Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 214. Emma Bates, Pro Marathoner

Transcript

214. Emma Bates, Pro Marathoner · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I am somebody that expects so much out of myself
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: that I won't stop until I get what I want
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: and what I think I deserve. I've come a long
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: way and I've given myself a lot of grace this
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: past couple of years, and that has made all the difference.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, Emily Avadi here bringing you episode two hundred
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: and fourteen of Hurdle, a while miss focused podcast where
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: I connect with everyone from your favorite athletes to top
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: experts and industry CEOs about their highest highs.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: Toughest moments, and everything in between.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: We all go through hurdles in life, and my goal
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: through these discussions is to empower you to better navigate
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: yours and move with intention so that you can stride
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: towards your own big potential and of course have some
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: fun along the way. For Episode two hundred and fourteen,
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: I am oh my goodness invigorated. Let's use that word
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: to chat with Emma bad She's an ACEIX sponsored pro
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: runner and she ran just last week in the World
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Athletic Championships the Marathon, where she got a personal best
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: time of two twenty three eighteen. Now, of course, Emma
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: talked to us all about what happened out there last Monday,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: and we also dial it back talking about her journey
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: with sports, a huge move that she made not all
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: that long ago during the pandemic, from Boise to Boulder,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Colorado to join a new training team and start over.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Emma talks openly and really gets vulnerable about her divorce,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: what it's been like for her, how much it means
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: to her to have such powerful female friendships with some
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: excellent ladies that you've heard of on the show before,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: including Emma.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: Coburn and Aisha praut Leir.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Plus, we have a really beautiful discussion about the impact
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: that her late father has had on her training, on
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: her career and how his memory is truly one of
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: the biggest motivators for her to keep on going when
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: the times feel tough.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: A huge thank you to.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: Emma's sponsor at ASEX for connecting us. I had such
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: a fun time out at World Championships working with a
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: six and bringing some really important conversations to light. Now
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: you know that I want to help you live healthier, happier,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: more motivated lives, and ASEX stands by that mission, so
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: they are offering you something special.
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: They don't do this often.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: If you head on over to a six dot com
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: and use the code hurdle one to five at checkout,
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: you can get fifteen dollars off in order of one
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: hundred dollars or more. So many unbelievable speakers to choose
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: from great gear. My go to s the jel Cumulus
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: and the Nova Blast for every day training. Again that
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: coupon code hurdle one five at checkout for fifteen dollars
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: off one hundred dollars or more at a six dot com.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: If you are so inclined, you can also sign up
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: a further one A six membership, and one A six
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: members can save ten percent on their first order, plus
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: get free shipping. Make sure you're following on with Hurdle
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: over on the socials. It's at Hurdle Podcast. I am
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: over at Emily a Body and it would mean so
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: so much to me if you could do two favors
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: for me today. If you haven't rated and reviewed the
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: show yet, go on into wherever you're listening to this
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: and do so.
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: Plus sign up.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: For the weekly Hurdle newsletters, so much of the same
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: stuff you love about the show in your inbox every
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: single Friday morning. Motivation spotlights of hurdle listeners all across
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: the globe.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: So much goodness in there.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: So click on over the show notes and subscribe today.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: With that, let's get to hurdling today.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I am sitting down with Emma Bates. She is a
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: pro runner for a six a marathon. Or how you
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: doing today?
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: I'm so good, so excited to be on this.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: This is awesome, so thank you, oh man.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Honestly, at this point, I'm just excited that I snaged
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: some of your time because you walked in here. You're
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: being pulled in a zillion different directions. We are here
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: in Eugene right now. Some big things happen this week.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Some very big things, and I mean I didn't realize
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: how big they were until just everybody started talking about
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: it and like wanting photos with me. And I'm just like,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: I feel like a superstar here. It's crazy.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's pretty awesome.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Does I feel like unsettling for you a little bit?
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: Like do you feel completely comfortable stemming into that? No?
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: I don't at all. No, I'm just a runner, like
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: you know, like that's all I do, and so I
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: never think what I do is like that special and
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: then to know how many people are affected by it
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: and inspired by it is just it's so moving and
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: just like very unexpected.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know it's funny. I uh, the other day
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: after you full disclosure. I guess I haven't even said
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: this yet. I'm sure it'll be said in the intro.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: But Emma crushed the World Athletic Championships.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: We're out here.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: She ran the marathon and hit a personal best time of.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Two twenty three eighteen. Wow, so like a minute pr
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: from my last race.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: That is outstanding, absolutely outstanding, and it was so cool
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: to see. But you know, I put out onto my
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Instagram after you you hit that amazing time, I was like,
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: what do you guys want to know? From Emma, like
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: what do you what do you want to know? And
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: from Emma Coburn. Oh, Emma, who wanted to make sure
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: that everyone knew this.
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: So I'm going to read it verbatim.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: The best thing about Beats and what sets her apart
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: from anyone I know, is that she is one hundred
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: percent committed to her training and her running. But she's
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: also such a dynamic, happy, interesting, so person outside of that,
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: if you met her outside of running, you would have
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: no idea that she is one of the best marathoners
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: this country has ever seen. She's care free, lighthearted, easygoing,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: has zero and I mean zero with four to ohs
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: neurotic runner tendencies.
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: But she is a beast. She knows her body.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: She commits to training, which was originally written as commutes,
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: and she wants to also let people know that you
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: do commute to train sometimes. She never ever ever complains my.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Word, my teammates are the most wonderful people on the planet.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Emma is Like we were talking about how there's like
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: this Emma effect, Like being around Emma Coburn, you just
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: like automatically want to be a better person because she
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: is just like the most sparkly, just most outgoing, caring
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: individual that I've ever met in my life. And like,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: beyond running, she like if she didn't even run a
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: step in her life, like she would just be the
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: most amazing person. Still, like, I cannot believe that I'm
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: her teammate. She has uplifted every single person on the
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: team to be a better person, to be a better athlete,
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: to just overall just you know, be empowered and confident
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: in themselves, and to have her leading the forefront of
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: this team is just something that oh, I never thought
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: I would have in my life. And to have her
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: say that about me, you know, it was just like
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: she took the time out of her day to just
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: you know, talk to you and and just like make
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: sure that everybody knows how, you know, wonderful we have it,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: you know in Boulder, Colorado, the training that we do,
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: and just how close we are with each other, and
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: that just like brings tears to my eyes.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Honestly, have you up until this point in your life
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: had such strong female relationships.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: No, honestly, Like my sister has been the biggest role
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: model in my life. Like we were we actually like
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: got into a lot of just arguments and a lot
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: of fights growing up because we are so competitive with
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: one another, and she really like really ignited that fire
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: of just like competitive nature in me and grit. But
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: when it came to friends, like I never had like
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: really good girlfriends, and if I did, like it always
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: became very like cutthroat and petty, especially in running because
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: it's such an individual sport. And so there was like
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: times that I wanted to work together, but like it
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: just wasn't it didn't mesh at all. And so to
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: be on Team Boss where we are all sponsored by
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: different companies, but we come together because we just want
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: to train together and be and just be friends. Like
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: we just have such a good time outside of training.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: But it just it works so well, And like, I
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: can't imagine being on any other team. And I didn't
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: really know what to expect. I wasn't sure who these
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: people were on the team. I had never met Emma before.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: But the moment that I stepped into that team, it
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: was like they greeted me with open arms and just
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: so much love and so much compassion and you know,
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: caring nature that I just like knew that this was
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: right for me.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you stepped into teen Boss after going through
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: some hurdles yourself getting out of a marriage. I would
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: imagine that just the uncertainty, like the mounting uncertainty.
