The Run on Thought Podcast

Episode 23: 6 Things I've Learned In the Last 3 Months 1) There is no equation or timeline to an emotional healing process. 2) With every loss, there is an opportunity to gain. (Our brains can't conceptualize what we are going to gain so it focuses on what we're going to lose). 3) Know what changes your energy, and know how to fiercely protect your energy.... Let yourself dance! 4) Your workout routine and relationship with your body can go through seasons and that is OKAY. 5) How to actually trust in the timing of the Universe (You may not get what you want when you want it). 6) INVEST IN YOUR FUCKING GIRLFRIENDS!!!!!! <<333 The last 3 months have been absolutely transformative for me, in many good and bad ways. I've been much quieter on my account/podcast about what's been going on in my personal life because it's been such a difficult time, but I feel like I am finally emerging with clarity and confidence in the beautiful lessons I am learning. I hope this is something you can connect to if you are also in a time of hurt, loss, life crisis, or confusion. One thing I know for sure is we are all in this together, and I hope this shows that there is SO much beauty within the difficult times!!! We can CHOOSE to see it. And if we don't see clearly yet, we can at least choose to keep going. These lessons are random, but piece together some of the many aspects of my life I am working on right now. I hope at least one of them can hit home for you, and I try to keep the convo fun and entertaining! I'd LOVE to have deeper convos about these topics if you're going through similar feelings. Love, Jess Follow @runonthoughtpod for updates on the pod and other content :)

Ep. 22, Season 2: Hiiii!! Welcome back to the Run on Thought Podcast :) Recently I've been thinking.... why the hell is there so much pressure to "find" your purpose?? I've started pondering this idea and realized that I completely disagree with "finding" something so abstract/intangible. "Finding your purpose" alludes to the fact that we're trying to get to an end point, a peak, or a destination that's supposed to provide us with eternal fulfillment; but what is that peak, how do we get there, and how long does it take? Are we just unhappy and unfulfilled until we get there? So instead of buying into the idea that I must find my purpose, I'm believing in the idea that we are meant to live IN our purpose, every single day. It's not a moment where we've gotten it, but rather an experience we live in and build upon. AND, your purpose DOES NOT have to contribute to the external world.... how nice is it to hear that?? I discuss how I think any achievement or contribution to the external world you make is not your purpose, but a PRODUCT of living in your purpose. Finally, I talk about how living in the present moment helps us connect to purpose, and why my passions will always be second to my #1 purpose: human connection. Hope you enjoy this episode and the things I think about probably too much.... lol. Love you all so much and thank you for listening. Please reach out with thoughts, I'd love to spark a convo on this!! Follow @runonthoughtpod for new episodes, updates, and a space for vulnerability and growth.

Ep. 21, Season 2- Emily and I are back at it again!! I am SO excited to share this conversation we have as I think we offer two interesting perspectives- one who is IN college and one who is freshly out! In this episode, Emily and I discuss whether the college environment is really conducive to BOTH wellbeing/self growth AND academic/career oriented success…. Can we achieve both????? How do we thrive in college while navigating figuring out what you want to do with your life, balancing a social life, and finding yourself?? It's too many expectations! We also talk about how our culture/society is so anti-break and taking time to discover your path.  Following your own timeline is not only not encouraged, but frowned upon. So we talk about how it is TOTALLY OKAY TO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!! LET’S NORMALIZE THIS!!!! And stop feeding into hustle culture and poor wellbeing!! Also discussed is: identity crises, normalizing the lonely parts of college, taking care of yourself and how that translates into success, putting your eggs into multiple baskets (not just one), finding a creative passion, changing your path, not taking yourself so seriously, and striking a balance between work, wellbeing, and fun. “You are NOT the main character” -wise words by Emily Hope you enjoy this convo and it helps you gain a new perspective. :) Follow @runonthoughtpod for updates and more!!

Ep. 20, Season 2- Hello beautiful people!!! In this episode, I welcome my sister Emily onto the podcast!!!! This episode is a “Get to Know Us” episode as a precursor to our next episode ;) coming out in just a few days. Our #1 rule was: 100% honesty. We ask alternate asking eachother questions that we each prepared but didn't tell the other one. This is the randomest convo that may or may not entertain you, but we had fun. You will get to know our weird selves, our thoughts, and hear some funny stories. Either way, we grace you with some good (or bad) entertainment for a random walk, random drive, or some random background noise. Questions Asked:  What is a core memory from when we shared a room together in Wallingford  Is it socially acceptable to take your shoes off in public places  What is the weirdest thing you’ve done with a house to yourself  Should you expect your roommates to keep the house clean to your standard  What is something unordinary that turns you on How do you think being the middle child has made you who you are  What % of time do you think you spend alone & do you want to change that Do you have any recurring fantasies If you could conduct any experiment with no ethical or financial limitations what would it be Please reply whether Emily should stop taking her shoes off in public enclosed locations. Next episode with Emily coming out 5/10 at 10 am EST! Follow @runonthoughtpod for updates on the pod and more!

