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144 - Ashton Lunt - Becoming a National Champion · Getting After It

• 0:00
  Brett: So did you grow up doing track and all those kind of things?
• 0:02
  Brett: Yep.
• 0:03
  Ashton: I was a three-sport athlete.
• 0:04
  Ashton: My dad was a three-sport.
• 0:07
  Ashton: I was a three-sport athlete.
• 0:08
  Ashton: I come from a small school Okay 1A.
• 0:10
  Ashton: Do you know about divisions?
• 0:13
  Brett: I think so.
• 0:13
  Brett: What are the divisions?
• 0:15
  Brett: Because then I could tell you what my school was.
• 0:17
  Ashton: Okay, so are you from Utah.
• 0:18
  Brett: Arizona.
• 0:19
  Ashton: Oh, we just said that.
• 0:20
  Ashton: So sorry, it goes 1B, 2b, 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a, okay, whereas in Utah they go up from 1A to 6A.
• 0:28
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 0:28
  Ashton: So technically I would be either a 2A or a 3A.
• 0:32
  Brett: Okay, I want to say we were four.
• 0:33
  Brett: Our school was huge.
• 0:35
  Brett: Okay, yeah, I graduated with like 100 people Dang really.
• 0:41
  Brett: Yeah, Ours was like 800, I think so it was massive.
• 0:45
  Brett: Yeah, it's huge Like the whole football field.
• 0:47
  Brett: It was just our graduating class.
• 0:48
  Brett: It wouldn't go.
• 0:49
  Brett: It was nuts and it was May in Arizona.
• 0:51
  Brett: So it's like so hot You're wearing the robe, You're like this is the worst.
• 0:55
  Ashton: You're like this is the worst.
• 0:56
  Ashton: Yeah, I graduated.
• 0:57
  Brett: Okay, sweet, three sports.
• 1:00
  Ashton: Um soccer, basketball and track.
• 1:02
  Brett: Dang Okay, so lots of running.
• 1:04
  Ashton: Always busy.
• 1:05
  Ashton: Yes, yeah, yeah, that's good yeah.
• 1:08
  Brett: And then out of there, which one was like okay, well running's where it's at Like I want to do track.
• 1:18
  Ashton: How'd that come to play Um my dad?
• 1:23
  Brett: was the track coach.
• 1:24
  Brett: I was.
• 1:24
  Ashton: I was, yeah, I guess.
• 1:24
  Ashton: But he was the sprints coach, okay.
• 1:25
  Ashton: And so I was just like the bigger kid.
• 1:26
  Ashton: I was taller.
• 1:26
  Ashton: Um, when I was younger, I was a chunky kid, like I really was.
• 1:30
  Ashton: And so my dad's like, hey, you're just going to be my thrower.
• 1:33
  Ashton: And he saw this opportunity um a lot of, um scholarships.
• 1:39
  Ashton: He's like I, I know you can get one, even at eight years old.
• 1:43
  Ashton: He told me that he's like you're going to throw the javelin.
• 1:46
  Ashton: I was like what the freak's a javelin.
• 1:47
  Ashton: I'm like eight.
• 1:48
  Ashton: He's like it's a spear.
• 1:50
  Ashton: The biggest thing was he said I'm going to throw at BYU Hawaii.
• 1:55
  Ashton: I wanted to go to BYU Hawaii.
• 1:56
  Ashton: Then I think in junior high, they canceled their program.
• 1:59
  Ashton: Really yeah, they canceled their program.
• 2:01
  Brett: Really, yeah, yeah, they don't have a sports team, huh, no, I know Rexburg, that's where I went to school.
• 2:05
  Brett: Um, they don't have one either, and I was like I was really bummed, yeah, but, um, okay, so Javelin, and you're eight years old and yeah, I'm sure like some eight year olds would be like for me if I was eight years old and my dad was like no everyone else in our family sprints.
• 2:26
  Ashton: Like I'm gonna be a sprinter, which I did still.
• 2:29
  Ashton: I was still a sprinter, like I still did it, which translated great to javelin oh nice but no, like I knew javelin was gonna be it, but at at the time I was dad.
• 2:42
  Brett: Yeah, not doing that.
• 2:43
  Ashton: No no.
• 2:44
  Brett: That's pretty cool though.
• 2:45
  Brett: So I mean, I kind of got thrown into like I'm just trying to make a comparison here I got thrown into volleyball when I was a kid and I didn't like it for like the first maybe two years, but like all my brothers played it and I was like I got to do it, like I want to be like my brothers they're super cool and eventually, like I fell in love with the sport.
• 3:06
  Brett: Um, I think it was just after you know that initial time where you have to learn so much and then you have to figure out what your technique is and then refine, like your position in volleyball and all that stuff.
• 3:13
  Brett: And then, like once I started getting the fundamentals and I started getting kind of decent, I was like this is fun.
• 3:18
  Brett: Actually I like this Um, but I don't even know anything about training for javelin Um, but I don't even know anything about training for javelin.
• 3:25
  Ashton: So what's that?
• 3:25
  Ashton: Like You're kind of just thrown into it.
• 3:27
  Ashton: Really.
• 3:27
  Ashton: Like I didn't gain a love for it for a long time, because it's just so.
• 3:32
  Ashton: It's just so hard.
• 3:34
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 3:34
  Ashton: Like all these little things have to be put together.
• 3:36
  Ashton: You look awkward doing it, you're pretty much running sideways.
• 3:39
  Ashton: You're throwing sideways.
• 3:41
  Ashton: It's just so awkward yeah.
• 3:46
  Brett: The way Michael talked about it was like he talked about Q bouncing, um, and he said, like sometimes you would do one throw and then you'd be like how did I make it that way?
• 3:54
  Brett: Like how did I do it that well?
• 3:55
  Brett: And then you'd go through and you'd be like, okay, well, maybe it was my hips, maybe it was like how I planted, and like you said all these other terms I don't remember.
• 4:02
  Brett: But yeah, I'm sure that's just incredibly difficult, like finding your technique.
• 4:07
  Ashton: Yeah, so for a while I hated it.
• 4:08
  Ashton: I'm sure that's true, yeah.
• 4:11
  Brett: But I mean, you stuck with it though.
• 4:14
  Ashton: Yeah, the biggest reason I love to lift, and I asked all my friends or my teammates in college.
• 4:21
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 4:21
  Ashton: I was like what do you think sets everyone apart in high school, Like the good from the great, they said.
• 4:26
  Ashton: Whoever lifts the most?
• 4:27
  Ashton: Probably, oh yeah, in high school it's more about lifting than technique and I, I never missed a day in high school.
• 4:34
  Ashton: Dang, I don't think, yeah, every morning.
• 4:37
  Brett: What kind of lifts were you doing?
• 4:39
  Ashton: Um power lifting and then, like I call, vanity lifts, like people, like you know, like you look nice, oh, like bicep curls yeah.
• 4:45
  Ashton: Okay, Just to look good.
• 4:47
  Ashton: My biggest motivation.
• 4:50
  Ashton: This is so embarrassing.
• 4:51
  Brett: Oh, I'm ready.
• 4:52
  Ashton: I had a crush on a guy Like my dad was like my dad.
• 4:55
  Ashton: He tells everyone every interview.
• 4:56
  Ashton: He's like my daughter was so motivated Like she'd be up before me She'd have the pigs fed she would have breakfast made so we can get out the door to get lifting, because she just loved lifting so much.
• 5:08
  Ashton: I'm not kidding.
• 5:10
  Ashton: I just had a crush on a guy and it got me into lifting and ever since then I've been obsessed with lifting.
• 5:15
  Ashton: Less about the guy, more about how I looked.
• 5:18
  Ashton: But yeah, that's kind of how I got it.
• 5:21
  Ashton: I fell in love with it.
• 5:23
  Brett: You got to draw motivation from somewhere, so hey, if that gets you started, why not?
• 5:26
  Brett: That's awesome, though.
• 5:29
  Brett: Okay, so you're lifting big time and I mean that's something that, like I think everyone should be doing is lifting, and it doesn't have to be like I don't know.
• 5:37
  Brett: You don't have to go and be like Arnold Schwarzenegger and do crazy weights and all that stuff.
• 5:42
  Brett: Do crazy weights and all that stuff, but just for functionality and mobility and strengthen to your later years, like that's.
• 5:48
  Brett: One thing that's been fascinating to me is is learning about the science behind like lifting and how it helps with longevity.
• 5:55
  Brett: Yes, like it's super interesting.
• 5:57
  Brett: The more muscle mass you have, I think, the better it is of like a what's the word?
• 6:01
  Brett: Mortality marker, not that, but like it, something like that yeah, I can't remember what it's called.
• 6:06
  Ashton: You look younger, you do.
• 6:07
  Brett: You just do so it's crazy, yeah, but um did they have any certain types of lifts that, like they would prescribe in javelin?
• 6:15
  Ashton: yeah, so a lot of the like, like power lifting, so snatches, cleans, um, did um.
• 6:22
  Ashton: We did some weird ones, like you know, um snatching, but we do a split snatch.
• 6:27
  Ashton: So it's like a split jerk but split snatch.
• 6:29
  Brett: Oh, where you're doing the splits.
• 6:30
  Ashton: Yeah, and then we have like box snatches and box cleans, where you start at your knees so you don't get that momentum down.
