited to have her today here today just kind of to share with the community, her running journey, as well as some tips as a running coach to help all of you who are just starting out with running and just looking for those tips on how to get started. I’m really excited to kind of get into that conversation. But first off, welcome to the show, Hannah.
Hannah Seeley
Richard, thank you so much for having me. It’s an absolute pleasure. I’m super excited. Super excited to get started. Thank you. I’m
Richard Conner
excited to and I’ve been following your own journey online. And I think that’s how we connected. I’ve been following your journey on Instagram and all of the things and inspiration and tips that you share with your community. And I’m really excited to bring that here to our listeners. But you know, kind of before we get into a lot of that I’d love for you to share just a little bit about yourself and how you got into running. Yeah,
Hannah Seeley
well, as far as me getting into running it. It’s all happened with a 5k. And I was in downtown Chicago with my mom and her friends who are running the half marathon I ran a 5k There’s nothing like crossing the finish line for the first time. The the runner’s high, I just immediately fell in love with the sport it was it was everything I needed and didn’t know I needed until I did it. So running a 5k changed my life best experience I I recommend to all new runners just try out a 5k that’s something that’s wonderful that the runner’s high you’ll you’ll feel from that very first race is just unbelievable. So I ran downtown Chicago and I joined track actually that same year, track was the very best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t know how much I loved running until I was running with a group of people who loved running too. After that, things, things kind of went downhill a little bit for a while I fell into a really deep depression from junior year to senior year I gained 60 pounds. I went to a hospitalization for mental health. And from there, I guess I had a really hard time. And what’s interesting about my past is every time I really felt that I was at the lowest of lows, I started running again, which sounds kind of weird. It’s not like the right time to run. But for some reason, something just I was like, Yeah, you know, it’s time to run. So I started running again. And eventually I did lose some weight. Every time I was at a low, my journey always brought me back to the run. So I was I was in an abusive relationship with my ex. And towards the end of that I was like, You know what, it’s time to run again. So I started running again. And that gave me the fuel I needed to get out of that relationship. And then I kept running. I met my now husband and we we did our first 10k together, which was really cool. He didn’t really run until we got together either. And then I had had my son after that. And ever since I had my son Paxton, running just it became the only thing I needed in life other than him and my family. It just completely changed my outlook on life. I ran my first marathon after having packs within the year. And I never I never in a million years thought I could run a marathon. I was like no way. That’s just not possible. But I did and and I did it because I had my son and I had him waiting for me at the finish line. And that was just the most magical sorry. Try not to get emotional is the most magical thing that ever happened. So it’s what I want to keep doing and I want to keep inspiring others to, to really just take the chance because you’re not going to like it at first but once you push through and hit that, that that one run that’s just absolutely enchanting, then it’s it’s all uphill from there. You’ll you’ll love the sport from there. Not every day but most runs. You will you will love the sport. So yeah, that’s that’s my journey.
Richard Conner
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And thank you so much Hannah for are sharing, you know, a lot of what was going on with you personally, I know that can’t be easy for you to share, especially with our listeners. But I think there’s a lot of people out there that really can resonate with what you’re sharing and are probably going through some similar things and need to hear your message. And, you know, I really like how you you use running or running has kind of enabled you to kind of get back on track and feel great, you know, and feel good about yourself. So I really appreciate you sharing that. And it’s so wonderful to hear that you got your husband into running. So you know, that’s having having a support system at home. I think that’s incredible. And well, hats off to you.
Hannah Seeley
Thank you very much. Yeah, my husband just started and he’s he’s signing up for his first half marathon. So we’re super excited. Super excited about that.
Richard Conner
That’s so wonderful. And, you know, tell me a little bit about, I want to ask you about the your first 5k. And then, you know, kind of the longer races. So you mentioned, I think you’d mentioned that you had started running your first 5k with your mom. And then that kind of led you to track. But what was what was kind of the, the catalyst or what, what started that fire to say, Hey, I’m gonna run this, this first 5k
Hannah Seeley
There, my mom signed up for it. And she’s like, Hey, hang on, you want to do this with me? And I was like, I don’t really like running. But okay, I really don’t like it at all. Like, I would walk the mile. And Jim, I absolutely hated it. But I thought, hey, it’s you know, when do you get rid of 5k. So I was all gung ho for it just for the one time was just the one time I thought,
Richard Conner
that’s what you thought. And here you are. So that’s wonderful. And then, you know, kind of fast forward to some of the longer distances. Like what kind of went through your mind is okay, you’ve done five K’s and you really enjoy running and you want to help inspire others. But what about the longer distances? What kind of inspired you to move to those?
