Who is Lisa Swan? And what is "At Least I'm Brave" all about?
Here is a summary of my journey so far
Welcome. My name is Lisa Swan, I live on Staten Island, NY (yes, that is “on,” not “in”!) and I work at a Manhattan advertising agency. And in my spare time, I am a slow but steady runner who finishes lots of road races — over 425 races since 2013, including 13 marathons and 37 half marathons.
Last year, despite the pandemic, I still managed to cross 60 finish lines!
Yet I am the opposite of a natural athlete.
What I do have, more than anything else, I think, is bravery, although sometimes it is, indeed, foolish bravery! Thus, the name of this Substack: At Least I’m Brave.
This phrase is one of my mantras, and it has gotten me through a lot over the years.
Bravery doesn’t mean I am never afraid. Far from it. But it is, as the saying goes, facing the fear and doing it away.
I may have no natural running talent whatsoever, and I do not look graceful at all on the race course. But I am brave enough to think that I belong here, even when I don’t look like the typical runner. And to put myself out there, time after time.
And I am writing this Substack, and also working on a book about my journey, to let others know that they belong here, too.
No matter what your age, or what you weigh, or what obstacles you are facing in your life, running is for everyone who wants to get out and do it.
John “The Penguin” Bingham, a favorite writer/runner for back of the packers like me, is famous for saying, “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
I agree with part of this, about needing the courage to start. But I do think it’s a miracle that I’ve finished so many races, which I attribute to being brave and to what Tom Brady calls the “will-over-skill mind set.”
Yet I wasn’t always this brave. Or strong.
A childhood bout with encephalitis nearly killed me when I was in the first grade and sapped my coordination.
Before I got sick, I was what my brother Patrick called a “serene, confident, precocious girl.”
But after that near-death experience, I had, in the words of my brother, “lost a certain spirit and physical ability and the unhindered courage that went with it.” He added, “She had a zest in her that vanished.”
It took me many years to regain what I had lost.
I did like to play like any other kid, but organized gym class was the worst. I was always the last picked and hated every moment of physical education.
Unlike my mother and sister, though, I was always thin as a child. And other than gaining — and then quickly losing — weight during my first year in college, I stayed thin as an adult, thanks in big part to a 20-year cigarette habit.
But when I ended up in the emergency room in 2005 for chronic bronchitis, I finally gave up smoking for good.
Unfortunately, I replaced tobacco with food as my “fix” to sooth my nervous personality. I put on 20 pounds in the first six months after quitting smoking, and the scale numbers only continued to skyrocket.
At my highest — make that my lowest — I weighed over 250 pounds. That was way too much, even though I am nearly six feet tall.
My health was also really deteriorating, even though I was only in my early 40s then. I was getting winded just climbing subway stairs or walking to catch the ferry or bus.
Finally, I had had enough. And I finally began to change my life, thanks to a chance meeting with a Hollywood legend.
I met Jane Fonda in late 2012 at a SiriusXM subscribers event. I got to speak to her a bit (she was very kind and friendly to me!), and my best friend and I got our photo taken with her. I had gotten glammed up that day and had really tried to look my best.
The next day, I was horrified to see the photo that SiriusXM sent of us. She looked great. Meanwhile, I was literally twice the size of her in the pic. (I’m saving the photo reveal of this pic for my book. Sorry!)
Granted, not many civilians look great next to a movie star, but all the fitness she participated in also gave her much more energy than I had, even though I was 30 years younger.
That picture haunted me, and spurred me on to make some big changes in my life. (I wrote about this in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be You book, published last year!)
In January 2013, I signed up for a local weight-loss challenge called the Staten Island Slim Down, where we did multiple fitness events. I also did the mall walk each week with the group, but even that was hard for me in the beginning.
But I kept at it and even joined the group when we walked the Staten Island Athletic Club’s weekly 3-mile Fun Run in Clove Lakes Park one sunny Saturday spring morning. Several of the people I was with gave up before the end.
Not me, though. While it took me over 52 minutes to complete the course, I was hooked. For the first time ever, I had actually found a fitness activity I enjoyed.
And the scale was starting to move in the right direction for the first time in years.
I didn’t really know what I was doing (I never followed any of the Couch to 5K plans or anything!) but I was addicted to the adrenaline rush involved with doing road races, and did 20 races that year, mostly 5Ks, and mostly walking the courses at first, while I gradually learned to run by doing.
That winter, thanks to my Subway Squawkers baseball blog, I got a free invite to do a Spartan Sprint at CitiField. This was my biggest challenge yet. Not only would I have to run 5K around the ballpark, but I would have to complete over 20 obstacles as well, everything from shimmying under bungee cords on ballpark ramps to throwing a spear to climbing walls.
As scary and hard as it was, I managed to finish the race (thanks to completing 90 burpees in a row at the end!) I cried so many tears after completing my first Spartan Race that my best friend, watching in the stands, thought I was injured!
This race also jumpstarted my writing career. I submitted a piece about my experience to Guideposts magazine for their biannual writing workshop contest. My article was one of only 12 chosen out of over 5000 submitted, and I got to attend the magazine’s weeklong workshop — and become a Guideposts writer. (Here is the final version of my Spartan Race article, which ran in the magazine.)
The following year, I started working with Coach Mario, a fellow member of the Staten Island Athletic Club, a running club I had joined. For the first time ever, I had real, formal running plans to follow, and a coach to help me.
Mario’s guidance first helped me get through the New York Road Runners’ More/Shape/Fitness Half Marathon in April 2015, and then two more half marathons.
By the time 2016 came around, I was ready for the biggest challenge of all: the TCS New York City Marathon. Mario worked with me both physically and mentally, and I got down to 169 pounds by race day. (Read my Guideposts story about Mario, the marathon, and me here.)
Crossing the finish line of that first marathon was the greatest moment of my life. (I will still start to cry when talking about it, as you can see in this Guideposts video!)
I got a lot of media coverage about this part of my journey, including at PopSugar, Women’s Health, and Gotta Run With Will. I also wrote for ESPN about life as a slow runner.
In 2017, I got a free entry to the 2XU New York City Triathlon. Despite not owning a bike nor knowing how to swim, I decided to go for it, and was crossing that finish line that summer. (I am in this month’s issue of Real Simple magazine talking about this experience!)
I also turned 50 that year, and did 50 races in honor of that milestone. Since then, I have surpassed that race number multiple times.
I mostly was able to keep my weight in check until the pandemic, then ended up putting on some pounds again with the gyms being closed, races cancelled, and physical activity so discouraged. (Mentally, I wasn't in a good place, either.)
Once my weight got up to 203 pounds this past winter, I really pushed myself to get back on track. Since then, I have lost over 15 pounds, but I still would like to lose some more, because I’m a faster, healthier runner when I am thinner. (And I look better, too. Yes, I went there!)
I am now about to begin training for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon, my sixth time in a row running the course.
One of my 2022 New Year’s resolutions was to get a PR in a marathon. I did not achieve that in the Brooklyn Marathon this April, but my goal is to do so this November 6.
Every time I train for a marathon, I learn something about myself. This time around, I’m going to document it every step of the way on this page, as opposed to mentioning it on Facebook or my baseball blog.
I am also hoping to inspire others, and finish my book as well, during the next 18 weeks!
So please join me as I write about my training, and hit that subscribe button!
This is impressive.
Lisa you are so inspiring and I wish you nothing but the best in your journey of life!! Keep moving forward!