Trail Sisters Half Marathon & 10k

September 14th • Buena Vista, CO

Faith and Foolish Notions

Gina has always been stubborn and bold, so when it came to advocating for women’s rights and equality in the outdoors, she was bound to make changes. As the founder of Trail Sisters, Gina’s goal is to grow participation and opportunity in women’s trail running. Gina is also Mayor Pro Tem for the town of Buena Vista, Colorado, an active member and former Training Director of Chaffee County Search & Rescue, and Race Director for the Lake Sonoma 50 Mile, Marathon, and Trail Sisters Half Marathon.

Share This Article!

I spend a lot of time doing many things, like pecking away on a keyboard, listening to Taylor Swift, trying to get cuddles from my independent pup and boyfriend and lifting heavy things at the gym. But two issues that stand paramount are: 1) dwelling on my insecurities and 2) re-inflating my confidence and ego. Ironically, these two go hand-in-hand…or remind me of a dog chasing it’s tail. They just go round and round.

I realize I’ll always have something to worry about. I’ll always be stressed about some ridiculous thing. I’ll fret that someone cares about the crap I’m concerned about, but honestly no one could care less. An example of a demon that fills my nugget is my current lack of training. I’m always worried what people will think if they knew how little I was running right now. And as I write this, now everyone knows. I used to run almost every day, and for many miles. Lately, I’m psyched if I can get out for three to four days per week! I worry how this appears when I’m trying to motivate a community to embrace the outdoors, and literally get out on the trails!

You see, people are hard coded to worry, to stress, to panic. It’s actually a pretty cool safety mechanism if you think about it. Can you imagine if we had no worries, just did whatever we wanted with reckless abandon (and we think the world is in trouble now)? Because we have anxiety, it presents us with the ability to think twice or consider things from other perspectives. Ironically mini-freak outs can actually be good, as they force us to find solutions.

Anyhow, with the realization of perpetual stress comes another recognition. If there’s always to be insecurities, there will always be a demand for positive self-talk, and lots of empowering songs with great beats.

I’ve learned that one of the most important tools I can keep in my quiver, is faith. Having an unwavering belief in my ability and my strength helps me to conquer any and all insecurities every time they pop up.

Every morning I have my own personal Gina convo sesh…the voice in my head tells me how awesome I am, how I could be a professional dancer (kidding), how I’m going to crush the day, and how I have a chance to make a difference. This is my daily pump up and confidence therapy. So to combat my worry regarding lack of training, I remind myself that I’m just trading that time to focus on something bigger than me. My choice to dial back training is not permanent, and has given me time to explore new opportunities.

Work interruptions from Ezra the airedale…on the kitchen table.

And just like that, the anxiety is gone and I’m stoked for what I’m doing. Sure, it’s not that easy all the time, but practice makes perfect.

For those of you battling insecurities or stressors regarding running or just every day life, I’m asking you to do some self talk each morning to inflate your ego and build confidence. Be Queen (or King) of your universe, or say whatever it is that gets you psyched, confident and propels you onto a positive path.

Learning to equip yourself against the external chatter or internal demons will help you to overcome and succeed any obstacle. You will feel more in control, self-assured and like a bonafide superstar!


Call for Comments:

Do you have any tips to get past stressors?

What’s your best pump up message?

About the Author

Gina has always been stubborn and bold, so when it came to advocating for women’s rights and equality in the outdoors, she was bound to make changes. As the founder of Trail Sisters, Gina’s goal is to grow participation and opportunity in women’s trail running. Gina is also Mayor Pro Tem for the town of Buena Vista, Colorado, an active member and former Training Director of Chaffee County Search & Rescue, and Race Director for the Lake Sonoma 50 Mile, Marathon, and Trail Sisters Half Marathon.

Share This Article!

Read More

Comments

4 Responses

  1. Hey Gina!
    Great article and your absolutely right that we’re wired to pay attention to potential threats a.k.a the “negativity bias”
    Thank you for writing about the pep talk. I’m definitely going to make an effort to do this daily.
    Four skills I use:
    1). Running
    2) Bringing it back to the breath and taking several deep breaths.
    3) Continually bringing my thoughts back to something that makes me happy or I’m excited about.
    4) Reminding myself of hard situations I’ve made it through and all the positive accomplishments I’ve managed to do along the way.

    Thanks again for a great article!

    1. Hey Melissa!

      Thanks so much for reading and for your thoughts! I like your four skills, as those are super helpful! I’m digging #4 the most. It’s so weird (at least for me) for these things to go hand-in-hand. I really wish I could just eliminate the stressors, but unfortunately that is just another part of life. The key is to just find ways to deal and make the best of it.

      Thanks again for reading and for your thoughtful comment!
      -Gina

  2. This is so helpful to read! I struggle with similar insecurities – “am I doing enough? And well enough?” Which leads to a cycle of mental self-flagellation, which of course, does nothing but create anxiety and paralysis! I love your practice of a pep talk to keep you going/pump you up.
    I haven’t figured out something that really works for me, but one thing that ALWAYS helps is just taking a moment to breathe. It’s a way to step out of the fight/flight mode and just settle. I can always take on the day better if I remember to breathe! (It seems odd that I require a reminder to do so, but whatever.)

    1. Hey Ana!

      Thanks so much for reading and for you comment! It’s crazy the amount of insecurities a person can have. There really isn’t anything wrong with…as we live in a world that is constantly telling us how to be, look, act, etc….but what matters is just rising above and being happy with yourself. The constant pep talk is a good and needed thing. I think more people should give it a go…as it can really help to put a person on the right track if they’er headed to a negative space.

      Thanks again for reading and for your support!
      Gina

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join Now

Team Trail Sisters

Sept. 14th 2024

Buena Vista, Colorado

Half-Marathon & 10k

Shop & Support