How to master recovery and reach your full potential as a runner with Gina Myers! Ep88

Richard Conner: [00:00:00] Hey everyone. Do you find yourself more prone to injuries or just stop performing as well as you like during your runs or your races? Well one critically important topic which is often overlooked is recovery our guests today is going to share tips and tools to help you in your recovery and she also shares her personal journey which is incredible by the way and her mindset and philosophy about how she approaches her training runs as well as her races hope you enjoy

Hi everyone. Welcome to Inspire to Run podcast Today we’re here with [00:01:00] Gina Myers with Incrediwear. Incrediwear is a company that offers wearable garments for sports performance and recovery. And we’re so excited to have Gina here. Gina is known for her inner circle as Supergirl. She works races, trains, cooks, and embraces every day with huge energy and a love for challenge and growth.

She’s a biomedical engineer, endurance athlete, and trained professional chef. Gina recently joined Incrediwear as a director of research. After working in the biotech space after college and graduate school, she is thrilled to bring her bioengineering and sports background together. At Incrediwear, Gina started doing triathlons when she was 16 and did her first Iron Man at the age of 19.

At 28 years old, she is now a 13 time iron woman and finished Ironman Cora De Lane five days before. We’re doing this recording for this episode. She advocates for women’s inclusion and empowerment in sports and hopes her motivation and joy and endurance sports inspires others to find their own joy [00:02:00] as athletes.

Welcome to the show, Gina.

Gina Myers: Thank you so much.

Richard Conner: So incredible background, incredible bio, love the work that you’ve done at your company, plus your own personal journey. So it’s exciting to have you here to talk about this topic about, you know, you, your journey, and the work that your company does for our sports community. So, you know, let’s chat a little bit to get to know you and your journey, your fitness journey.

Let’s, let’s start there.

Gina Myers: Yeah, definitely. I love talking running and sports and Incrediwear, so this is great. Um, my running journey really started in college as I started to get inspired to see myself as an athlete and not as a separate entity from all those who I’d watched growing up pursue athletic endeavors. Um, when I was 10, my dad did his first Iron Man, and so I had watched year after year.

Thousands of people doing this race and just thinking they weren’t human and they certainly weren’t anything like me. And then when I started to do triathlons at the shorter distance and started to kind of bring this [00:03:00] idea into my own mind that I could do these things, it was really empowering, , because you really realize that everyone has that journey where they go along thinking, , something’s way out of their reach.

And then all it takes is the first step, , towards doing that and achieving those goals.

Richard Conner: I love that. I love that. And you know, the last part about what you said about something being out of someone’s reach, I think a lot of people kind of go through that like, oh, I can’t do that. Or that’s, that’s too far a marathon or ultra marathon. That’s too far. And you know, personally I went through that.

I’m still going through that. I started my. My own journey running five Ks during cross country in high school. And then just got until the last few years, started running half marathons, which I never thought I could do. And now I’m thinking about running my first marathon potentially next year as the New York City Marathon.

Uh, something again, I was like that. I never could do that. So, totally can resonate with what you said. And, you know, love to hear a little bit more about your journey and, and what that was like for you, you know, going from running and now [00:04:00] you’re a. You know, triathlete and doing Ironman. So what was that journey like for you?

Gina Myers: Yeah, definitely. I had a very similar experience when I first started trying to run. I couldn’t run very far without stopping. I could barely run a mile. I had struggled with asthma growing up, and so it felt incredibly hard. That’s just the best way I can describe it is, wow, this is hard. And the more I practiced and the more I put in that effort.

It was super rewarding and it got a little easier and I was able to go a little farther and I didn’t worry about metrics or times or paces. I just wanted to do it. I just wanted to be out there running, challenging myself and doing something that I couldn’t do before. And that journey really continues today where there’s the a hundred mile distance that I’m approaching at the end of this summer with a lot of fear and a lot of, um, You know, ha having a hard time believing in myself that I could even do that.

But again, those challenges are what motivate me. And so it’s really been that way every step of the process of saying, let’s just [00:05:00] do the next thing, see how well I can do that. , see if I can run that far and maintain, you know, healthy outlook and a healthy, , body and mind and just kind of. There, there’s always something more to reach for in running, which I love too.

