Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome back to another edition of the Redleaf Fitness Podcast, a show dedicated to bringing you stories, interviews and conversations about living a healthy, resilient and productive life. I'm your host, sean Blinch, and I want to thank you for making time to listen to this episode today and, if you like what we're putting down, we would love it if you would follow, rate and share this podcast. All right, now let's get down to business. Welcome back to the Redley Fitness Podcast. On Thursday, august 1st, I am sitting here with Michelle. How are you today?

Speaker 2: 0:42

Good, how are you?

Speaker 1: 0:44

I'm good. So this is our first podcast since, I think February. Really Together, yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:51

That's a long time.

Speaker 1: 0:52

That's a very long time. So now I only know that because when I was saving this file in our like in the folder I looked and so maybe I had saved a previous episode, so I could be wrong either way, that's a long time but that's a long time.

Speaker 1: 1:12

So, uh, before we get started, this episode is dedicated to allison yes because, as she was running out from her class or I think she was coming back, no, I think she's running out. She turns around and she's like hey Blidge, where's the podcast? And the tone rattles to the core.

Speaker 2: 1:43

You give Allison what Allison wants.

Speaker 1: 1:45

And I was like to the core you give.

Speaker 2: 1:46

Allison, what Allison wants.

Speaker 1: 1:48

And I was like I was gripped into immediate action.

Speaker 2: 1:55

Is that when the calendar invite showed up in my calendar Immediately that day? Yeah, yeah, it was within the same hour.

Speaker 1: 2:02

So this one's for Allison for keeping me in line. Yeah, it's not an easy job. Oh Lord, someone's got to do it. Lord knows, allison does it. So this episode is all about the summer race season recap. Now, technically, the race season isn't over, but there's been a lot of really great things to talk about, uh, leading up to this point, um, and we've got, uh, some great stories. So the first thing we're gonna do and I'll throw it over to michelle for this is we're gonna, um, begin at what I think is probably one of our most compelling stories in the history of Redleaf, which is we took a group of triathlon newbies from newbies to triathlete. So let's start there. What happened?

Speaker 2: 3:12

Well. So this stuff happens like I don't know, six, seven months ago maybe Is that kind of where, getting people thinking about Gravenhurst and almost to a resounding no on my end from almost everybody I asked. The initial response was no, which I thought was actually pretty good. The initial response was no, which I thought was actually pretty good, and the reason I think it was good is it gave us the chance to start talking to people honestly about why we think a race would be really beneficial and how little it actually has to do with the race itself. So I didn't mind the no.

Speaker 1: 4:05

I thought the no was a good way to start talking.

Speaker 3: 4:08

And we know that none of this stuff is about the race day itself.

Speaker 1: 4:10

It's always about the person you become along the way. And there's a lot of really cool moments, and you know and moment, what's the word? I have some really great soundbites from my athletes about that very thing.

Speaker 1: 4:28

And one of which I'm going to share, cause it's just, it's one of my favorite moments between me and um, my client and um, to this date. I think it's, I think it's really powerful, so, um, so, yes, you and I started talking about it, but like where did this whole idea come from? So, yes, you and I started talking about it, but like, where did this whole idea come from? So you and I did gravenhurst.

Speaker 2: 4:47

Well, you, jeff and daniel did gravenhurst first. Yes, dana and I watched, and at the end of that race she looked at me and she's like no way you're not doing this next year. I was like with there is not. You couldn't pay me not to do this.

Speaker 1: 4:59

That's what I want to talk about. So you and I do gravenhurst, okay, so start there, so we did. Gravenhurst. Okay, so start there.

Speaker 2: 5:04

So we did Gravenhurst the year before. So last summer there were about six to eight people. I can't quite remember now and I remember at the end of that race you and I are standing there and we're like this is the thing, this is what we do.

