Recorded on Monday, November 16, 2020.
Today’s guest is a running coach, personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist, Liubov got in touch through a mutual friend and wanted to share her story with how she moved to the US and changed her life for the better by doing something so simple: running.
We exchanged emails a few times before we finally set a time to talk. I only found out during our talk that she hails from Ukraine so we were able to talk about that a little bit before we got into her current occupation as a running coach. We discuss her move from Ukraine to the US and how she finally was able to conquer her dislike of running.
Liubov shares her frustrations in getting going, what she learned throughout the process, and where her training is at now.
This is a great episode if you’re interested in what it’s like for someone to relocate from another country to the US and, moreover, how Liubov came to enjoy running so much these days.
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2.00 – Introductions and Hello’s
-Steven’s internet connection
4.05 – Mutual Friend, Olga
-from Ukraine! (Steven didn’t know beforehand)
-Moved to Texas
5.00 – What it’s like in Texas
-Cowboys in Texas?
-Longhorns, cows with big horns
6.50 – Why did she move away from Austin and go to Colorado instead?
-From Kyiv to Amsterdam to the US
-Followed her husband for work
9.24 – Was it difficult to get a visa for the US?
-A business trip turned into residence
-China takes a bit longer
12.00 – Were there other options other than the US?
-The US had the best package deal, eg, benefits, income tax, opportunities
13.40 – What was the draw to Amsterdam?
-Liubov used to work in Turkey in 2008
15.10 – Steven’s interpretation of the Ukrainian Dream – there is a large, global diaspora
16.05 – The Ukrainian community in Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston) and Colorado
17.30 – What type of Ukrainian is spoken in Colorado?
-It’s “Ukrainian” Ukrainian, not the North American Ukrainian taught at schools to children of previous waves of immigration
-Surzyk = Russian / Ukrainian mixture
19.50 – The difference between Polish, Ukrainian and Russian
-Liubov explains a bit about the Ukrainian education system and what is taught at schools
23.00 – Getting languages mixed up
-The Chinese language is difficult
-Many people are put off by the Cyrillic writing system
24.24 – Steve only speaks English! Studied many but only speaks one!
-Liubov is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian and English
-Also knows a bit of Turkish and Spanish
25.30 – Liubov is trying to improve her English by reading more books and listening to audbiobooks
-Her move to the US was a bit difficult at first in terms of the language barrier
27.10 – How long did it take for Liubov to watch different TV shows and listen to audiobooks before she noticed a difference in her English language abilities
-English audiobooks are prevalent, not so available in other languages
29.30 – The audiobooks and TV shows available in Chinese is lacking interesting topics (for Steve, at least)
-a lot need knowledge of historical context
30.30 – Liubov’s current audiobook listening
-“Great” by Angela Duckworth
-focus and achieve your goals
32.20 – Running: was it difficult to get started?
-a five year journey to where she is now
-Arriving in the US gave her another perspective
35.30 – She started running seriously after a year of being in Austin, Texas
-Was there any athleticism in Liubov’s family before?
-Liubov’s memories of running in her younger years
-Learning how to run
-No more drinking, she doesn’t smoking
38.43 – Steve’s reminiscence of a Ukrainian stereotype he had in his early years
-What’s the word for traditional Ukrainian shirts?
39.40 – The first pair of shoes Liubov bought to get herself to commit to running
-husband started running first just with the shoes he had, started to have knee pain
-problem could be shoes = get proper footwear!
-Texas Running Company
41.30 – Liubov started working for them for a couple of years
-job search in US wasn’t going well
-got certified for personal training
43.00 – What prompted Liubov to start doing all of this, running, getting certified, becoming a coach?
-Started with wanting to lose weight and to conquer her dislike of running, she wanted to finally learn how to do it properly
45.00 – You need to replace your shoes every 400 or 500 miles
45.42 – Liubov’s running technique
47.17 – Becoming a marathon runner
-Steve has no interest in doing marathons, the time and the physical demand puts him off
48.05 – How does Liubov actually get through three hours of running?
-Length of time it takes to complete a marathon (Liubov’s first marathon took her 4 hours 2 minutes)
-Training vs competition
-Paying attention to breathing, feelings, pace
-Sense of accomplishment
50.11 – The mental process of running a marathon
-Self-encouragement
-Monitoring your energy levels
-Running a marathon is mentally difficult
51.20 – How does Liubov train for a marathon? How many miles does she run before a race?
-Tapering
52.40 – Why do people run faster during a race rather than during training?
54.55 – Running a marathon sounds like monitoring a Formula 1 car
-What does Liubov eat during races?
-Running gels
-Morton running gels
-(Eliud) Kipchoge ran a marathon in under two hours
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliud_Kipchoge
57.30 – Are these gels safe? What are the ingredients? What should be looking for when they’re looking to incorporating them into their workout regimens?
-BCAAs, sugars
-You can make your own
-Eating whole foods can be difficult when running long distances because your body can’t digest them as it usually does
1.00.10 – Sugar source of gel? What does the body need while running?