Ep. 19, Season 2: It is my greatest honor to introduce to you all to one of my dearest friends- Hannah Folau!!! Hannah played Division I Lacrosse at Georgetown University and is currently getting her Masters in Global Health while working a full time job. She is also the host of the With Intention Podcast! In this episode, Hannah and I have an insightful convo about realitic ways to be mindful and intentional within a busy and chaotic life, and how social media often portrays unrealistic standards of what it takes to be intentional about your life. Then, we move into a conversation about meeting arbitrary timelines and how you cannot fail on your own timeline! We talk about squashing comparison to others and to past versions of ourselves, celebrating the idea that we are going to evolve and change at our own pace, and learning how to transform challenges into our greatest blessings. Hannah is SUCH an incredible human and has so so much experience and wisdom to share, we really just let this conversation flow in so many directions but I think it is super insightful and full of thought provoking conversation!! LOVE HANNAH!!!! Hope you enjoy! Follow @runonthoughtpod on insta for updates on the pod and other content! Love, Jess

Ep. 18 (Bonus Episode) Getting vulnerable here and taking you into the depths of my journal. Ahh! My hope is that this entry I wrote to myself can serve as a sort of meditation or empowering voice for you to come to when you're feeling like you could crumble under the pressure from either yourself, or the external world (or both). I read the journal entry from minute 6:11-10:34 if you want to tune in just for that. This entry was a spiritual experience for me to write, and I have continued to come back and ground myself in what I wrote. It gives me permission to rest and be joyful when so many things around me urge me to keep going. This is just one of the weird things I do to help myself settle down and learn how to rest, and if it's not for you, that's okay, but I hope you enjoy some further insight resting and knowing you are enough. <3 Love, Jess

Ep. 17, Season 2: I deeply struggle to rest. This episode is an honest, vulnerable conversation about my struggle to feel worthy of slowing down, and how I used to (/still sometimes) see rest as unproductive and limiting. The narrative I told myself was "Why would I ever have time to rest?" I thought that it would slow me down from getting to where I want to go and achieving what I want to achieve. But in a world that is as loud and pressure filled as ours, rest is where you discover the peace within yourself. Rest is where you incubate, play, and rejoice in what fills your soul. Rest is essential, towards both achievement and wellbeing. I'm realizing this now, and want to share how I'm making changes in my life to prioritize my peace but still achieve my goals. Hope you can relate :) Book I referenced: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant Follow @runonthoughtpod for updates and a deeper insight into my life & my "run on thoughts"

Ep. 12, Season 2: In this episode, I talk about my experience with stress and how it impacted me physically, physiologically, and emotionally as a student athlete. The toll it takes to live this life can be truly miserable if you don't learn how to manage stress and take care of yourself. I often feel like I learned these things the hard way, but I have tons of advice to share on stress management within the busy and nearly impossible life we are asked the live as student athletes. I also discuss how the expectations of us needing to be "perfect" all of the time needs to change, and how stress has a HUGE impact on performance in our sport which is why this topic of conversation is so important. Managing stress in even the smallest ways can go so far in keeping you a happier person and a better athlete within a high demand life. Hope you enjoy:) Follow on insta for updates on the pod and other posts @therunonthoughtpod

Ep. 11, Season 2: RUN ON THOUGHTS FIRST GUEST EVER!!!!!!! This episode is an INCREDIBLE interview of my best friend and former teammate, Jess Pidgeon. She was one of our top runners and was the 10k record holder as a sophomore. After experiencing many health challenges and setbacks, she has such an empowering story on medical retirement, advocating for herself, and seeking help for RED-S and overtraining syndrome. Jess speaks so smoothly and gracefully on her story and I promise you will learn SO much from this episode. She is full of wisdom. Jess and I have gotten eachother through so much in college, and she truly makes me such a better version of myself, so it is so special to have her on as my first guest and my hope is that she can do the same for you. Hope you enjoy! insta: @therunonthoughtpod follow for updates and thoughtful posts :) Jess's insta: @runningthelongrun and @jess.pidgeon