You can run farther, you can run faster, , you can run happier. And so there’s a lot of goals that I look to along my journey, but it’s absolutely something that continues for me. So,

Richard Conner: Yeah, for sure. And you know, as they say, it’s your race, your pace. So I like what you said about not having to worry about the time or the distance and you’re really just, you know, accomplishing those, those new goals or milestones. And, you know, the three pillars that we talk about here on. The podcast around mindset, movement, and motivation.

And you’re talking a lot about your mindset, how you’re, you’re motivated to do things that you’ve never done before and take on these challenges, but I’m sure it’s not easy to do. So like what are you telling yourself or what are you doing to push yourself beyond that fear and achieve these new [00:06:00] milestones?

Gina Myers: Mm-hmm. A lot of it is excitement, just having that personal excitement that where if something is scary, it means it matters a lot to you. And a lot of it is the community. So if you know people who run a hundred miles or 200 miles, so. Which a friend of mine is doing this summer, it feels a bit more achievable, um, because you can go on a five mile, 10 mile run with them and run the same pace.

And so then they don’t seem as, , different as you. So just kind of having that community to feel more a part of it and make it more accessible. And then, , a motto I actually have developed recently is just to be present and that my motto is, Present is perfection or present is perfect. And so it’s really just taking it one step at a time, one mile at a time.

It’s too hard mentally to at the beginning of a hundred K or a hundred mile race, be thinking about the end or be thinking about what might happen throughout, and really just taking it one step at a time. And I think that’s how a fitness journey can feel for a lot of people as well. It’s too daunting.

It’s too [00:07:00] intimidating to worry about the end points or the goals. Before you’re there and um, really just embracing that present along the way is so beautiful and so powerful, and that’s been really motivating for me.

Richard Conner: 100%. Totally love what you said. And you know, again, thinking about my own journey, just that one mile at at a time really makes a difference. Cuz if you’re thinking about that the five miles you have to run or the 10 miles, then that’s gonna be harder for you mentally, cuz that’s all you’re going to be thinking about.

But if it’s that next mile, then you’re focused on other things to get you, you know, to that mile or maybe . The training you have to do the next day, or the race that you have to do next week. Just really kind of being present and focusing on what’s in front of you. I, I love that. So, you know, tell me a little bit about, you know, some of the races that you’ve done and what your experience was like, you know, doing those, the, maybe the,

Gina Myers: Oh wow.

Richard Conner: the Yeah, the other races.

Gina Myers: Y Yeah, I mean, I can talk Iron Man all day. I can talk ultra marathons all day. But, , my first ultra [00:08:00] marathon was a 50 miler in the headlands north of San Francisco and Marin County. And I had lived there for about a year at the time and had gone into this amazing community of ultra marathon runners.

And we just go off for these. Fantastic adventure runs on the weekend, you know, five, six hours and just new trails all the time. Having a blast, my dog would come along. So those were really special days and I just felt such a part of the community and I remember feeling really great in, in that race and.

What was so fun was every kind of mile that would go by after about 20 or 30 miles, I was like, I’ve never run this far. But also I had an achievable amount left to run. I remember thinking, I’ve run 40 miles so far and I only have 10 to go. I can do a 10 mile run. So obviously it was hard, but it was fun to kind of process through and just be amazed at the novelty of an experience like that.

And I remember when I crossed the finish line, just kind of jumping up and down, saying, I love this. I wanna do another one. And it’s not every race that you haven’t [00:09:00] experienced that fun. Um, a lot of times they’re hard or there are challenges that come along or you don’t meet your goals and they can be really tough mentally and physically.

Um, but that one really stands out as my mind as super special just because I was so in it and it was really fun along the way.

Richard Conner: Love it. Love it. So follow on question, what would you say was the biggest obstacle that you faced in your fitness journey, and how’d you overcome it?

Gina Myers: There are many. I think especially as a woman, , there’s a lot of challenges around a healthy body image and a healthy relationship with food. , that’s something that luckily I’ve been pretty lucky with, but, there’s also a lot of challenges with injury and staying healthy as you pursue these huge, , endurance endeavors and, , not being a professional or having a background in knowing how to do that.

