I haven't always believed in "follow your dreams" or "do what lights you up." I grew up in a midwest working-class family who gave accolades for hard work and built their pride on "working the grind." It didn't matter if you loved your job or not, only that you put some elbow grease into it and did good work.
I fit this hard-working mold as I am fantastic at following directions, checking off lists, and striving to do the right thing. However, the college-aged version of me began to question. During my physical therapy clinical rotations, I challenged my choice of career. I thrived on helping other hard-working people get better. However, I struggled to care for those that didn't have that same drive or desire to be active.
This inquisitive self quickly was shut down by the "do the right thing" character within me. I pushed forward, graduated, and then spent 17 years going to a job that I only sort of liked.
In an attempt to make lemons out of lemonade, I used my physical therapy education and resources to learn everything I could about something else I loved, running. I dove deeper into how to help runners run better. The more I learned and the more runners I worked with, the more I began to truly hear the phrase "do what lights you up."
At my regular 9-5, I could not develop a runner-specific program that I desperately wanted. Eventually, my "do what lights you up" voice got louder within, and I literally felt like I was being locked in a box that was getting smaller and smaller. When I felt like I could no longer breathe, I woke up. I chose to follow a path that led to my dreams rather than the "I should" path. I left my big box PT job, created and opened up Juniper Physical Therapy. A place to offer physical therapy as it was meant to be. A place to care for active people and runners.
I began to feel expansive and no longer bound in a box. I now feel the fire in me glow when I help people who want to be supported and have big goals. I love the feeling I get when a client tells me she felt incredible on her last run without any pain.
I now know that I am driving in the correct lane of what I'm meant to be doing. It fuels me to share what I've learned over the past two decades. I am ready to take this to the next level and help more active people like yourself. My 2022 goal is to expand my running offerings outside of my hometown to the online community. As this develops further, I will be sure to share it with you.
My plan is to continue to deliver weekly newsletter content supported by social posts and online courses. To stay in the loop, you can follow me on IG @agelessrunner and FB @elizabethwergin. AND, IF you are excited to learn more about running-related topics, PLEASE REPLY to this email and let me know what run topics you would love to know more about! I’d love to hear from you!
Happy New Year!
Liz
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