Thoughts from the Tub
Thoughts from the Tub is born.
Welcome to Thoughts from the Tub --I am stealing this blog title from the name of a long time text thread with my two former running partners. These two remarkably different and truly exceptional women and athletes, happened to also be my marathon training partners for the last few years that I lived in San Diego. The three of us ran the St George Marathon together in 2015 and all three of us qualified for Boston during that race in our respective age divisions: 40-44, 45-49, and 50-54 years old. Collectively, we have run the Boston Marathon more than 10 times. Truth be told--I am the novice having only run Boston twice. Each year, we would train for a marathon during the hot summer months in Southern California. This meant that every Saturday morning, between 4 and 6 am, we would head out for our long runs that were 15 to 20 miles long. Being in 3 different age divisions meant that we use the term “running together” loosely. This translated to the two of us "older" runners chasing our younger partner up and down hills for 20 miles! From time to time I would use a special formula I have to age grade our performances just to shake things up a bit and cause trouble! This was always fun because the oldest runner was invariably the winner of every race! I am somewhat of a trouble maker like that!!
Thoughts from the Tub was the name on our text thread that I cherished for years. Every Saturday, after we had already spent 3+ hours running together, we would go our separate ways and head home for the long awaited “soak in the tub”. I learned about the soak from my former personal trainer, Brian Richardson. He taught me to soak in 6 pounds of Epsom Salt for 30 min after every long run. In a short time, we had all adopted the ritual of soaking in the tub after long runs. In fact, we used to joke with each other that we had to run AT LEAST 15 miles or more to be "worthy of the soak." We were the best version of ourselves during the soak. We solved family problems, health problems, and every imaginable running problem--all from the tub. It's wonderful what your mind can produce while basking in a ridiculous amount of running endorphins. We would come up with some amazing, insightful, and hysterical thoughts! We experimented with every concevieable running recovery aide during this time....this experimantal list grew to even include things like Diet Dr. Pepper and Salt and Vinegar chips at one point. We were brilliant and incredibly funny!! And so it is to honor all that I learned from my running friends, over hundreds of miles, and our special shared tub wisdom, that I dedicate my blog to both of them. They continue to inspire me with their resilience, positive outlook, and their ongoing push for excellence.
Thoughts From The Tub is a reflection of my commitment to compel you to discover other approaches to how you think about your health. I want you to dream your dreams, and then really get curious about what it will take to achieve them. I hope to support you in gathering your own version of "tub wisdom" in the areas of your life where you feel you are lacking and need more information. I would love to see you experiment with change and where that can take you. I am bound by my desire to share what I know with the hope that it will elevate just one of my fellow travelers on the road. Your health is complex and uniquely yours so take what works for you and discard the rest. It's your journey. And finally, I am pretty sure if you read this WHILE soaking in the tub, some magical tub wisdom will come your way. Enjoy!
Let’s talk about how I can be of service to you. To book your free consultation visit my website at https://www.cathydunford.com/thecoach or email me at cathy@cathydunford.com.
Soak it up, my friends.
(Note: the picture is the tub at my in-law's house in Boulder, CO --post 20 miler. Definitely the most "retro" tub I have ever had the pleasure to soak in!!)