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: That was going on for you at that time.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: So to be greeted with so much compassion was probably
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: also pretty emotional.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Completely, And I was struggling at the time, but I
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: was so happy to be an environment where I just
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: felt so valued and so they were just so impressed
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: with me for like being so optimistic. But it was
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: so easy to do around them. They just they made
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: it so easy to kind of like forget about all
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: that you know, crap that I was going through and
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: just focus on the here and now and becoming you know,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: a better runner, better person, and better everything.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: We obviously started this chat talking about Emma. Emma going
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: through or her own hardships, which she's talked about on
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: the show with everything that's going on with her mom
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: and her cancer. So to be able to connect and
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: get vulnerable with one another isn't always easy. But when
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: you're all kind of upfront with what's going on, open
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: about your baggage, it can be hard to get to
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: that point. But once you're there, that culture of support,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: I like at chills thinking about it.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: It's it's amazing we can tell when each of us
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: is having like a bad day or an off day,
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: you know, and like we know what to say and
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: when to say it. Like, there are definitely times where
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: you don't want to bring stuff up because of the
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: you know, the run that we have that day or workout,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: like we have to kind of be the more focused
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: in that. But then immediately after it's like, hey, like
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: what's going on, Like talk to me, kind of thing,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: and so it's it's such a safe environment, such a
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: safe space to open up.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I know because I've heard you speak about
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: this on pods before, But you are the kind of
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: person that like really doesn't feel if like life is
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: super hectic or you're really upset that you can run. Well,
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: So to come in to this new team at the
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: time and like be carrying all of that, were you scared.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: Very very scared. And I didn't know how anybody was
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: going to respond to that kind of situation, and so
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: I didn't want to come off as you know, emotional
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: or anything like that. But the moment that I like
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: kind of let my guard down a little bit, I
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: was like, oh my gosh, they're accepting me for who
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: I am and everything that comes with it, and like
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: they're not only like accepting me, but they're like more
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: inspired by me for like what I've gone through and
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: what I'm doing right now.
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so let's let's take it back a little bit too.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: Before joining Team Boss, when would you say you got
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: to a place where you knew that all right, I'm
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: actually pretty good at this.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: I would say probably seventh grade honestly, was like the
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: beginning of when I knew I would be good at running.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: I was able to make it on the varsity team
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: there and ran super super well and loved it. I
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: ran in like the mile in gym class and was
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: beating all the boys, and so that's when I like
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: fell in love with running. Was that competition side of it,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: But it was probably seventh grade where I was like,
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: I want to do this for the rest of my life.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: Like I found my people in the in the sport
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: of cross country specifically, and they're just like total weirdos,
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: and I was like, Yep, this is it.
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: This is it for me, total weirdos.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: It's funny because most people when they reflect.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: On like running the mile in seventh grade, they're like,
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: this is actually the worst experience of my life. But
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: I appreciate to hear like an opposite take on it. Yes, yes,
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: so okay, so you knew from the get go good
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: at running beating the boys, But when did you kind
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: of fall into the groove You said loved cross country,
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: But did you know that you were going to skew distance?
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: No, Like I started out with sprints specifically, but I
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: was a very hyperactive kid, so my mom was like, Hey,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: you need to do some distance running because I need
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: to wear you out and stuff. And she's like, if
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: you don't like it on the first day, you can
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: go back to Sprince. But again, I fell in love
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: with the people so much, and I just like felt
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: so confident about myself, like just knowing that, like the
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: harder that I worked, the better I was going to get,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: and then kind of applying that to other facets of
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: my life. And you know, school work was the main
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: thing at that point. You know, when you're twelve years old,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: there's not a lot else going on. My school work
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: just improved so much more and I just gained so
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: much more self worth and just like I knew that,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: like I had the efficacy to like do anything I
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: wanted to do and reach the goals that I wanted
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: to achieve.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting to have that perspective. Would you
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: say that way that mentality was modeled for you at
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: home or where did you fall into the understanding that
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: the harder that I work, the better that I will be.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: It was honestly running and like I mean, my sister
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: was such a hard worker when it came to school
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: work and everything like that. But that bored me, like
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: I couldn't sit still, you know, like I needed to
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: do something with my body that like, you know, made
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: me feel accomplished and I don't know, kind of more
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: tangible results at that point in my life. And so
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: running was like so tangible, Like every time I ran
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: a race, I got faster and faster and faster. And
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: so pring was like such a big deal. And like
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: just knowing that people just really like kind of build
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: you up once you like, you know, find something that
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: you really enjoy and like put passion into. People want
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: to support that, people want to like back you up
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: in that, and like having that support system, having that
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: village was like this, this is what I want. This
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: is what I want my life to be.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: And it's also a really great point that you said
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: like enjoying that process and like something that you feel
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: really passionate about, because if you're not enjoying that journey,
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: then the results aren't going to feel nearly as rewarding, right,
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: So for you to actually find that excitement within the
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: process is such an important highlight because for so many
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: who might be training for something or gearing up for
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: something or whatever they have coming down the pipeline.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: It's easy to lose sight of that sometimes and it's hard.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's no point if you don't enjoy the process
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: at all. And like I definitely lost sight of enjoying
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: the process during the first few years that I was
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: a professional runner, even in college too, when the pressure
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: got a little too high and I just felt like
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: it was a chore and I just wasn't enjoying myself.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: I wasn't enjoying anything I was doing or the people
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: that I was around. It was just like it was
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: so daunting. Every single task was just like so heavy,
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: and people could sense that, and like, you know, I
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: was kind of digging myself into a hole, like and
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I just was like what am I doing this for?
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: And so I took a step back a couple of
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: times from running just to kind of reassess and like
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: is this really what I want to do? And it
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: it came back to me, like running always comes back
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: to me. It's always there for me in a way
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: that nothing else has been. But it's just like trying
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: to simplify it, like just running hard and having fun
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: is like my motto, and honestly, like that's all you
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: need it to be. It doesn't need to be rocket science.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: You know, you can just go out there with a
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: pair of shoes and just go run and kind of
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: you know, think through your thoughts or just you know,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: listen to music and that's your mean time kind of
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: the time des sending yourself and that's that's what I
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: wanted to be going forward as a professional athlete.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Do you remember in some of these instances where you
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: debated taking that backstep or removing yourself from the sport,
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: what exactly was a circumstance that brought you back?
