(upbeat music) - Hello, everyone. My name is Ashley, our post-time back, and I am thrilled to announce my new podcast on the Hope Cast Network, Locks of Locks, where I will be chatting with comedians, restaurateurs, and everyone in the entertainment industry about comedy, duh, pop culture, and of course, a little bit of food. You can follow lots of laughs on Instagram, @locksoflapspodcast, and lots of laughs will be available on Spotify, iTunes, anywhere you listen to podcasts. So like, follow, subscribe, and I cannot wait to know-ish with you. (upbeat music) This is the Hope Cast Network. Stories and shows you actually wanna listen to. (upbeat music) - Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Everyday Runner. This is Erin Mayer, your host, who really brings you each week. We talk about running and the health and fitness journey, and the lens from it being from an everyday runner, an everyday person who's just trying to feel better, feel healthier, move their body. But we also like to chat about the unfiltered side of things, the things that most people don't talk about, which really is just the best part as far as I'm concerned. So anyways, I'm super excited because I have Jen Marzian joining us today. She's from Instagram, she's on Facebook, she's had a huge health and fitness journey, weight loss journey, she's just a great human, she's a mama too. And I'm gonna stop talking 'cause I'm so excited to chat with Jen today and have you hear her story that I just wanna like blur it all out. But I'm like chilling myself, I'm like, hi, I slow down, Erin. And let me introduce Jen, Jen, welcome to the show. How are you? - I am so good. Thank you so much for having me. And this is awesome, thank you. - So have you ever done a podcast recording before? - I've done one, but that's it. And it wasn't around this type of setting, it wasn't about like health and fitness, it was about some other stuff that's gone on in my life. - So we'll just call this your best podcast, first podcast experience ever. Well, we'll just say it was like the best, well, we don't wanna insult anybody else, but you know what I mean? We'll say we're like breaking the mold here for you. - Yes, we're breaking the mold, we are breaking it. We're laying the foundation, there we go. - Yes, absolutely. So Jen, as you may have realized by the name of the show being the everyday runner, tell us a little bit about are you a runner, are you not a runner? Tell us you're like your story from the runner's lens. - So runner, I do not consider myself a runner. A by any means. However, love to run away from my children. So. - And how old are your children? - How old are you today? - I have a six-year-old son, and I also have a two-year-old daughter. I typically, in the past, I, if you had asked me this question, I would have been like, absolutely not, I hate running, it is the worst thing in the world. But as I noticed after COVID, that was kind of my, like, I get to leave and get out of my house. I get to go and run away from things like run away and just pop the music in, you know, travel the streets and like, that's it. So I guess you can say that I'm a runner now. I've done five-case, I've done a couple of that. But I wouldn't, I wouldn't say that I'm a runner. - I like running. - As far as, you know, as far as I'm concerned, and as far as our listeners are concerned, 'cause if they listen regularly, they know. If you put on sneakers and you're moving your body down the road, it doesn't matter how fast, how slow, how far, how short you go, you're a runner. 'Cause you're making the choice with your body. And I can so relate with what you're saying about running away from your kids. Now, we love our children, like we love our families, we love our spouses, we love them all. But especially same with me during COVID, like when you're in your home all the time with your kids or maybe you're a stay at home mom or you're a work from home dad, having that space for release and to get a break is really key. And for some people it's running, for some people it's golf, for some people it's aimlessly walking around target with their pumpkin spice latte this fall, whatever it may be, I think we all need something. - Yeah, I would definitely agree. This running has actually helped me to kind of calm myself down a little bit and I always come the spring like after the winter. I always am like, okay, it's running season. And then as like the summertime hits, I'm like, okay, and it's not running time season. And then like the fall goes. So I guess you could say like I'm a seasonal runner because I run in the cooler months. Like I know I ran in San Antonio and I was like, what are we doing? Rudding East Tokyo. I'm like, this is the hottest time ever. But I wanted to challenge myself. And there are times that I'll go out in the middle of the summer when I challenge myself. And those are the days that I need it the most where I just need to release. And I just need to like, like just get away from everything and just kind of say, okay, I'm good. I'm good, so. Yes. Well, they do say like summer running creates PRs in the fall because summer