• 6:36
  Ashton: Um a lot of quick Twitch stuff.
• 6:39
  Ashton: Dang Loved it.
• 6:40
  Ashton: That's crazy.
• 6:40
  Ashton: Yeah, I loved it.
• 6:42
  Brett: And then what was like a, a regular training day, like like, how were you guys running, cause you had to stay fit somehow?
• 6:47
  Brett: Um, although Michael told me that when he was training he, his, uh, his dietician or something like, gave him a bunch of like different foods to eat and then he gained, I think 20 pounds is what he told me so bad.
• 7:01
  Ashton: I mean we've we've both been to that person and multiple people have, and I was like I'll never go to them again.
• 7:09
  Brett: Really.
• 7:09
  Ashton: Yeah, I worked with someone else at BYU.
• 7:11
  Ashton: His name's Dan Amazing.
• 7:13
  Ashton: I love him.
• 7:13
  Ashton: He's like.
• 7:14
  Ashton: I just want to start out by saying you are a beautiful daughter of God, but what do you want?
• 7:18
  Ashton: What's?
• 7:19
  Ashton: Going to make you happy, and he was great about that.
• 7:21
  Brett: That's awesome.
• 7:23
  Ashton: But yeah, mike is right, but the typical training, we would have outdoor practice first and we would obviously throw or do med balls, which is great for the core Like I've never had a core in my life.
• 7:36
  Brett: Med balls.
• 7:36
  Brett: Is that the thing where you're like twisting to the side?
• 7:38
  Brett: Yes, and like around the head?
• 7:40
  Ashton: and helping with our cues, like knee down, just random javelin things, and then we'd have sprints some days.
• 7:50
  Ashton: My coach he's Finnish and he was all about long muscles and he wanted me to run at least two miles every other day, but he'd say every day he was more on the extreme end.
• 8:00
  Ashton: Sometimes he'd say six miles.
• 8:02
  Ashton: I'm like I'm not doing that, I don't run, I do not run.
• 8:13
  Ashton: And then we would lift and it was like it took about an hour to lift right after practice, and we would do that as a team.
• 8:17
  Ashton: So fun, like the vibe is insane, like everyone's screaming that in your face on peak week Love it.
• 8:22
  Brett: Oh yeah, you got music going.
• 8:23
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 8:24
  Brett: Yeah, that's the best.
• 8:24
  Brett: That's so fun.
• 8:25
  Ashton: And then the crazy thing is or what I did and my coach probably hated that I did this, but I did it and I loved it, me and my husband he'd come home from practice, from football, and we would go to Vasa for like an hour at least an hour and a half at night, so I would train an extra hour to an hour and a half a night.
• 8:46
  Ashton: And then on weekends we had weekend practices and we would run stairs until someone split their knee open.
• 8:53
  Brett: Really.
• 8:54
  Ashton: Like, gashed it open.
• 8:55
  Brett: That was the rule.
• 8:58
  Ashton: Well no, my coach was like we're never doing that again.
• 9:01
  Ashton: Yeah, that's fair.
• 9:02
  Brett: Dang, that's insane.
• 9:03
  Brett: Stairs are brutal, but man, that's fair.
• 9:06
  Brett: Dang, that's insane.
• 9:06
  Brett: Stairs are brutal, but man, that's a lot of training volume, yeah.
• 9:07
  Brett: So like average week, what is that?
• 9:11
  Brett: Like three hours a day, it seems like.
• 9:13
  Brett: So, putting in 21-hour weeks.
• 9:15
  Ashton: I think most practices went over an hour and a half to two hours and then lifting.
• 9:20
  Ashton: I say I trained almost four to five hours a day.
• 9:23
  Ashton: That's insane.
• 9:24
  Ashton: And lifting.
• 9:26
  Ashton: I say I trained almost four to five hours a day.
• 9:27
  Brett: That's insane, and that was on top of how much recovery we had to do.
• 9:28
  Ashton: Yeah, I was just about to ask what was that like the recovery?
• 9:30
  Ashton: I mean I think we could have done it faster, but we were all just like talking the whole time.
• 9:34
  Ashton: But we would at least do an hour before practice.
• 9:39
  Ashton: Oh, okay.
• 9:39
  Ashton: Um, we'd have to heat up.
• 9:41
  Ashton: Do stretches like an hour before and then an hour after usually as well, dang okay.
• 9:46
  Brett: So time management Just stretching and all that kind of stuff and mobility exercises, I assume.
• 9:50
  Ashton: At least at BYU.
• 9:51
  Ashton: We had a huge.
• 9:52
  Ashton: It looked like a hot tub, but it was an ice bath.
• 9:55
  Brett: No way it was as big as a hot tub.
• 9:56
  Brett: It was cool.
• 9:57
  Brett: I want to go there.
• 9:58
  Ashton: Yeah Sounds nice and then there was like four feet and there's a hot tub, and so you contrast.
• 10:07
  Ashton: They had every machine you could think of.
• 10:09
  Brett: That's amazing.
• 10:09
  Brett: Yeah, it's cool.
• 10:10
  Brett: Yeah, I mean their facility.
• 10:11
  Brett: They bring out some amazing athletes.
• 10:13
  Brett: Yeah.
• 10:16
  Brett: That's what's fun to watch.
• 10:17
  Brett: I've gotten into running, I don't know, for the past four years.
• 10:24
  Brett: I've like really gotten a bug and it's cool to see like, oh, there's another great athlete from BYU and there's another guy who's going to the Olympics.
• 10:27
  Brett: Like it's crazy, there's two people from BYU and the Olympics this year on the marathon.
• 10:31
  Brett: I think, um, I don't know what other sports, but um, it's just amazing like to see and I'm sure that comes down to like the leadership and the coaches and everything like that and um, what was your coach like?
• 10:43
  Ashton: Um, he was pretty cool.
• 10:45
  Ashton: He's Olympian as well.
• 10:47
  Ashton: Um no, sadly no.
• 10:49
  Ashton: Um, he knew every other sport, or throws.
• 10:52
  Ashton: Really Um so his name was Nick he w.
• 10:56
  Ashton: He was great for the the throws he did throw and he would help as much as he can.
• 11:03
  Ashton: I do believe that and sorry, nick, if you're watching this, but it's true Like I got to a point, and I think Cam and Mike got to a point, where it's like we, we, we based it on like feeling.
• 11:14
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 11:15
  Ashton: Um, and he couldn't understand that.
• 11:17
  Ashton: So I'm glad he was there, Cause he'd always have to say there because he'd always have to say ashton, pull back, like pull the reins back on me saying you need to slow down, like you're doing enough work smarter, not harder, which I needed, um, and me and him would butt heads sometimes.
• 11:32
  Ashton: Really, yeah, because I just was like go, go, go like yell at me.
• 11:38
  Ashton: Tell me how it is.
• 11:39
  Ashton: My dad was my freaking coach in high school.
• 11:41
  Ashton: Like my dad would make me cry.
• 11:43
  Ashton: Oh yeah, every practice I see, that's the thing is.
• 11:45
  Brett: I can't imagine like my dad being my coach or like me being my son's coach, cause I would just push him.
• 11:50
  Brett: Yeah, it's like a horse, you just keep pushing them until, yeah, yeah, it's rough.
• 11:54
  Ashton: So I mean, was that good though, in a sense like having that contrast of like someone trying to pull you back and a hundred percent, like I am so thankful for him, like in that way, because I did have other people that are like, hey, let's do more.
• 12:08
  Ashton: And then Nick was like no, guys, you need to pull back, you need to pull back.
• 12:10
  Ashton: Sometimes I'm like, no, I'm going to do my abs.
• 12:13
  Ashton: Like I'm going to do my core.
• 12:14
  Ashton: I'm going to do extra core.
• 12:15
  Ashton: That's what I needed as a job at the time to protect my back.
• 12:18
  Ashton: But then I had my, my Finnish coach.
• 12:20
  Ashton: So, nick, he's from his dad's, from Sweden.
• 12:23
  Ashton: Okay.
• 12:24
  Ashton: Okay, and then the volunteer coach Johanny, he is, he's Finnish, he's Finnish.
• 12:28
  Ashton: Okay.
• 12:29
  Ashton: So they kind of I don't want to say butted heads.
• 12:31
  Brett: They never butted heads with me yeah, is there a rivalry?
• 12:33
  Brett: I don't even know.
• 12:34
  Ashton: No, no but in a sense, yes, there is A fun rivalry, serious about it.
• 12:47
  Ashton: Um, I remember they did butt heads a little bit my, my national championship year they did.
• 12:50
  Ashton: And I remember Mike like coming in and saying hey, hey like stop.
• 12:52
  Ashton: Really, you guys are um.
• 12:53
  Ashton: They would pull me different ways and I was kind of getting confused.
• 12:56
  Ashton: I'm like I don't want to disrespect my head coach, like he is my coach, but you'll, honey.
• 13:00
  Ashton: I've been working with him since I think I was in junior high.
• 13:03
  Ashton: Oh, wow.
• 13:04
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 13:05
  Brett: A long time he was my Yoda.
• 13:06
  Ashton: Him and Mike are my Yodas.
• 13:08
  Ashton: I've always said that that's a good title to have yeah, yoda right.
• 13:13
  Ashton: So Mike came and he's like hey, hey, guys, stop.
• 13:18
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 13:19
  Ashton: I still remember that day.