WELCOME BACK TO PIECE OF MIND- SEASON 2! That's right, it is officially Season 2! After a long break from the pod, Jess comes on today to talk about her thoughts and feelings around retiring from collegiate running. Coming from an environment where black and white results and specific standards of success were praised, Jess talks about how she's learning to reframe what success and satisfaction is when it comes to working out. She talks about her new goals in this next chapter of life surrounding exercise, and unravels some of the thought patterns developed as an NCAA athlete that maybe won't serve her anymore. If you have retired/ended any sport, whether that be highschool or college, I encourage you to listen to this episode to be empowered for your next chapter of life:) Link to Emma Abrahamson's episode on successfully retiring from sport mentioned in the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7iAVw5CcEE8Hat1HIpRvpX?si=5cf5285aba764ffc Follow piece_of_mind_pod on instagram for updates:)

Ep. 19 Season 2: Hello beautiful people!! If you are here for this episode, I am guessing you also share a fear of your own anxiety. Whether that is a fear of losing control, a fear of not feeling like yourself, or fear that your anxious thoughts will sabotage your life, I am here to talk about all of it. In this episode, I discuss some of the psychological and spiritual approaches I've learned to use to navigate my anxiety. We live in a world that is riddled with uncertainty, expectations, and overwhelm, but there is a place for joy, freedom, lightness, guidance, and spiritual freedom when we realize the power we have to change our thought processes and beliefs, and give up trying to control of our own lives. We will talk about breaking free from fearing your own anxiety, learning how to embrace and not resist your anxious thoughts, giving up control your life, leaning on a higher power, not buying into the anxiety-driven world around us, and the power of the present moment. We will also talk about how to go about your life when you DO feel anxious, following the mantra "I feel anxiety but I can do it anyway." I know I may never NOT have anxiety, we are human, but I am confident in the tools I have to live a much more joyful and trusting life, and I hope this episode is both empowering and helpful to wherever you are in your journey with anxiety. LOVE YOU!! Love, Jess Follow @runonthoughtpod on insta for updates on the pod:)

Hello listeners! In this episode, I will talk about how finding an identity outside of sports is kind of an ambiguous phrase we toss around- but what does it really MEAN to have an identity outside of what you do? How do we know when we're putting too much of our self worth/time into our sport? I will talk about questions to ask yourself to help prompt self reflection, finding a bigger purpose outside of results, and how leaning into what you love outside of your sport will propel you forward in the long run. Happiness is a priority! Finally, I will touch on ways I've struggled with my identity in sport, and some ways I'm working on reframing it. Hope you enjoy and as always, please reach out if you want to dive into an even deeper convo on this topic. If you are more of a reader than a listener, here is a link to my MileSplit article on Being More Than an Athlete (and having an identity outside of sports): https://www.milesplit.com/articles/306453/jessica-stratton-you-are-more-than-just-an-athlete If you don't already, follow the Piece of Mind insta account :) @piece_of_mind_pod

Do you ever feel out of control, like everything is happening TO you? Do you ever feel like you are living out the negative story that you write about your life in your head? Or focusing too much on solving all of the problems in your life? In this episode, I am going to talk about writing negative narratives, self sabotage, and making yourself the victim of your own life. The main takeaway of this episode is that the story you write about your life seriously translates into becoming your reality!! Imagine if you could view your life through a new lense, that opened you up to so many more positive perspectives and got you out of that loop of being the victim. Listen to this episode to learn some of the things I've been working on to write positive narratives about situations in my life, and how it's been making a HUGE difference on the way I feel and view myself in relation to the things that happen in my everyday life. Hope you enjoy :) Don't forget to follow @piece_of_mind_pod on instagram for updates and more frequent pieces of my mind ;) Thank you so much for listening and always reach out with thoughts!!

Do ever feel like negative thoughts about your body are always battling it out in your head? Do you feel like the chase to achieve a certain body image never leaves you feeling satisfied or good enough? Is your personal confidence influenced by the way you perceive your body? In this episode, all of these questions and more will be answered and discussed. I will talk about body image and how it is related to the confidence that we carry within ourselves in our day to day life, and what it would be like to change the perception we have of our bodies! I will offer ways in which I have been working to do this, in an environment that doesn't particularly make me feel at home in my body. I have had my fair share of struggling with confidence and body image in running, but I think it is applicable all throughout the world we live in as women. Hope you get a good listen out of this one:) BIG NEWS!!! I am launching an instagram account to follow for the podcast where you will find updates, when new episodes come out, and some more of my thoughts:) Please give it a follow @piece_of_mind_pod

Hello amazing people! In Part 2 of my Full Story, you will hear about the timeline from my first injury freshman year of college up until my current thoughts and feelings as a senior. I will run through a brief description of each injury and how it impacted me at the time, the lessons I learned, and how I turned my injuries into a way to grow and serve others. I also dive into where I am currently at in this journey, as I enter my final season of running as an NCAA athlete. Lots of raw thoughts and emotions, honest confusion, and reflection on how my past has impacted me long term.  Finally, I talk about what the reality of my disordered eating recovery looks like now: how it still comes up at times, how nothing is perfect, and the importance of forgiving yourself. I hope you enjoy this, please PLEASE reach out with anything :) Until next time on Piece of Mind... 

