Meghann Featherstun on Diving Deep into your Passions

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Speaker 1: Hi. This is Laura Vandercamp. I'm a mother of five, an author, journalist, and speaker. And this is Sarah Hart Hunger. I'm a mother of three, a practicing physician and blogger. On the side, we are two working parents who love our careers and our families. Welcome to best of both worlds. Here we talk about how real women manage work, family, and time for fun, from figuring out childcare to mapping out long term career goals. We want you to get the most out of life. Welcome to best of both worlds. This is Laura. This is episode two hundred and eighty one, airing just before Christmas in late twenty twenty two. Sarah is going to be interviewing Megan Featherston, who is a great runner and coach and is going to be talking about all things serious athleticism, doing that when you have a full life as well, And we're talking just this in general, about how you can make space for serious interests outside of work and family. Speaking of which Sarah has a pretty serious interest in running. That's how you found Meghan? Right? Yes? I found Meghan via one of our Patreon members and also longtime blog reader. I actually met her once in person. Her name is Chelsea, So thank you Chelsea. That's how I found Megan, And then I've since heard Megan on multiple other podcasts and thought she'd make a fantastic guest for the show. So, I mean, you guys all know I have fallen in and out of love with running over the years, but I do really enjoy training for races and making running a regular part of my life most of the time, sometimes not in the hot Florida summer, but certainly the rest of the time. And I am definitely currently in a post kids running renaissance of sorts, not with my performance that I feel like I am starting to see some slow improvement, and that's been fun, but it's taken a while, and I still find myself comparing myself to thirty year old me and being a little bit disappointed that it's things to don't come as easily as they did back then. Not that I was some sort of elite back then either, So it's like going from middle of the pack to like farther back in the middle back. But I still really really enjoy it. And so yeah, I'm out there running usually five to six times per week. I'm planning on running the A one a half marathon in February, which should have hopefully decent weather. I'm either going to do a full marathon in twenty twenty three or at least train for one that would be held in the winter or spring of twenty twenty four next year. So it's a big part of my goals, as we'll talk about next week. And yeah, I'm into running these days. What about you? Yeah, well, I'm still into running. I'm not doing it nearly as seriously as you are, but I have been running at least three times a week. It's one of my three times a week things. For anyone who read Tranquility by Tuesday, one of the rules is three times a week as a habit. So my goal is just to keep running as a regular. I am not currently pursuing any particular speed goals. I generally don't run faster than ten minute miles like ever. You know, when I run with my friend Jane, we tend to do between like ten ten thirties, and she's much faster than that, but she's willing to run at that pace. For me on my own, it's probably more like eleven minute miles, And you know, that's fine. I don't have any particular speed aspirations at the moment. However, I recently ran a Turkey Trot with Jasper and he enjoyed it, and I think would like to run another five k in the future, and he perhaps is more interested in getting faster, so I might need to do that alongside him so that we can keep running together. So that would be great. I would be excited about that. I don't think I'm ever going to do any more marathons. I've sort of reached my piece with that. I had it at some point in my thought like oh, and in fact, in twenty twenty, I had signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon and then of course it like happen, but I don't know it just the sheer length just I guess never say never, but I'd probably be like fifty five before I felt like my life had calmed down enough to go do it. So I'm not sure that that's ever going to happen. And that's not to say if you have a hectic like that you can't train for a marathon. It just might not be a priority, and it might not be a bit priority. And that's I think what all of This gets at too, because I think it would be hard to say, Okay, well, I'm going to have a big career and a family and you know, run seriously with all stuff, and I'm also going to be in choir and I am going to play the piano, and I am going to whatever else that have my little adventures, I mean something have little less to give me. You can do a lot. Making space for all of that might be a little bit more complicated, but if you choose one thing that you really want to go all in on, you obviously really can do that. Yes, as our guests will show. Well, one more question before we get into our interview. Do you eat before you run? Okay, so I'm not running fast enough or long enough that like the fueling matter ever comes into this as like a question. I don't specifically eat before running to do so. I mean, if I'm running in the morning, I will usually eat something before I go, like I want, I have like half a cup of coffee just to get awake, and then I don't know, something like a pop tart or a banana or something like that. Okay, well that counts uh huh, because I always run in the morning and I actually had been pretty much only drinking black coffee before until I started this training cycle and started learning more about what our guest talks about. And now I still only do coffee if it's like a like a slow four mile run or something like that, like a