• 13:20
  Ashton: I was like I'm so thankful for Mike.
• 13:22
  Ashton: We call him dirty, so calling him Mike's kind of weird for me.
• 13:25
  Brett: Like we're talking about the same Mike right.
• 13:27
  Ashton: Michael.
• 13:27
  Ashton: Okay, yeah, michael, we call him dirty, yeah, dirty Mike.
• 13:30
  Brett: I'm going to call him that now I only called him dirty, so every time.
• 13:34
  Brett: I'm like hey, uh, yeah, mike, I'm going to change his name in my phone after this to dirty and just keep it going.
• 13:40
  Ashton: It's in my phone.
• 13:41
  Ashton: Yeah, why not yeah?
• 13:43
  Brett: That's awesome, though I mean, obviously, like the coaches, they knew, like, what to look for in technique and and how to refine that a little bit.
• 13:50
  Brett: But what was it like?
• 13:51
  Brett: Like we'll bring Mike into the picture now, we'll talk about him.
• 13:53
  Brett: Um, what was it like like training with people like him, who obviously were also really good at what they did?
• 14:00
  Brett: Um, was it motivating?
• 14:02
  Brett: Was it kind of like competitive?
• 14:04
  Brett: Like what was it?
• 14:06
  Ashton: Um, it was competitive, but not with Mike.
• 14:09
  Ashton: Um, I love that we got to train with the guys, cause I was always someone that, um, I always trained with guys.
• 14:15
  Ashton: I'm not gonna lie in high school.
• 14:16
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 14:17
  Ashton: I'm a girl's girl, but I love to compete with the guys, like I love to be up there.
• 14:21
  Ashton: Um, mike and I always kind of bounced ideas off of each other.
• 14:26
  Ashton: We would film each other Like he is just so amazing and like technical.
• 14:33
  Ashton: He's a technician, so having his eyes there was amazing, like I having another set of eyes to know like what to?
• 14:43
  Ashton: You can't see yourself except in the videos, but still like you show them the video to know like what to?
• 14:45
  Ashton: you can't see yourself, yeah, Except in the videos, but still like you show them the video and say, okay, what do you think?
• 14:49
  Ashton: Because this is what I felt and this is what I see, but what do you see?
• 14:51
  Ashton: It was fun bouncing ideas off of them.
• 14:54
  Ashton: We had another guy named Cam.
• 14:55
  Ashton: He was the best job.
• 14:57
  Ashton: He holds the record right now.
• 14:59
  Brett: At BYU.
• 14:59
  Brett: Yeah, still Wow.
• 15:05
  Ashton: And yeah, still, wow, and I think so.
• 15:06
  Ashton: Yeah, no, he definitely does.
• 15:07
  Ashton: He holds the record and me and him would just bicker at each other.
• 15:08
  Ashton: It was so fun, like the rivalry between us.
• 15:11
  Ashton: It was fun, so I love training with them.
• 15:15
  Brett: Yeah.
• 15:16
  Ashton: It's great.
• 15:17
  Brett: I think it's also important not saying that girls are bad, but training with people who are better than you.
• 15:23
  Brett: Yeah, when I was going back to volleyball and that thing like I would always train with varsity, I always play with them I'd always get smacked in the face or like I'd have to chase balls and fall on the ground Like all the time it was brutal.
• 15:35
  Brett: And then, like even now with running, like I try and find people who are better than me and then run with them because yeah, it always like pushes me to want to be better and, um, I think there's a lot behind that Like.
• 15:47
  Brett: And then also, with you see their example, you see what they're doing, you can learn from them and then ask for feedback.
• 15:52
  Brett: Um, yeah, I mean it comes down to the team piece, like having a strong, solid team.
• 15:57
  Ashton: Yeah, exactly, um, even like, um, what's it called Collegiate basketball and volleyball, their practice squad.
• 16:06
  Ashton: They have guys, they have guys playing.
• 16:08
  Ashton: One of my best friends.
• 16:09
  Ashton: He was on the practice squad for the girls' team.
• 16:13
  Ashton: Really yes, because they always played against guys.
• 16:15
  Ashton: Because, let's be real, guys they're more athletic, they're bigger, they're stronger in most cases.
• 16:21
  Ashton: In most cases they just are, and that's how you get better.
• 16:24
  Brett: I mean get a get better.
• 16:25
  Brett: Yeah, I mean get a bigger opponent.
• 16:27
  Brett: Exactly, it's scary.
• 16:29
  Brett: So you're a national champion, right?
• 16:33
  Brett: That's amazing, thanks, I mean.
• 16:38
  Brett: I think it would be cool to hear what it was like to first get to BYU and then all the way up to that point, and what that was was like.
• 16:46
  Ashton: Yeah, so getting to BYU, got recruited.
• 16:48
  Ashton: I had some really good marks Um freshman year.
• 16:51
  Ashton: It was great.
• 16:52
  Ashton: I had a great year.
• 16:53
  Ashton: I think I placed 11th, which as a freshman, that's really good at nationals Um just making nationals as a.
• 16:59
  Brett: so you went to nationals your freshman year.
• 17:01
  Brett: Okay Dang.
• 17:05
  Ashton: Um that year I struggled because I'm from washington, yeah, I had no family, um, so I really struggled.
• 17:08
  Ashton: Um I used javelin and lifting as my coping mechanism for that.
• 17:13
  Ashton: Like once I'm there, I don't think about anything else, so that was super nice.
• 17:16
  Ashton: Sophomore year very first throw arizona um, I tore my ucl same thing that mike did yeah the ucl right.
• 17:25
  Brett: Isn't that right there?
• 17:26
  Brett: Yeah, yeah, tommy john, yeah, everything okay yeah.
• 17:29
  Ashton: So I tore it very first meet and I was like, oh my gosh, my, my career's over yeah, how did what does it feel like?
• 17:35
  Ashton: It's like a pop yeah, there's like a pop and like a pole and like you grab your arm and it hurts really bad.
• 17:40
  Ashton: Oh yeah, so, geez, instantly my trainer came over and he like felt it and like he felt mine completely gone, like you can kind of feel it.
• 17:48
  Ashton: He does this weird thing.
• 17:49
  Ashton: He was like yeah, this is completely torn.
• 17:52
  Ashton: I was like great, Call my dad, I'm bawling.
• 17:54
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 17:55
  Ashton: Well, I think actually I did not call my dad.
• 17:57
  Ashton: I think I called someone else.
• 17:58
  Ashton: No, I called my mom.
• 17:59
  Ashton: My dad kept calling.
• 18:00
  Ashton: I was like I don't want to talk to him.
• 18:02
  Brett: I can't talk to my coach.
• 18:03
  Ashton: Yeah, well, no, and I felt so bad, like he's put everything into this and I feel like I owe him something.
• 18:10
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 18:10
  Ashton: And I feel like I just like crushed his dream.
• 18:13
  Brett: And I mean you always want to make your parents proud, Exactly.
• 18:15
  Brett: It's like, yeah, got to live up to that.
• 18:19
  Ashton: Exactly Dang Um, but my dad did a ton of research and I met with the doctors and they're like you come back stronger.
• 18:25
  Ashton: Actually, you come back a lot stronger, which is true, Um, I came back a lot stronger.
• 18:30
  Ashton: I actually came back in record time, so it was my.
• 18:34
  Ashton: So we're coming into my sophomore red shirt year.
• 18:37
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 18:37
  Ashton: Um, a week before, it was like the week of our first meet.
• 18:42
  Ashton: Covid happens and they shut down school.
• 18:45
  Ashton: Yeah, so everyone's like bawling in the locker room.
• 18:48
  Brett: Yeah, everyone's just sad.
• 18:50
  Ashton: I'm like calling my mom, I'm like I just completely rushed my, my um recovery process.
• 18:55
  Ashton: It's usually like like full recovery, I'd say over a year, a little over a year, which mine was not even close to a year.
• 19:02
  Ashton: I was throwing.
• 19:03
  Ashton: I think I was like throwing a full jab at nine months.
• 19:06
  Brett: Jeez Okay.
• 19:06
  Ashton: Yeah, which I think Mike did his first.
• 19:09
  Ashton: I think he had two surgeries, right.
• 19:12
  Brett: Did he yeah, yeah.
• 19:13
  Ashton: Um the second one, he didn't rush which.
• 19:16
  Brett: I think he got it after he went to nationals Cause like he threw with it torn but you can, but it hurts.
• 19:22
  Ashton: so bad and it's not as strong like you.
• 19:23
  Ashton: Yeah, you really cannot throw um.
• 19:26
  Ashton: My shoulders are also already hurting by that time, like super bad.
• 19:29
  Ashton: They kept saying it was impingement, come to find out it wasn't.
• 19:33
  Ashton: Like I've completely fully torn my rotator cuff like it's are you serious?
• 19:36
  Ashton: Completely gone.
• 19:37
  Ashton: I didn't find that out until my senior year, though is it still torn?
• 19:41
  Brett: yeah, I never got surgery.
• 19:42
  Brett: That's insane.
• 19:42
  Brett: I just didn't want it.
• 19:43
  Ashton: Yeah, they're like oh, you're going to have to stop lifting.
• 19:45
  Ashton: I was like that's not happening.
• 19:47
  Brett: Sorry, yeah, I'll take it.
• 19:48
  Brett: Yeah Dang Okay.
