Ever get out of bed, put on sportswear—but then check your emails and think: “No, I just don’t have the capacity to exercise today”?
Well you’re not alone.
Zipporah ‘Zip’ Allen, 44, like most of us, has looked at her calendar, seen a day full of back-to-back meetings—and wondered where the 30-minute jog fits in.
Zipporah ‘Zip’ Allen
However, she told Fortune that she will make time—even if that means leaving the house at 5 am—or 4 am during marathon training. But she would say that, being the Chief Business Officer of Strava.
If you’ve made it out for one of those morning jogs, you will have heard of Strava—a fitness-tracking app commonly used for running, walking and cycling. Although you may also know it if your preferred sport is Pilates, CrossFit, swimming, weight training, pickleball or rollerblading (yes, these are all trackable on the app too).
Strava has over 135 million worldwide users and currently sits at #17 in the health & fitness apps on the App Store—so even if you prefer not to do any sport at all, there’s a chance you still will have heard of it.
And being the CBO of the well-known company, along with being a mom to two kids and a wife to a husband that she says she “continues to want to stay married to,” California-based Allen stays busy with a “stacked” calendar daily.
Strava has over 135 million worldwide users and currently sits at #17 in the health & fitness apps on the App Store.
“There’s all these things competing for your time,’ she told Fortune. But somehow, for some reason, she finds pockets in her week to train for marathons and 50km trail runs.
“It requires some planning … but I work an exorbitant amount of hours a week, and I can fit it in.”
And really, if she can fit that exercise in, anyone can.
“My exercise routine is my oxygen mask”
Allen is far from the first high-powered business person to love running.
Priscilla Almodovar, CEO of Fannie Mae, previously told Fortune she “loves running,” while CEO of David Lloyd Leisure center—and marathon runner—Glenn Earlam told Runner’s World that he “has to exercise.”
“It’s a crucial part of the balance in my life, and that goes for a lot of CEOs I know,” he said.
Strava’s CEO, Mike Martin even ran his first marathon this summer, Allen said.
So what is the hype about?
“My mom has this saying: you have to put your own oxygen mask on first before you can help others. My workout routine and my exercise routine is my own air mask,” Allen explained.
Her regular runs made her feel “more balanced and more resilient,” she added.
But it wasn’t always this way—Allen didn’t get into running until she was in her 40s and had just started working at Strava.
“It was really important for me to understand our product and understand our community and our motivations,” she said.
So she headed out on a two-mile loop around her house.
“I struggled so hard … every step I was like, ‘I hate this.’”
But she decided to stick with it, eventually finding that she “really liked it.”
“I found that running gave me this amazing freedom of time,” she said.
From there she trained for her half marathon and then last year at the age of 43, ran the TCS NYC Marathon.
“If I can go from that to running the full 26.2 miles, anybody can do it” she said.
Working out now makes her “a much better boss, colleague, friend, wife, daughter, mom,” she explained.
“I have more energy, I’m healthier, I’m more optimistic, I’m better able to deal with unexpected events, I get much better sleep.”
Tips for fitting exercise into a hectic calendar
While that is all well and good, prioritizing exercise can still prove difficult for fellow senior execs. So Allen shared her tips for fitting in a workout.
Firstly “calendarize it,” Allen said. “If it’s not on my calendar, it’s not happening.”
Allen will block out 5.30-7 am on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday where she will head out with her run club.
“If it’s not on my calendar, it’s not happening.”
Zipporah Allen
Running first thing in the morning also helps make sure it is prioritized, she added.
Allen also attends Pilates classes at least three times a week to increase strength so she can increase mileage on her runs as she trains for a 50km trail run in March. Again, she will get up early to hit the 5.30 am or 6 am class so her workout is done before her work day begins.
For her third tip, she said: “It is really easy to beat yourself up if you miss a workout, if you’re traveling, or the kids have stuff on… You’ve got to let that go.”
“If you miss a workout, it’s not the end of the world, just get back on track and do the next one.”
Micro-movements, workouts under 20 minutes, can also be easier to fit into a calendar that’s bursting at the seams.
On December 4, Strava published its annual Year in Sport trend report which analysed global data on how its users exercise and one notable finding was a rise in short workouts—with a fifth being ‘micro-movements’.
This is something that works for Allen—for example, if she has 20 minutes before bedtime, this can be the perfect time for a foam rolling or stretch session.
How to keep motivated
Even if you’ve found 40 minutes here and there to workout, it’s impossible to stick to an exercise plan without motivation.
Allen says Strava’s goals feature helps keep her on track.
“I have a weekly mileage goal that I want to hit and a weekly number of Pilates classes that I want to take. It’s good because it keeps me accountable,” she said.
Strava’s annual report also found that more and more people, especially women, are joining run clubs, another way to help keep you accountable.
Allen started her own run club for local moms called “Mothers On The Run.”
“I have the accountability of my friends waiting on the corner for me,” she explained. “We have to show up, because other people are gonna text you if you don’t.”
She says this accountability is particularly vital when she’s lacing up her shoes at 5.15 am.