is often the hardest. It's disgusting. Yeah, it's kind of like you're walking into a sauna. Like that's what you're running into outside of sauna. Like it's like nasty. Yes. But yeah, so I would say maybe you're a fair weather runner. Yes, I like that. I'm a fair weather runner. Fair weather runner. Fair weather too. There we go. You're still in the group. Like you're still in the running community. It's just it's seasonal. Yeah. So can you tell us about the first time you ever did a 5K and what that experience was like? So the first time-- so leading up to that, let me go back a little bit. In 2019 is when I started actually in my fitness journey. And if you had told me that I was going to run a 5K in 2019, I would have said, sure. Because I weighed 300 and 2 pounds. And so for the whole year of 2019, I really stopped to just nutrition. I added at home workouts that were like 30 minutes long. And I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I just kind of did stuff at home and move my body for at least 30 minutes. And I lost about 65 pounds that first year. And in 2020, January 2020, you make your goals in January. And I wrote down, I want to run a 5K. And I'm like, OK, so I started training. And then COVID hit. And I'm like, man, I'm like, I wanted to run this 5K. And then I actually did sign up for the 5K in February. But then they said, it's not going to happen. I'm sorry. But what we are going to do is do a virtual. And I did that virtual run. Even though I never experienced the whole cheering of crowds and everything, but I specifically remember running it and hitting that 3.15 on my watch and the amounts of joy, proud, just how I felt. And I'll never forget, as I'm coming up the hill to my house. So the starting line was my house. The finish line was the house. So coming up the hill, my son, who was almost two at the time, came down the steps and was like, mommy, you did it. You did it. And I have a picture. And I have the video of me just holding on to him, crying. My husband was bawling his eyes out. I was crying. And it's a memory that I'll never forget, because I actually did it. I ran my first 5K. I think I was down like 80 pounds at that point and knowing where I was a year and a half prior to where this was, it was one of the best feelings that I could ever imagine. It was pretty cool. It was pretty cool. So what now? Let's go back to-- because you said you had started your fitness journey. You were weighing about just over 300 pounds. What was the moment that motivated you or gave you the wake-up call to start making a lifestyle change? You want to share? Can you share that with us a little bit? Yeah, absolutely. When I was pregnant with my son, I was really unhealthy. Really unhealthy. I went into the pregnancy being unhealthy. I was like 265, I think, when I got pregnant. And they told me I would never get pregnant. And it took us about a year and a half to get pregnant. And they said, you know, it's because of your weight, because of your health, because of your weight, because of your health. And I was just like, screw you, I'm going to get pregnant. And then I did. But it took us a long time. But what I didn't realize was the blood pressure, swelling of the feet, the swelling of everything. And throughout my pregnancy, I just was not healthy eating. I would have Chinese food three days a week. I would have those big subs. And I'm like, ah, I'm eating for two. I had the eating for two mindset. And a big eye opener for me for when I got a phone call. And I was 36 weeks. I got a phone call for my doctor. And he's like, you know, we just did some testing. We want to see you go into the hospital to get more testing. And at this point, they were fearing that I was going to be preclantic. The my blood pressure was so high that they were like, you know, we don't want anything to happen to you. And I never came out of the hospital. And that was four weeks early for my son. So I had to have an emergency C section. I did not have preeclampsia, but they were fearing that it was going to turn into it. My blood pressure was 190 over 100. I weighed 302 pounds and it was just a feeling of like, oh my gosh, like I'm not ready to be a mom. I saw four weeks left, like I never even toured the hospital. And it was just all of these things. And when after the C section, the emergency C section, I looked down at my son and he had been taken to the NICU. And I had no idea because I was so like, drugged up in just everything. And when I looked down at him, he had tubes all over his nose. He was covered in wires and just heart monitors. And I looked down at him and I was like, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. And they then looked up at God. And I said, if you ever give me a chance to do this again, to get pregnant again, I'll never be like this again. And I promise you. And I said, I will change. I will do what I have to. And it took me a while to build up the courage. It took me a while to actually say yes, but came typical. Oh, come January 1st, I'm going to change. I'm going to change. Looking back at it, I wish I'd just changed the next day. Like, I wish I