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Susan Luria

See What You Can Pull Off

By 29029 Everesting

March 14^th, 2025

For most of my life, running was my thing.

It was my stress release.

It was my social connection.

It was the one part of my day that was truly mine.

Until it wasn’t.

Running started to hurt, which is when I started to worry about morphing into one of those used-to-be-runners in their 40s whose activity was taking the dog for a walk.

I was busy - working full time and driving my kids around to all their different sporting events. They always told me, “Mom, I want to see what I can pull off,” and I supported them in trying that.

Between all of that, I ran less and less, but when my kids went off to college, I found some spare time again.

That's when I first discovered 29029.

It looked like fun.

It looked like a why-not.

It looked like a new adventure, and I loved to do random things.

Spontaneously, I registered for Snowbasin in 2021, and I loved every minute of it!

(Okay, maybe not every minute of it, but it was great!)

I was hooked, and in 2023 I climbed again at Sun Valley and Whistler.

So far, I was happy using the training plan that came with each event. I used to be a runner, so I knew how to stick to it, and I also knew how to modify things as I needed, so that’s what I did.

It earned me three Red Hats!

The 29029 mountains had given me goals and inspiration, and I loved that.

But from the summit of Whistler, I realized something.

I was turning 57, and after years of helping my kids see what they could pull off, I wanted to see what I could pull off myself!

In 2024, I wanted to go big! I wanted to throw a bunch of cool stuff at the calendar and see what I could achieve.

But I knew I needed help.

I had tried to get back into running a few years before 29029, but I could never get more than 8 miles before my injury troubles came back. I used to let that limit me, but now… now I was tired of letting that stop me.

I looked into the 29029 1-1 coaching program and hired Coach Paul Zani.

I had never entered a coaching relationship like it before.

I had no idea what to expect, and to be honest, I was almost a little skeptical at first.

I have to figure out if I trust this guy.

I work in the healthcare industry, and I’m surrounded by tons of experts who have the kind of information on performance that could easily debunk a trainer with poor methodology.

I questioned Paul - quite a bit in the early stages - about what he was telling me to do, and he could always snap back with a full explanation that made sense.

He gave me the plan, and it started with changing the way I approached running. I had always believed in going hard - fast, intense, and far were always how I planned my runs.

But Paul wanted to teach me to go slower. I was frustrated as he gave me workout after workout where I wasn't supposed to go above zone 2.

How can moving this slowly possibly help me get to my goals!?

Paul's insistence on patience started to pay off as I finally broke through that dreaded 8 mile limit that held me back before.

I realized I just needed to trust the process... and trust Coach Paul completely!

My calendar was big, and - spoiler alert - it would only get bigger as the year went on.

Originally, when I hired Coach Paul, my plan was an ultra-marathon in June and 29029 TRAIL Tahoe in October. Those were my big events.

But then, partially as a result of how well training was going, and partially as a result of how much I loved to say yes to new adventures, my calendar grew. Instead of just a few events, my year was now going to be:

Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon
50k Ultra-Marathon
A Hiking and Climbing Trip in the Canadian Rockies
Pan-Am Master Game’s Half-Marathon
29029 Whistler
29029 TRAIL Tahoe
NYC Marathon

It was ambitious - it meant running 5 marathons in a year, and it had been 10 years since I’d last really been able to run…

My year really started with Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon. Coach Paul had convinced me to join some of his other athletes in doing it in a single day.

Hiking steep cliffs with my fear of heights wasn't exactly on my bucket list, so it did take some convincing...

When the day arrived, following Paul's carefully planned preparations, I knew exactly how to not only pace myself, but also handle the anxiety around the heights of the terrain.

Even when things felt intimidating, Paul helped me quiet my thoughts and focus on just moving forward.

Reaching the top of the canyon on the other side was the first step towards a new mindset Coach Paul was nudging me towards - one in which I spent less time worrying about what could go wrong, and more time thinking about what was going right.

The ultra was my next big test. I’d never covered that distance before, even at my best. I mean just a few years ago, I couldn’t even cover 8 miles…

But in June, with my husband there cheering me on, I checked it off the list.

31 miles!

And not only had I checked it off, but I was fine after. I wasn’t injured, and I could keep doing all the other things planned on my calendar.

This wasn’t a one-and-done kind of year!

The physical training was obviously huge in helping me get through that ultra, but my experience with Coach Paul was more than that.

A good coach gets into your head pretty quickly.

Paul helped me manage my goals in a way that worked for me, and maybe even more importantly, was an important person who was truly cheering me on every single step of the way.

Most of us have other cheerleaders in our lives, but when the person who understands and knows every single bit of effort you put into getting whatever it is you’re trying to get, it means a little more.

That was Coach Paul for me.

29029 Whistler needs a bit of a backstory.

I was already working with Paul and had a training plan that didn’t include climbing at Whistler.

But then, the chance for me to go opened up, and I had some 29029 FOMO.

“Paul, do you think I could add 29029 Whistler this year too?” I asked him.

“Sure, as long as you don’t get all competitive about it,” was his reply.

That turned out to be exactly the mindset shift I needed. I let go of my usual race-to-the-finish approach.

I climbed six ascents on Friday, took a break, and then kept climbing, knowing I had the rest of the day to finish my final two.

I let go of pushing myself for speed and just soaked in the experience and the community.

When I told Colleen how present I had felt this time, she laughed, “That’s the point, Susan!”

I guess it took me a few years, and a mindset shift facilitated by Coach Paul, but now I had experienced the mountain in a new light.

TRAIL Tahoe was all new - to me, and to 29029.

Three mountain marathons in three days were on tap, and with my newfound presence in the community, I felt grateful for all the time each stage gave for extended conversations with the other participants.

Days 1 and 2 went smoothly - a real luxury that I earned from the year’s training. I couldn’t help but compare TRAIL to the ultra I had done in June. The ultra had been fun and well run, but TRAIL was next-level! The aid stations, the volunteers, the community, the vibes… oh, and not to mention, The Ritz!

Now, even with the best training, going 3x3 can’t be easy, and Day 3 really proved that to me. I woke up that day with feet so swollen they would barely fit into my shoes!

Off-balanced and sore, I stuck into more of a fast hike pace behind my long-time friend and running partner, Rachel. Finally crossing that finish line truly felt like I had accomplished something big!

Of course, Coach Paul was there through all of it too, checking in with me every morning and evening, somehow keeping track of not just me, but every single one of his athletes making sure they had what they needed to reach the finish line.

The NYC Marathon was the bookmark of not only my epic year, but also my first year being coached by Paul.

When I crossed the finish line with a Boston qualifying time, I couldn’t help but feel proud about how much I’d done that year!

Literally the second after I crossed the finish line, I already had a text from Coach Paul. He had followed along online, and after a congratulations, he already had some suggestions about areas I could improve on.

I mean, he wasn’t even there, but he knew I needed to try something differently with my nutrition next marathon.

That’s what working with Coach Paul is like. He cares. He knows things. But he also knows you.

If that NYC marathon story doesn’t elaborate enough on what it’s like working with a coach, maybe this one can help.

In one of my jobs, my partner is a psychiatrist. She was my business partner and one of my closest friends.

She knows me inside and out. Seriously, if you work with a psychiatrist, they know you.

One day, she turned to me out of the blue, and said, “I don’t know Paul, but he has unlocked your brain in a way that nobody else has.”

I’m not 100% sure what she saw, but I think it was probably that piece of me unlocking possibilities.

I used to spend a lot of time thinking about the things that might go wrong. But now, working with Coach Paul, I think about all the ways things can go right.