Hannah Seeley
Um, I the half marathon I wanted to do when I was working for a dealership, a Jaguar Land Rover, I was working for them. And I was like, I was running on and off. And I was like, No, I’m just gonna sign up for a half marathon 13.1 I can do that. And I didn’t do it. I never did it. So I wasn’t in. I don’t think I was quite ready for it yet. I actually didn’t do it until I had my son. So that was really the fuel to my fire. He he ignited something inside me and and I ran a half marathon after I had him. And I was like, You know what, that’s not enough. I think I can do more. So I signed up for a marathon and I did a marathon. So yeah, that’s was all my son, that’s I give all my credit to him. He’s done absolutely everything to to inspire me to want to do more.
Richard Conner
That’s really wonderful. And it’s wonderful that you know, that’s where you’re getting your inspiration. And you just made me think about one of my own my own stories. I ran a 5k a few years ago, and my family came to watch, which was really nice. And I remember, you know, I was I was just kind of rounding the corner for that third mile. And I’m, I’m running and it was hard. I that was a hard race for me for some reason. But I’m getting closer to the finish line. And all I hear is Go Daddy, Go Daddy, go. And I’m like, I’m coming up covered. And I’m running. And I’m sprinting and I pass that finish line. I felt so good about that. Which was really nice. And then I’m looking around. I’m like, well, where’s my family? Right, I thought I heard my son, you know, cheering for me? Well, it turns out that they were enjoying the bagels and bananas. They weren’t actually at the finish line. It was somebody else’s son cheering for their dad. That was it. But you know what, at the end of the day, that child, that kid motivated me to finish strong in the race. And my family was still there, you know, during the race, but probably didn’t work out? Well, I thought it was when I finished the race. But yeah, that’s my story.
Hannah Seeley
Oh, well, it’s still a motivation, you know? Yes. Your son, it was it was some little boy looking up to a daddy.
Richard Conner
It was. So that was apparently enough motivation for me. That’s all it takes. So So that’s really great to hear. And I appreciate again, you kind of sharing your story about you know, getting into running, why you did it, kind of what the challenges that you were able to overcome through running, I think, which is really inspiring to hear. And then getting to this point where you’re helping and inspiring others, especially as a certified coach, so, so thank you for sharing all of that. And I think, you know, we could talk a little bit about that because on inspire to run podcast, which we’re working to inspire others to really take control of their health and fitness, and take the next step through running. And hopefully they’re inspired by I’m sure they’re inspired by all the stories, but they may be wondering, like what’s next, right? If somebody’s thinking, I’m not a runner, I’ve never run before or I can’t run, you know, whatever it might be. I’d love to be able to help and support them on the next step. and their journey once they make the decision to do so, so excited to have you on and talk a little bit about, like, what would you say are what are those tips that you would give for those new runners who have kind of made that decision, but really just don’t know what to do next? Or maybe, you know, afraid of taking that first step?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. So for a brand new runner, I would highly recommend starting off with interval running. So maybe do a one to one ratio, where you’re running for one minute, just kind of easy pace, just get yourself used to it. And then you walk for a minute, and do that, you know, maybe for 1520 minutes, whatever, whatever you’re ready for it that time, you really don’t want to overdo it in the beginning. So so if you’re in it for longevity, you really, really want to start slow. And one thing I always recommend paying attention to is your heart rate, specifically, your heart rate. If it’s if it’s really high up there, you’re not really going to get too much out of your run. For some people that even looks like a walk. So you might be walking at the start, if you’re not ready to run quite yet, which there’s there’s no problem in walking, you have to walk to run. So I recommend, you know, a one to one ratio, starting slow, if you need to walk, go ahead and walk because it’s, it’s a lot easier to walk now than have to walk, you know, not being able to run later.
