Doing Good One Step at a Time

[show open]

[lead in]

Lois Paula: Whether you’re hoping to heal the world or heal yourself. This podcast is here for you to highlight how Kindness Moves.

Nan: Yes. And you might have been touched by a simple act of kindness, you might want tips on how you can act now in your own community. Or maybe you just love the feeling of doing good.

Lois Paula: Welcome to Kindness moves a new podcast brought to you by the INC Giving Project. We’ll tackle topics on volunteerism, on creating good habits for a positive mindset, on raising kids, or maintaining an attitude of gratitude, generosity even in entrepreneurism and so much more.

Nan: And we’re your hosts, Nan, and LP.

Lois Paula: So Nan, we’re bringing up something today that everyone gets. You know, we’re human, and as much as we want to make our lives better you know by helping those around us, we all have limits. You know, we can admit it, we all get tired, we all get fatigued.

Nan: Right. You know, we feel it; all of us feel it today, especially with so much going on. And in today’s world we all wear, you know, multiple hats. We’re having to juggle sometimes more than we can handle, you know, all of us have so many different responsibilities and sometimes it just seems like we can’t even catch our breath. So where can we possibly find the energy to continue helping other people if we can’t even help ourselves or if we don’t have the energy to help ourselves?

Lois Paula: Right. So well, to our listeners finding yourselves in the same boat, let’s get re-energized together today. We have joining us in our episode, a Kindness Ambassador who will share what kindness moves she’s made for lasting and continuous impact, despite fighting fatigue — a runner’s fatigue to be exact. So everyone let’s welcome, Renezen Benedicto. Hi Renezen!

Nan: Hi.

Renezen: Hi, how are you guys?

Nan: Renezen, I just want to jump right into it because Renezen is such a unique name, but I have heard you being called by another name. Is there another name you go by?

Renezen: Yes, I have a few, but most people probably know me as Dimple.

Nan: Dimple, can you please explain — why do people call you Dimple?

Renezen: I have these monster holes on my face.

Lois Paula: Monster holes.

Nan: That sounds scary.

Renezen: It is, but they’ve been there since I was born, so like ever since I was a baby I’ve been known as Dimple.

Nan: Dimple. Okay, so it’s pretty obvious why your name is Dimple, so thank you for clarifying. So Dimple, you are a runner and you recently finished a race that you participated in and you’re also part of a running group in the Bay Area. So what is it about running that you love?

Renezen: You know I, to be honest, I never really liked running. I grew up playing sports and running was just that thing you had to do, but I think as, you know, as I got older and like, you know, everybody’s busy, running just became this way for me to still go out there and do something active and not be dependent on people’s schedule and stuff like that. And then after a while, it just became this way for me, you know, on busy days and days where it’s really stressful, like work or with everything going on in life, it’s kind of like an escape — regardless of how I feel going into the run I always walk away feeling better.

Lois Paula: That’s a beautiful way of putting it. It’s, it’s your hobby. It’s your pastime. It’s, you know your way like your, your self care type. And it’s also something that helps you physically, you get these natural endorphins that help you and make you feel better. So can you explain to us what is runner’s high Dimple? You know, there’s this natural chemical change that happens right, can you explain what is it? How do you feel? How do we get it?

Renezen: I know, I didn’t really believe it, until — for me, it’s when I hit like the third and fourth mile. Like the first two miles, I have to convince myself the whole time like — “do not quit, you just have to run a little bit more, a little bit more.” But there’s a threshold you cross, and like it just feels good. You know, there’s still pain right, like your muscles hurt and like, you’re still focusing on your breathing but everything just, I don’t know, something turns and everything just feels like you’re meant to be out there running. And for me, I think that’s what runner’s high is. I know people have described it in very different ways, but you do walk away feeling so much better at the end of it. And you you know for me like I know, I get there, when I’m running and I’m already thinking about the next place I want to run. 

Lois Paula: What’s the normal run like how many miles?

Renezen: You know lately, especially right now, like for me right now a couple of miles is, is good. But I used to be able to run three to five miles, a couple of times during the week that part feels normal. And like, I live on hills so sometimes when you’re running downhill like the rush of it, is even, it builds up the exhilarating, it builds, yeah.

Lois Paula: I’m already getting pumped. I’m getting inspired, I’m going to run, not really, maybe. I need to. 

Renezen: One of the things that I learned, because like I said right, running was not something that I loved growing up. And it wasn’t until a few years ago actually, where I just decided to go out there to run. Like it didn’t matter if I ran like half a mile or a mile or two miles, it was just I was just gonna go out there and if I ran half a mile and that was it. I was good, like I wasn’t going to put that pressure of “I have to run three miles I have to be this fast, at this point.” and all of that stuff and it took doing that and really falling in love with it that way, versus like — I used to sign up for races, not train until the month before, and just show up. And I think as you get older you stopped doing that because it hurts. Like, that’s not smart anymore.

Lois Paula: You stopped worrying about, about the details, so to say, you know.

Renezen: Yeah, and it’s just going out there. The Bay Area is such a beautiful place that there’s so many places that you can’t experience in a car or from just being near it, you actually have to run through it or walk through it and it’s it, you see so many different things you wouldn’t have experienced without it.

Lois Paula: And you said earlier you said you kind of just have to go out there and take that first step, which is beautiful because we can all use that you know that extra dose of happiness in our lives, especially with these times that we’re living in, you know we’ve all been at home mostly so it’s a perfect combination of both, you know, physical and mental support that you’re getting through it.

Nan: I think it’s awesome that you have these awesome experiences through running, and that you found a way to do what you love, that, at the same time you’re able to make a difference in your community during this pandemic. So, you know, we know that you love to run, but we also know that you like to help your community. So how did you find an opportunity to combine both?

Renezen: I think it was that around the time I started liking running a lot more than just, you know, something I had to do. You know I was already volunteering so I was looking at, I think I may have just ran into an article about an organization called Back On My Feet. What they do is — three times a week, they go out for runs and it’s volunteers and individuals who are currently homeless. And so, they go out to run at 5:45 in the morning. They run anywhere from a mile to I think five miles sometimes, depending on you know what your level is. The idea is, if you can commit to getting up three times a week to run at 5:45 am — and for these individuals who are homeless, if they’re able to commit to that for a month, then they’re, they are able to kind of get additional help to kind of get them back on their feet basically. And I, you know, the whole concept behind it, because waking up at five in the morning to go for a run is tough.

Lois Paula: Right, that’s a sacrifice.

Nan: Not fun, not fun.

Renezen: And for them to show up, and I remember the first time I went out there and they were, you know, there was a group of them that they were out there and they have, you know — and you go out on a run with them and you start talking and you forget about who’s homeless and you forget about who’s a volunteer and you end up talking about like different experiences that they’ve had and you’ve had and these individuals in San Francisco, there’s such a big homeless population but these individuals. I don’t know, I think sometimes we have this idea of what a homeless person is like. But these guys were, you know, they came to San Francisco hoping to get a better job and they wanted to take ca