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Jess Schroeder (Swank)

@jess_swank

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Wife • Mom • Runner • Lifter
Proof that you can be anxious, overwhelmed, and still do big things.
Buckle up for the ride.

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Nothing will test your marriage as much as your marriage. Showing up for each other every day, supporting each other through some of the craziest things life can throw at you…it’s wild.

If these past 4 years are a reflection of what’s ahead…I’ve never been more sure that life will be filled with love and happiness no matter what comes our way.

I married a man who will go to the ends of the earth for me and the ends of the universe for our daughter. His unwavering support in any dream I have and ability to calm my anxiety brain I don’t take for granted.

I like to think I do the same for him. It’s been the biggest adventure having Dani - having a kid is WILD. It’s changed our lives in all the best ways. 4 years ago I didn’t know what my life would look like today but I never doubted it continuing to be filled with love.

Happy 4 years Erik.
@410retrontcg by @jess_swank

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2 hours ago

See. Scroll. See. Scroll. But no one stops to think about the effort behind the content.

Can you IMAGINE if all my content started or ended like these clips?! Everyone would scroll past so fast. No appreciation for the time it takes to set up & record. If it’s a skit…sometimes multiple takes, outfit changes, little details. Then comes the editing - clipping it down to perfection to hold an audience all in the hopes that this ONE piece of content will be what gets you 1 step closer to your goal.

The thing about social media is, your support is free. A like, a comment, a share, a DM. We all consume the content - a post will evoke a positive emotion and yet we still scroll. Somewhere along the way we decided we are too busy to give back to the creator. But lawd are yall so quick to act when you disagree.

It’s just so interesting trying to hone the craft of creation and make it look effortless when really it’s not as simple as “record and post”.

I used to be so intimidated to try and do more with my socials. @mactiontakers has changed this for me SO much. If you want to do more & put in the work DM me for the link to join. by @jess_swank

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a day ago

The age old question: can a stroller running mom who averages 2-3 miles a run hang for 14 hours in an ultra marathon?

Will I hit ultra distance? Will my choice to do short family runs haunt me?

I really hope I’m not the only mom who feels this way…I truly don’t get why we struggle to put ourselves first for even an hour a day.

It’s my first time living life as a mom and a runner. As a wife and a runner. Spoiler alert…my first time living - period. So I’m still trying to just figure this all out as I go and not miss a moment with my family…consequences are for tomorrow me 😂 by @jess_swank

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2 days ago

The best intentions…today was going to be a post all about discipline > motivation….andddd I failed to capture the clip I wanted and didn’t even check until sitting down to make my post.

Add this into the reasons of why it’s always real life over here.

Nothing about today’s run felt right…everything felt off but that’s no excuse to not show up for yourself. I knew when I was lacing up this run wasn’t gonna be one to brag about.

So today’s running lesson — even the bad ones count. A bad day still counts as a day you survived. A bad run still helps you be better. And it’s not that my run was “bad” it just didn’t bring me joy. It was like wearing pants that are too short - there’s nothing technically wrong but it’s just not right 😂 by @jess_swank

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3 days ago

I’m taking this ultra training so serious guys. Dead serious. Not even hitting an ultra distance in total weekly mileage.

Any and all suggestions on how to run far on vibes alone are welcome 😂🫠

Keep in mind none of this mileage accounts for chasing around the highest energy Dani, functioning on broken sleep (Dani’s still not a consistent through the night sleeper), working a full time job and a whopping 5.3 miles of walking 😂 by @jess_swank

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4 days ago

Serious runners dilemma here…

It truly is so annoying to me when I forget my HR monitor I feel like it skews my data for comparison AND IM JUST AN AVERAGE RUNNER! I genuinely shouldn’t even care but I love looking at my stats after a run.

So what’s the verdict here? by @jess_swank

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5 days ago

@valleyandvictory I’m comin in undertrained on miles but overtrained on suffering. Hopefully they balance out for success.

In all honesty though, I’ve been through A LOT in life and something about continuing to put myself into the pain cave voluntarily…to pay to suffer under my own choosing….it continues to make the hard days not so hard.