did that. But could have said it would have, whatever. But in January, I said, that's it. I looked at myself in the mirror. I put, I took a picture of day one. And I will never, ever, ever be that person again. And that's pretty much the pivotal point of who I am today. Wow. And you think, when the doctors were like, oh, you're waiting, your health, it sounds like you were kind of just stubborn. Like, yeah, I don't need that. And I don't need that. I really didn't want to admit. And then I was also a big drinker, too. So I wasn't ready to give up the drinking. I wasn't ready to give up the sweets. And I wasn't ready to give up all the stuff that I loved. Quote unquote. But in reality, I needed to. I needed to make that change in order for me to live, for me to get healthy. But I didn't realize that until that moment when I had my son. And that was like the aha, as they say, it's the aha moment. Your wake up call. The wake up call. So now fast forward, you have another little one. And tell us about that experience with your pregnancy, with your daughter and the difference between the two. So few things that happened with my daughter was not only did I-- I was on the health and fitness journey. I had gotten down to my lowest weight possible ever. And I was still drinking and things like that. But I had definitely modified my nutrition. I had definitely modified my eating habits. I had a supportive community behind me. I was just-- it was all of the things that I needed. But the one thing that I needed to stop was my alcohol. And that was kind of a shift in my health because of the fact that I was counting calories and doing all this stuff. And I was adding alcohol first. August 2nd, I was doing a fitness challenge. I was going to do 75 hard. And I said, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do 75 hard. I'm going to do the whole thing. So I quit drinking. And I was working out for 45 minutes and all this stuff. About a month later, I found out that I was pregnant. What? I didn't even know. Didn't try. I had nothing, and it just happened. But I was sober. And I was still working out. I'm still doing all this. So I immediately called my doctor and I was like, listen. I was like, I am working out. I just found out that I'm pregnant. What do I do? Do I have to stop me eating habits? What do I do? Because my mind went to baby number one, how I was. And I was stagnant. I didn't work out. I didn't do anything. They said, do not change anything. So throughout my whole entire pregnancy, I was eating healthy. I was running. And I got one of the spin bikes. So I was working out on the spin bike all the way up until the due date. And I worked out, weight-lifted, all that stuff. So it was a complete 180 from pregnancy number one to pregnancy number two. And I did have a C section with her, but it was opted. I opted for that just because of scheduling with Christian and my son and just everything. And had I not done that, she probably would have stayed in there until like 43 weeks because she's so comfortable. But what I did notice is actually the eating habits between my kids flash forward to today. Christian wants all the yucky and disgusting, not disgusting, but he wants all of the junk food. It's french fries. Chicken nuggets french fries, candy, all the sugar. Yes. Every-- All the traditional kid stuff. All the traditional things. Every, on the other hand, wants nothing but fruits, berries, vegetables. She eats eggs every day. She loves my omelets that have spinach and peppers. And my son, I can't even get him to eat eggs. And so I'm like, there's correlation right there for healthy eating to what this is. Both my kids are constantly on the go. But she's picking up the weight. She's doing yoga. She's doing this. She's doing that. And Christian has a hard time with running. So it's very interesting between the two. But I wouldn't change anything for the world. I just know that both my kids are healthy. Both my kids are safe. Both my kids are watching me now be a healthy mom. Be a healthier version of me. So that's the difference between the two. OK, I know I just interrupted a great conversation. But my name is Brad. And you may be listening to me or any of the other talent we have on this network at HopeCast. We want to thank you for listening. But also, we want you to like and subscribe to the show you're listening to. So when you're done listening, go on the iTunes or the Spotify and leave a great review if you like it. And follow the show on Instagram and any other platform that it's on. I think we're on TikTok. So follow us on TikTok. But make sure you leave us a review. We love good reviews here at the HopeCast Network. Now, I guess I'll let you get back to your show. I hate to interrupt what you're doing now, but something very important I need to let you know about. When you purchase serious coffee beans, we want you to try to enjoy each brew for two reasons. Number one, because you're a part of something bigger, making a positive impact around the world. And number two, because we did not compromise on the quality of coffee, you're drinking some of the best coffee in the world. 