• 19:50
  Ashton: So I mean it's like setback after setback, like it was insane, like so many locker room yeah, it was actually.
• 20:02
  Ashton: You know, on SpongeBob, when there's a fire and all of them are running like that yes.
• 20:06
  Ashton: It kind of felt like that Everyone's throwing their papers.
• 20:08
  Ashton: Yes.
• 20:09
  Ashton: Yes.
• 20:09
  Ashton: It's chaos.
• 20:11
  Ashton: And another funny thing about that was my husband.
• 20:14
  Ashton: He was my boyfriend at the time, yeah, We'd been dating for three months.
• 20:16
  Ashton: He was sick in bed and asleep when all the news broke and like hey, byu's shutting down.
• 20:21
  Ashton: So I call him.
• 20:22
  Ashton: I'm bawling.
• 20:23
  Ashton: He's like what's going on?
• 20:24
  Ashton: I'm like do you not know they're sending everyone home?
• 20:27
  Ashton: We cannot be here.
• 20:32
  Ashton: He's like what.
• 20:32
  Ashton: He's like what are you talking?
• 20:33
  Brett: about.
• 20:33
  Brett: He's like waking up to the world ending.
• 20:33
  Brett: Yeah, he thinks it's a fever dream.
• 20:34
  Brett: He's like this is weird.
• 20:38
  Ashton: So that was awful.
• 20:39
  Ashton: And then they said, hey, we can come back to school yeah that next year, and so we started training again, but we were still I was still training in the off season, right um man, what's like?
• 20:49
  Brett: because that's I.
• 20:50
  Brett: I think anytime you have some kind of setback like that, it makes you question like if you're going to be able to keep doing it yeah, it's so hard like what?
• 20:59
  Brett: What kept you going?
• 21:00
  Brett: How'd you push through in that time?
• 21:02
  Ashton: because that's hard yeah, I've put way too much like time and energy into it.
• 21:05
  Ashton: I wanted to quit.
• 21:06
  Ashton: I'm not gonna lie so many times um my husband.
• 21:10
  Ashton: He was like no you have to keep doing this like you have to.
• 21:14
  Ashton: Um, my mom was like my mom's, so sweet and she was just like okay, if you want to be done like, you totally can.
• 21:20
  Ashton: But then there's my dad.
• 21:21
  Ashton: You're not done like, don't be a baby.
• 21:25
  Ashton: Yeah, use some choice words we have very similar parents.
• 21:28
  Ashton: It sounds like yeah, like he's like don't be baby, you're fine.
• 21:31
  Ashton: Yeah, you're fine.
• 21:32
  Ashton: Oh my gosh, my body hurts.
• 21:33
  Ashton: Like is this worth it?
• 21:35
  Ashton: Yeah like, mentally, is this worth it?
• 21:37
  Brett: people have no idea um the like, the load it puts on you mean that type of commitment and that type of consistency, dedication, like not only is it physically tiring but it's emotionally draining, and like it takes up a lot of your brain space, like you're thinking about it a lot.
• 21:53
  Ashton: Exactly, and other people have like a team to rely on, which I did have a team, but it's so individual track is so on you.
• 22:00
  Ashton: Like it's all on you at the end of the day, Totally is.
• 22:03
  Ashton: So you can't rely, or you like, oh well, they didn't.
• 22:06
  Ashton: They kept throwing away passes or stuff like that, like I, have no one to blame but myself.
• 22:11
  Ashton: Right so it was even a bigger load on you because you have no one else to blame but yourself.
• 22:14
  Ashton: Oh, man, that's tough.
• 22:26
  Ashton: And then so then again we come to another sophomore.
• 22:27
  Ashton: Like I should be at my junior year and I'm at a soft, almost like senior year.
• 22:29
  Ashton: Right, okay.
• 22:30
  Ashton: I should be like almost my senior year and I'm not.
• 22:33
  Brett: So did they reopen pretty soon.
• 22:34
  Brett: Like I can't remember, so it happened in March, it was like March 20th.
• 22:39
  Brett: Yeah.
• 22:40
  Ashton: And then they let people come back to school, but it was like half remote, half not.
• 22:47
  Brett: Okay.
• 22:47
  Ashton: They only let so many people on the campus at the time, were athletes.
• 22:50
  Brett: One of them.
• 22:51
  Ashton: Yeah, we can always well.
• 22:53
  Ashton: No, sorry, like so many classes had to be online a day and so many could be in person, which I only had online, which was amazing.
• 23:02
  Ashton: Yeah, that's what I did.
• 23:02
  Brett: It was great Online school was like amazing.
• 23:03
  Brett: Yeah, that's what I did.
• 23:04
  Ashton: Online school was like amazing.
• 23:06
  Brett: Yeah, it was the best.
• 23:07
  Ashton: Yes, Um, yeah, so we came back.
• 23:10
  Ashton: We all had to wear masks, so stupid.
• 23:13
  Ashton: Um, I remember my athletic trainer kept pulling me in cause.
• 23:16
  Ashton: I didn't get the vaccine, like I didn't get the shot.
• 23:18
  Ashton: I didn't.
• 23:18
  Ashton: I was like I don't need it, I'm good, I'm healthy, I'm fine.
• 23:21
  Ashton: And they kept like trying to force me to do it because you had to test every day.
• 23:25
  Ashton: Really.
• 23:26
  Ashton: Yeah, like every other day to go to practice.
• 23:29
  Brett: That's insane.
• 23:30
  Ashton: And wear masks.
• 23:30
  Ashton: So that sucked.
• 23:31
  Ashton: I'm like dude.
• 23:32
  Ashton: I don't want to be practicing.
• 23:33
  Ashton: Wait, you had to wear a mask in practice, my husband was on the football team and they had to wear a mask under they're.
• 23:38
  Ashton: They're serious.
• 23:40
  Brett: Yeah, it's like times like that when I don't know I like look at the some of the things we did during COVID and I'm like that was all so unnecessary, so stupid.
• 23:48
  Ashton: It was so stupid.
• 23:49
  Brett: Yeah, that's amazing, though Football players and masks.
• 23:52
  Ashton: Yeah, wow, I feel like that was worse than you can't breathe.
• 23:56
  Ashton: Yeah, that's tough, that's, that's terrible.
• 23:58
  Ashton: So, yeah, that was awful.
• 24:06
  Ashton: Um, and so we get to that year.
• 24:06
  Ashton: I'm also getting married this year I get on birth control.
• 24:07
  Ashton: Yeah, I'll be.
• 24:08
  Ashton: I'm I'm not weird about it.
• 24:09
  Ashton: I got on birth control and it like screwed me up like screwed me over.
• 24:13
  Ashton: It was so bad.
• 24:14
  Ashton: Um, a lot of people get like psycho.
• 24:15
  Ashton: I got numb, like I had no feeling whatsoever.
• 24:19
  Ashton: Um, I also.
• 24:21
  Ashton: And then then I had this negative mentality my junior year, or it was like red shirt.
• 24:25
  Ashton: Sophomore year, right, double red shirt, whatever COVID year Um, I had this really negative mentality, like my very first throw I threw 57 meters, which was amazing, like I think I was like top, like one, like one or two that year, yeah.
• 24:44
  Ashton: And then I had this thought like something's going to happen bad, like nothing goes well, this good for this long, yeah.
• 24:52
  Ashton: And I just kept having that mentality and I stopped eating.
• 24:56
  Ashton: I completely stopped eating.
• 24:58
  Ashton: I was having like 500, 700 calories a day.
• 25:02
  Ashton: My dad kept saying, oh, it's because you want to look skinny, you're ready to dress?
• 25:03
  Ashton: No, I literally just did not care.
• 25:06
  Ashton: I had no emotions, except all the runway had no emotion.
• 25:10
  Ashton: So by the time by the end of the year so beginning year I was throwing 56 meters.
• 25:14
  Ashton: By the end of the year I was throwing like 40, I think I ended at like 46 meters.
• 25:20
  Ashton: So I didn't make nationals.
• 25:21
  Ashton: I went to regionals and I completely choked.
• 25:23
  Ashton: I didn't make nationals.
• 25:25
  Ashton: It was so embarrassing for me.
• 25:26
  Ashton: It was like, so embarrassing, I was like I'm done, like I don't want to do this anymore.
• 25:30
  Ashton: Right.
• 25:30
  Ashton: It's so like traumatizing.
• 25:32
  Ashton: Talked to my coach.
• 25:34
  Ashton: He's like why didn't you tell me I was?
• 25:45
  Ashton: Like I didn't care, like yeah, to be honest.
• 25:46
  Ashton: Um, so that sucked, and then my husband's like okay what are we going to change?
• 25:48
  Ashton: Like, let's change some stuff.
• 25:48
  Ashton: So we changed everything like I had.
• 25:49
  Ashton: I made a whole routine.
• 25:50
  Ashton: I got on creatine, love, creatine the best everyone.
• 25:54
  Ashton: I tell 100.
• 25:55
  Ashton: I coach high schoolers and I'm like, honestly, get on creatine yeah people are feeding their babies creatine, which I don't know.
• 26:02
  Brett: I don't know about.
• 26:02
  Brett: Yeah, I don't know.
• 26:03
  Ashton: Hold on hold on, hold on, but people say it stunts your growth yeah, I have no idea where that's coming from.