When you give yourself the chance to see how strong you are on your own terms…that strength carries you through the times you don’t get to choose when a day is hard.

Running is so much deeper than miles in an app and calories burned…

Need help? Call the hotline at 988.
Need a friend? Im here too. by @jess_swank

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6 days ago

In every marriage there’s the sprinter and the marathoner….in our case the ultra runner (who’s definitely under training right now). Erik is a sprinter through and through - he’s a baseball guy at heart….I’ve never been fast but always good at suffering to go far.

Bless this man. He never minds trying to keep up. He constantly tells me to keep going, to not worry about him, to run my run.

It’s easy to get jealous, to feel resentful, to get competitive and let it cause friction in a relationship…but not here. Not with him. I’m the competitive one but it’s never out of anything but genuine drive to keep up.

It’s not lost on me how lucky I am that my husband supports me through and through - and it does nothing but strengthen our marriage. I see way too many stories out there about unsupportive spouses.

This one’s for all you husbands & dads out there doing the most so your wife can be her best. by @jess_swank

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7 days ago

ad: I was so excited for a deodorant that would be a little “cleaner” and hopefully still help combat sweaty girl smells….and I was very much let down. This deodorant was great for my rest days - going to the grocery store or just hanging out at home, but on days where I’d run, workout or just get my sweat on…I could smell myself 😂 so if you’re a sweaty girl like me….you might wanna bypass this deodorant next time your out shopping.

@influenster #complimentary @secretdeodorant #giftedbysecret #secretdeodorant #SecretAFCoconut by @jess_swank

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8 days ago

Having kids is no excuse. We’ve all heard it. But let’s be honest - we don’t all have the same 24 hours, same responsibilities, same kids, same lives. Some days it’s truly just not in the cards to be able to dedicate proper time to a workout.

Erik’s out of town, I got a walk in with Meka earlier in the day & by the time I got around to when I would normally workout, Dani was way too full of energy to make it a good experience for everyone. She needed my attention, interaction and the freedom to be chaotic.

So I compromised. I didn’t let myself off the hook and say no exercise at all, I just chose to make@my workout look different - air squats, side lunges…simple body weight movements I could do as we moved around the house & yard as she played.

We get so caught up in only letting ourselves have perfect situations - “I don’t have time to go to the gym so I can’t workout” or “I can’t run today so I’m not gonna get my steps in”. It’s all about perspective and knowing effort doesn’t have to be to the max all the time, daily efforts add up.

To the parents finding a way no matter what - I see you. It’s hard but we also know just how worth it it truly is. by @jess_swank

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8 days ago

The biggest question: Will hitting my fastest 3 miles in over a year help me finish an ultra marathon?

The real talk: running when Dani was not walking or crawling was so much easier. She didn’t need to get out and be involved. She sat for 30 minutes much easier. And honestly - Erik was home a lot more…work hadn’t quite dominated his life yet like it is now so we could also give each other time to run/workout.

March 2025: it was a race. Race day is usually always a faster pace - the adrenaline carrying you. Although it was .06 further there was a little less elevation gain.

2 year old Dani means squeezing in runs before daycare pick up or bringing her along and hoping I can log some miles before she gets antsy. Erik’s been working CRAZY hours so I don’t always have the ability to have him tell me to go run and he’s got Dani.

Ultimately, that is what’s so cool about running - there’s never one way to hit a PR. There is no such thing as peaking in the sport because there’s always a new way to look at your achievements so by that logic sounds like this will in fact, help me complete the @valleyandvictory 14 hour ultramarathon. by @jess_swank

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9 days ago

Training for an ultra with a toddler isn’t for the weak. But maybe I am weak because I still haven’t run more than 6 miles in a single run this year…and ultra isn’t too many more miles than that 😂

I try to embrace the chaos and not let it annoy me that runs tend to be all over the place with her - which I’m not always great at. But these moments won’t last. Soon she won’t look at the world with this wonder anymore and she will easily be running with me and I know I’ll miss these moments.

Because mom needs to train! But hey…2 miles today is better than no miles and family time is even better than that. by @jess_swank

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10 days ago