recovery day. But if I am running intervals or any length of time, I usually drink a sports drink. And I have experiments on at least one occasion with Graham crackers. It didn't go well the one time I tried it, but Graham crackers are so defensive that suggests that maybe eating is not going to work for you. I think it was just it was a bad workout. I think I I pushed myself and it was hot, and I tried a little too hard on that particular workout. Like I have that I know exactly where I was when I was like struggling, so I just don't have that damage. Yep, we won't get any more graphic than that, and with that we will bring on our wonderful guest, Meghan. All Right, I am so excited to have Megan Featherston on the show with me. I had heard her on a bunch of other podcasts and as we discussed in the intro. Laura and I were really trying to find the right person to talk about the intersection of career and hobbies, but also the pleasure to be found in really delving deeply into something that you love, and so I think Megan would be perfect to talk about this. Megan, can you introduce yourself? Tell us what Featherstone Nutrition is and kind of I don't know the story, like how did this become your career path? Yeah, oh, thank you, Sarah. I'm honored that you thought of me to be a part of this passion of hobbies and careers and the intersection of it. My name is Megan Featherston, as you've had said, and I'm a sports dietitian. I have been a registered dietitian for gosh, fourteen or fifteen years now, and I've been a registered sports dietitian now for seven or eight years. So that was like kind of segued part way through my career into more of what I'm doing now. But it's kind of funny because as far as Featherstone Nutrition goes, like what I'm doing now is something that I had dreamed of doing my entire life but never really had the courage or even the confidence to think that this is where I could have gone. So it was always in the back of my head that I would love to work with athletes, even since I was in grad school. I had a phenomenal sports nutrition class and I was like, ah, that would be like my ideal population. But at that time they were like, oh, you know, like less than point five percent of dieticians actually succeed. So I was like, okay, I'll just go to the hospital. Interesting, well, for our listeners that aren't as familiar with your work as we've got many, like non runner listeners, believe it or not, explain what it is that you do and how you work with clients, And I guess I would be interested like how did that grow over time? Because you said you initially started in the hospital, so how long was that your career path before you ended up kind of moving over sure? So right now what I do is I would say about ninety five percent of my one on one in group clients are runners. I do have some triathletes in there as well, and a couple cyclists, but most of the people that I work with are runners, and everything is done virtually over zoom or group classes, and so they live all over the place, all over the world. Truthfully, we've had people from Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and some of these group classes. It's so fun, so lots of different people. But kind of backtracking, when I started in the hospital, I come from a medical family, so I knew I wanted to do something medical, So it made sense that I took nutrition into the hospital for quite a few years after grad school, and I really do think I learned so much like medical nutrition therapy as the basis. That's not what I practice now. I practiced nutrition coaching across state lines, but you know, it gave me a really solid foundation on nutrition and research and applying it to people. So like, I'm very thankful for the time that I had in the hospital, but I was feeding people through their veins, through tubes and their noses, Like that was not me. Like, I've always been very wellness focused. So from that clinical position, I hopped into working for population health. So I started creating large scale educational programs for a very large hospital system for their employees. So that's where I really kind of started with the group education wellness. I'd have like one hundred people in these classrooms with me that I was teaching, and then we eventually took it online at the beginning of COVID, So I had a lot of experience teaching the wellness aspect and in the background, I was running. I was running a lot, you know. So I eventually started working one on one with runners while I was in clinical and then kind of the intersection of COVID, and it really took off, Like my personal business just started booming enough that I was like, oh, I definitely need to walk away from the hospital at this point and do this full time. So I've actually only been doing what I'm doing now full time for a year and a half. Oh that is amazing. I didn't realize the evolution was so quick. Yeah, but I think there is something to be said when you when you recognize that you have a skill set that resonates like that and that people want it. I'm not sure everybody would have taken the leap like you said it so matter of factly you're like, oh, yes, it was time to leave the hospital and do this, But that can be really scary. Were there did you talk to anyone when you made that decision? Like, how did what was your thought process. It was so scary, So I guess I should back up to like why I even started Featherstone Nutrition. So my kids are five and seven, and it was when I was on attorney leave with my second with my daughter, so a little over five years no, yeah, a little over five years ago. She was three weeks old, So you got anyone who has kids knows like where your mind's at postpartum. I'd had a C section. I was a mess, you know. And one of my physician friends, who works with