100% of profits are donated to nonprofits that are fighting injustice facing humans around the world, Wallace. That's powerful. Generous is best known for especially coffee, but the heartbeat of generous is their hope to use for profit business for good. In 2024, generous is hoping to provide coffee to churches around the US to spread a message within congregations that churches care about people even down to the coffee they are serving and the people they enjoy. I apologize for that extremely long run on sentence. If you have interest in hearing more about generous coffee, please reach out to their founder, Ben Higgins, at binhiggins@generismovement.com. Thank you and back to our scheduled podcast. - I love that. So as far as after having the babies, I'm sure your recovery time from your C-section was a lot easier your second time, I would guess, right? - Oh my gosh, it's funny that you say that because the first time when you have a C-section, they have to bring you from one bed to the next bed. So the first baby, they had a hoist me with Avery, I literally was up, I moved myself over and they're like, how are you doing that? You just had surgery and I'm like, I worked out every day. And also there were recovery times. I was so stacked, as I said, I was so stagnant after Christian and I couldn't move. I was just, I felt like a bump in the log where with Avery, I wanted to get up and move. And then again, you gotta slow down. And I'm like, how can I, I have another, I have a four-year-old who's constantly on the go, now I have a new board. And I'm like, how can I slow down? And they're like, you gotta slow down, but I was ready to go where my energy level was not ready to go with Christian. So it's so different. - Yeah, yeah, I can totally understand and relate between the three girls. My pregnancy was broken when I was actually focused on my health and my nutrition. It's totally different. So what would you say when you started your health of an attorney, this doesn't have to be running related. It can be, it doesn't have to be. What do you feel like the biggest mistake you made was within your own journey, focusing on your health? Like, is there something that like you tried or you did that just like, you were like, I'm not gonna do that again, or I learned from that. That shouldn't be something I do. - So, I mean, I've been on, I've been on a fitness journey for a long time. I always wanted to be fit. I always wanted to get healthy. And the one thing that prohibited me to see growth in like way back in the day was the consistency and the willingness to, if things got hard, to keep going. And that was something that held me back, back in the day. It's like, once I removed that and I said, I don't care what I have to go through, just get it done. Like, you're gonna have bumps in the road. You're gonna have the ups and downs. You're gonna have this. You're gonna have that. So, you pivot, but you don't pivot so far that you go off track. You just say, okay, tomorrow's another day. We'll pick it up right where we left off. Where in the past, I'll be like, I gotta wait for Monday now, always screwed up. It's Wednesday, like, oh, I'll start next week. I'll start next week. Well, that next week started to go the month, then a year, and then it just kept going. Where now, it's like, I do this every single day. I don't stop, and I just know it's a lifestyle. It's not a diet, it's not, you know, it's not like a, it's not a phase or a fad. No, this is my lifestyle. Like, this is how I need to live. And I know that moving my body for 30 minutes a day is my sweet spot. I know that I need to have all of the macros filled, because if not, I feel awful. And right now, I'm kinda dealing with some gut health issues so I'm trying to kind of rework some things in my diet because I've done all the legwork prior. So I know things aren't right. So now I'm just trying to, like, switch some things around to kinda go, okay, what's not working right now to drop those last, like, 10 pounds? Like, what's prohibiting me to get to, like, my ultimate goal? And that's where you kinda play around with things and you stick with it for a little bit, and then if it doesn't work, you shift it again, but you don't just stop. So I think that was my biggest thing back in the day. - So here's a question I love to ask. And it doesn't have to be fitness-based. It doesn't have to be running-based. It could be anything that you're open to share. But can you share maybe some type of, like, embarrassing story, something that's either happened to you or that you've seen happen when you've been out and about that our listeners might be surprised to hear, I guess. Probably throw you off a little bit. Let's put it this way. Whatever you're comfortable with sharing, of course. Like, I don't wanna put you in a spot where you're like, oh, gosh, I'm never gonna talk anyway. I was on that podcast 'cause I talked about that thing. But I've had people talk about bathroom stuff. I've had people talk about, I've had people in previous episodes talk about using socks as toilet paper and, you know, some pretty graphic things, maybe in