HEATHER EWING: The CRE RUNdown

Adapting to Episode 71 Heather Ewing - Unforeseen Circumstances and Crossing the Finish Line at the 2025 Chicago Marathon.

• Heather Ewing, CCIM • Season 1 • Episode 71

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Heather:

Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE rundown. I am your host, and I am also your guest tonight, Heather Ewing. I just finished the Chicago Marathon, and no, this is not the finisher jacket of Chicago. It's one from another marathon. But I wanted to take the time to share my experience of the Chicago Marathon. It was really a unique experience. Each marathon is very unique. And it was also the first marathon in which I'm in the double digits. So it was number 10. And I did run Chicago approximately two years ago. And my times from that, they had reached out to me via email letting me know that they would bypass the lottery for me due to my time and that I could just run it. I, of course, was very excited. And I was like, I've made the big time. Then I had to chuckle, and you still pay the $295 or whatever it is for the entrance fee. Nonetheless, I was honored and it was a true privilege to run the Chicago Marathon here in 2025. But as we back up, I'd like to reflect on each marathon. And the really neat thing about that is that each is truly a unique journey. Yes, there's commonalities such as there's a four-month training plan that I take in. I'm typically always running outdoors, except for in the winter. Every once in a great while it will be a treadmill if it's really crazy outdoors here in Madison, Wisconsin. Also, there's always foam rolling, there's recovery tools that I use. And of course, mindset is a big part of this, just as it is in commercial real estate. But let's let's break this one down, right? And I know you want to know how did I do? You'll find out at the end. So, with this particular program, I had worked with a coach and he had created my four-month plan for me. I'd worked with him one time before. Really neat guy, Thomas Kaufman. He used to coach the girls at Madison West, both track and cross-country, and recently retired. So I had him for coaching me, and then I also have been working with Spencer Eggnew, and he's great from the PT physical therapy, and also is a big runner himself. So he runs ultras, which make marathons look small, but you have to find your distance. So I had both of those two uh helping and guiding me throughout this, which was really nice, in addition to a prior marathon as well. What was interesting about this training block of four months was that in my earlier one, I had had a speed workout once a week, and it always began like around week six. That way there was a base, and it was always on Thursdays. And the neat thing about that is that the training for it was unique in every plan. Prior to that, I had never officially trained with anyone prior to Milwaukee uh fall 24. That's when I first worked with Tom. And the interesting thing about that is learning just the jargon. I didn't run in high school, I didn't run in college. Sure, fun stuff here and there. I did run one marathon in my late 20s. We used a free plan, Hal Higdon, still a great resource. And it was one of those, it was one and done. And in fact, going down memory lane, I swore I would never do another one, which I held true to for 17 years. Yeah, one, seven. Anyways, I consider myself really beginning to run um at age 40, so 11 years ago. As we get back into Chicago here, I had a once-a-week uh speed drill starting in that sixth week approximately. And then what was interesting about this particular training block is he also added a second one in, and it was every other week, and it was after the long run, or I should say it was part of the long run, but it was the end. So it was a great sprint, typically a two-mile sprint or a 20-minute sprint, which would then be over two miles. So you can imagine uh the mental part of that, right? Because I remember, especially as the miles build, and my max miles for this particular train block was 46, which is more than I think I've ever ran in my life in a week. And with that, too, you're on these longer runs and you just feel like, how in the world am I ever gonna pull that off? Right? It feels so daunting. And at times too, it's like, where did this come from? Right. And what was interesting though, and this is something I've shared over the years, especially with marathoning, of it's one of those you make the firm decision and it's like you give yourself a command. And it's not in a mean way, per se, or you know, the harsh, it's more like you've got this, right? And and you want it. So it's almost like you're reselling yourself that you want it, and also that you've got it. And it's one of those, why not? Right? Why would I not have that? So it's it's an interesting dichotomy and really comes down to that firm choice and knowing that if it's in the plan, there's something in knowing my running history and what I've been doing currently, and also in my off season that it was put in there for a reason. So that's the mindset behind all of that. And all I can tell you is when you run that speed drill at the end and you hit your marks, or maybe even better, wow, is that a high or what? And that, my friend, is the runner's high. I always tell people some people say that they've received them, other people say they haven't. Some people say you can only get them in groups, others say no, you can get them individually. Some people say you can't uh get them in this scenario or that scenario. But what I've deduced from my own experience for myself, everyone is different. When I've gotten it, it's always when I wanted to stop because the pain, you felt it when you're really pushing it, it is not comfortable at all. But I went beyond that. And I think in anything, again, whether it's marathoning, commercial, real estate, is that you break through your old ceiling and you level up, you go to that next one. And when you continually do that, that builds that muscle of confidence. And you hear so much about imposter syndrome and all of these things. I don't really get that. I feel like it's a misaligned term to me. If you're doing the work, why shouldn't you like fully embrace the gift of it? Right? There is no