, so probably the biggest physical challenge I faced was a bad stress fracture in my hip. , and that took me out of running. I was on crutches for 13 weeks and I really had a mental. [00:10:00] Mentally tough time with that. Just, , reevaluating kind of who I was. I think I had gotten so wrapped up in my identity as a runner that when I couldn’t run, I felt pretty lost.

And so I had to reconnect with other things in my life and other things that were important to me. And also remember that I was still a runner. Going through an injury rather than not a runner because I wasn’t running daily. And so as I’ve worked through other more minor injuries in the years since I, I usually remind myself that and use it to encourage others as well.

Richard Conner: Yeah, that’s probably a runner’s biggest fear of getting injured and being sidelined. So I, I appreciate you sharing that. And that’s, that’s, that’s real, right? It, it happens and, you know, I love your mindset in terms of how you. How you work through that challenging time. So, you know, Gina, thank you so much for sharing your personal story.

I love this. We’re gonna talk about this some more and I wanna switch gears a little bit and talk about Incrediwear, cuz you, I think your active lifestyle kind of led you to where you are today at Incrediwear. So, you know, if you share with our [00:11:00] listeners kinda how you came about the, the company and where you are today.

Gina Myers: It’s a great story. I, um, was out skiing one day and I live up in Lake Tahoe and so there’s amazing skiing here in the winter, and I was skiing on a weekday and during the weekdays the ski areas are, Really quite empty. And so I usually look for people to ride the chairlift with because I get a bit lonely.

And so I like to have the company have a good conversation, learn something new. Um, have an interesting chat. And I ended up riding the chairlift on that day with a fascinating person who happened to be the founder and CEO of Incrediwear, who at the time was looking for a bioengineer to run the research program.

And all it took was one chairlift ride. We really connected. And uh, two months later I was with the company.

Richard Conner: That’s awesome. That is so cool. I mean, just the power of, of networking and power of being out there and having conversations with people. Just look at the opportunities that it opens up. That’s really cool.

Gina Myers: , I [00:12:00] remember at the end of that chairlift ride thinking that was one of the most life-changing runs up the of the ski mountain that I’ll have in my entire life. For sure.

Richard Conner: I, I don’t know what I’ve been missing out. I’m afraid of skiing personally, but I don’t know if it opens up opportunities. That’s, uh, that’s a good recommendation for folks if you’re looking to network, uh, get out there and ski, but that, that’s super cool. So let you know. So let’s talk about, you know, Incrediwear.

So Incrediwear, Um, helps athletes in terms of their recovery. And this is an area that I’m very interested in, especially as I’m becoming more, I guess as an endurance athlete. And recovery is a really important component to your fitness journey. You know, it’s your training, it’s your nutrition and it’s an area that you probably don’t think about as often is, is recovery.

So, you know, tell us a little bit about what in Incrediwear offers and kind of the philosophy behind the solutions for our athletes.

Gina Myers: Mm-hmm. I’d love to. Incredible wear makes wearables and they [00:13:00] help people live incredibly, and that is our motto, but I see it on an everyday basis with the people who we work with. So the fabric. That the wearable garments are made out of is embedded with semiconductors. And when you put on Incrediwear, the heat from your body activates the semiconductors and the mobile electrons within those semiconductor elements start to do some very exciting things for the body.

, the fabric. Therefore has these two biologically active properties. , the first is that it releases infrared waves, and the second is that it releases negative ions. So the infrared waves that are emitted are in the mid and far in

The skin, and from there, they can actually penetrate up to several inches into your tissue. It depends on the tissue type. So more dense tissues, including bone and fat won’t be able to penetrate as far as something like muscle or blood. But the amazing thing is that the absorption spectrum [00:14:00] of your body’s intracellular water falls in the same spectrum of the waves that are emitted by Incrediwear, about four to 20 micrometers.