a lot of runners, he operates on their feet, he'd operated online, was like, Megan, you got to start your own business. He'd been pestering me for like a year. I need to refer people to you. You need to get paid, you need to do this. And I finally was like, doctor m I am so deep and thick into like, I don't even know what to name it. And he was like, oh, I'll name it for you. Featherstone Featherstone Nutrition. That's what it's going to be. It's a playoff your last name, which confuses a lot of people now, but anyways, we're sticking with it. And he literally, with a three week old at home, I'm like applying for my LLC and like in a Delirium'm like, I can't believe I'm doing this, making my own website. But I'm so thankful for him pushing me to do it, because I think I would have always just been like, it's not the right time, it's not the right time, and then it never would have gotten to where it is now, you know, because you're white. To your question, it's so scary to try to do things on your own. Like I am not a risk taker at all. I don't gamble like I like to play it safe, you know. So my hospital gig didn't pay well, but it was safe, you know, So it was like easy, it was regular, you knew the paycheck was coming, exactly. So interesting exactly, So do you find that what you're doing now? You know, our podcast we have a lot of working parents, and actually we tend to be one of the few podcasts where like we don't talk about entrepreneurial stuff all that often. Now, one of the one of the hosts, Laura, does work for herself. But I have always been employed. Now I'm part time, so kind of learning. But how have you felt like you're parenting, Like do you feel have things change have Do you feel like you're more available for the kise, is it less available because now you have pressure and you feel like you have to succeed or what has that transition been like as a parent as well as like as in somebody going from that employee position to the working for yourself. I personally, very wholeheartedly feel that while the work I call it work burden, but you know what I mean, the things that I need to do for my own business are much greater than what I would have had to do as an employee. Somewhere. It allows me to manage my time so that I can be more available for my children. I walk them down the street to school every morning. That is always blocked off on my calendar. I pick them up every single day, and I probably have things to do after, so sometimes my mom comes down and help. Sometimes I put them in front of the TV so I can do something I need to do. You know what I mean? But I think it has only made me a better mom and a better person in general, because I'm so much happier doing what I love and I really do. I can take time off to be the room mom for my mom's class or my daughter's class. I'm like, I can't believe I signed up for this to play a part, you know. But I couldn't have done that if I was still, you know, employee of someone else. So I really do feel there's a lot to juggle in life right now, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Amazing. Well, we're going to take a quick break and then pivot into talking more about your running and that the role that that I don't even know if I it's not a hobby, it's more it's a passion plays in your life. So we will be right back. All right. I am back with Meghan, and I know that she's not going to she's not going to sell herself well enough. So let me just preface this section by saying, she is a two fifty marathoner. Like she's sitting there, she actually has a sign behind hers that has her time from the Chicago Marathon, which was two fifty forty seven. And that is absolutely astounding. That is something that you can just well, first of all, that everyone can do, and second of all, that you can just casually like, oh, this is my little hobby that I do on the side and go you have to like put so much time and effort and education and everything into it. So, Megan, were you always that kind of runner? Did you always have that talent? And like when did you decide in adulthood that you were going to take it that seriously to reach that kind of a level, Because I think it's amazing and inspiring. So I want to hear about kind of how that's gone for you. No, I was not always a runner. I played sports in high school but did not run. I did not run in college. I actually started running kind of as like a hail Mary pass after grad school because I was born I'm very goal oriented. I love to be working towards something. I don't ever like to feel stagnant, like it's probably a blessing and a curse. So when grad school was over, I was like, oh, I have a job now, that's all. Like I don't have anything. I'm working towards, no goals. So I signed up for the Cleveland Marathon with one of my friends and he had run it before. So we started training together, and my first ever road race was a marathon. Like I had never pinned a bib on my chest before that, and honestly, like I really enjoyed it because every weekend it was like this long run was the longest I've ever run, Like it felt like such an amazing sense of accomplishment. Plus it made me feel good, like running makes me feel good, it makes me happy, it clears my mind. I feel like I'm more productive after I have run. So I was hooked, but not necessarily hooked on the marathon, like I was like, oh God, like I'm never doing this again. But sure enough I kept doing it and kept doing it and kept doing it, and I would say as far as like when did I really start taking it sooth? So backing up, my first marathon was just under four hours, so very average for a first marathon. A lot of people's goal was to break four hours right for their first marathon, So you know, nothing, It's not like I was like, I have to interject here because this is hilarious