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: So specifically, when I stepped away from it and I
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: wasn't sponsored after being with the Boss Athletic Association, I
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: was sponsored by them for three years out of college,
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: and then I decided that I just didn't want to
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: compete anymore. I just wanted to run. I just I
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: love the training still. But I wasn't making any money,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: so I needed to have a couple of jobs, and
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: so I got a nannying job and then worked at
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: Whole Foods as a cashier. I was working like fifty
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: to sixty hour weeks, but still running on top of it,
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: and running all of a sudden became like an outlet.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: It became like a source of like stress relief, and
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: you know, that was the easiest part of my day,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: whereas it was the hardest part of my day. It
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: was the chore of the day, you know, for so
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: many years. And so that was the way that I
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: kind of created a safe space again for me and
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: running and fell back in love with it. It was
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: because you know, it was just a time for me
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: to reflect and a time for me to like look
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: inward and realize who I wanted to become, and running
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: became a part of who I wanted to become.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: When you were in the act of falling back in
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: love with the sport, was that time for you really
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: self reflecting? Or some people when they run, they really
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: want to run so they don't have to think, Like
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: you get into such a flow state that you're actually
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: not mentally processing or dealing with any of the shit
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: that you probably need to deal with maybe with a therapist.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: And not on the run.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, So for you, like where did you sit in
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: that spectrum?
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: It's always a space for me to collect my thoughts,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Like I have so much going through my head all
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: the time, and running is the time where I like
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: file it into folders and am able to kind of,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: you know, take really useful bits and pieces of all
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: the thoughts that I've gone through my head throughout the day,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: or throughout the week, or throughout the month. And so
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: I use that time to really just like hone in
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: on like all my feelings, all my thoughts and just
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: kind of let them flood over me. And I mean
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: the best time to do that, or time to reflect,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: I think is like during long runs. And so you know,
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: I would go for like two hour long runs just
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: because I mean it was just so fun for me
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: because I was able to kind of take in everything
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: around me and really like you know, kind of go
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: forward with with all the thoughts that were kind of
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: you know, rushing into me. Yeah.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: I've heard you speak about using the long run specifically
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: to navigate the loss of your dad. Can you share
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: a little bit with us about how you used running
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: both to navigate his diagnosis and what he was going
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: through and then kind of as that proceeded.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So in twenty sixteen, it was August that I
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: learned that my dad had a really rare lung disease
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: and so he was gonna have to get a lung
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: transplant and so with that it's like one to five
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: years typically of life. So I knew that, like I
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: would probably have to move back home and you know,
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: kind of deal with everything that's going on and try
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: to spend as much quality time with him that I could.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: But it was like two months later that he ended
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: up being admitted and passing away very quickly, and so
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: it was very just unexpected. He was healthy my entire life,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, this thing, you know, happened,
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: and it was it was really hard to grasp and
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: so I just every time I go out to run,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: every time like I'm struggling, especially when it comes to
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: like breathing, or if I'm like feeling like I'm overwhelmed
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: and I start to breathe really heavy, I start to
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: think of my dad, because he was struggling to breathe
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: for so long, and when he was in the hospital,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: he had all these tubes hooked it up to him
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: to to help him breathe, and he can breathe on
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: his own, and so whenever I think of that, when
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: I'm in those times, I think, breathe for him, you know,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: like he couldn't do it. Be strong for your dad,
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: you know, and like do what he couldn't in the end.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: And I always just like he was always like the toughest,
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: strongest person that I had in my life. Like you know,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: he was somebody that didn't like to really show his weaknesses,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: which is good and bad, but like I definitely try to,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: you know, kind of enrapture that in a way that
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: like I can make it my own thing, whereas I
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: can be vulnerable, but I can also like be tough
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: and gritty and you know kind of fight through things.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: And he gave me that. And so whenever I, yeah,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: like I'm struggling and like want to quit, it's just like,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: you know, just think of him and and just fight
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: for him.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: But it wasn't always that way for you in running
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: in that at the beginning, navigating right this thing that
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: has in your life given you so much solace became challenging.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: You're talking about now, when you struggle to breathe, you
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: remind yourself how fortunate you are to breathe at all.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: But going through this period of time where you felt
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: as though you couldn't breathe shed some light on how
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: it felt for you to navigate this time where the
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: thing that traditionally brought you so much solace it felt
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: like you were incapable of doing.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was like a super hard time to like
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: just deal with like the grieving process of course. So
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: like every time I got to a point of running
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: that it hurt or was uncomfortable, Like I would just
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: break down and just you know, I would be hyperventilating
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: and I would go through panic attacks and everything like that.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: And so that just made running so much harder. And
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: I felt like, you know, there was this like running
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: used to be my space of just like joy and
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: like comfort, and now it's becoming this thing that's just
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: like it's so overwhelming and I feel like I'm drowning.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: So that was like a really tough time. And it
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: was like, you know, a couple of years of just
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: you know, this isn't this isn't going well, and this
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: isn't providing any kind of you know, outlet for me
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: or any kind of comfort. So I need to just
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: kind of change some things.
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: And yeah, how do you flip the perspective?
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: I just you know, going through a parent, you know,
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: passing away before it's their time, it's just it makes
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: you realize how short life is and how you know,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: things are so minuscule, so so many things are trivial,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: and it's it's like running isn't that important, and your
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: performances aren't important. Running doesn't need to be, you know,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: the forefront of my life, but it can still be
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: there for me in a way that like, uh services me.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: And so that's kind of how I flipped it was like,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: you know, nobody cares like if you win a race
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: or don't win a race or this and that, like
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: it's all about just like who you are and who
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: you become, and and running can be that, you know,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: that uplifting thing. And so I turned it into that.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: It goes back to what Emma said in her little
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: blurb before when she was saying that you could be
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: like walking down the street and someone wouldn't know that
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: you're one of the best marathonors that our country has
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: ever seen. And before I keep going with this question
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: when I say that, like how does that make you feel?
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: I don't believe it. I mean like it's it's weird,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: Like it doesn't sink in that that's like a fact.
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so funny.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: We were just talking the other day about like when
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: someone pays you the same compliment four times, you're like, oh,
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: it must be true because four different people have told
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: me the same thing. But it's hard, Like sometimes it's
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: hard to be your own hype man. And you can
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: be the most confident human on the face of the planet,
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: but that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: moments of like inherent self doubt.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, Like we have such high expectations for ourselves, and
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: I don't think that's a bad thing. It's just, you know,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: it's nice to be reminded of, like you know, this
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: is where you are, and like you start to think back, like, oh, yeah,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: I have come a long way, and like you're right,
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: I am, you know, the best in the world kind
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: of you know, you gotta you gotta, yeah, you gotta.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: I gotta admit it to yourself from the roof. Yeah. Absolutely.