So these infrared waves, they’re biologically active. They augment biological processes and can do some really amazing things for recovery and performance. I’ll, I’ll get to that. I wanna touch on the negative ions, which is the other thing that in Incrediwear, emits. So these are absorbed by your skin. They enter the body, they interact, , with your blood cells, your tissues, and your organs.

They improve circulation, they improve immune function, they augment cellular activity, um, as well as oxygen transport, and they improve blood flow. What’s really cool is they also alter ion channel function, and this is basically the body’s way of regulating everything. It’s called homeostasis. So if you can improve ion channel function, You’re gonna improve the natural healing and recovery processes that your body is already trying to go through.

So [00:15:00] together the negative ions and the infrared waves of Incrediwear improve circulation, and that’s of blood flow and limp flow. And that enables you to have improved oxygen and nutrient transport delivery to tissues that need it. So tissues that are damaged after exercise or injury need that oxygen and those nutrients to heal.

You have less. Swelling, which is super important because the immune system can get over activated. And you also have upregulation of key biological molecules, um, improving cell membrane and ion channel functions. And then altogether, these accelerate the body’s natural healing and recovery processes. So in creditors and natural anti-inflammatory, a way to reduce fatigue.

Reduce metabolic acidosis in muscles and improve the scavenging of free radicals, which occur, um, with a lot of stress to this, to the body. Um, usually after exercise. And what’s so cool is that there are no risks or side effects associated with using [00:16:00] Incrediwear. So it’s natural, it’s safe. I wear it almost 24 7 if I can.

Richard Conner: Oh, that’s super interesting and you know, this is, An area that I’m learning a lot more about, and especially the technology that you have and which is a key differentiator from your technology, maybe from other performance, um, type of solutions that are available. And it sounds, from what you said, it sounds like it’s faster recovery and it’s faster recovery in terms of how you feel or faster recovery.

Does it also enhance the recovery, like, uh, of your muscles as an example? I’m probably gonna ask some really basic questions here so I can understand better.

Gina Myers: No, that’s great. And it’s actually both. So we have research looking at people’s perceived recovery. So how sore are their muscles, how, um, what is the extent of delayed onset muscle soreness or doms after an Iron Man or after a running event. And we find that they report lower doms. Um, we also have used.

Surface EMGs, which is electro mammography to test muscle activity after a VO2 max test on a [00:17:00] treadmill. And we did this with performance, uh, with elite professional soccer players in Finland. And what we found with them is actually 20% up to 20 to 30% reduced muscle load after they slept in, in credit wear compared to the placebo in credit wear, which shows us that there’s both a perceived improved recovery and a biological , Metric that’s being changed by the Incrediwear through.

, what the, what the semiconductors do in the body.

Richard Conner: Okay. Okay. So that’s great to know. And you know, we’re talking to the running community here, so maybe we could focus a little bit on what would we use as runners, what in terms of what Incrediwear offers, like if. I run five Ks, half marathons, and hopefully one day marathons. What would I use as a endurance runner?

Gina Myers: I think anything that you feel you wanna help improve recovery, if you have pain in the area, that’s where you want the Incrediwear. And so, um, I as a runner wear the socks. Um, I wear them while I’m exercising. I also wear them [00:18:00] afterwards just to hang around the house. They make my feet and we have taller socks that can really make your calves and ankles feel great as well.

Um, if you are susceptible to ankle injuries, we have an ankle sleeve that’s really great. It’s not tight, it’s not compressive, so it’s not gonna cut off the blood flow, which you need for recovery and, and for healing. , and then the really awesome thing that I love to recommend to athletes are leg sleeves.

, so they’re kind of like pants, but they just go from your ankle to your hip and I. Sleep in them every night because that’s actually when the bulk of your healing does take place, is when your blood pressure and heart rate drops, you start to really get the benefit of all your body’s natural healing processes.

Say you want a Incrediwear right there alongside you to help with that.

Richard Conner: Okay. Okay. That’s really interesting. And you know, it sounds like based on the benefits it provides, I wanna wear this. Either while I’m exercising or after I’m exercises, I’m not, I don’t wanna necessarily wait till I have a problem, right? If my knee is bothering me, [00:19:00] or I just feel like I have like these other, maybe other challenges, that’s when I should decide to wear it.