because my first marathon was also the Cleveland Marathon in two thousand and five, okay, many years ago, and I ran it in like four hours in one minute, and guess what, I haven't gotten any faster since then. And you ran a two fifty, so that's wow, Okay, keep going. Yeah, it was two thousand and nine, so a feears still a long time ago, but a few years after you. So I between kids, I had some foot surgery and like running was like, oh my god, can I really keep chasing goals? At that point, I'd run like a three twenty something, but I'd had all this foot surgery and I'm like, can I really keep doing this? And then I wanted to have kids. So we had kids, and I wanted it must getting a little bit older, so I wanted to have them like back to back before I was like advanced maternal age. So I knew I wasn't going to get back to marathon between them. They're not even two years apart. So I kept running, but like I told myself, I wasn't allowed to train for a marathon until my daughter was one year old, so she was sleeping through the night because I knew the demands of training for a marathon, and I was like, I'm just going to fall apart if I try to do it before you know, I'm getting adequate sleep at night and not nursing as much. You know, the demands on mom is crazy. So my first marathon back after kids, I was only running three days a week and I out of somewhere pulled off a three ZHO three and I was like, oh, I think I can break three. So that was kind of when I was like, all right, if I take this. I was serious those three days a week, and I cross trained a ton, so it's not like that was all I was doing. But I thought I couldn't handle anything more with my bad feet, so I found a coach and that's when I was like, all right, like, let's put my running in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it, because I really do think I have a chance at breaking three. You know, I was just trying to qualify for Boston when I ran that, like get back to Boston post kids, and I was like, okay, I think you have new goals, Megan. So that's kind of where it's been. Let's see, that would have been the fall of twenty eighteen was when I ran that. So that's when it kind of got a little more serious. But yeah, now we're here, and now we're here, and do you find that you were like an outlier among friends or among your peers for having a hobby that you took that? Can I say when I say a hobby not to like discount, but I think you've said yourself, like you're not in that professional echelon, Like you're not getting money, You're not quite at the level where you would be like a professional runner, but you're at a level that it takes incredible discipline, time energy to maintain. And so is it your partner, Like, how did you give yourself permission to like continue taking that deep dive into that, because I very much respect that, but I feel like it's against the current, especially in those of us who have multiple kids, because it's sort of like, oh, how dare I, you know, prioritize myself this way? Right? And I think that's what it is. You're giving givings so much as a working mom. I mean I am basically a support person for every client, you know, Like I'm constantly giving to other people and that's draining. And the only way to be my best self is to pursue my passion and to run, like that's just what makes me tick, that's what keeps me happy. And when I'm injured and can't run, I cycle or do something to take care of myself. But I mean to be completely trans parent, like I do it before my kids are awake in the morning, because exactly like you're saying, I won't and I can't make the time with the only time I do have with my kids, and my workday is full, Like I can't do it during the day, you know, when they're at school. So I hate getting up in the morning. I love to sleep, but I get up five mornings a week at four am to be out the door at four forty five to be home by six thirty when the kids wake up. And every day I'm like, why do I do this again? Why do I do this again? It never seems to get easy, especially after like Thanksgiving week, when I didn't have to get up early. It was really hard this week getting back into it, especially as it's getting colder. So I guess to answer your question, like, yes, I gave myself permission, but also I'm like very much strapping myself too. It has to be where the kids wake up in the morning, because you need to be with your kids when they're awake, Like I have a lot of mom guilt about doing it any other way. That is so interesting because I had just assumed that since you are entrepreneurial, that you could sort of structure your times so that you could like leisurely take them to school, spend two or three hours training, and then start like your nutritious. Maybe that will be your eventual schedule. Maybe someday. I am so busy with work, like it's constantly something that I like, fold laundry while I'm scarfing lunch down for fifteen minutes before I come back to work. So it's crazy, but I guess you wouldn't have it any other way. And what is it like to have your professional and your personal interests aligned so much? Is it fun? Does one take away from the other? Do you find they kind of feed each other? What is that right? Like? Because most of us don't really get to bring our passions to our work in that way. I love it. I still distinctly remember a very prominent adult in my life telling me that your profession, your passion should never overlap when I was younger, that those should never be the same thing. They need to be kept completely separate. So I still hear that in the back of my mind sometimes, but it makes me laugh because I'm like, I feel like I am such a better person and employer, and you know, to my clients because I can relate to what they're doing, Like, I feel like I couldn't be as good