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: I also appreciate that because it's evidence that you're still humble.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: But it is a really beautiful thing when you step
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: into this fact that I am really good at insert
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: whatever fill in the blank, being a marathon er, look
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: at me being a podcaster, conducting conversations, like whatever it
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: is that you're good at, owning that there's just so.
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: Much power in that.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: So it's really cool to go back to though what
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: Emma had said. She was saying, like how humble you are? Right,
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: And this also goes then into a discussion that we
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: should have about balance, because when I put out that
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: little like blurb on Instagram, that question box on Instagram,
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: so many people were like, how is she so balanced?
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: You are at.
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: Least, at the very least giving off the projection or
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: you know, incident people get that you like aren't just
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: all about running. So how have you managed to become
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: or embrace not being neurotic about your training.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: I think it's the things that I've gone through in life,
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: like the really shitty stuff, And I am so grateful
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: for that stuff that I've gone through because it's it's
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: made me the person that I am today that's so
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: balanced that realizes that, you know, running isn't that important.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: It's not the end all be all, Like people will
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: still support me if I don't run, and I still
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: have these other qualities if I don't run, And so
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: just really being focused on being happy in this moment,
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: like you know, again, life is so short, and so
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: I do what I want to do. All the time,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: you know, Like I, of course have to train every
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: single day and be disciplined in that, but it's like, well,
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: what can I do the rest of the day, Like,
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: you know, I trained for a couple hours in the morning,
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: But I love going on hikes, I love you know,
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: eating you know, fun food, and like drinking wine and
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: just like really enjoying like social events. And so I'm
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: not going to keep myself from doing those things because
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: I want to win a world medal. It's you know,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: I want to do all those things in hope that
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: I win a World metal. And I think when people
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: become so rigid and like I have to you know,
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: I can't drink, I can't I can't eat these certain foods.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: I can't you know, hang out with these people. I
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: can't do all the stuff that they like, actually want
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: to do and are sacrificing. Then all of a sudden,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: all this pressure gets built up in their in their
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: system and and running just becomes so heavy or competition
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: becomes so heavy, and like you can crack under that
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: pressure completely. And that's how it was for me before.
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: Do you experience shame for your choice to live a
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: balanced lifestyle sometimes?
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: But it's from the people that aren't balanced and don't
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: understand how to be balanced and are probably you know,
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: cracking under the weight of their pressure. So it's I
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: think they understand that that's probably the route to go,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: but they just can't get past, you know, what their
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: their vision and their goals are. They're just so about
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: the end results and aren't about like living in the moment.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: To your point, you just ran your best time of
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: all time, and you did that while living this balanced lifestyle,
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: at least in the way that balance looks for you.
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: So you know that for you, this is a way
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: that works, this is what functions, but for others they
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: may not find the same to be true.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, And it's sad because like, I performed the
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: best when I'm happy, and I think a lot of
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: people underestimate how much that their performance is are affected
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: because of you know, all these sacrifices that they're making,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: or you know, they get into like this just like
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: slump of you know, if I'm not doing this, then
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: I'm not worth that, and it's like it's it sucks
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: because it's that's not true. You know, like we're we're
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: all worth so much more than we think, and I
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: think people if they just enjoyed their life on the
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: daily and and didn't focus again on those end results,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: they would be a lot further in their goals and
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: dreams and aspirations.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and taking that sentimant to navigating like one subpar
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: effort or workout, right, it's so easy, especially goodness summer.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: We're in the summer right now, a lot of people
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: gearing up for some sort of a fall marathon in
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: that it's hot, it's humid, like it's hard.
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: Running is hard, period.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: Running is harder when it's hot and humid, and so
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: it's so easy during these months, in particular, to like
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: lose sight of the fact that you are capable of
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: things because of one crappy workout that makes you feel
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: like you're just like a pile of crap on the ground.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Oh completely. I mean, I had the worst workout of
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: my entire build up a week before the race, and
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: then I had to skip another workout because I just
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: wasn't I wasn't feeling good because it was so hot
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: out and everything. And I could have like let that
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: completely consume me and be like, oh, well, that's it,
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: Like my race is going to go horribly. But it's
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: like it's one or two days like out of you know,
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: the grand scheme of things. It's it's not a big deal.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: And it turned out to not be at all. So
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: there you go, there's proof.
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: It turned out to work well for me.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: So talk to us a little bit about what else
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: you do for finding balance in your life when it
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: comes to kind of your every day. You said you
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: do have a fair amount of free time. So what
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: are you doing in that free time that makes you
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: feel like you are I guess we'll take a note
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: from the A six book, like channeling that sound mind,
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: sound body, because we all know it's so much bigger
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: than just the training.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I just try to find things that
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: I enjoy doing. And I mean I enjoy like educating
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: myself and like reading books and just like expanding my
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: knowledge on anything and everything. And so people have probably
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: seen like my Strava and like they're like fun facts
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: every day and like I am just like reading up
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: on all these like little tidbits of all these like
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: different facets of anything and everything, and I just that's
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: what I want. I just want to be like a
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: well rounded person. So I just try different things and
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: try to like teach myself like different activities. And I
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: love to paint and I love to draw, and so
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: I'm always like challenging my myself in those little ways
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: and trying to keep people close too. Like I've I've
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: learned over the years how important it is to have,
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: you know, a strong community, So reaching out to like
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: friends and family and trying to keep them close and
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: just really like loving on them as much as I can,
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: And that has created such a balance for me. And yeah,
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: it's just I don't know, like what I do day
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: to day, that's like a necessarily a balanced thing because
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: I don't really think about it anymore. It's just like
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: so innate that I just like I just live my
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: life like how I want to live it every single day. Yeah,
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: and I I mean I worry about like bills and
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: stuff and all that, you know, like everybody does, but
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: like I try to not let that consume me like
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: it used to.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, when you were working fifty to sixty hour work weeks, yes,
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: now the work is just a little bit different. Yes,
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: keeping people close. When you made the move to Boulder,
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: that probably became more important than ever, especially because of
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: what you were navigating in your personal life at the time.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: What did that look like for you, Like, how did
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: you go about maintaining those relationships and making sure that
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: you were filling up your cup so that you could
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: continue to pour out to both your sport and then
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: obviously yourself.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was really hard to leave all my friends
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: in Boise. I had like created such a great community
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: there and so and I'm I'm terrible at like keeping
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: in touch with people like from really far away like
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: all the time, Like I'm such like a in person
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: kind of person, and so that was really hard just
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: to know, like I need to really immerse myself in
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: the community of Bolder to really like just get a
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: sense of community and just like have like this support system.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: But like it's so easy and Boulder, Like there's so
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: many wonderful people in Boulder, So like I just like
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: try to keep everybody close to me that's from Afar,
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: but like really like hone in on like the people
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: that are in front of me every single day and
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: like just really try to uplift them and you know,
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: supporting them. And it's just like such a such a
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: cool thing to have in Boulder because so many people
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: are willing to like be behind you in return, and
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: so that's something that's really amazing, And especially the running community.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Like there's so many different running communities in Boulder, and
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: so I love to just like immerse myself into each
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: running community and learn from each running community because there's
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: so many stories. And that's what I've really appreciated over
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: the years is just like finding people from like different
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: places and like why they started running. And it's it's
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: way more inspiring, honestly to hear those stories of people
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: that kind of joined the sport later in life rather
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: than like somebody that had the same journey as me.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: So like kind of immersing myself into that and like
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: getting reinspired and reinvigorated in that way.