Richard Conner
And I’d like to talk about that for a moment. For that that first tip, I think that’s really interesting. Because, number one, for sure the walking piece is important just kind of time on your feet and, and kind of getting accustomed to it before you feel like you have to ride because I think people may think, Well, I have to go from zero to 60. Like, overnight. And that’s really not the case. So I really liked how you shared that because I could give them you know, reassure them that this is something they build up to. But the other thing that you mentioned around heart rate is actually new to me. So I wouldn’t say that I’m an elite level athlete or runner. But I’ve been running for a long time. And I never really ran according to like heart rate zones are really paid attention to that. So just talk a little bit more about that. If somebody, they may not know how to do that. So maybe share a little bit about like, how would they monitor or track their heart rate during you know, their their workouts?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, so the most accurate is going to be a chest strap that goes you know, if you have breasts, it goes on to your breasts or across, you know, across your chest. And that’s gonna be the most accurate, your secondary ones are going to be your watches that go around your wrist, usually, they’ll have a heart rate monitor in there, your garments, even even Apple Watches, I believe have the heart rate monitor in there. But yeah, you’re really going to want to pay attention to how high your heart rate is getting. The place you want to be is an aerobic zone. So that really depends on where you’re at, in an age, you’re the max heart rate. So you take to 20, you subtract your age, that’s going to be about your max right there. You don’t want to go any higher than that. Because at that point, you’re putting yourself at high risk. Other than that, as far as training, you really want to be in that aerobic zone most of the time, which is zone two, and then your threshold is zone three. So your threshold is your heart running when you you’re running at a pace where you can’t keep up a conversation. That’s really where we don’t want to be when we’re beginner, as a beginner, you want to be able to hold a conversation and talk you know, as if you’re singing a song or talking to someone on the phone to where, you know, your heart’s not beating too hard.
Richard Conner
That that’s helpful to know. So someone doesn’t have a watch with the heart rate monitor or you know, may not know how to track it. I think that’s helpful guidance, right to know, like how your breathing isn’t what you should be able to do. And let’s say a zone two, so you’re not getting your heart rate so high as you’re getting started. So that’s really helpful.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, you really want to keep at that conversational pace as often as possible, especially as a new runner, because that’s where you build up. So you build up your endurance. That’s where all the good stuff happens. You build up your mitochondria, which, I mean, you want to have that. Yeah, so it’s it’s great to have a heart rate monitor. If not use that conversational pace. Just kind of talk to yourself throughout your run, sing your songs and make sure that if you know, if you’re listening to songs, of course, some people listen to podcasts, but maybe talk back to the podcast. If you’re talking to a podcast that way, you’re just you know, making sure that your heart rate is in the area you want it to be so you’re not overdoing it.
Richard Conner
Okay, I tend to I tend to agree when I’m listening to podcast, and I find myself doing that out loud. Like yes, I agree. Oh, yes, I do on my runs. So people probably think I’m crazy. But
Hannah Seeley
yeah, well, we’re all crazy. We’re runners. Right.
Richard Conner
True story.
Hannah Seeley
The other thing I would say for a new runner, don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else’s run because you don’t know how long it’s taken them to get there to where they’re at that, that physical advantage. It’s Comparison is the thief of joy. If, if you’re you know, constantly comparing yourself to someone who’s been running for For three years, you’re really going to feel bad about yourself. But if you’re comparing yourself to yourself, then it’s, it’s a lot easier to kind of not stress about it to not feel as pressured to run hard or to be fast when you’re, you’re just starting another another tip, I would say, run slower now to run fast later, kind of, you know, again, going along with the same thing, you in order to run fast, really got to just take it back a notch and run slow. Now, for some people, that’s a 13 to 15 minute pace, even I mean, walking pace. But as long as you’re kind of paying attention to that heart rate, it’s they go hand in hand.
Richard Conner
And I think that’s an important point for any runner, right? Not not maybe not just beginner runners, but even experienced runners. And I could tell you personally, that’s something that I’ve had to learn the hard way, because I’m, I’m doing my trainings, and I’m thinking, okay, my speed work is really what’s going to tell me where I am and my fitness, and it’s going to get me to where I want to go. So I have some personal goals to be able to do a half marathon and an hour, 45 minutes, and my first half marathon was an hour and 50 minutes, I think. So I’m like, okay, that’s achievable over the course of a couple of years, or whatever the case is, and really focus on that speed work. But, you know, I was, I had a rude awakening, it was, you know, not really just about the speed work, which he needs some of that, but it’s really more time, kind of in that lower heart rate zone, and doing those types of runs is gonna get you there. So, for me personally, even as you know, somewhat of an experienced runner, I can certainly resonate with what you said, you know, really just kind of taking it easy or taking a slow now to go fast later.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, another thing I always recommend is strength training, strength training, it’s gonna give you longevity of the run, I mean, it’s going to help with injury prevention, it’s going to help build up those muscles so that you’re ready to run. Yeah, there’s, there’s a lot of different things within strength training, you’re going to improve your body composition, you’re going to improve your overall endurance, you can prevent injury, there’s just for so many reasons to strength train that it’s almost silly sometimes not to because there’s just so many benefits that if you really want to be a runner for a long time, or if you want to start running, and you want to get serious about it, then that’s that’s definitely a way to go. Even if it’s just, you know, bodyweight exercises at the start. And that’s what I do recommend for most people to start is bodyweight exercises, just so that they can get accustom to the the movements accustomed to how you’re supposed to do the exercises as far as your form. So the eye strength training is a huge thing. And of course, me being an awesome personal NASM certified personal trainer, but something I always, you know, I always want to promote to other people, because it’s something I’m passionate about. And it’s just great all around to add into running. I think those two are just best friends, peas and carrots.