• 26:09
  Brett: I had one of my buddies on the podcast um, he's a doctor or he's going, he's in medical school, but like he's also just a monster and he's like 240 pounds something like that.
• 26:22
  Brett: Okay, he's like my height, but he snatches like 315.
• 26:25
  Brett: He's a monster yeah and he was talking about like creatine, it's like it helps literally everything and he's like the reason why is because it puts water into all your cells and when that happens, you just perform better, exactly like your brain, your body, everything.
• 26:37
  Brett: Yeah, it's crazy so I don't know.
• 26:39
  Brett: So you got on creatine.
• 26:40
  Brett: Yeah, I got on creatine.
• 26:40
  Brett: It, yeah, I got on creatine it was great.
• 26:43
  Ashton: And my lifts I remember I was like my max squat for three was like 185.
• 26:46
  Ashton: By the end of the summer I was squatting like 300 pounds.
• 26:50
  Ashton: I'm not kidding when I say I maybe it wasn't three, I don't know.
• 26:53
  Ashton: That's still pretty good.
• 26:54
  Ashton: I mean, I really don't know.
• 26:55
  Ashton: It was like insane, though.
• 26:56
  Ashton: I was 225, that's all I know.
• 27:09
  Ashton: But then my max I think it was like 280.
• 27:09
  Ashton: I'll say that's still pretty good.
• 27:10
  Ashton: Yeah, that's amazing by the end of my, my career.
• 27:10
  Ashton: I was actually scoring like, oh man, I don't even know, it was over like three something.
• 27:12
  Ashton: That's pretty good it was.
• 27:12
  Ashton: Yeah, um, I was.
• 27:13
  Ashton: I was cleaning over 200 pounds, dang, snatching over 70 kilos, which I don't know what that is in pounds um, I think it's like 100 someone's gonna get mad at me for this but like 150.
• 27:24
  Ashton: Okay, yeah, which is really good for me.
• 27:26
  Brett: That's probably more than that, 175 maybe yeah.
• 27:28
  Ashton: I have no idea, but like my weights were going up, it was crazy good.
• 27:31
  Ashton: And then I fixed my like mental health as well.
• 27:35
  Ashton: Craig Manning Don't know if you've heard about him.
• 27:38
  Brett: That sounds familiar.
• 27:39
  Ashton: He's like this great sports psychologist, he like helps.
• 27:43
  Brett: Michael's talking about him.
• 27:44
  Brett: That's why yes.
• 27:45
  Ashton: Craig Manning, your brain doesn't process negatives so you always have to do it in a positive Anyways.
• 27:52
  Ashton: Great year.
• 27:53
  Ashton: And then that's the year I won nationals.
• 27:57
  Ashton: It was great.
• 27:57
  Ashton: And then it was almost like, and then it was yeah, it was pretty much like my body shut down after that day.
• 28:03
  Ashton: It was crazy.
• 28:04
  Ashton: I went to go compete, for it was like USA's, I don't know what it was, and I placed like fourth.
• 28:14
  Ashton: It was great, but like I still, like my body wasn't functioning at all.
• 28:17
  Ashton: Like I could not throw.
• 28:17
  Ashton: After that it was pretty much my body was like okay, you did what you did and you're done, yeah, so it's pretty much my body's like, okay, you did what you did and you're done yeah.
• 28:24
  Ashton: So I was debating.
• 28:24
  Ashton: I was like do I want to come back the next year?
• 28:26
  Ashton: I do kind of regret it.
• 28:27
  Ashton: People ask they're like do you regret your last year?
• 28:28
  Ashton: I said yeah, everything hurt.
• 28:30
  Ashton: I had tears in my labrums and my hips.
• 28:33
  Ashton: Really.
• 28:34
  Ashton: That's the year I found out my rotator cuff was completely torn, dang MRI like three years prior, and they never told me the results.
• 28:41
  Ashton: Really, it was impingement.
• 28:43
  Brett: What the heck I was like.
• 28:45
  Brett: The results were there.
• 28:46
  Brett: Obviously it was torn For three years.
• 28:48
  Brett: That's insane.
• 28:49
  Brett: They never told me the heck.
• 28:50
  Ashton: Which I'm happy they didn't, because I feel, like that would be an excuse to tell myself.
• 28:53
  Ashton: And I didn't.
• 28:55
  Ashton: I will say, every time I threw I was like on 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of ibuprofen.
• 29:01
  Brett: Really.
• 29:02
  Ashton: It was so bad.
• 29:03
  Ashton: Dang it like killed me.
• 29:05
  Brett: Yeah, that's insane.
• 29:06
  Brett: I have had my fair share of shoulder things from volleyball and they keep me up.
• 29:12
  Brett: Yeah, it keeps you up at night.
• 29:13
  Ashton: Yeah, it really does.
• 29:14
  Ashton: People have no idea it's the worst, but yeah.
• 29:19
  Ashton: So I won nationals.
• 29:20
  Ashton: I came back, I made regionals, which was great, but I was just like stuck.
• 29:26
  Ashton: It kind of felt like I had no pull on my shoulder.
• 29:28
  Ashton: There was nothing like connecting which.
• 29:29
  Ashton: I'm going to find out there wasn't.
• 29:30
  Ashton: There wasn't.
• 29:32
  Ashton: So I mean, I still went to nationals that year, which is a great accomplishment, yeah.
• 29:37
  Ashton: But then I didn't know this at the time I was pregnant at nationals.
• 29:40
  Ashton: Really, I didn't know this at the time I was pregnant at nationals Really.
• 29:42
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 29:44
  Ashton: I had no idea, but some people were like, okay, are you going?
• 29:46
  Ashton: To still compete and at the time I wasn't telling anyone I was pregnant and I don't think I was going to compete either way.
• 29:52
  Ashton: Yeah, my body was just kind of telling me I'm done.
• 29:57
  Ashton: But, yeah, got pregnant and it was funny because my goal was the Olympics right.
• 30:04
  Ashton: Yeah, first 2020.
• 30:05
  Ashton: I found out my daughter's due date was March 10th.
• 30:07
  Ashton: Dang, okay.
• 30:08
  Ashton: And then they said I got an email like the next day saying hey, registration for the Olympic trials.
• 30:17
  Ashton: Its due date is March 10th.
• 30:20
  Brett: Oh, okay, so you're like.
• 30:21
  Brett: So I was like what the freak yeah, that kind of stinks.
• 30:24
  Ashton: I was like, okay, yeah, no, it's not happening.
• 30:26
  Brett: So yeah, hey, I mean that's okay, but you kind of just breezed over the deal that you won nationals.
• 30:32
  Brett: What is that like?
• 30:34
  Brett: Like that must've been insane.
• 30:35
  Brett: Cause that's, you work from when you're eight years old and you refine your technique over the years.
• 30:42
  Brett: You have these, like hiccups happen.
• 30:44
  Brett: You know COVID shuts you down, you tear your UCL, all these things and then, like you still made it to the top and you won.
• 30:52
  Ashton: Yeah, I did.
• 30:53
  Brett: Like that's huge.
• 30:55
  Ashton: It was huge.
• 30:56
  Ashton: Like even at the time it didn't feel real.
• 30:59
  Ashton: Yeah, Like there was so much leading up to that year I had like an anxiety attack.
• 31:05
  Ashton: I'm not going to lie Right before regionals because I was a year.
• 31:07
  Ashton: That was just so bad.
• 31:08
  Ashton: I'm LDS, so my husband came and gave me a blessing right before I competed.
• 31:14
  Ashton: And then right before nationals.
• 31:16
  Ashton: Oh my gosh, sorry, right before nationals.
• 31:24
  Ashton: He gave me a blessing as well and I felt this peace and comfort.
• 31:26
  Ashton: Yeah, but yeah, at nationals.
• 31:27
  Ashton: I stepped on the runway and I had this sense of you're going to make it, you're bad A, you're just going to throw.
• 31:35
  Brett: You got this.
• 31:35
  Ashton: You got this and I hit that first throw and I was like, okay, I don't know if it's going to be enough.
• 31:41
  Ashton: Like 58 meters, Everyone's throwing pretty good this year.
• 31:44
  Ashton: Um, luckily no one beat that first throw.
• 31:47
  Ashton: It was my very first throw at nationals that won it.
• 31:50
  Brett: Um that's impressive.
• 31:51
  Brett: That's like, yeah, you just show up toss it, and then that's like a mic drop yeah, that's sweet.
• 31:57
  Ashton: Um, and then once I won, like I I cry, like it was like like shock yeah he turned my family and they were freaking out and that was the best part for me, like my whole family was there my aunts, uncles, cousins like it was such a good feeling, and my dad isn't allowed to sit by them, so there's like my family right behind me where I threw, and then you could see my dad pacing up and down oh man on, like on the sides while I was throwing.
• 32:19
  Ashton: I was like dad, you are like so anxious I would probably be the same, though, to be fair, yeah, I mean, yeah, he put, he put so much into this as well, and like I think it was more like he didn't want me to be disappointed yeah so, um, yeah, and then I go and hug my coach and there's my dad.
• 32:35
  Ashton: He hugged me and it was just like I'm not kidding, a thousand pounds like off my shoulders that's amazing um, and then it took me like three hours.
• 32:46
  Ashton: You have to go take a drug test.
• 32:48
  Brett: Oh, really Right after.