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: Simply look at the woman who represented the US for
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: the marathon, right, You've got Kira, You've got Sarah, and
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: you all at a different point in your lives with
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: your own journey, and it's just really an example of
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: what can happen if you're willing to put in the
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: work and if you're willing to be honest with yourself
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: about where your passions lie.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and again, like it's it's amazing to be on
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: a team with those two because again such different stories
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: but equally as inspiring. You know, Kira taking eight years
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: off of running and then having you know, two children
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: and coming back into the sport and just like you know,
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: just going all in and you know, seeing those results
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: is just something that's so so inspiring, not only to
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: like me, but like to people that you know maybe
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: didn't have it, you know during their twenties or thirties.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: They know that they can, like they still have dreams,
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: they can go for those dreams. And like she really
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: has like provided such a different area of like inspiration
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: that like I have for people, or Sarah has, and
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: like Sarah of course like has these children that she
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: adopted and is fostering, and like this is such an
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: amazing thing because you can still be and still you know,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: run your fastest times ever. And she's been in the
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: sport for so long, but she's you know worked her
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: way up into you know, breaking the American record and
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: the half marathon. Like that's that's incredible.
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it is incredible.
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: And I think all three of you really do run
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: happy for lack of a better designation, You're talking about
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: how that joy and that vibe is like entirely what.
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: You only you only accept that vibe.
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: You're like, I'm going to be happy and this is
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: what I'm going to embody. Do you feel as though
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: for you on that note that it starts maybe with
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: saying something like that and then is followed by action
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: or do you feel like your actions are what make
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: you happy?
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: I think sometimes you have to fake it till you
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: make it. Honestly, it's kind of one of those like
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: I'm just gonna decide to be happy whether or not,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: like I mean, I feel it right now. Like it's
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: it's hard with running because there's so many times where
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: it's like it's just really hard, you know, and just
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: making that decision like just you know, just kind of
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: giving gratitude to like everything is around you. Like I
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: that's the way that I've like become happier is just
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: realizing every amazing thing that's in my life and deciding
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: to focus on those things rather than things that worry
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: me or the things that like maybe you know, are
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: stressing me out or or something like that. It's just
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: like really being grateful. Yeah, And that's that's how I've
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: I've viewed like happiness and I know that that's not
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: like the case for everybody, but that's that's how I've reached.
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: It is just I'm just gonna have a great attitude
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: and and you know, life may be shitty at times,
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: but I mean it could it could always be worse, Yeah,
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: but just focusing on the amazing little things and the
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: amazing people, because I have some amazing people in my life,
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: and I have a lot of amazing things that have
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: happened and a lot of cool things to just like
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: focus on and like kind of build momentum on.
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: In that gratitude practice, so to speak. Is there anything
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: specific that you do or is it really just a
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: way of life?
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: Like do you journal, do you use affirmations? Do you
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: do any of that stuff?
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: I do a bit of everything. But I think the
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: biggest thing is trying to slow down my everyday life
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: and focus on the really small things. Like I had
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: a post once that I was talking about gratitude and
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: the way that I give it is just looking at
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: like something as simple as you know, the laughter of
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: a baby, or like you know, somebody holding a door
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: for a stranger, or just like a smile from across
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: the room. It's like those little things that like, you know,
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: some people just you know, maybe it's in the background,
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: but like I like to be observant and kind of
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: just like you know, see everything and take it all
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: in and really just realize how beautiful this world is.
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: Someone might hear you talking about this and think like, oh, well,
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: how does she stay that way? Right? Like, does this
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: mean that the bad things don't shake you? What do
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: you say to that that's not true?
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: I mean I have bad days, you know, Like I
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: have days where I don't want to leave the house
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: and days that I'm just crying, and those those are
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: hard days. But I've realized that, you know, you have
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: to have those days to have balance, And like, I'm
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: all about balance, and that's how you create balances. You cry,
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: sometimes you're mad, sometimes you let your feelings wash over you.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: And like it's not a bad thing. It is something
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: that is just human nature and we all go through it.
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: Taking a break from today's episode to talk to you
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: about my friends at Open now. I have mentioned my
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: obsession with Open in the past. For those of you
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: that are new to the platform, Open is a digital
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: mindfulness platform that combines breathwork, meditation, and movement. I lean
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: in to using Open first thing every morning. I have
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: now graduated to a five minute breathwork session and doing
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: that session first thing, it really helps me come into
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: my body, be present with what is actually going on,
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: and take a really deep breath or well a series
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: of breaths if you get my drift before I jump
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: head first into my day. The best part about Open
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: is if they have classes under ten minutes. Like I said,
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: I'm loving the three minute sessions. This means it's super quick,
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: it's super easy to stick with.
• 38:22
  Speaker 3: And in doing that, in sticking.
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: With my Open breathwork every morning, I feel like I
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: sleep better, I am stressing a lot less, and I
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: have more energy and focus to get through my day.
• 38:36
  Speaker 3: Now.
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: I would love for you to get in on the
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: open action with me. Get thirty days free when you
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: visit with Open dot com slash hurdle again, that is
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: with openwhpe n dot com slash hurdle to get thirty
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: days free.
• 38:54
  Speaker 3: What are you waiting for? I'll see you in class.
• 39:04
  Speaker 3: When was the last time you cried?
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: Oh, like just a few days ago. I was, Yeah,
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: it was I was very emotional. I mean my so,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: my sister just had a baby recently, so like that was,
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: like I have been overcome with emotion just because of
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: you know, that shiny little light, you know, being brought
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: into our lives. There are times when I'm crying about happiness.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: There's times I'm crying about sadness. I mean, it's just
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: whatever it is. I just take it for what it is.
• 39:28
  Speaker 3: Take it for what it is.
• 39:30
  Speaker 2: When things like your sister are having a baby and
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: you having such a big day here in Oregon on Monday,
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: when these like big moments happen for you, how do
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: you navigate those moments without your dad.
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: It's it's tough, Like I miss him the most when
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: when I'm the happiest and he's always in my mind
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: when I'm at those points, so like it's it was
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: really hard for a while, and I would like, you know,
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: I should I shouldn't be happy, you know, like he's
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: not here, Like I feel guilty kind of thing. But
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: I just know that he would be so proud and sorry.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: I love like crying about it because I had somebody
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: that I love so much to miss, you know, like
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: I'm so lucky that I had him in my life
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: and had those times with him. But it is like
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: really hard when you know, you're you have these moments
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: and you know there's a little bundle of joy being
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: brought into our family and he's not there to meet her.