Richard Conner
And, you know, it’s interesting that you mentioned about the strength training, and I’m just wondering if somebody’s new, maybe not just a running, but maybe just fitness overall, I’m happy that you mentioned specifically around like bodyweight exercises, because it may, you know, it may be daunting, if someone has to know I have to sign up for a gym and get a membership and start to use these machines that maybe I’ve used before, maybe not. So you know, it’s really great to hear that even bodyweight exercises, I assume, even at home is something that they could do just really just to get started. You know, they’re not trying to boil the ocean right out of the gate. It’s, it’s having more of a I guess, holistic approach, right? Would you say? Absolutely training in the running?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, it’s something I actually started with is I got an injury. When I had first hand packs, I got an injury because I was running, I was only running. So I was like, I have to figure out how I can I can fix this because I love running. And I don’t, I don’t want to stop. So I incorporated some strength training. And I started with bodyweight and I moved up from there, but I highly, highly recommend just starting with your bodyweight, even, you know, three sets of 20 squats and your living room, you can you can do it, it’s it’s focusing on your form, your quality of movement over quantity, you really don’t have to do everything, you just got to do a few things pretty well. So you know, look up your YouTube videos, you know, see what other runners are doing for strength training, even contact a coach to see if, if they can create a custom plan for you. That’s something that if you if you want to run that’s, that’s really great as far as getting yourself in there, getting your foot in the door, and then keeping your longevity out of the run.
Richard Conner
And, you know, I also love what you said there about injury, right? And this is something that could either help help you through an injury or help prevent injury and that may be a concern that people may have is like, whoa, runners, all you hear is Oh, well that’s gonna be hard on your knees or there might be other issues that runners go through but kind of going through the strength training. I’m really I’m really happy that you mentioned that about how that strength training can really helped you kind of prevent those injuries, one of the ways to prevent injuries in the future?
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. You know, there’s a lot of ways I mean, you can maintain your water intake, eating enough fruits and veggies, there’s, there’s a lot of different ways to prevent injury, as from the inside out, even. So yeah, strength training is a is a huge one. Great. Another thing I would recommend is signing up for a race, any race, something local, something small, you know, anything that hands out of metal, I feel like you’ll, you’ll feel amazing after. And they could, like I said, it’d be a 5k could be a mile, it could be anything. But once you cross that finish line, just once, I think you’ll kind of get a taste for rate a taste for the win, you know, a self win. Because you’re running against yourself, there’s nobody, we’re all a big community of people that really just cheer for each other. So I highly recommend signing up for a race as soon as possible. Even if it’s if you do like a couch to 5k program, those are excellent, you can find those online. And you know, you can reach out to me and I’ll help you out with a couch to 5k program. Otherwise, there’s there’s a lot of methods online that you can use that are free that are that are able to be utilized. But I feel like once you sign up for a race, once you cross that finish line, you’re just you’re you’re in it, you’re you’re a runner, you’re you’re really like, you’re gonna feel that energy from the crowd, and, and you’ll never go back.