-https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/g22716327/best-energy-gels/
-https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/nutrition/supplements/a772771/energy-gels-vs-jelly-sweets/
-You need glycogen and oxygen
1.02.05 – While training, does Liubov follow any dietary restrictions?
-Found out she needs more carbs right now
-They are important for long distance running
-Not currently training for a marathon
1.04.11 – Any calorie restrictions?
-None
-She calculated macros: proteins, fats, carbs
1.05.35 – Liubov’s day of eating:
-Gels or bars before run
-After run protein shake or smoothie and banana
-An hour later a proper breakfast: protein pancake mix, blueberries, sour cream
-Lunch: whole grain bugor or buckwheat or pasta (with or without meat or veggies)
-Apples, nuts
-Dinner: similar to lunch
1.06.58 – Finished eating by?
-Finish three hours before bed
-gets to bed by 830pm, up by 530am
-Daylight savings time messes things up
-Steve sleeps 11pm till 6am
1.09.00 – How long does Liubov run for every morning?
-depends on what she is training for and what phase of training she is in
-45 min to 2.5 hours
1.10.17 – Does Liubov ever do “two a days”?
1.11.39 – Liubov’s morning routine
-“All successful people have a routine”
-Meditation, journalling, reading, mental training
1.13.18 – What is Liubov reading that early in the morning?
-She made herself a morning person
-It’s not history books, it’s self-empowerment books = it’s a certain type of books that gets Liubov in the frame of mind to go running
1.15.34 – Who taught Liubov this idea of having a morning routine?
-Went to a fitness trainer conference
-Todd Durkin’s books
1.17.30 – Steve’s morning routine during COVID
-Steve’s studying Chinese is like running
-Steve started to separate his activities so he was anxious to always get something done
1.18.45 – Liubov is now reading the book “Essentialism by Greg McKeowen”
-Be in the moment
1.19.45 – Does Liubov take anything to help with mental acuity so early in the morning or throughout the day?
-Steve drinks coffee
-Liubov intakes some caffeine with her sports drink before a run, not a coffee drinker but drinks tea
-No caffeine after 2pm
1.22.10 – Supplements that Liubov takes (ZMA: zinc, magnesium, Vitamin D), glycine for sleep
-She feels better if she gets 7.5 hours of sleep
-Steve has found that sticking to a routine of getting up is better for keeping a routine
-Eight hours is too much!
1.23.55 – Liubov’s certifications
-National Academy of Sports Medicine
1.25.15 – What did Liubov learn? Can anyone take these courses or just people who want to become coaches?
-Liubov still has a coach
-Coaches (and teachers) give you an objective point of reference
1.27.00 – Keeping track of progress (timing for each run)
-“You have to delegate things or else it’s a big burden on you”
1.29.42 – How often does Liubov meet with her coach?
-Before COVID was one-on-one (expensive), now it’s group coaching, given training plans online
-Liubov also provides one-on-one coaching online
1.31.00 – What’s the difference between the conversations that Liubov has with her coach and the conversations she has with her clients?
1.32.30 – If someone wants to learn more about how to run, what can Liubov offer her clients?
-Defining goals, commitment levels
-Is it her scope of practice to help them?
-Also provides fitness exercises (stretches, warm up and cool down)
1.35.05 – Has she ever said “No” to someone?
-Not yet!
-Coaching for almost two years, everyone has been a good match
1.36.50 – Being able to communicate the science into workable actions
-Liubov focuses a lot on mental training or running memories (Jack Daniels)
-https://runsmartproject.com/dr-jack-daniels/
-What did the courses have Liubov read?
1.40.11 – Russian book about running
1.41.27 – What are the restrictions on Liubov’s coaching?
-Can ask questions about food intake unless she became certified as a nutritionist or dietician
-State regulations = don’t talk about what you haven’t been certified in
-Specializes in running
-Can do general pieces of nutrition
1.43.25 – Does this apply to international clients or does Liubov have to abide by the US rules and regulations since she is based there?
1.47.50 – Liubov’s contact details if people are interested in learning more
-website (has a form people can fill out)
-Instagram (the best way)
1.48.50 – Cryotherapy – is it any good?
-Can’t you just take a cold shower?
-It’s dry, not wet, sub-zero, only for a few minutes, not as stressful! Like going outside in the winter.
1.51.55 – Liubov smiles in her pictures – if people take her coachinng, will they end up smiling when they run?
-She had a client hired her because of her smile!
-Stark contrast to other personal trainers on Instagram
-Now reading a book “Train your mind for athletic Success”
-Smile and you’ll change your mood
“Always look for a positive. Every experience in our life, we’ll learn from it.”
Find Liubov on Instagram and through her website:
- https://www.instagram.com/lyutsik
- https://www.lomonosovi.com/
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(Although I said that I still wouldn’t run a marathon, I DID add another lap to my run right after this podcast was recorded to bring my total running time to 30 minutes.)