• 40:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: At the same time, though, when you think about those
• 40:36
  Speaker 2: the tough miles later in the marathon, right, and I
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: remember in the pres content conference, you were saying like,
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: oh my god, yeah, like I was in this dark place,
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: and then you think about how when you're in that
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: dark place, you also think of your dad and the
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: strength that he's given you to navigate those hurdles. It's
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: such a gift to have that perspective and to have
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: had someone that literally makes you a better person.
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, And that's like what brings me out of like
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: the sad part of it is you know, like I
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: know that he wouldn't want me to be sad. He
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: would be so upset if you knew I was sad
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: about it. He's like, you would want me to turn
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: it into a positive and be you know, gain more
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: strength from.
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: It to go back to those tough moments in the marathon.
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: Whether you're running or you're just trying to like live
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: your day, we all have like these like dark moments
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: that sprinkle into the mix. And for you knowing that
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: you weren't done yet to be able to pull yourself
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: out of that spot. Talk to us about maybe the
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: mental gymnastics that happens there.
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, this time around, it was it was dark for
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: a long time because I had never gone out that
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: fast in a marathon before, so things were uncomfortable very
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: very early on, and so I was you know, there's
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: ebbs and flows at the marathon, but there was a
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: lot of a lot more ebbs to this one. Like
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: it was it was really tough, and so there was
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: so much emotion that went through so many different of
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: those like kind of roller coasters, and my dad went
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: was in the forefront of most of those. But it
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: was at the end where you know, you're at twenty
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: miles and like it's you know, six miles to go. Still,
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: I just was like I felt defeated because every like
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: it just felt so hard, and I felt like the
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: race had like completely just you know, it was being lost,
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, I just remembered where I was.
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: I'm at the World Championships. I'm running for Team USA.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: There are all these people here to support me, and
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: I just want to make them proud. I want to
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: be proud of my performance as well. I want to,
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: you know, just go out here like this is my
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: one opportunity, like, just go for it. And so once
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: I got to that point of mentality, like I just
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: I just sent it, and so I didn't care how
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: bad it hurt. I just went for it. And those
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: last six miles were some of the most fun miles
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: ever just because I I didn't care. I was just like,
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: you know, let's just get this done. Like this is
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: this is it? Like this is you know what what
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: I trained? You know these last you know, however many
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: years for is is this moment in time.
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: When someone tells you, as they have over the last
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: few days since Monday, that you inspire them?
• 43:20
  Speaker 3: How does that make you feel?
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: I'm it's it's overwhelming because I'm like really like why,
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: like why do I inspire you? But then I mean,
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: I try to remember what inspires me, and you know,
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: Sarah Hall inspires me and cured him. All these track
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: and field athletes, all these people going out there and
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: training day in and day out to do you know,
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: their very best at their respective sport. That inspires me.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: So I'm like, okay, well, yeah, if they inspire me,
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: then I can inspire you too, and that's incredible. Like
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: that's so heartwarming to know that, Like I'm like that
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: to them. Like that perspective is so weird to me
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: because I just I don't feel like what I do
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: is special A lot of times. It's just like I'm
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: just running, you know, like this is just this is
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: what I love to do. But it's amazing that that
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: can be, you know, a side effect of.
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: It to double click on. I had never gone out
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: that fast in a marathon. Can you give us or
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: paint the picture of what happened versus maybe what the
• 44:20
  Speaker 2: race plan was versus like maybe what conventionally happened.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: Before I going into it, thought I was just going
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: to kind of like do what I did at Chicago.
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: So at Chicago Marathon, I started out very conservatively and
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: then like started picking it up and eventually found myself
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: in second.
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: So for those of you who are not familiar with
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: how this played out, we had a second place finish
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: in the Chicago Marathon last year.
• 44:42
  Speaker 3: Yes, okay, so keep going.
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: Now, Yes, And that's how I ran. It was very
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: conservative in the beginning and then like kept picking people off.
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: So I thought that that was going to kind of
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: be the game plan again. But Joe, my coach, told
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: me like, Nope, We're just going to go for it.
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: Like if you intend to meddle, you have to go
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: out at a fast clip. We're gonna go out at seventy.
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: I think you can do it. You're at into twenty shape. Like,
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: just let's go show America what you can do. That's
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: what he said. A little blindsided, but so stoked, like
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: the fact that he like he doesn't say those things
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: unless he believes them, Like he doesn't say a lot
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: of words, and when he does, like they're so meaningful.
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: I also feel like someone saying that to me I
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: would just be like, when the hell did we get here?
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: That's That's how I was thinking. Yeah, it was just
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: like okay, Joe, like that would have been nice to know,
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: maybe like a month ago or whatever, but here we are,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: the day before, we're gonna we're gonna send it yep,
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: full send Okay. So going into it, Sarah was like, hey,
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: can we work together on this? Like we should work together, right?
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: I was like, Hell, yeah, we should work together if
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: you think that, you know, we're compatible enough in our
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: training and our capabilities to go out with each other.
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: And I was like, yeah, I'm going out in seventy.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: She's like, perfect, let's do it. And so then we
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: got Kira and she's like yep, like that's what's gonna happen.
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: And so that was a decisive moment that we were
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: just like we're we're gonna do this.
• 46:06
  Speaker 3: Thing, man.
• 46:07
  Speaker 2: And just the fact that like Kira just got thrown
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: into this, I know it. It kills me. It truly
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: kills me. It's just like, yeah, sure, like I'd love
• 46:16
  Speaker 2: to go out at seventy. That sounds good for me,
• 46:18
  Speaker 2: that sounds fine.
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: Like she hasn't been training for the marathon in a
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: very long time, and she it's funny because she got
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: carried away. She went with that front pack, but it's
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: like she's been ten k training, so it's like that
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: felt so easy for her. And then she's like, well
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: this is getting hard. So I'm so glad that she
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: like slowed down and to like get into our pack
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: and so that we could work together and like, I mean,
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: to finish like as close as we did, Like I
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: can't imagine it happening any other way.
• 46:42
  Speaker 3: So special, so special.
• 46:44
  Speaker 2: There's this like great photo of like I call it
• 46:47
  Speaker 2: like the butts photo. It's like your two little butts
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: waiting for Kira to like cross the finish line and
• 46:51
  Speaker 2: you're facing her so like the butts are the closest
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: thing to the camera, and it's like, I just love
• 46:56
  Speaker 2: this for you. Just love this culture of like happiness
• 47:01
  Speaker 2: and acceptance.
