Sarah and Ellison Weist delight in chatting with professional runner Alysia Montaño, a 2012 Olympian and 7-time (!!!) U.S. Champion in the 800-meters. Due with baby #2 next month, Alysia talks about busting the long-standing myths of staying active during pregnancy. Alysia shares how she is navigating her “shifting” body—and how she schooled her regular UPS driver in the power of a pregnant woman. She tells why she wears a flower in her hair when she runs—as well as how she gained her childhood nickname of Icebox! Find out what “drain the dragons” means in this pro mother runner’s life, and delight at her gotta-grab-life-by-the-horns approach to motherhood. Sarah is awestruck by an insight from Alysia, borrowing the phrase to fuel her marathon. Alysia even shares a bit of her birth story, complete with a BOSU ball.

In the intro, Sarah relates a bit more about her Twin Cities Marathon run, and Ellison talks about the books she’s read lately (see list). Dear Alysia joins the conversation at 26:50.

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Brewster by Bruce Slouka

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Child Finder by Renee Denfield

Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor

To enjoy a free month of Bark Box with order of 6- or 12-month subscription, visit barkbox.com/AMR

*If you’re digging our podcasts, we’d be super-grateful if you’d take a minute (because we *know* you have so many to spare!) to write a review on iTunes. Many thanks.

**Also, the quickest way to get our podcasts is to subscribe to the show via iTunes. Clicking this link will automatically download the shows to your iTunes account. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. We’ve also joined the Acast podcast network, download their app to hear our podcast and many others like it!