at what I do if I wasn't doing it or hadn't done it right. I'm not saying, you know, I used to think when I first got into this, in like twenty nineteen, right before COVID, I was training for my first sub three and I hurt my hip and I was like, I don't even know if I'm going to be able to train, I'm gonna be able to do this? And I felt slightly inadequate or slightly worthless, like how am I going to be relevant to my clients if I can't even run? And I took a real hard mental toll on me, And since then I've been like, man, you can't like your worth can never be defined by whether you're running or not, or whether you're successful at running or not. It has to be completely separate. So those two things colliding were hard for me at first. But I think as I've matured, I think got a little bit older and had a better perspective on life, I've really been able to separate that. And I think the successes that I have occasionally with running, right, they're not all successes. Definitely help and elevate my voice in different areas, but they know by no mean define the success of what I can do or how I can help my clients. And it's been really helpful to really solidify that perspective, not to mention that you can never erase what you've already done. So now the pressure is gone. I felt that way when I broke three for the first time, but you know, still had to chase something. I guess, Oh, I get it. I want to give our listeners permission here by having you talk a little bit about some of the women that use your services, so full disclosure. I think I first heard about you from a reader of my blog and a listener to our podcast, and I think she now she's a member of our Patreon who did your coaching program. Actually she has sold me like I'm going to be your client later next year just wait, because she went from like a four hour marathoner so like a three thirty marathoner, and like I think of her is like more of a running peer and like to see her have that much success. And I have really enjoyed watching her, just enjoy diving so deep into her passion, even though it's one hundred percent not her job, and she has so many other things going on. So I'm gonna guess you have some other runners like this runner, and I don't know. I want to hear about some of the patterns you see in your clients. What do you think they get out of it. I'm looking for the secret sauce that gives women the permission to dive into what they love even if they're not amazing and they're never going to be a professional. And I mean, I've worked with a couple professionals, but the meat and potatoes are the people I work with, are us, you know what I mean. It's just normal, everyday people who want to see how good they can get at something while still having fun. So my motto is, if it's not fun, don't do it. I've been like that since I was a child. I think it drives my husband crazy because he's like, everything doesn't have to be fun. I'm like, it sure does, and it can, you know what I mean. So I take that perspective and the people that I coach too, like nutrition should be fun, it should be supportive, it shouldn't be a star, it should be a stress reliever in our lives. And I think so many women over the years, I've never met a client that doesn't have some wacky nutrition habits or thoughts from just how we were all raised, you know, So helping people get through that and understand that nutrition can be that support and not a stressor and be that missing link. So to kind of answer your question, a lot of people come to me that have run, maybe they've had a coach and they've done a little bit that they can do themselves, but they're like, in order to take this to the next level, I know that I need to address my nutrition, right. I mean, when we have a running coach, they give us five workouts or five runs a week, we eat over five times a day. It could have a huge impact if there's things that we need to change to be more supportive of our running. So a lot of the women I work with are in that scenario. They're like, all I eat, but I don't think I'm doing what I need to be doing to support my tree. And a lot of times, you know, a week at a time, we come up with, all, right, what's our focus this week? What do we need to do? I give a plan up front, but I always tell people like don't get overwhelmed by this. We're gonna pick pieces out that we need to work on and build up these skills in these habits and the behaviors and figure out what we need to do together. And a lot of people I work with during an actual like half or full marathon build so that when they have that long run, we can start practicing what do we do here? What do we do here? So that by race day we've practiced car bloating, we've practiced pre race meal, we've practiced fueling, recovery. All that stuff is just like not a stressor it's just supportive. So I have people I work with one on one, and then I have people I work with in groups, and I think there's different personalities that kind of come into both of those. Some people really like that group support. Like we had a fall marathon group with most of them ran like New York City or some of the later fall marathons, and they started their own WhatsApp or whatever like group because they all just want to stay friends and supportive. So like I was able to help them with their nutrition, but they were able to make this group of friends that all these women are continuing to support each it's amazing, Like it's so much fun to connect this all and see it all work. So, like I said, I'll have people that are trying to break you know, two forty five or OTQ, and then I have women who are trying to break four thirty, you know, and all those people are in the same group getting along helping each other. Is really cool to see. Ah See, that's what I love. I love the idea