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 47:02
  Speaker 2: The other thing here to note as well is like
• 47:06
  Speaker 2: the fact that again this culture of support is just
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: so special and the fact that like all three of
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: you genuinely wanted so much goodness for the other. It
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: was truly coming into this event as a team and
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: not just I am here to do the best that
• 47:25
  Speaker 2: I can and like I hope you do well, but
• 47:26
  Speaker 2: like I'm really focused on myself.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: Completely, and that's like that's very rare, and I understand that,
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: especially like with all the stuff that I've gone through
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: with women, you know, and friends and stuff like that,
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: being petty and competitive and stuff like that. I it's
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: crazy what female distance running is right now, because I
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: don't feel that anywhere. And that's something that I think
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: has changed the game so much. Like my good friend
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: Laura Sweet and I were talking about it, and like
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: we think that the reason why women's distance running is
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: on the rise and like maybe the men aren't as
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: much right now is because like we're so supportive of
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: each other and we empower each other and we're like
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: always our biggest cheerleaders for each other, and the men
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: are so like, oh, I just want to beat these people,
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: you know, and like that creates an environment and just
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: like I don't know, toxic energy. Like whenever I'm around
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: like people like Sarah and Kira, like I am so
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: excited and so just like, oh my god, I'm just
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: like doing this thing with my friends, you know, Like
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: it makes it so it's not so serious. And that's
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: what I really like about it, is just like I'm
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: just here to have fun.
• 48:29
  Speaker 2: Just here to have a good time. Yeah, what else
• 48:31
  Speaker 2: excites you right now?
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: This is a really exciting time to be an American
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: distance runner, especially, so like I'm just so cool. It's
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: just so cool to see like the American records being broken,
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: and so to think that I am in the realm
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: of maybe even breaking an American record at some point
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: within the next few years is something that really like
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: gets me excited and gets me going. But also just
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: like focusing on my team like they're they're just such
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: an amazing group of people, and like they're they're accomplishing
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: these big goals too, and just like really embracing just
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: like their journeys and everything like that. It's just been
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: really wonderful. And I mean again, like my little niece
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: being born. It's just like, you know, the little things
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: in life that like are so exciting and the changes
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: that are going to be had, like within this next year,
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: and I don't know where life is going to go.
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: And I know what Fall Marathon I'm doing, but beyond that,
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: I don't really know, like what's coming next.
• 49:23
  Speaker 3: What Fall Marathon are you doing?
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: I can't say, but I know you guys will know
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: soon hopefully.
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: Oh man, I can't break any news here today.
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: Sorry, it's no but it's fine.
• 49:33
  Speaker 3: And there's probably better places for the news to be
• 49:35
  Speaker 3: broken than on hurdle.
• 49:36
  Speaker 2: When someone comes to your Instagram page, they see a
• 49:39
  Speaker 2: woman who proudly came in second place as Chicago Marathon
• 49:43
  Speaker 2: last year. Now someone such a prominent runner in the
• 49:48
  Speaker 2: American distance community. When you look in the mirror, what
• 49:52
  Speaker 2: is it that you see looking back at you?
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: I see a woman that is completely confident in who
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: she is and what she wants. And that's something that
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: I don't think I ever thought I would see looking
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: back at me.
• 50:06
  Speaker 3: Who are you?
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: I am somebody that expects so much out of myself
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: that I won't stop until I get what I want
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: and what I think I deserve.
• 50:19
  Speaker 2: Do you feel as though on that journey you've been
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: good at having grace and compassion with yourself when it
• 50:26
  Speaker 2: doesn't go as you'd hoped.
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: I haven't always and being able to recognize that I
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: haven't always done that is a huge step, And so
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: I know that I have so much more growth to have,
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: But I've come a long way, and I've given myself
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: a lot of grace this past couple of years, and
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: that has made all the difference.
• 50:48
  Speaker 2: That recognition and that realization for so many, to get
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: to that place alone is truly challenging. To recognize that
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: is the first step in doing something going forward, in
• 51:04
  Speaker 2: embracing a little bit more grace, embracing your potential because
• 51:09
  Speaker 2: we all deserve to have a positive dialogue. We all
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: deserve to talk to ourselves the way that you might
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: want to talk to your best friend. And so if
• 51:18
  Speaker 2: you're in there, you know, shit talking yourself, and that's
• 51:22
  Speaker 2: the person that you're talking to the most in any
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: given day.
• 51:25
  Speaker 3: It's not going to serve you at all.
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: Not one bit. And self awareness is like been a
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: huge part of my growing process. And if people just
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: can know thyself, that's a huge step. And like you
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: have to you probably have to dig, and you know,
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: dig up some pretty shitty things. But once you, you know,
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: dig yourself into a hole, then you can climb back
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: out of it and leave all that shit behind.
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: Leave all that shit behind.
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: I do need to point out that about like two
• 51:52
  Speaker 2: minutes and twenty seconds ago, you said I can be
• 51:55
  Speaker 2: someone that breaks an American record in the next few years.
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: When I say that back to you, how do you feel?
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: It feels like I need to hold myself accountable to that.
• 52:06
  Speaker 3: I love it. I love it.
• 52:08
  Speaker 2: So I mean, you know what Fall Marathon you're doing.
• 52:11
  Speaker 2: You're not telling us. That's fine, I'm not mad. But
• 52:14
  Speaker 2: one of the questions that came in from the community
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: was asking about if you had to pick a favorite
• 52:19
  Speaker 2: from your past, what it would be.
• 52:22
  Speaker 3: Do you have one? Would you say this over Chicago?
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: Oh, one hundred percent. I'm sorry. I love Chicago and
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: I love taking second at a world major, but to
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: represent my country in front of a home crowd. There's
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: nothing that will ever match this, like this, Oh, I
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: want to do it all over again. It was so incredible.
• 52:42
  Speaker 2: Does that mean that there's going to be maybe a
• 52:45
  Speaker 2: twenty part recap on deck for your time?
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry for anybody that doesn't want to see twenty
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: photos of me in a row, but it's going to
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: be a lot, honestly, Like, there's so many emotions and
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: like I I've kind of started writing it, but again
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: I'm like still processing, so like I try to let
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: it alls can until like I release everything. So it's coming.
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: But yeah, there's a lot to be to be said.
• 53:11
  Speaker 2: If you weren't in the loop after Chicago last year,
• 53:13
  Speaker 2: I believe it was a fifteen part recap.
• 53:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 53:16
  Speaker 2: I love that though, And I think it's so helpful
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: to like see where your head was at during that
• 53:21
  Speaker 2: and understand the process, and even more so when you
• 53:24
  Speaker 2: take the time throughout that recap to give us some
• 53:27
  Speaker 2: insight into the journey, right, because you don't wake up
• 53:30
  Speaker 2: one morning and become someone who's saying the sentence I
• 53:34
  Speaker 2: am capable of breaking an American record in the marathon
• 53:38
  Speaker 2: that doesn't happen. There's been so much work and so
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: much effort and so much recognition that you deserve as
• 53:45
  Speaker 2: someone who is getting out there and putting yourself out
• 53:48
  Speaker 2: there right, So to be able to shed that light
• 53:52
  Speaker 2: is obscenely helpful for so many people who may be
• 53:55
  Speaker 2: spinning their wheels stuck in the process.