• 32:49
  Brett: Um, that makes sense.
• 32:50
  Ashton: Yeah, Um, I took some pre-workout like I don't like to drink water right before yeah, Cause I just have to pee the whole time and you're not really allowed to leave.
• 32:58
  Ashton: Um, so I just didn't drink any water and so and I had stage fright.
• 33:02
  Ashton: They're like I'm going to get, I'll tell you.
• 33:05
  Ashton: They literally like, kneel down and watch you pee.
• 33:08
  Brett: Really.
• 33:08
  Brett: Yeah, that's so weird.
• 33:10
  Brett: I was like what the freak you think I'm going to swap it out with someone else's?
• 33:13
  Brett: Yeah, see, that's tough.
• 33:15
  Ashton: Yeah, and then my family was at home waiting for me Not at home, they had an Airbnb and they like, did this little tunnel thing.
• 33:22
  Brett: Oh, that's so cool.
• 33:23
  Ashton: Yeah, it was so fun.
• 33:24
  Ashton: And then I didn't sleep all night long.
• 33:26
  Ashton: I probably wouldn't.
• 33:27
  Ashton: No, I had a breakfast with the AD and all the coaches, because when you win, you kind of have like a celebratory, just dinner with your parents and then all the head coaches.
• 33:36
  Brett: Oh, that's cool.
• 33:36
  Ashton: Yeah, it was really special.
• 33:37
  Ashton: Shout out to Liz Darger Love to Liz Darger, love her so much Um yeah, I didn't it was like at eight, 30 morning and I didn't.
• 33:49
  Ashton: I did not sleep.
• 33:49
  Ashton: I was on Twitter, I was on Instagram.
• 33:50
  Ashton: I was replying to everything.
• 33:51
  Brett: See, that's so cool.
• 33:52
  Brett: Yeah, that's like everything that you work for in like one moment finally came through.
• 33:56
  Brett: It was so overwhelming but it's like I mean you said it yourself along the path like you wanted to quit, like you had many opportunities to throw in the towel, um, but I think that's like the importance of just one dedicating yourself to something yeah and like giving in your all.
• 34:11
  Brett: yeah, and it's just a tool that I always say like or not a tool, but it's, it's a habit that bleeds into like every other part of your life.
• 34:19
  Brett: Yeah, like you're able to figure out discipline in this one area, whether it's like physical fitness or like a sport, whatever that is, it'll teach you how to be disciplined in like your relationship and your job and really anything else, and like your faith, like I'm also a member of the church, um, but like yeah, I think it's important just to take those lessons and bring them into your life.
• 34:41
  Brett: And I'm curious if, like, you have had, um, any lessons either from a coach your dad, who was a coach or like anything during your javelin, where you're like, I'm going to keep this for forever.
• 34:52
  Ashton: Yeah, um, obviously, persistence, um consistency I'm a big believer in consistency Um, anything you do, just keep doing it, even if it gets hard.
• 35:02
  Ashton: Yeah, my biggest like quote is hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.
• 35:12
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 35:12
  Ashton: I love that quote.
• 35:14
  Ashton: It's a great one If, like my biggest.
• 35:17
  Ashton: I think I got that from my oldest brother.
• 35:20
  Ashton: He's the oldest of eight kids Dang, he's a doctor now.
• 35:24
  Brett: So he's applied it.
• 35:26
  Ashton: Yeah, if you know him, you're like he's a doctor, like no one.
• 35:29
  Ashton: He's just Colton, his name's Colton.
• 35:32
  Ashton: He's like an adrenaline junkie, like crazy.
• 35:35
  Ashton: But he kind of taught us, like all his seven siblings, that just work hard and and and you'll make it.
• 35:45
  Ashton: And so I mean me and him aren't that close.
• 35:47
  Ashton: I mean we have like 10 years in between us but I really do look up to him a lot.
• 35:52
  Ashton: If colin can be a doctor like I, I guess I can win a national championship and hey, you did yeah, that's huge yeah that's awesome.
• 36:00
  Brett: I mean, it really is like the truth and I think about that all the time.
• 36:04
  Brett: Like I'm in sales and that's like my job.
• 36:07
  Brett: Um, and it's so funny because like there's definitely people who are way better than me, Like they're, they're the silver tongue people who are able to talk to anyone and like persuade them to do anything.
• 36:17
  Brett: And then here I am, just like, hey, what's up?
• 36:19
  Brett: Would you like to?
• 36:20
  Brett: I always can beat everyone in terms of like hitting quota.
• 36:31
  Brett: If I just like sit down and work, it's like it's a numbers game, you just figure it out.
• 36:34
  Brett: And it's like that consistency piece that you said too.
• 36:37
  Brett: And with anything I do with whether it's sales or it's running or the podcast like consistency plays a huge role, just because a lot of people just stop doing it.
• 36:48
  Brett: And I've committed to it.
• 36:49
  Brett: And then I told my wife I was like I'm going to do the podcast for at least 10 years.
• 36:52
  Brett: If it doesn't work, then all right.
• 36:54
  Brett: That's when I could say I gave it a good shot.
• 36:56
  Brett: But it's like if you don't, you're not giving it enough chance.
• 36:59
  Ashton: Exactly.
• 37:00
  Brett: So I mean, how old were you?
• 37:01
  Brett: When you started, you were eight right.
• 37:02
  Brett: And then when you won nationals, um, it was 2020.
• 37:08
  Ashton: Oh, I think I was like 23.
• 37:09
  Ashton: Okay.
• 37:09
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 37:09
  Ashton: I didn't start when I was eight.
• 37:11
  Ashton: It was just like the concept, like my dad like put that in my head.
• 37:13
  Ashton: Yeah, um, I think I started in junior high.
• 37:17
  Ashton: We were throwing like little nerf things.
• 37:20
  Ashton: So I think, what are you like?
• 37:21
  Ashton: 14, 13, 14, 14.
• 37:23
  Brett: Yeah.
• 37:23
  Brett: So yeah it was like 11 years, yeah, yeah.
• 37:31
  Ashton: Yeah yeah, that's insane.
• 37:31
  Ashton: Oh yeah, no, you're right.
• 37:32
  Brett: My math is wrong.
• 37:33
  Brett: I was 14 years old when, I guess, I started.
• 37:34
  Brett: Okay, um, that's crazy though that's amazing and, um, I mean, what was the thing that made you the most proud about your?
• 37:41
  Brett: Your effort, I guess, and like your whole experience?
• 37:44
  Brett: Obviously, like without the national championship can't use that one, um, but like something else, like what?
• 37:49
  Brett: What made you proud about?
• 37:50
  Brett: Like the work that you did and your journey overall?
• 37:52
  Ashton: Honestly, my mental health.
• 37:53
  Ashton: How much like my mental health has improved?
• 37:55
  Ashton: I had a really bad eating disorder.
• 37:58
  Ashton: I still like struggle with it every day.
• 38:00
  Ashton: It's something like I want to help other people with, yeah, but like my mental health was really struggling and that's something that I took out of javelin, like I want to be big and I want to be strong and those are my strengths, um, and I I put those strengths to work, um.
• 38:17
  Ashton: Another one is, yeah, the national championship.
• 38:23
  Ashton: One was really good.
• 38:25
  Brett: I mean that's, yeah, that's the kind of crowning moment.
• 38:27
  Brett: But I mean, like mental health is a huge thing too.
• 38:30
  Brett: Yeah, um, I mean we all kind of struggle with it within in our own different ways, and a lot of it's like silent battles and people don't know how to ask for help, and that's, like I think, the biggest thing.
• 38:41
  Brett: Um, I mean, I've gone through depression a few times, like, I think the first time I actually experienced it was when, uh, I had like had no idea what was going on, but for two years, like all my health was just in a crisis mode.
• 38:55
  Brett: It was terrible, um, and at the time I was like 210 pounds when, like this, this first started happening and then, like two years later, I was 135 and so like oh my, oh my gosh yeah, I'm six, three like oh my gosh, 135 wow um, yeah, I'll have to show you a Tik TOK after this.
• 39:13
  Brett: I made it so, comparing me then to me now, and it's like it's pretty insane, but, um, really like a pretty tough moment in my life Cause like I thought I was dying, like it was two years where doctors couldn't figure out what was going on.
• 39:27
  Brett: Um, and at the time, like I was super into like bodybuilding which is ironic because I'm a little tiny twig um, 135.
• 39:37
  Brett: And so, like I started looking up all these guys and, um, like I would watch all these videos of them on peak week where, like they're prepping and they're eating like 1200 calories a day and working out four hours a day and all these crazy things.
• 39:49
  Brett: And they were all talking about their symptoms and I was like that sounds like what I have.
• 39:54
  Brett: Like let's test my blood and then it turns out like my testosterone was 53.
• 39:58
  Brett: And like, yeah, so I have a tumor in my pituitary gland that like shuts off my hormones and stuff.
• 40:04
  Brett: But during that time, like I was like the most depressed I ever was and I would go to work.
• 40:12
  Brett: I'd come home from work and just go straight to bed.
• 40:14
  Brett: Yeah, Like wouldn't really eat anything because it was like I had no appetite.
• 40:19
  Brett: It was nuts.
• 40:19
  Ashton: That's insane.
