Know Your Rioter - Nicole Bosinger!

This time, it is our pleasure to profile our friend and all around badass Nicole Bosinger! Nicole is actually one of the first members of Running Riot. Back in 2019 when we first started, we really had no idea if there was enough demand for another running club in Santa Cruz. We advertised for a group run for weeks and would call it success if 2-3 additional runners joined. Someway, somehow, the fates connected us to Nicole and she came on that first run. Since then, Nicole has been on a roll completing her first Half Marathon and just getting faster and faster. She is a personal trainer at Toadal Fitness who fully understands the benefit of hard work and positive thinking. Can’t wait to see what’s next for you Nicole! -------------------------- The Chat: 1. How did you become a runner? I started running because my mom was a runner. She was a single mother of three kids (of which I am the youngest), and when she was in her 30s she discovered running as a wonderful outlet at the end of her workday, and she left with the expectation that any undone chores or homework be done when she get back from her run! When I was young in the early 90s, I remember her running the Wharf to Wharf every year with friends and co-workers, and I would join for the festivities in Capitola Village after the race, so proud of my sweaty, hard working mom. When I was around 11 or 12, I began joining her on her runs through our neighborhood in Scotts Valley. I remember that time with her being special for me. And soon I began joining her in races! This was also right around the time I became serious about soccer, and went from playing rec ball to competetive Class 1 soccer, so the running was great for my conditioning. I ran my first Wharf to Wharf when I was 12 years old in 1996, and even though my mom totally beat me and I ate her dust, we celebrated as usual in the village afterward, only this time I felt like I was part of the team. I was sweaty and proud like all the other finishers. I was hooked! 2) What keeps you running? Honestly, running is like an anchor in my life. It's a constant that I can rely on, something that has always been there for me throughout life's ups and downs. I couldn't imagine my life without running. When I look at my life, as I graduated high school, went to college, navigated my tumultuous 20s, got married and started a family in my 30s - running was ALWAYS there. It has always been something I can come back to when I'm off the beam, needing to recalibrate, feeling confused or overwhelmed. And even when I'm doing great, it's simply a part of my life that keeps me normalized, both physically and mentally. I start to feel funny if I go too long without a run. It calls to me. It's like medicine and therapy and meditation all in one! That's what keeps me running, is what it does for me. It gives me a place to return to, again and again, where I can meet myself, face myself, and remember who I am. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I feel like I am my highest, most actualized version of myself in the midst of a run. The layers of the world get peeled away and I am stripped down to this primal act that reminds me exactly who I am and gives me confidence and clarity about my place in the world. Honestly, nothing else does that for me in that way. 3) Can you describe your funnest run? Gah, that is hard! A few come to mind. One is the group run that Running Riot took up in Big Basin (before the fire). That day, I didn't plan to do the whole 12 miles because I hadn't been doing long distances, but in the company of my fellow Rioters and the beauty of the forest, the miles flew by. When I got to the point where I had planned to turn around, I couldn't imagine stopping. I ended up going all the way to the waterfall with the group, having a great time with everyone and some great conversations. I also was totally okay with doing a large part of the return route solo, not caring who was faster or slower than me, and just feeling stoked and exhilarated that I did the full 12 miles. Another one I can think of is one of my early morning runs while I was training for my half marathon - I would go at 5:30am a few mornings a week (in the winter!), and this one morning I was doing 11 miles, and I was lucky enough to see the moonrise over the ocean at Capitola Beach, which was super magical. It was another one of those runs where the miles just flew, and it felt like the run was taking me, rather than the other way around. 4) Have you ever felt defeated as a runner? When I hear this question it makes me think about the experience I had coming back to running each time I had a baby, but especially after my second baby. My kids are less than two years apart in age, so my body went through a lot having two babies within 21 months, and I was slower for awhile and had to work harder for each run and for my progress. It was hard for me not to compare myself to how I ran before having kids, specifically with regard to my pace and effort. I wasn't as fast. And I felt I had to work harder for a slower pace. And I had the added hurdle of very little free time to run on my own, so I was limited to double-stroller runs most of the time, which included frequent stopping to tend to a baby and toddler, and also did not embody the same freedom that you feel running without a stroller. I never quit though. I never even dreamed of stopping. I just kept thinking, "Okay, this is how it is right now. It won't be this way forever." And guess what, I was right. What I took away from that experience is to just be exactly where I am in my process. And, as cheesy as it sounds, to trust the process. I was making gains and growing stronger slowly, but I couldn't always see it. I made a decision that there would be no chastising or self deprecation as I pressed toward my goal. I decided that I was in no way going to wait until that goal was reached to feel happy or fulfilled. That I could wake up every day having fierce determination to get there, yet also having peace around not being there yet, and being committed to loving myself and appreciating every step of the journey until I arrive at my goal. This was also a time where I stepped away from running as frequently, and began to learn about and dive into strength training, as a direct result of the gym having a childcare, and me needing a break from my kids! This ended up laying the groundwork for me to become certified as personal trainer the following year, which is an outcome I never could have predicted. I ended up coming back to running (enter Running Riot, which got me excited about running again), and I was stronger! I had a fresh perspective, some new strength and muscle composition, and a community that motivated me to prioritize it. So yeah - trust the process. 5) What is an interesting non-running related fact about you? I am a singer! I sing and play guitar and have about 15 original songs that I have written. I did musical theater in high school and was cast as the lead of Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" my junior year. In college at UC Berkeley I sang in the all female Acapella group there (imagine Pitch Perfect ) 6) Do you have a bucket list or long term goal planned? My long term goal is just to be able to keep running as I age. I don't have attachment to distances or specific races so much as an interest in longevity. I ran my first - and so far only (thanks Covid) - half marathon in March of 2020, and I thought I might get hooked and want to do a marathon. But I can honestly say that I can die peacefully without running a full marathon. Does that mean I never will? Not at all - I totally might! But I noticed that even just in my training for the half, the increased mileage during training took a toll on my body. My knees felt it, and I had a pretty intense hip issue that flared up after the race that gave me trouble and severe pain for several months, preventing me from running altogether for many weeks. Honestly, I love running so much, that it is worth it to me to curb my obsessive nature a tad and dial it down to a manageable level that will allow me to run for the long haul. Two years ago I became certified as a personal trainer, and I am in love with the combination of weightlifting (strength training) and running! I love how putting more muscle on my body has given me more power and efficiency as a runner, and to me, that balances out the wear and tear on the body inherently incurred by running. If I am still running in my 60s and 70s I will consider that a success. 7) What advice do you have for new runners or runners who are losing motivation? To try to let go of distances and times and paces (I know it's hard), and just be in the experience of running. We can squeeze the joy out of something good by trying too hard to measure and quantify it (I am guilty of this!), and I find the more I can just let go of the result and be fully present in the experience of running, the more I WANT to run. And, often, that's when I crush it and run my best. Also, keeping in mind how much is mental, try to let go of all the thoughts and ideas that throw you off your game and just take the action. There's a saying - "We can't think our way into right action, but we can act our way into right thinking." Don't wait until you feel like you want to. Take the run even when you don't want to. If you're feeling uninspired, treat it like it's non-negotiable, like it's your medicine. You won't regret it. If you're new, just enjoy the ride. Know that there will be ups and downs and much to learn along the way from rad people (like those in this group) who have more experience and so freely share and encourage. I've learned so much from the runners in this incredible group! But at the end of the day - your running experience is yours. It's no one else's. You are just as much a runner as anybody else is. Nobody can take it from you. Make it yours, own it, take your place in the world every time you lace up your shoes. --------------- Thanks Nicole!