Richard Conner
For sure. And yeah, I mean, I know it as a runner. But I’ve also heard this from other guests that I brought on the show who are new runners, they went from not running at all to doing their first 5k Or half marathon and they share the same thing. And in particular, one guests had mentioned that they did a couch to 5k program, but they wanted to run the 5k before the actual race. So they did their own, I you know, sort of like an informal virtual race 5k Because they, you know, they wanted to see if they could do it before they got out there in front of people. So, you know, for our listeners know that that’s, that’s an option. If you’re somewhat self conscious about, you know about your running, if you’re a new runner, and you don’t want to be in front of a crowd of people the first time. You know, that’s also an option before you get out there. But I definitely agree signing up for that race will give you something to look forward to, you know, something to look forward to and something to work towards.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, absolutely. And those are, those are important. I always set little goals here and there. And I have my clients set little goals here and there just so we can always be kind of working towards something whether it’s something really small like getting to their full first pull up or something as major as you know, crossing a marathon line and getting their their PR so there’s a lot of little little things you can do to motivate yourself as far as smart goals.
Richard Conner
Very cool. Very cool.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah. Yeah, that’s, that’s about all I have another, I can throw in another one there. As
Richard Conner
far as a bonus tip.
Hannah Seeley
Yeah, we’ll do a bonus. Let’s go with hydration because you know, that’s, that’s something that a lot of runners, new runners, older runners we don’t know about as much. So as far as hydration, you really want to get in about half your body weight in ounces of water per day. And that’s, that’s a way to keep your hydrated, especially if you’re in those hotter climates. That’s really something to pay attention to. If you ever see like white salty stuff, that’s because you’re losing that hydration, you’re losing your electrolytes, you really need to replenish and that doesn’t mean just water either. That means like salt, salt sticks, you need potassium, electrolytes, you really want to replenish those. And it doesn’t have to be a Gatorade. It doesn’t have to be a Pedialyte, it can be like a little too, they have chews now. So there’s lots of different methods if you don’t like drinks, but always got to hydrate. So half your body weight in water per day.
Richard Conner
Excellent, excellent. Well, really wonderful tips. And I appreciate you sharing that, Hannah. Because, again, we’d love to help our new runners in our community kind of get started and you know, kind of take away maybe some apprehension or some of the fears and give them some actionable steps on how they can get running. So really appreciate it. And what I’d love to do is I’d like to turn you know, the attention back to you in here. Just a little bit more of your story before we wrap up. But you know, one of the questions that I really like to ask our guests is, you know, kind of during your running journey, what do you think is one of the biggest obstacles that you faced, and how did you overcome it?
Hannah Seeley
The biggest obstacles are definitely those moments of why am I doing this? And that, that is more so on those little bit longer runs, where you’re just you’re tired. Your feet are hurting, your body’s hurting, you’re like why why am I doing this? And then all of a sudden, I’ll try to envision my son and his face and just him waiting for me or running up to me when I’m done and big super excited like he does because it’s always mama mom was so just Hearing that in my head is just a huge motivator in a way to overcome obstacles. So I highly recommend getting yourself a vision of some sort of your of your finish of your ending so that you can keep going and use that as fuel.
Richard Conner
Excellent, excellent. Thank you for sharing Hannah. And then one final question before we wrap is, what would be the one thing that you would say to our listeners to help inspire them to run?
Hannah Seeley
It’s gonna be kind of cliche, but keep going, keep going. There’s there’s going to be so many bad runs, but once you hit that good run, it’s going to outweigh all the bad ones and you’re going to be feel you’ll feel like you can fly. It’s It’s the weirdest thing but you feel like you can fly after that one. Perfect run. And until you hit that, just keep going. Keep trying.
Richard Conner
All right, well, I really enjoyed this conversation. You shared a lot of great information. Your story is inspiring. The tips as you shared are very, very helpful. How can our community find you and follow you online?
Hannah Seeley
Of course, I’m on Instagram, I’m on Tik Tok. I believe my tags are Hannah runs CC fitness. So that’s Hannah runs CC as in Charlie fitness, and I’m on Tik Tok Instagram. Facebook is my horrible name Hannah Seeley. But I’m here. I’m here to help you guys in every way, shape, or form. I’ve got a lot of different informational stuff on my Instagram, particularly as far as getting into running and maintaining running.
Richard Conner
Perfect, perfect. So what I’ll do is I’ll include that information in the show notes to make it easier for our listeners to find you, Hannah. I just want to say thank you again. I really enjoyed this conversation. I learned a lot from it. I know everybody else will. So thank you so much for coming on the show and have a great day.
Hannah Seeley
Thank you, Richard. It’s been a pleasure. Have a great day.
Intro/Outro
That’s it for this episode of inspired to run podcast. We hope you are inspired to take control of your health and fitness and take it to the next level. Be sure to click the subscribe button to join our community. And also please rate in review. Thanks for listening