It sounds like I should be thinking about these type of solutions for just even my normal day-to-day workouts and, and races.

Gina Myers: Ideally, yes. Yeah. You would wanna prevent issues before they become out of control or something that’s gonna put you on the sidelines from what you love to do. And I think, um, something that I’ve been kind of pondering lately is how do you actually improve performance and. A way to improve performance is to prevent injury, because if you’re not injured and you’re recovering really well, you’ll be getting after it that much better every day.

Regardless of what distance you’re training for or what your goals are. Um, not being injured and recovering really well is just the best feeling.

Richard Conner: Yeah, for sure. And, and unfortunately it’s, I don’t know if I’d say a little outta sight outta mind, but if you’re not injured and you’re feeling okay, you probably don’t think about these things. So I’m just wondering, you know, this is a really great topic for us to bring to our [00:20:00] community. I. Because if you’re just getting started running or you’re along in your journey and everything is going great, that’s great.

Let’s keep it that way. And it sounds like having this kinda, um, performance gear is going to help you kind of along your journey.

Gina Myers: Absolutely. And Incrediwear is a piece of the puzzle. So it’s another aspect of having really good nutrition, um, doing your mobility and your PT exercises, you know, recovering as you should, otherwise not having excessive stress in other aspects of your life that can spill over into your sports goals.

Um, and what I love about in credited wear is that it’s so comfortable. I like to wear it all the time. And it lasts forever. You can wash it. You don’t wash out the semiconductors or the activity. Um, so really they’ve just become a normal part of my everyday wardrobe.

Richard Conner: That’s a great point and I didn’t even think about that. Kind of given the technology and I have an electronics background that should probably have been one of the first questions is how do I wash and how do I keep. Keep it clean. So that’s, that’s wonderful that you don’t have to worry about that, and it just goes with your normal [00:21:00] laundry.

Gina Myers: Mm-hmm.

Richard Conner: Super cool. All right. That’s really great. I really appreciate you sharing that. And you mentioned other things that runners should think about other than, you know, wearing this performance gear, uh, as a part of their recovery. So you, you know, just to kinda reiterate some of the things you said about.

Nutrition and you also mentioned pt. I assume when someone does run into some issues, making sure that you get it checked out, you know, early and, and get working on it early. And what are some of the other tips that you would recommend for someone you know, as part of their recovery to make sure that they get the optimal benefit for their training?

Gina Myers: Absolutely. I think one of the most important things is nutrition. , you can train as well as possible, but if you don’t have nutrition, , it’s almost pointless. So getting adequate and sufficient nutrition. , I think there’s a little bit of culture in the running community around trying to eat less or be of a certain body type or weight, and you’re [00:22:00] really, hampering your ability for growth and strengthening of your muscles and tendons and bones.

If you’re starving yourself of those nutrients, um, so especially for women, but men as well, it’s super important to get a lot of protein and to make sure you’re fueling throughout a workout, but also immediately after a workout. You don’t wanna wait for more than 30 minutes to have. A lot of easily digestible bioavailable protein.

Um, I usually do a big smoothie because that’s the easy, easiest for me to have, and it has about 70 to 80 grams of protein in it. I have that first thing after my workout in the morning, um, and then fueling a lot throughout the day with fruits and vegetables and grains. I’m vegetarian, so I do a lot of tofu and beans and things like that.

Um, so nutrition is huge and I’m super passionate about that because I love to cook. And then the other thing is just. Everything that you’re doing physically for yourself other than running. So are you doing core exercises? Are you doing plyometrics or explosive or isometric? , [00:23:00] leg exercises, you know, what else are you doing?

Are you swimming for recovery, going for hikes, things like that. Because, Um, the body is going to respond to everything you’re doing when you’re not running as well. And so it’s important to be thoughtful about areas that could become an issue, maybe weak hips and doing those exercises. , so I try to work in a regular strength routine as well, and that helps.

So much, especially in the later stages of long races to feel like, wow, you know, I’m really tired, but I know I’m strong and my core is holding me up. So I have good posture and my back is strong and my hips are strong. And just feeling that all come in as , support when you’re getting really tired.