impostoring. You either ran your pace and your speed or you didn't. And to me, that's very clear. Maybe there's other aspects of that whole, you know, term in other areas, but for me, when you do the work and you get the result, that's the real deal. And that's authentic, and you got the blood, sweat, and tears to authenticate it. Um, I will share a funny story. And this goes back to me not really um not having a running background per se, where I was coached or in athletics for that. I was in sports, I was soccer, volleyball. I did play midfield in high school, which was a lot of back and forth, which makes sense why uh running distance kind of came for me. But, anyways, I digress. And on this particular plan, it was it was uh like a speed hill workout. In my mind, I thought I was doing the right thing. I did the chat GPT search for 200-meter uphill um areas around the downtown Madison, and I ended up going over to Edgewood College. I was like, perfect, 200 meters. How excellent. I did my two-mile warm-up running out there a little bit more, and then the repeats were eight repeats of 200, and you just never stop. And I just remember feeling like, what in the world? What is this? And I was afraid, like I was legitimately, I could feel the anxiety throughout the day, and then finally I was like, you know what, at lunch, I'm just gonna go and knock this out. And um, so I did go out there and I let them know, I'm like, you know, full transparency. I had to walk sometimes, like it just really kicked my back end. I'm like, but I feel so triumphant. I'm like, there were tears, tears of joy, because when you do something that you thought was impossible, that is liberating. And it also reminds you of how many times in life that you you put the lid on yourself and it was you doing it, right? So remove the lid, remove the ceiling that we're putting there and just go strong. And you know, this is also what I love about marathoning, is that you constantly have the the choice and opportunity to choose again. And for me, a lot of those epiphanies and knowings and and learnings beyond just taking in the beauty of the day and gratitude for your body and your spirit and your loved ones and and the good life that you have, of realizing how many times in life it was really just you. And what I mean by that is where you thought you couldn't do something, or I felt I couldn't do something, or I felt I wasn't enough, or I hadn't gone far enough in this direction, or I wasn't fast enough, you know, insert the blank, right? We all have those stupid things that we say to ourselves, and for whatever reason, and running when I am pushing, they bubble on up. And the beauty is that you get to choose: am I gonna hang on to this weight or am I gonna let it go? And am I gonna choose this? Choose this, choose the bright future, choose the better dialogue. It's all inside our brains, right? Choose the better dialogue. It's that simple, and yet it's that hard. So several tears, true joy, and again, feeling that I had done the impossible because it had been impossible to me prior. I thought maybe I could get two, three decent ones, but um, the cool thing, yeah, people were cheering me on. There was a lot of different people. Some people probably came to their windows and, like, what is this lady yelling about? Because I would high-five, you know, the air at the very top, and I was so excited. And you also have to choose enthusiasm over dread. Choose enthusiasm over dread. Again, you at every moment choose, is it gonna be a hellacious workout? Or are you gonna choose that you just defined not only that speed drill, but you also just define that chapter of life, and that chapter opens to so many other chapters. So getting all wrapped up just talking about it. So, needless to say, I later reported my greatness, right? Breaking down these barriers for myself, and turns out that was too high of a hill, and um great about it, you know. But I was like, oh shoot. So, what I learned too is that I need to clarify. I kind of went on the assumption that that was the hill. And so in the future, I know that I'll ask for greater clarity. And um, at the same time, he also knows that Heather really does not have a running background. Um, so it reaffirms that. Anyways, that was one of the highlights. Also, there were just other highlights of good speed workouts. I had a great 838 um per mile pace on, I think it was like a 17 mile or um, just a regular Saturday run, but where you're just feeling strong, and I hit a lot of hills in that just because I wanted to. And in totality, I really maxed out. I had that great half marathon, the mad mini that I ran, and so excited. I took first place in age group. So that was really great. And um at the same time, I noticed we're probably will deviate the next plan that week. I ran it a little bit harder than what I was um planning. It was this odd dichotomy of you want to run it strong, but also you don't want to empty the cup fully because I'm in the middle of training for a marathon. I'm not training for that particular half. So it's it's uh one of those interesting uh tipping points per se. But, anyways, I could really feel a lot of it. Um, it was calves, soleus, and was working with Spencer through a lot of that because we've been working in the off-season to strengthen that area. Um, obviously, those muscles get taxed really early. Also focusing on glutes because as your glutes and hips are stronger, also that eliminates some of that load on your calves and soleus. So there's there's a lot of things ebbing and flowing with that. But by the end of the season, I was doing my nerve exercises three times a day. There's tests for that. Um, also, I was foam rolling two times a day. I was doing all my stretches, my warm-up before stretches, and also the speed workouts, runs, all of these different things. And in addition, you're watching your hydration. I did buy some additional vitamin supplements also to help with reducing inflammation. So, with all the pounding and the quick recovery, it all adds up. So, not only is the practice, if you want to say, in the tennis shoes on the ground, running the miles, it's also the pre-warm-up, the after, and uh doing some of those different exercises again, morning, noon, evening. And there was nothing like at times