Trading Drinks for Miles: How Running Transformed My Recovery

Welcome to the Freedom Runners Podcast. 👣

Hosted by sober ultra-runner Amber Graziano, this is a raw, unapologetic dive into the mindset that turns pain into power. We cover the brutal truth about addiction, the mindset of a champion, and the relentless pursuit of freedom, one mile at a time. This is where we trade excuses for miles, shame for strength, and a life of numbing for a life that is truly unbreakable.

You’re not just listening to a podcast. You’re joining a rebellion.

0:00 Breaking Free From Conventional Wisdom

1:09 My Rock Bottom Journey

2:58 Running As Rebellion

4:29 The Freedom Runners Formula

7:21 How To Start Your Journey

8:41 Next Steps and Resources

➡️ Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SLOSober

➡️ Download the FREE 30-Day Challenge: Trade a Drink For a Mile

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Everything you think you know is wrong About sobriety, about running, about food, about who the hell you really are. And if you can let go of the rulebook that you've been carrying, you might find out that you're capable of a life that will scare your old self to death and thrill the one that you're becoming. We've been told this story. You have a disease. You need to recover. You can't do it without the meetings, without the steps, without the system. Well, maybe those things help some people, but you. It's time for you to question everything. Because you don't need to recover. You need to remember, because you're not broken. You've been buried under lies, under labels, under a false identity that kept you small enough to fit other people's expectations. Sobriety is not about white knuckling your way through a life that's suddenly bland and safe. It's actually about setting fire to every single thing that told you that you couldn't have more. Hi, my name is Amber Graziano and I'm the founder of Slow, sober and Recovery Roadrunners. I'm a sober mother of two, certified addiction recovery coach, run coach, ultra runner and survivor. I survived over 25 years of grueling alcoholism before I hit rock bottom. I took control of my life and I rose up and after celebrating five years of freedom from alcohol. I am here to help you do the same.

Speaker 1: 1:41

You think sobriety is punishment, that giving up the bottle means giving up the good life Bullshit. Sobriety is not a sacrifice, it is a fucking superpower. This isn't about playing small, hiding out or white knuckling your way through cravings. This is about becoming a warrior, a machine, a freedom runner. This is episode one. Welcome to the fight, welcome to the Freedom Runners podcast. Like I said, my name is Amber Graziano. I'm a mom, a runner and a sober fighter. This is not just another recovery podcast. This isn't about quietly surviving sobriety. This is about taking your life back and running it into the ground until you rise stronger, faster, freer.

Speaker 1: 2:31

Here we're not victims, we're not statistics. We are warriors. In training, every mile is an act of rebellion. Every sober day is proof of our superpower. And today we begin with the truth. Sobriety is not a sacrifice. It is the single greatest weapon you will ever have. So let's begin. We've all been there. When the air tastes like regret, the sun feels like a punishment.

Speaker 1: 3:03

You wake up in a body that feels like death. Oh, not again. Your head pounds like a war drum. The lies you whispered to yourself last night are now laughing at you. You said it a thousand times I'll never drink again. But here you are again. Yep, that was me.

Speaker 1: 3:25

For years I wasn't living. I was decaying in slow motion, bloated body, foggy mind, soul on life support. I was a ghost in my own life, haunting my family, haunting my future. My rock bottom wasn't dramatic. It was a thousand mornings like this, until one day my drinking became too punishing to ignore. I was a new mom, a second grade teacher, a run coach, a marathon runner. I was in my late 30s and still drinking like a college kid. I was ashamed and embarrassed of myself. What was I doing with my life? That was the crack in the dam. That was the truth so loud I couldn't drown it anymore. I had to stop doing this to myself. So here's what I learned Addiction is a liar.

Speaker 1: 4:26

It tells you that alcohol is the prize, but it is the poison. It tells you that sobriety is a sacrifice, but it's the superpower. They say. You'll get help when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of making the change. I didn't find freedom in a dirty warehouse basement or in a self-help book. I found it in the dirt on trails in the burn of my lungs.

Speaker 1: 4:56

Running was my rebellion. Every step was a fuck. You to the old me, I traded drinks for miles. You to the old me, I traded drinks for miles, lies for truth, shame for sweat. And let me tell you something running sober isn't just exercise, it is war. When your lungs scream, when your legs shake, when your mind says quit, that is where you meet your true self. That is the warrior training ground. Because here's the secret you don't just quit drinking, you build. You build grit, you build confidence. You build a body that doesn't beg for poison anymore. The miles became my confessional. The road was my redemption. The pain became my proof that I was still alive. Sobriety gave me back my mind and running gave me back my body, but together they gave me my life.

Speaker 1: 5:55

So let's kill the myth right now. Sobriety is not loss. You aren't giving up Friday nights, parties or fun. You are gaining mornings without shame. You're gaining clarity, energy and fire in your gut. You are gaining the strength to actually feel your life instead of numbing it. You think the party ends when you quit drinking. No, the party begins when you stop being chained to the bottle. I call this the after party, and it's the only party that I want to be at. Sobriety is not a cage, it is the key.

Speaker 1: 6:37

And when you mix sobriety with running, walking, hiking, swimming, yoga, oh man, now you've got dynamite and that runner's high that they always talk about. That's the natural version of the thing that you've been chasing in the glass, except this one doesn't destroy you, it rebuilds you. The runner's high is proof that your body was always wired to give you what you were seeking in alcohol relief, joy, adventure, clarity, peace. Sobriety plus running is the ultimate, unbeatable combo, the Freedom Runners formula. That is the superpower.

Speaker 1: 7:21

So how do you start? You trade a drink for a mile. The next time the craving hits, you don't sit in it, you don't wrestle in it. You put your shoes on and you move, you walk, you run, you crawl if you have to, but you get your ass outside. You let your body burn through the craving, the same way it burns through lactic acid. Through lactic acid, you use the pain to sharpen yourself. You use the miles to break the chains and to make it easier.

Speaker 1: 7:55

I made something for you. It's called the 30-Day Traded Drink for a Mile Challenge. It's a 36-page passport into your own rebellion. Each day, you'll swap one drink for one mile, one excuse for one action. It's free, it's yours. It's the first step to proving to yourself that sobriety isn't a punishment, it's your freaking power. Move. This is the fight of your life, but you don't have to do it alone. Every week on this podcast, we'll go deeper, into mindset, into training, into the dark places and how to run straight through them, and together we'll build a new story, a story where you're not the victim, you're the warrior, you're the freedom runner. So here's what you do next Download the free 30-day challenge at the link in my bio. Join the Freedom Runners community on Patreon, because this journey is brutal, but it's not meant to be done alone. Now remember sobriety is not a sacrifice, it's a superpower. So lace up, get outside and prove to yourself what you already know you were made for more. Now go run that mile.