that women can bond over this, can work hard at this at any level, and find that community. And I'm sure that community piece is part of what many women, including myself, get out of running, Like it's fun to talk about running, it's fun to go running with other people, it's fun to have these shared experiences, and it is you know, certainly this is just one of many passions that one could have in their life, but it's a great example of, like, you know, something that can serve you on so many friends, not just the physical right, And I think social media things like your blog and podcasts and have really elevated this community. Feel like when I started writing in two thousand and nine, my friends thought I was crazy. My mom asked me to never do this again. When I crossed that first finish line, no one understood what I was getting into, No one right, and so it did feel kind of alone sometimes. But now like, there are so many different ways that you can connect with people to feel supported, to get the information you need. That it's pretty cool. I love it. Well, what is next for you professionally? Any exciting? Like you've built this business pretty quickly, and I think the demand continues to be there, so we can to expect anything new. Are you just going to kind of build on what you currently have? Yeah, there's always new things coming. I don't sit stagnant very well. In fact, after like not focusing on work for like two or three days over Thanksgiving Sunday, I sat down and wrote out a whole new program that I'm going to launch in January. So it's like here we go. So I have one employee. It is my best friend from college I met in nutrition school. We work phenomenally together. We've been friends forever. So I put a lot of the programming together. I do all of the nutrition education, but she's kind of the background person that I'm like, hey, I got this idea. She's going to make it work electronically, you know. So we're a really good pair to be able to pull things off like that in a month. So We've got all sorts of things that we're working on, you know, for next year. And then I've made a lot of great contacts in the running sphere, if you will. So there's a lot of different things that are like on the pipes but not signed on the line yet of some really cool opportunities that involve some travel and things. So it's never a dull moment. I think sometimes I get nervous, like you know, over Thanksgiving, like oh, what am I going to do next? And I like create some program. But for the most part, it's just keeps thriving, and I think at some point it could take a whole turn, who knows, you know. But I'm open to whatever feels right in that moment and following it and kind of seeing where this all goes. I love it. Well, I'm super excited to see what you do next. I'm telling you I will be a client in twenty twenty three. Not that this is a nutrition episode, but just to give our listeners a tiny taste, not to use that pun, but I just did. Sorry. We're not going to talk too much about Graham crackers. But what is it about the Graham crackers number one and number two? If you had to say the number one mistake you see female distance runners making, what would it be so the Graham crackers. I wish there was some like crazy jazzy story about this, but I think it goes back to I hate getting up in the morning. The only way I get up is if I have a cup of coffee. And you know, I preached making sure we are always eating before it runs as women like it's terrible for our hormones to be working out fasted, whether we're running or whatever we're doing. And I'm like, I used to look for it. I love Graham crackers Like it was one of those foods when I was doing dumb stuff with my nutrition that I would eat like a whole box because I hadn't eaten enough to it. You know, It's one of those foods that I always just loved so much, and you know, looking at the nutrition, it's perfect for pre run. So I would get me out of bed in the morning, like, go get your coffee and your gram crackers and you can go run. So it was like exciting everybody to get Graham crack and then they just sit so well in your stomach you can eat them really quickly and just run out the door, because no one wants to get up an extra hour early to digest a bagel in peanut butter or oatmeal or you know, like, we don't have time for that. So the timing of it, the taste of it, and the fact that it works after I was doing it so long, and then clearly it works because lots of people are doing it now and love it too. So that's where the Graham crackers came from. And then the number one mistake I knew there was a second part of that question. The number one mistake I see people making, honestly, is having those preconceived notions about nutrition from their past, keeping them from doing the things that maybe they've heard they should do or they know they should do, but just having these deeply ingrained habits and maybe a little bit of fear behind it of changing. Like a lot of times I see women their nutrition escalates throughout the day, Like in the morning it's like, oh, I don't want to eat too much, Like I don't want to eat too much today, so eat these little tiny meals and we run in the morning, So by four o'clock, I would say, our appetite like crescendos as the day goes on, and then all of a sudden we're like face planning and every snack we can find and overeating. And then the cycle repeats because we wake up, we feel sick, we're full, we feel guilty that we eat so much crap the night before, and it's like this perpetual thing, right, So like disassociating from some of those old behaviors and being like, no, if I feel more in the morning around my runs, I actually my appetite kind of peters out towards dinner and I'm just like eh to the snacks that my kids are eating, and I can just be