Hello amazing listeners! This episode is PART 1 of a 2 PART series where I will come on and tell my story in full.  These next two episodes are extremely special to me, because I really dive deep into how running, disordered eating, and my injuries have shaped who I am today. In Part 1, I discuss my issues with eating and how it all originated, details about how it got worse throughout high school, even worse through my transition to college, and when I really realized there was a problem and started to make changes. Throughout this episode I open up about personal details throughout my journey and defining lessons that I wish knew at the time. If you are a high school or collegiate runner (or athlete of any sport), I HIGHLY recommend this episode.  Even though we hear these stories all too often, the more we listen and learn from them the more it will create change. If I can save one person from learning what I learned the hard way, this is worth sharing to me. Our health is a big deal <3 Anyways, hope you enjoy. PART 2 will be out by early next week so stay tuned because I will be diving into MUCH more!! Injuries, lessons, and how it still impacts me to this day... Instagram: @jessica_strattonn

In this episode, I talk about how going home for break from college made me feel "off" for a couple days and how this is normal with a drastic change of pace and scenery. I remind myself that rest is necessary before setting any expectations for myself, and before any growth can occur. I also discuss my anxiety in depth a little more, touching on ways I've been learning to work through it. Finally, I reveal the revelation I had in therapy that I am trying to take with me into the new year!  Give this episode a listen if you need to relate to someone about your anxiety, be reminded to slow down and have compassion for yourself, and learn to lean into feeling good and rationalizing the spiral of negative feelings. Let me know your thoughts and what you can connect to in this episode :)

 In this episode, I discuss how qualities of an D1 athlete such as work ethic, discipline, and the high standards that we often hold ourselves to have contributed to our success, while at the same time causing harm to our wellbeing.  After coming to the realization of this interesting dichotomy, I've been learning how to recognize when these characteristics are serving me well, but also when they are not serving me and I need to take the pressure off of myself in order to actually perform better in all aspects of my life.  Some of the questions that have guided this thought provoking discussion are: At what point is the extreme work ethic you possess also causing burnout? At what point is your results oriented mentality holding the expectations too high and leaving you never feeling good enough? At what point is your meticulous and determined mindset that makes you a successful athlete holding the bar too high in other aspects of your life? These topics and more will be discussed in this episode, hope you enjoy :)

Episode 24: It is with GREAT honor and excitement that I share this episode with such an amazing guest... Danny Reid! Danny is an old time friend from high school track. He is now a professional soccer player who has played in England, Lithuania, and Vietnam. In this conversation, Danny and I talk about a range of topics from building resilience and remaining steadfast in times of uncertainty, dreaming big, having a "why not me" mentality, and establishing a "North Star". Danny shares perspective that he's gained through the many setbacks, unexpected paths, and mental challenges he's faced in his pursuit to play professional soccer. He helps us understand how to apply patience and belief in yourself when things don't go the way you thought. Finally, Danny gives me advice (haha) on how to adjust your aspirations to be realistic but not limiting if you are trying to accomplish something on a specific timeline. I learned SO much from this episode myself and am so pumped to share this convo; I hope you enjoy :) Follow @runonthoughtpod for updates on the pod <3 Love, Jess

Ep. 16, Season 2: I have broken out of my creative block!!!! I'm not going to lie this was the most spontaneous, word-vomit episode I have ever made, but it gave me so much clarity to just sit behind the mic and record this. Lately I have been in such a creative block with my podcast/platform and I really wanted to just sit down and talk about the revelations I came to. I felt like I was putting myself in a box trying to remember every detail about what it was like to be where I once was and share from the place, instead of recognizing the power in sharing more of who I am now and how that will (hopefully) in turn be inspiring to those who were once in my shoes (the audience I originally set out to help). I also touch on my perfectionism and how it paralyzes me sometimes. This really is just a reset episode discussing how I have set myself free of limitations and where I am taking this podcast. As always, love you all. Follow the pod insta @runonthoughtpod :)