downtown Chicago area, I don't know. So just know that the audience you're listening to is used to hearing whatever. So it's bigger, small, and embarrassing story you could share with us. - So I do have, it's happened local. So if any local from Connecticut are listening, you probably may have seen it or may not, I don't know. As I was running, and it does pertain to running, I actually, my shorts, so this drawstring on the shorts, I was like running, and I didn't wanna lose my time. So I pulled, well, I pulled too much, and the drawstring ripped. And I lost my-- (laughs) - No, I was in the middle of running on-- - Like on your own, or on your own? - On my own, thank God, on my own. But it was on a main street. So I was pretty far away from home. So as I was running, I was like holding on my pants, and I'm like-- - All I can do is not be like a meme on Instagram, that like there's some girl running, and then there goes her pants. - So not that I'd want someone to have a video of you, but I kind of really wish there was a video footage of that. 'Cause that's awesome. - And it was like on the main street, and I live really close to a school, and it almost happened near the school, thank God. Thank God, it didn't, like it was like a little ways-- - Whoa, whoa, exposing yourself in Connecticut by school. - Well, it's much like now that I'm on the PTO, like this is great, like that would have been awesome. It's freaking awesome, like PTO, VP, like losing her pants. - I can't imagine. I can't imagine. - Yeah, that was my embarrassing moment. I mean, I've had others like home, like in a home space, but no one sees me, but no one sees me like that. That was like five times. - That would be extra careful around school. So like, I have a couple of friends I run with on Sundays, and there was a day that one of them's like, "Oh, I gotta really go to the bathroom." And they're like, "I'm just gonna go in the woods." And I'm like, "But wait, there's a school right there." There could be a camera. I'm like, you're gonna get marked as like, "Cadophila." - Yeah, exactly. - No. - Exactly. - No. - That's what I think. - Goodness, like this didn't happen. Like the school was here and it happened like here. And I was like, "Okay, I'm just gonna keep being home now." - Oh my goodness, I can't, that's awesome. That's awesome. - There we go. - All right, so before we wrap up, can you share with us like, what is your goal for yourself? Have you thought about a goal, whether it be running base, fitness base, life base, be yourself over the next several months or six months or a year? Like do you have something that you actively working towards or you would like to work towards and openly share it on the podcast so that all of our listeners can listen to you say what your goal is and then we can hold you accountable to it by watching you on Instagram. 'Cause I'll make sure I drop your stuff below in the show notes. - Drop my stuff. So few things. So one, as I said, like I've been battling with like dealing with like gut health issues and like really just trying to get the mom puke away. And I know that that's stemming from a lot of health, you know, just some gut stuff. So I'm working on that hopefully by January. - We're doing like a whole anti-inflammatory transition, right? - Yeah, so I'm gonna make the podcast about it but I think that's what you're doing is like the anti-inflammatory things to like make it chill. - Kind of like shift it and then I have been an avid, like avid weight lifter. Like I love me in my weeks. I love lifting heavy but I've noticed recently like I can't, my body just needs a break from it. So I am also kind of shifting my wheelhouse away from weights just to see like what I could do. So that's like that. And then I actually do have a running goal. I do have a running goal. - I don't know when I would pull the trigger to do this. My brain's already going. - Go ahead. - But I love to run a half marathon. And there is a famous half marathon here in Connecticut. It's in Fairfield. It is hard. - What time of year is it? When is it? - It's in the spring. - May, June, something around there. But it's very hilly. Like, and when we say, like, how hilly are we talking? Like what's, do you know the elevation? - Fairfield, it's like one of the, anybody that runs there, it's very like, they're like, it's one of the hardest ones in Connecticut because everything else in Connecticut is kind of flat. But around the, where they go, it's really hilly. And it's hard. So I'm like looking it up as you're talking. I don't, you're gonna be like, ugh! - I'm looking at it up. I'm trying to find it. Go ahead, keep telling. - My goal, my first ultimate goal would actually run a half marathon. I haven't done anything more than a 5K. So this would definitely, I've never done a 10K, you know, this would kind of go outside in my wheelhouse and go outside of my norm. But it's actually been on my brain lately. And it's like, and next year, or in two years, I turned 40. So I was like, maybe. - Maybe, maybe, you know, maybe I could, you know, do my last years of my last year of 30 running a half marathon. And then maybe in my 40s, do a full marathon. I don't know. - Yeah. - Then that's, let me see if I can actually make it to the half marathon. - And I know to give one step at a time, I'm trying to find like the elevation for the course and stuff. 