017 Gina Rouse - Learning to Face Your Fears, Let Go and Not Be Defined By Numbers

The Passionate Runner

Episode Summary

Gina Rouse has over 20 years of experience at the highest levels of the running world. As a competitive athlete, she first met success at the scholastic level as a state champion and parlayed that success into a college scholarship to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga where she became a Southern Conference runner of the year. Gina has continued her success into adulthood, after beginning a family, where she has continued to craft and update her pursuit of the highest levels of achievement as a runner. Today, Whitney and Gina reflect on Gina’s achievements as a runner, why she needed to step away from running, and what keeps her inspired to chase big goals in her forties.

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Key Takeaways

01:17 – Whitney Heins introduces today’s guest, Gina Rouse, who joins the show to share her running origin story, her collegiate career and how she overcame an eating disorder

19:14 – A return to competitive running and becoming a mother

22:29 – How Gina met her husband, a shared bond, and delicate communication

31:04 – A gritty mentality and the capacity to dig deep

35:31 – Being comfortable being uncomfortable

39:55 – Turning forty and overcoming mental doubts

48:00 – Whitney thanks Gina for joining the show and lets listeners know where to follow her

Tweetable Quotes

“After college I really just needed to have some time to step away from the sport and not be so identified with eating, sleeping, and breathing, running track and cross country.” (11:45)

“For a good long while in the recovery process, measuring and focusing on what I was asked to do as far as I need to have this much protein, fat, and carbs. It was something I could focus on, but it was a healthy focus.” (13:06)

“It has been the most beautiful unraveling of all of that tightly wound part of me. Having three daughters has just broken that down in a great way. It’s so uncomfortable at times because I want so badly for all the ducks to be in a row, but it’s so wonderful that God uses the kids to help us get over ourselves.” (20:40)

“Matt has really taken the back burner with a lot of his training over the last few years, especially with the last Olympic Trials. That whole year before the Olympic Trials, he really backed off on his goals in a concerted effort to allow me the extra time to do what I felt like I needed to do to prepare. That’s a huge sacrifice on his part and I hope to be able to give him that time and space too.” (29:39)

“I’ve always had this drive, as soon as I started cross country, to be the best. And to be the best, I’ve got to see what they’re doing and do it.” (32:37)

“It is wise of us to be a lot smarter about training. I don’t quite train as hard as I did even just a couple of years ago. And while that’s difficult to mentally come to terms with, when you feel better physically and you’re not on the verge of overtraining, then I think we can still get a lot out of our systems even at a more mature age.” (43:53)

Resources Mentioned

Whitney’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitney-heins-02ba3b5

The Mother Runners Club – https://www.themotherrunners.com/

Knoxville Endurance – http://www.knoxvilleendurance.com/index.htm

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