like, no thanks, I'm going to have balanced dinner rather than testing willpower all the time. So, and I think a lot of that is just ingrained and the diet culture. There's so many of us were raised amongst so I would say that's probably one of the biggest things. I love it. And then you get more energy for your run too, which you know, we all know that is what you want. Oh my gosh, Well, this has been so much fun. It's been a joy to talk to you. I have no doubt there are you. Know, again, this is not a show for runners, but there are many runners who listen to this show, so I would not be surprised if people are banging down your door to join groups from this episode, et cetera. So where can everybody find you? So I have a website It's just Featherstone Nutrition dot com, and then on Instagram It's Featherstone Nutrition. We've got two groups starting at the beginning of February for Boston and then for any any spring race half or full. And then I have a wait list for one on one, but you're more than willing to all get on it if you're interested. And then I also do something I call it crunch time, so like if you just have questions, like you don't need the full coaching, I help people set up like rice plans and answer questions and look over lab work that kind of stuff. So we've got options. Amazing. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thanks for having me all right, we were back. That was such a fun interview to do. I really enjoyed talking with Megan and hopefully we'll enjoy being her customer in the coming months next year. So for our question. A common question that we've gotten before is how do you fit in exercise when your kids are home? For example, many of us have a fairly long stretch coming up if you're in the US for winter break, and many of us have kids that are off for like two weeks. So any tips for getting your workouts in or not getting your workouts in during that time? Laura, Yeah, well, I think you definitely can have the ladder as an option, like not getting full formal workouts in if you could, you come up with active stuff to do with your kids. For instance, you know, pushing a baby and a stroller is absolutely exercise. Going for a walk with your kids is exercise. Playing tag in the backyard is exercise. Like you don't have to, you know, be in workout clothes and maintaining a certain heart rate and doing things that look like exercise in order for it to count as physical activity. So I would put that out there as a possibility. I know in situations like this, I often want to go run just for my sheer mental health if the kids are around for long periods of time, just getting some solo time. So if obviously it depends how old your kids are at this point, I can leave, you know, the little ones with the older ones for thirty forty minutes, so I could go for a run. So that's no longer as much of an issue for me, But in the past it was definitely a question of like, okay, when is Michael also off work. If it's a day that he is working and I have the kids, we don't have childcare for that day, I would either try to do it early or get him to nail down when he would be home at night, and then go do it at that point. You know, there's also nap time, like if you have a treadmill, I would often do you know, whenever the baby was napping, maybe in the afternoon, you know, between one and three, Like go work out on the treadmill is like the first thing I planned to do when that break occurred. And then say, you know, it probably might not happen every day, but again, if you aim for a three times a week, that's good. And you know, if you have friends who are in the same situation, you might swap with each other, right, Like if you have anyone neighbor or friend who also the kids are off school for a while, you could certainly you know, send the kids over there for an hour so you can go do something, and then you take their kids over at your house for an hour. Yeah, so other things to think about. Some gyms have childcare, and even if that's not something you do most of the time, it doesn't mean you can't take advantage every once in a while. So that's one option. Communicating with your partners. So currently Josh and I are both training for stuff, so I think we both care about getting certain workouts in certain days. So I am going to make him sit down with me so we can talk about like who's going to run first which days and kind of come up with a plan. And then you know, making use of screen time as workout time. No shame in that. Sometimes. I'm sure I will do some strength workouts while my kids are on their various devices in the afternoons. And also bringing in what you said at first. When we're on our ski trip, I'm planning zero workouts because skiing is enough of a workout and I would just rather go in knowing that it's a planned rest period than have some crazy idea that I was going to get significant mileagen. So I'm just going to look forward to it as six days of not working out other than skiing down the slopes, which, yeah, skiing can definitely be athletic. You'll be getting lots of steps in, as it were, by by doing that, and lots of lots of like whatever the muscles you use when you fall and get up again, I'll be using those a lot, yes, and lifting those heavy boots, oh my ashes, like the ankle strength workout. It's going to be something, all right. Well, this has been best of both worlds. Sarah was interviewing Megan Featherston and we will be back next week with more on making work and life fit together. Thanks for listening. You can find me Sarah at the shoebox dot com or at the Underscore shoe Box on Instagram, and you can find me Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. This has been the best of both worlds podcasts. Please join us next time for more on making work and life work together.