where all since like 10 o'clock, you're going to bed and you realize, oh shoot, I didn't get that last set. Out of bed to do it. Why? Because when it's the toes at the start, when you're lining up those toes on the line, you want every single ounce of confidence you can muster because you know you're gonna expend a lot and you know that it's gonna be uncomfortable. It's really uncomfortable when you're pushing and really going for it. Um, the glory is at the end. And throughout throughout the the 26.2, it's it's ebbs and flows. You're gonna feel strong at times, and other times you're you're just not going to. And it's also coaching yourself through that from a mental aspect and also diverting your attention the best as you can to other things to take the focus off of it. So I also bought, what was it, a year ago, the Norma Tech lights, the full boots. And I remember at first I was like, great, I won't have to foam roll. Not the case. Oh, was I disappointed when that one uh came through the other year? But it is what it is, and this is what I tell myself. You can whine about it and complain, which isn't gonna change anything, or you can get on board and really focus of like, wow, I am so grateful to be healthy, to be able to run strong, um, to do speed drills, right? Like you look at some of these magazines and people in their 50s, it's like they're 80. Yeah, it's just a completely different advertising. But I've also realized over the decades that a lot of it is staying active, keeping the forward momentum, because when you stop, it's a lot harder. It's not impossible, but it's gonna be a lot harder. And at the same time, with anything that you're doing, again, this goes to commercial real estate or anything. I always say embrace the suck. In the beginning, anything is gonna be really hard. It's gonna be even more challenging because from a mental standpoint, you don't have that wire. You know, it's not wired in that you do this every five days or you do this, you know, whatever the duration and the time frame. So just know that different things are gonna suck and it's all part of it. But what you have to really engage in is the after. Who do you become? How do you feel as you start building that base? How do you feel as you extend the base? All these different things. And you get out of life what you put in. You get out of life what you put in. And to me, when that time comes, in however many decades, is that you want to know that you lived fully, that you really squeezed the towel out and you tried all the different things, that you gave it your best. Uh, the price of regret, right, is way too heavy. And there's a great quote by Jim Rohn. It escapes me at the moment, but it's something about the price of regret is too heavy a price to pay or something of that nature. So as we round out through Chicago, I was in Vancouver for uh six days, flew back, had a couple nights at home, and then went to Chicago. And it was really exciting. Uh, a couple of good friends of mine, Ashley and Joanna, came out to support me, which was so cool and so special to me. And so, of course, right or Saturday night, the night before the race, I like to just relax and lay out my outfit and all your goos and your salt sticks, and I run with gum. Uh, that's my thing. Uh, your electrolytes, all of that. And and then it's always an early rise uh the day of the race. So I was staying at the Hilton, which is directly across the street. Great experience, so easy. And um, it was nice. I was able to sleep in until five. So that was great. And with it, they're so well organized, it makes it super simple. And uh, for a big race, it was about 54,000. Went through just like that. You have to really appreciate that. Uh noticed overseas, typically not as as tightly uh run in that sense, but there's the beauty of overseas, and you have to appreciate that too, and each is unique. So the race day itself, it was beautiful. I think it was like mid-50s, kind of warm for running, but uh still a beautiful day, no rain. Got everything set up and uh had all my goo's and this and that, and things were going well through mile 15, and that's when not a proud moment, but I had GI issues for the first time. That was not fun, and it really killed my time, as you can imagine, and it went from a a run to it went to a a run walk, and then it was three to four bathroom stops as well. So as you can imagine, my time went, which was really disappointing because I was really pacing myself. I went out really slow to make sure I was really warmed up, make sure that my calves, my soleus, everything were were going to be happy. And um, that was something I was watching for in this race. And um, it was just really disappointing between all of the speed workouts, all of that time spent, um it just did not turn out as I wanted. But at the same time, we went out and celebrated myself, Ashley, and Joanna, and that was super fun and very meaningful. And again, it was a beautiful day, and I was really grateful because I finished the marathon, and to me, I would never not unless I was carried out, right? Um, finishing is just ingrained. And two, it's just one of those you do the best that you can with whatever you're encountering, and that's what Chicago stood for for me. The positive thing is all of those miles, all of those speed drills, they're still in my mind, they're in my body, they're in my legs. And I know that that will come out at another time. And again, the work ethic that happened and that will happen again and again and again. So, in that sense, was it disappointing? Of course it was. But in totality, I am grateful to be able to run many more marathons and I'll be able to crank that speed down. And to me, it was still a great experience. The ability to run a marathon is a gift, and that's something I don't take lightly. So if you have marathon questions, if you have commercial real estate questions, if you have mindset questions, I love talking about all of that. I love being a resource, and I can help guide you in so many different ways on either of those landscapes. So please do reach out with any questions, abstract commercial real estate.com. And until next time, have a great run. And remember, do it for you. And what limitation do you choose to remove for yourself today? See you soon.