Richard Conner: 100%. And I love that you’re sharing that in terms of nutrition as well as the importance for strength training. And we’ve had those topics, you know, on the podcast, and what you’re saying is really reinforcing the needs. To do those things cuz you know, it’s, it’s really easy to skip a lot of what we’re talking about here.

It’s, you know, I’m gonna go out and I’m gonna get my run done and then I’m done. And then you’re not, right? [00:24:00] It’s, you got, you have to do some of these other things, especially as you’re progressing your journey. I think probably early on, you know, may, maybe not, you could probably get away with certain things.

Probably not nutrition, nutrition number one from the start. But there’s some other things that you could probably get away with a little bit. But, you know, definitely need to start to build in the right habits and incorporate this into, into your routine.

Gina Myers: Mm-hmm. Agreed.

Richard Conner: Yeah. Wonderful. So super informative. Uh, I love this conversation. I’ve learned a lot about recovery. I learned a lot about, you know, what Incrediwear does and offers in the philosophy and the technology, so I appreciate you sharing that and how it’s different. From maybe other options out, you know, that’s available for runners and eur endurance athletes.

So that’s great to kind of hear some of the science behind, uh, behind your product. So, you know, tell me what’s next for you as an athlete and what’s next for in Incrediwear?

wear?

Gina Myers: Well, what’s next for me is, um, actually I’ve shifted my mindset to more of a [00:25:00] long-term health approach. And so I don’t wanna just get to the next starting line. I wanna get to the starting lines 10, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, and be feeling great and have a longevity approach to my training.

And so that’s been really, um, just fun to. Focus more on taking care of myself and, uh, making wiser choices. , so one of my big goals for this year is my first a hundred mile trail race. It’s in the mountains of Colorado in September. And like I said, at the, at the top, I’m kind of terrified, but also super excited and I know.

For me, if something scares me, it means it’s exciting and it’s a big goal and it matters a lot. And so I’m really looking forward to that and just doing a weird training, like going out at 8:00 PM for six hours to practice night runs and all kinds of fun stuff. So it’s gonna be a really fun journey and I have an incredibly beautiful tr place up here in Tahoe to train, so I’m so, so thankful for that.

And then as far as where Incrediwear is going, um, [00:26:00] really our goal is to just keep helping people keep getting the word out and expanding and growing. , we are helping everyone from surgical patients to recover from a variety of surgeries by reducing swelling and improving their range of motion, getting them back to what they love to do faster.

, we work with all sorts of pro athletes in this country and around the world, helping them achieve their goals. Stay off the sidelines and play more, , reduce injury. And then, , everyone in their everyday lives as well, who has some issue maybe from their past or their present that they don’t wanna have to deal with as much.

And a creditor can just help so much with those everyday things, new grandparents to the kids that they’re caring for. , we even have a new kids line coming out. So it’s really, um, touching people in all aspects of life and all around the world. And so for me as, as the director of research and being able to run this research program, it’s just so fun because Incrediwear [00:27:00] has an incredible range of applications and I get to dig into the science and understand how it works and what it can help people for.

Richard Conner: Love it. Love it. Well, I’m rooting for you for your upcoming 100 Mile race and for all the great things that Incrediwear is gonna do in the future. Gina, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing this with our community. So kind of as we wind down here, how can our listeners find and follow you, your journey online as well as Incrediwear?

Gina Myers: Um, well, it’s easy to find and follow Incrediwear through our website and it’s sold in, um, many stores all around the country. Um, probably easiest to order online though. And as far as following my journey, um, that’s actually something that we’re working with, uh, with Incrediwear to help make that more public because I’m.

Currently not a big social media person, so, uh, stay tuned. Maybe we’ll have a link by the time the episode airs.

Richard Conner: Love it. Love it. All [00:28:00] right, well at the very least we’ll put in the information so folks can find Incrediwear. And Gina really looking forward to following your journey. Thank you so much again for coming on the show. And you know, with that, have a great day. I.

Gina Myers: Oh, thanks to you. It was an absolute pleasure.