• 40:23
  Brett: And so, like it's just, I don't know, I mean, from the outside I look fine, I think, facial wise, like not my actual body, but like the way I was, like you know, interacting with my family, like I was talking to them, and, um, people at work, like I'd try to keep it, like oh yeah, I'm fine, and all these things and, um, I don't know, it's just a tough thing and, interestingly enough, like running has provided that outlet for me.
• 40:45
  Brett: It's like an opportunity for me to think and to kind of clear up my thoughts and get to the bottom of like, okay, well, why am I feeling this way?
• 40:53
  Brett: Yeah, and I don't know how, how have you, um, kind of gained more reins on your mental health a little bit?
• 41:00
  Brett: Um, or like what are some things that you've done that have helped?
• 41:05
  Ashton: Yeah, Craig Manning.
• 41:06
  Ashton: I've watched all like all of his classes.
• 41:08
  Ashton: That was a big thing for me.
• 41:09
  Ashton: Another thing is I'm more than just my body.
• 41:14
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 41:15
  Ashton: That was a really big thing.
• 41:17
  Ashton: How do I want to feel about myself Do?
• 41:21
  Ashton: I want to be thinking about food 24-7?
• 41:23
  Ashton: .
• 41:23
  Ashton: I hated that.
• 41:23
  Ashton: And then my biggest one.
• 41:25
  Ashton: I have a daughter now and I never want her to feel what I feel and I wanted to get that worked out before I have a teenage daughter.
• 41:34
  Ashton: When they have this, these thoughts like social media sucks.
• 41:36
  Brett: it's the worst like oh my gosh if I didn't have to do it, I would be off of it.
• 41:40
  Brett: I know like that's the thing.
• 41:41
  Brett: Yeah, I'd totally be off of it yeah, um.
• 41:44
  Ashton: So I really wanted to have like a really healthy um or mental health yeah um, so I could help my kids someday, because I know it's it's just going to be there, yeah.
• 41:52
  Ashton: And so, like every time I like get in the slumps or I'm like my husband's like what did you even eat today?
• 41:58
  Ashton: I'm like nothing, like I just I don't, yeah, I don't care, like I don't really care.
• 42:02
  Ashton: Um, I think like what's my why?
• 42:05
  Ashton: and I always have a why in the back of my mind now always I feel like a lot of people that struggle, they're like they don't have a why.
• 42:10
  Ashton: In the back of my mind now, always I feel like a lot of people that struggle, they're like they don't have a why or a purpose.
• 42:12
  Ashton: And my why is my daughter and my kids someday, and I want to be healthy for them and mentally strong, and so my kids will be my everything.
• 42:22
  Ashton: Yeah, that's huge.
• 42:23
  Brett: I love that.
• 42:24
  Brett: I mean kids.
• 42:25
  Brett: They're definitely big motivators.
• 42:28
  Brett: We don't have kids yet, but hoping to one day.
• 42:30
  Brett: Um, yeah, and that's that's the thing.
• 42:33
  Brett: You said it like.
• 42:34
  Brett: You have to have a strong why with anything that you do, whether it's Javelin or if it's like I need to get my mental health in order, whatever it is like having a strong why.
• 42:44
  Brett: Behind it is almost your compass, like it leads you back to where you need to keep your focus.
• 42:50
  Brett: Um, yeah, and I think that's really like you.
• 42:55
  Brett: You explained it perfectly like having a why.
• 42:57
  Brett: Um, but yeah, I mean, I think one thing that could be cool is like to understand what you do for decompressing, because it seems like you go a lot like what is your um, I guess your recovery protocol now, or like, what do you like to do, is just like take your mind off things I go home to washington, well, okay, well, do you mean like?
• 43:20
  Ashton: so what I do is I go work out, like that's what I love to do yeah but people are like okay, but that's not like that's not relaxing, but to me it is yeah, no, that makes sense like you said, running, you love to think and like kind of you're in your own space.
• 43:32
  Ashton: I think that's like my most selfish part of the day, because I have a daughter again.
• 43:35
  Ashton: My everything goes towards her.
• 43:36
  Ashton: Um, that's that's where I decompress.
• 43:41
  Ashton: But um, even going back to javelin and um, being a collegiate athlete, sometimes I'm like my, my coach's name's nick.
• 43:49
  Ashton: I'm like nick, I need to go home.
• 43:50
  Ashton: It's like a week before a meet right I went home between regionals and nationals there's like a week and a half between between and I was like nick, I need to go home.
• 43:59
  Ashton: Like, please send me home.
• 44:00
  Ashton: That's my outlet.
• 44:01
  Ashton: I feel like it doesn't matter how old you are.
• 44:04
  Ashton: When you step inside your childhood home and your mom and dad are there, it's like okay, I'm a child again.
• 44:09
  Brett: Yeah, I can go to the fridge.
• 44:11
  Brett: There's going to be food there.
• 44:12
  Ashton: Like I just think about it.
• 44:13
  Ashton: I just had right now a sense of relief.
• 44:15
  Ashton: I'm like, oh, like my happy place, so home, yeah, yeah.
• 44:18
  Brett: That's awesome.
• 44:19
  Brett: I think that's cool and, um, I don't know what makes home so special.
• 44:23
  Ashton: Um me, and I have seven siblings um 19, nieces and nephews 19, 19.
• 44:30
  Ashton: I love my babies.
• 44:31
  Ashton: Um um, I live on a like a farm in the country.
• 44:36
  Ashton: It's just so relaxing I feel like improve everything's like go, go go.
• 44:41
  Brett: Yeah, oh, that's insane.
• 44:42
  Ashton: Yeah, and then I go home and there's nothing for miles like miles.
• 44:47
  Ashton: And it's just so relaxing and I don't have to think about anything cause my mom's just so relaxing, yeah, and I don't have to think about anything because my mom's there.
• 44:52
  Brett: Yeah, yeah, you did say that you got up and you fed the pigs before you went and lifted, so you guys actually have like livestock and we used to.
• 44:59
  Ashton: yeah, Um, we did a 4-H and FFA.
• 45:02
  Brett: Oh nice.
• 45:02
  Ashton: Okay, yeah, and then my grandparents owned a farm, that's that's cool.
• 45:12
  Brett: Yeah, love that.
• 45:12
  Brett: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 45:13
  Brett: I, awesome, I uh, took care of goats for a summer love that.
• 45:14
  Brett: Yeah, that was one of the worst things I've ever had to do in arizona because like you go around, you like milk the goats and then you're just sweaty, there's flies everywhere and then you have to go and like clean out the milk and all that stuff.
• 45:21
  Brett: But, um, yeah, no, it's, it teaches you how to work oh yeah, that's impressive, I loved it um, no, that's, that's, I think, like that's kind of unique for everyone, is like figuring out what your outlet is, um, but I I feel like if you're going to succeed, like, you have to figure out what it is.
• 45:41
  Brett: You have to know what gets you calmed down.
• 45:43
  Brett: Um, you have to know how to control your mind, like you were saying, with mental health and just everything in general, like being that, I guess, advanced in a sport and that, um, technical, with everything that you're doing.
• 45:57
  Brett: You have to be so focused.
• 45:58
  Brett: Yeah, how did you build that focus over the years?
• 46:01
  Brett: Like, and what's it like to even be in that moment where you're about to throw the javelin?
• 46:07
  Brett: Like, what are you telling yourself?
• 46:09
  Ashton: Yeah, so, um, first I kept a journal, okay, Um, it was in my notes or on my phone.
• 46:15
  Ashton: Like in my notes, I had like another journal and I would, I would write everything positive and I would just embrace it all, like I am this, like I am, I am, I am strong, I am powerful, like all this stuff.
• 46:29
  Brett: I see, I love that Because, like, that's so important to do.
• 46:31
  Brett: Yeah.
• 46:32
  Brett: I caught myself the other day like I was just talking bad about myself, like really bad.
• 46:40
  Ashton: Which is common.
• 46:41
  Brett: Yeah, it's super common.
• 46:42
  Brett: And then, like I was, like I thought about Heavenly Father.
• 46:46
  Brett: I was like he would not want me talking about a kid like that.
• 46:49
  Brett: So why would I talk about myself that way, like it's just bad?
• 46:51
  Brett: And so like I tried immediately reframing and be like okay, what do I know I'm good at, and like things like that, so glad to hear other people do it too.
• 46:58
  Brett: That's good, it's like the gratitude thing.
• 47:00
  Ashton: They're like I feel so grateful or I'm like down and I list of all the like the blessings I have in my life.
• 47:07
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 47:08
  Ashton: I'm like wow, I am rich Like.
• 47:10
  Ashton: I am so rich?
• 47:11
  Ashton: Um so yeah, then what was the second?
• 47:14
  Ashton: Oh, getting on the runway right.
• 47:15
  Brett: Yeah, like what?
• 47:16
  Brett: What goes through your mind as you're stepping onto it, like are you walking through?
• 47:19
  Brett: Okay, I need to do this, this and this or that, yeah but sure whatever you know, um, I did do that.
• 47:29
  Ashton: I was like, okay, I need to do this, this, this, this um.
• 47:32
  Ashton: But yohani and mike, they both taught me that, um, that's what practice is for.
• 47:36
  Ashton: Like you did, you've done thousands and thousands of repetitions, like your body knows what to do.
• 47:42
  Ashton: Now it's your mind and saying, like I know what to do, I don't even tell myself what to do.