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: And that's incredible to me. Like, I didn't realize how
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: much impact those stories would have on people, but they
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: them realizing that, like I am going through the same
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: things that they're going through, whether that be in the
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: race or throughout the entire training process, that just like
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: is so comforting. They're like, oh my gosh, Like even you,
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: like a professional runner has the same like thoughts through
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: your head, like I want to, you know, DNF, Like
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: I want to like drop out so many times during races,
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: but I you know, like that's that's what goes through
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: my head as well, Like, yeah, I get paid to
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: do this, but like I still have the same emotions.
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: I'm still a human being and like this is really
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: freaking hard.
• 54:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah this is so easy.
• 54:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah no, it's not no runner ever.
• 54:38
  Speaker 2: I Mean it's crazy though, because like very rarely do
• 54:41
  Speaker 2: you have that like perfect flow state experience. Especially I
• 54:45
  Speaker 2: will say this, especially for a marathon. You're just out
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: there for so long and it is such like a
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: beautiful analogy for life, right like that you have to
• 54:55
  Speaker 2: like find parts of yourself at different places during this
• 54:59
  Speaker 2: race if you want to like come to that place
• 55:02
  Speaker 2: where you're at your full potential. And it's not going
• 55:04
  Speaker 2: to be beauty beautiful all the time, and it's going
• 55:06
  Speaker 2: to be gritty and like that's okay.
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah again, just let things wash over you during that
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: process and like let it, let it be. I think
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: that's the beauty of the marathon is like you go
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: through so much, but you learn so much about yourself
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: through that process completely.
• 55:22
  Speaker 2: Would did you step into the race this week marinating
• 55:26
  Speaker 2: or thinking back to any one particular piece of advice
• 55:29
  Speaker 2: or sentiment.
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: So my coach like has always had like mantras for
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: each like training cycle, and so this one was how
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: easy can you make it? And that sounds that sounds
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: stupid because running isn't easy ever, But it's to stop
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: get out of your head, stop forcing it, you know,
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: just loosen up, stop being so rigid, and just again
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: let it be, Like let what is happening right now,
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: and just like keep it like where it is, Like
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: feel what you're feeling, be with an yourself, let your
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: body do what it needs to do. Get out of
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: the way of your body, and like get your head
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: out of the way, and just like make it easy
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: in that way.
• 56:08
  Speaker 2: Do you feel like there has been anything else in
• 56:10
  Speaker 2: your life over the last let's say year or two,
• 56:13
  Speaker 2: or maybe even the pandemic that you've needed to apply
• 56:16
  Speaker 2: that same philosophy to.
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean every everything, honestly, Like I can't think
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: of anything that I haven't really applied that to. You know,
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: like it's it's it's stop forcing everything, you know, like
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: life is too short to worry. And you know, just
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: kind of I like to go with the flow. And
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: that's kind of like how you keep it easy, you know,
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: like be adaptable, just like don't don't try to do
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: things that maybe it's just not the right time. Like
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: I'm so like in tune with what the universe wants.
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: Like the universe just like it has signs for you,
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: and if you could just like listen to it. And
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: and you know, some people who get like injured, for instance,
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: like they try to like come back too quickly, and
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: it's like obviously, like you got injured, reason you need
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: to take a step back. And maybe this is, you know,
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: a blessing in disguise.
• 57:04
  Speaker 2: Kind of thing for someone who struggles getting there, who
• 57:08
  Speaker 2: struggles being okay with being malleable, flexible, adaptable, Do you
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: have any actionable advice for them to become a little
• 57:18
  Speaker 2: bit better?
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: Trying to think of how I became that way, it's
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: just to experience, like once you start to like let
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: go of those things, you start to realize how minuscule,
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: like that certain thing that you wanted to happen is,
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: and you're able to just kind of be happy with
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: what is in front of you instead. So like living
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: in the moment has always been so just that's that's
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: kind of like always my thing is mindfulness and like
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: focusing on what's in front of you and giving gratitude.
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: Like honestly though, all those things have have helped me
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: so much in.
• 57:50
  Speaker 2: That way, and recognizing when you make a stride in
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: doing that, right, like if something happens where you realize, hey,
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: I actually was okay with going with the flow on
• 58:01
  Speaker 2: that or I was able to pivot here. Great because
• 58:05
  Speaker 2: so often like these moments pass and we're.
• 58:08
  Speaker 3: Just like, oh cool, Onto the next thing, Onto the
• 58:09
  Speaker 3: next thing.
• 58:10
  Speaker 2: But like, if you don't take the time to commemorate
• 58:12
  Speaker 2: in the same way you would another win, so to speak,
• 58:16
  Speaker 2: then if you don't notice that, then you can't do
• 58:18
  Speaker 2: something with that.
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: Going forward absolutely and accomplishing things like in a way
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: that like is different from you know, the way that
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: you accomplish them before, is like something to be proud of. Also, Like,
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: that's that's how I've kind of had that perspective of things.
• 58:35
  Speaker 2: What was the quote that my life coach told me
• 58:37
  Speaker 2: the other day? She said, be okay with changing the plan? Yeah,
• 58:41
  Speaker 2: And I keep thinking about that. You may have in
• 58:45
  Speaker 2: your mind a way that something is going to go,
• 58:48
  Speaker 2: But if you were okay with the fact that you
• 58:51
  Speaker 2: might be able to get to where you want to
• 58:53
  Speaker 2: be by making a little bit of a shift, then
• 58:57
  Speaker 2: a whole world of opportunity opens up to you because
• 59:00
  Speaker 2: you could find things as you pivot that are so
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: much better than what you even thought were there for you. Absolutely,
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: be okay with changing the plan.
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that all the good things in my
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: life have happened because of a pivot. Honestly, yes, all right,
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: we got track to watch. So we're gonna wind up here,
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: wind down here, wind up, wind down. We're gonna wind own,
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: wind down to wind up.
• 59:21
  Speaker 3: We're gonna wind down so that we can turn up. Yes,
• 59:24
  Speaker 3: a final question for you, my friend.
• 59:26
  Speaker 2: Right now, you have the opportunity to offer yourself a
• 59:30
  Speaker 2: piece of advice. Going through the hurdle moment of moving
• 59:33
  Speaker 2: to Boulder, walking away from Boise, making a huge life change,
• 59:37
  Speaker 2: and picking yourself up after a few difficult years. What
• 59:42
  Speaker 2: do you tell yourself, with the knowledge that you have.
• 59:45
  Speaker 1: Now everything works out, go with the flow. I mean,
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: even if it's not again what you planned, like something
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: beautiful will come out of it, because I mean nothing
• 59:56
  Speaker 1: in life is guaranteed, but like there's some really ful
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: things that can come out of the unexpected.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 2: Beautiful things come out of the unexpected. Emma baits so
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 2: happy that we're able to do this. How do the
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 2: hurdlers follow along with you? How do they keep up
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 2: with you? Give me your details?
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: I got some Instagram Emma. Janelle Bates is the.
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 2: Name we've turned into us on their an accent. We're
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 2: about to go turn up at a country happy hour upstairs.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 3: Let's do it. Let's do it.
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 2: I am over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast.
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 2: Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.