'Cause I feel like if your first half is really hilly and bad, that might be the best way to go. - I know. - And then after that, you're like, nothing can be as bad as bad. - Yeah. If it's just a straight shoot, then it's a straight shoot. Like, whatever. - Yeah, yeah, nothing. I remember my first half was for Dana Farber, the Cancer Institute up in Boston. And they have you go on Jamaica Way, which is like all hills. Like all rolling hills and up and through the city and everything. And I've been told by many people that that's pretty hilly of a root. - Yeah. - But I think the hillyest root I've ever done, I did, they don't have it anymore. It's in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was a 16 mile race. So either you could run it as a relay or you could be a total idiot like me and do the 16.1 on your own. 'Cause I ran a half in like October. - Yeah. - And it was November race. So I was like, "Well, three more miles." Like 13 miles, 16 miles, I can do that. And so it's through the Mile Standish Industrial Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts, which is the hillyest course I've ever been on. Like the hillyest to the point that now if we have to drive through it for any reason, 'cause sometimes where we live, it's easier to get over to Plymouth that way. Matt will say, "So did you run up this hill?" And I'm like, "Yeah." - Yeah, it is. - And then he'll be like, "Why would you do that to yourself?" And I'm like, "I don't know." And then we'd like come down the hill and he'd be like, "Did you run down this hill?" He goes, "Hold on, let me drive slower, Aaron, "so we can see what it feels like to be you." And he goes like, "Five miles per hour," which I can't even run five miles per hour, I'm sure. And he's like, "Put since he's such a jerky. "He puts his head out the window." And he's like, "Is this how it feels to run up this hill?" Of course, my gosh. - Make sure you're doing that. - Oh, yeah. - He's got his head out the-- Is this how this feels? But you know what's cool? When you start running distances, if your kids are interested, my teenagers aren't as much, like they're not as impressed by mom. But the younger two who I have to, I get to, not I have to. I get to drive to a lot of sporting events. My third daughter who's 10 had a lot of travel weekends and weeknights for games. And my husband and I have to divide in congress sports. So we have some games that are 40 minutes away, pretty consistently a couple nights a week. So anyways, I put the address in the Waze app and it comes up on my car screen. And so now they play the game of mom, it's 30 miles. Could you run that? And I'm like, well, I haven't run 30 miles, but I run 26. So I think if I needed to, I could make it the four more. And then we'll be driving, right? And then my son's like, are we almost there? And I'm like, we're getting there. And he's like, mom, it says 12.1 miles, like our 12 miles. Could you run that? Like that's always the conversation between me and my younger two kids. - 'Cause I know. - Every time we're on a road trip, they're like 10 miles, you can run that, right, mom? It's 10 miles home. I was like, yeah, mom could run that. - Mom can do that. - Mom can do that, of course she can. Dad, dad, dad, no, mom. - Dad, no. - Mom, don't mind me. - So who knows? Maybe you go the path of the half, you slowly build your base for the next year and you get yourself ready. And I would be so excited to cheer you on with that. And my brain's already gone, we probably would have a tournament that weekend. So I don't know that I could think of it again, but if we didn't get out of here, we'd get out of here. - Right now, Jen knows me, but if you follow me, I think everybody here knows from like April 'til August, every weekend we're in a tournament or an event. So it's like a huge affair for me to take any Saturday or Sunday away from the family 'cause my husband and I have to split fields based on where we're going. So by the back of my brain was like, oh, I wonder, maybe. We'll see. So anyways, where can we follow you, Jen? Where can we stay updated? How can we support you before we wrap up? - Yeah, that's the way. So you can actually find me on Facebook at Jen Marsan. And then on Instagram, you can find me at mama_jay_fitness. (laughs) - Excellent. - Excellent. - That is me. - Great. Thank you for taking for a daily dose of motivation and wanna follow Jen. Please do definitely do Instagram, Facebook. She has some great energy, great story. And I'll tell you, you'll be blown away when you see her transformation and what she's done because it's really, it's powerful, it's impactful. And I'm sure not only within her home and her family, it's creating a ripple effect, but to many other people's lives, she touches. So thanks, Jen, for coming on. I appreciate you. And we'll see you guys in the next episode. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