• 47:46
  Ashton: Um, if it's one cue, that's fine, but, um, you just kind of say, I've practiced hundreds of hours for this.
• 47:54
  Ashton: Your body knows what to do.
• 47:56
  Ashton: All you need to do is bring energy to it.
• 47:58
  Ashton: And I step on the runway and like I take a deep breath and I I do say this is so like cheesy, but I'm like I'm Ashton, freaking Reiner dude.
• 48:08
  Ashton: Like I'm a.
• 48:08
  Ashton: Reiner.
• 48:09
  Brett: I'm a.
• 48:10
  Ashton: Reiner, which is like a huge saying when I grew up, and then I would go and I'd put that energy towards it.
• 48:15
  Brett: I love it, it's confidence, it's huge.
• 48:17
  Brett: Yeah, confidence, there you go, that's the word, confidence is huge, but it only comes from, like what you said, with the repetitions in and you train your body how to do it.
• 48:28
  Brett: Yep, it's the same thing I tell people when they want to start running.
• 48:31
  Brett: I'm like, just get out there and start doing it, and the more you do it, the better you'll get and like all these different things.
• 48:40
  Brett: And then I'm like, on race day you'll know that you can do it because you've built up this base that shows that you can.
• 48:44
  Brett: It's the evidence and it comes from the practice and the repetitions and everything.
• 48:48
  Brett: So that's awesome.
• 48:49
  Brett: I mean, yeah, I'm always curious about, like what goes through, like people who have a very technical sport, like if they're thinking about it or if they just go and I think it sounds like it's the latter Just go.
• 49:03
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 49:03
  Brett: Just go Like.
• 49:03
  Brett: You know how to do it.
• 49:04
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 49:05
  Brett: So I think that's cool Going back to your kids, because you said you know, or you have one kid, but like you hope to have more.
• 49:13
  Brett: What's a lesson that you hope to teach them through your example?
• 49:17
  Ashton: Um, consistency, obviously.
• 49:20
  Ashton: Um, you're not going to be great at anything at first.
• 49:23
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 49:23
  Ashton: Um, that's like a big one, um, and then something like I'll have huge in my, my permanent home one day, which we already have, like a small one saying.
• 49:34
  Ashton: It says um, comparison is a thief of all evil or of all joy, sorry.
• 49:38
  Brett: Yeah, comparison is evil.
• 49:41
  Ashton: Um, um.
• 49:42
  Brett: I'm very familiar with that quote.
• 49:43
  Ashton: Love that quote Cause I compared myself to everyone.
• 49:45
  Ashton: Going back to social media.
• 49:47
  Brett: Yeah, it's the worst for that.
• 49:48
  Ashton: I'm like okay, I know, this is fake, I know this person doesn't actually look like this but, I, compare myself right and that's like something big that totally switched my mindset from my terrible season to my national championship season was I stopped comparing myself to anyone and I said I'm my own unique self.
• 50:04
  Ashton: And that's what I want to teach my daughters and my sons as well that you are your own unique self, and what works for you might not work for someone else, but it's working for you.
• 50:14
  Ashton: Yeah 100%.
• 50:16
  Brett: I try to make that very clear with anything that I post about running or anything on social media.
• 50:21
  Brett: It's like, hey, this has worked for me.
• 50:22
  Brett: Yes, it might not for you.
• 50:23
  Brett: Yes.
• 50:25
  Brett: But yeah, that comparison is the Thief of Joy.
• 50:27
  Brett: Quote is ingrained in my head.
• 50:29
  Brett: For the same reason, there's all these amazing runners on social media who make it look effortless like.
• 50:38
  Brett: I always bring up the example of truett haynes um I don't know if you know who he is, but he's just like he's just this kid who he's.
• 50:43
  Brett: He's really good, he's not a kid, um, but he broke the world record.
• 50:47
  Brett: Pull-up record like okay, wow this year and then he ran a marathon in jeans.
• 50:52
  Brett: The Boston Marathon, yes.
• 50:53
  Ashton: Okay, yes, 236.
• 50:56
  Brett: He's just insane, but he's been doing half marathons since he was six, oh, so it's like I can't compare myself to him.
• 51:01
  Brett: I don't have that background that he does, but it is.
• 51:05
  Brett: It's such an important thing and I love what you said.
• 51:07
  Brett: It's like, hey, you are your own unique self.
• 51:17
  Ashton: Yeah, own that, yeah, like be proud of that.
• 51:18
  Ashton: Yeah, another thing genetics come like into play.
• 51:19
  Ashton: Huge genetics are huge.
• 51:20
  Ashton: Yes, like hard work.
• 51:21
  Ashton: But some people can only work so hard.
• 51:22
  Brett: Yeah, like you can't sorry, you can't work hard enough to grow six inches and go to the nba.
• 51:28
  Brett: Yes, so I can't do that.
• 51:29
  Brett: I'm not going to be in the NBA anytime soon.
• 51:30
  Ashton: You've got to know your limits as well, yeah 100% you do, but no, I love that.
• 51:34
  Brett: That's huge, I think it's.
• 51:37
  Brett: Yeah, that's how you make a good kid teaching those things yeah.
• 51:41
  Brett: Let them be unique.
• 51:42
  Brett: Exactly, just don't let them burn things.
• 51:51
  Ashton: Like you know.
• 51:52
  Ashton: No, he's like mom.
• 51:52
  Ashton: I love to burn stuff.
• 51:52
  Ashton: That's who I am like.
• 51:53
  Brett: No, you can't do that like I can nothing good with that.
• 51:54
  Brett: Yeah, that's nothing's gonna get.
• 51:55
  Brett: Come.
• 51:55
  Brett: Come from that, um, but yeah, I mean I, I think just, yeah, my, my last question for you, um, it's a big one.
• 52:05
  Brett: I mean, it's the getting after podcast yeah is what does getting after it mean to you?
• 52:09
  Ashton: Okay, yeah, I was.
• 52:10
  Ashton: I was like thinking about this.
• 52:11
  Ashton: Um, getting after is like taking, like taking an idea and like going for it with everything you got, like getting after it.
• 52:23
  Ashton: Take something.
• 52:24
  Ashton: Okay, I want this.
• 52:26
  Ashton: I'm going to do everything I have like within my capabilities and.
• 52:31
  Ashton: I'm going to do everything I have within my capabilities and I'm going to go after it.
• 52:34
  Brett: That's what I think it means.
• 52:35
  Brett: I agree I love it.
• 52:36
  Brett: I mean there's a lot that I say getting after it means, but really I think it's just like what you said you get an idea and then you dedicate yourself to it.
• 52:45
  Ashton: Yeah put everything you have.
• 52:46
  Brett: It's like with Javelin you dedicated yourself to it, you literally got after it and you won the national championship or the national champ.
• 52:54
  Ashton: Nationals National championship yeah, is it the championship?
• 52:55
  Ashton: Yeah, I guess it is.
• 52:56
  Brett: Um, but that all came from work.
• 52:58
  Brett: Yeah, came from getting after it, like being consistent, like doing all these things that we've talked about, um, and it is just like it really does apply to every other area in your life.
• 53:08
  Brett: If you do like make the time for it, like if you, want to be better at your job, then dedicate yourself to it, like if you want to learn something new, you want to learn a new language.
• 53:18
  Brett: Dedicate yourself to it and get after it Like it really is.
• 53:21
  Brett: It it's going all in and it's huge, so I love it.
• 53:25
  Brett: Anything else you want to share or leave the audience with?
• 53:30
  Ashton: I think we covered a lot.
• 53:30
  Brett: I think we have we covered it?
• 53:32
  Ashton: I think so.
• 53:34
  Brett: Well, I really appreciate you coming on and talking.
• 53:36
  Brett: I feel like it's always good for me to talk to people like you, who are literally elites in what they do, but then also just like to hear what got you there and to hear that, like you're not some person who was born this way, like it took work and you've also had to overcome challenges.
• 53:54
  Brett: Like that's the thing I think people don't see on social media.
• 53:57
  Brett: Yeah, is that all the people you're comparing yourself to also have things that they're battling, and it's just it's.
• 54:04
  Brett: It's refreshing to see that and like, actually have these kind of conversations.
• 54:08
  Brett: Um, because it doesn't come easy and no matter how much you think it, it does come easy to someone else.
• 54:15
  Brett: Guarantee you it doesn't.
• 54:16
  Brett: Yeah.
• 54:17
  Brett: So I think it's awesome and, yeah, I think you're going to do great things for your kids.
• 54:22
  Brett: Teach them and the high school kids that you're teaching.
• 54:24
  Brett: I think that's awesome.
• 54:25
  Brett: Um, that's getting after it in its own sense.
• 54:28
  Brett: You're you're teaching them.
• 54:29
  Brett: Yeah.
• 54:29
  Brett: Um, because I think that's actually like part of the definition.
• 54:33
  Brett: For me, is is like you are committing to get better, but you're also committing to help others do the same.
• 54:40
  Ashton: Yeah.
• 54:40
  Brett: So you're doing it.
• 54:41
  Ashton: Thank you.
• 54:42
  Brett: Yeah, I think it's awesome.
• 54:43
  Brett: So, yeah, I appreciate you coming on.
• 54:45
  Brett: This is awesome, thanks for having me.
• 54:46
  Ashton: I love it.
• 54:48
  Brett: As uh, everyone else listening, as always keep getting after it.