Speaker 2: 5:24

And it's not because of the race race it's because of all those things and who you become along the way. And we, it was the first opportunity and maybe you saw it earlier, but it was the first opportunity for me to see, like, holy shit, this is what we're talking about, this is the thing you know it's. I had never felt that as an athlete before. But, more importantly, that Gravenhurst day was an eye-opening experience as a coach because we got the opportunity to and again, it was like it was a smaller group, but we got the opportunity to see what happens in those training months from a coaching perspective. You know, I got to see like the dedication that goes into it, all those little decisions that people had to make Friday, saturday, sunday to fit in their bike, training their swimming, learn how to swim for most people, myself included, um, learn how to ride a bike like I was terrified of being on a bike, and so all those small decisions like who you are. That's really what we say when it's like who you become along the way.

Speaker 2: 6:29

You're someone who's prepared to be really uncomfortable for a good chunk of time. You had to commit to it for an even longer chunk of time. You had to have the courage to sign up. You had to have the courage to look a little bit silly. You know you're going to fail at some point in your training. You know that swim is going to be terrible once, but you'll be fine. You might fall off your bike, you'll be fine, so you just like. It was such a transformative experience for me as a person like who was participating in the event, but again like, almost more importantly, as a coach, and it really started to. I think you were there before I was um, and I needed to experience it myself, um, but it really was the beginning of shaping what and who I think we want to be as coaches and as a fitness company and as a fitness and fitness business.

Speaker 2: 7:23

yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:24

So we take a group and we launch it. We do a documentary on it. We got the attention of Multisport Canada. They were super impressed with just the audacity.

Speaker 2: 7:42

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:44

And the everyday person just going out there, because that's actually what they're seeking to do. Now.

Speaker 2: 7:50

There's and having the audacity to celebrate it. Like a lot of people do this stuff quietly right yeah they don't want their community to know, or they don't want people to be to judge them for their time or did they do a good job, quote unquote. And we had the audacity to be like not only are we celebrating it, we're putting this front and center, like we are making this very open.

Speaker 1: 8:13

Yeah, we take that group. We have one of the most life-changing days for you and I, the most life-changing days for you and I because it realized we realized then the power of this stuff. So we'll take that, that idea, and we're so proud of that group that did it and we're like next year we're going bigger. Yeah, we get this, we get this Motley crew together.

Speaker 3: 8:46

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:49

Everybody's nervous.

Speaker 2: 8:50

I got so many new gray hairs yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:54

There were so many ups and downs. We are just so beyond proud of, you know, each and every one of them. Everybody struggled and one of the themes is if you want to get out there and you want to grow, you have to be prepared. Quote unquote looking ridiculous.

Speaker 2: 9:21

Yeah, you do, you do.

Speaker 1: 9:25

That's really hard to get grown ass adults to do.

Speaker 2: 9:29

And grown ass adults who are, like, quite successful in what they do, you know.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 9:37

To convince people to not only do this scary thing, but you're also going to look kind of dumb at some points.

Speaker 1: 9:43

You're going to feel like you look dumb.

Speaker 2: 9:45

Sorry, that's a big distinction, because you actually look pretty cool and brave and courageous and all those things. You exude all those things without even trying, but yeah, there's a perception of yourself looking dumb feeling ridiculous, yeah, even though you watch everybody else and you're like, holy shit, I saw so do this. That was so awesome. Somehow you don't feel like it happens to you you're gonna feel that way.

Speaker 1: 10:08

You're gonna feel I'm embarrassed yeah, but no one else is. No. There's either two things happening. They're not paying attention to you. Yeah, yeah, which is the more likely one? Yeah you know, when you go to a pool and you're like, oh my god, people are gonna laugh at me nope, no you're to a pool and you're like oh my God, people are going to laugh at me. Nope, you're not that important, You're not impacting their day. Either that or they're thinking, hey, this is pretty cool, this is someone who's starting and good on you.

Speaker 1: 10:35

And I remember that.

Speaker 2: 10:40

Those are really the two options.

Speaker 1: 10:41

Yeah, and if there's anything, if they're thinking anything other than that, which is very unlikely, that's a pretty shit person in my book.

Speaker 2: 10:53

Yeah, I have not come across. Every time I go to the pool and there's a lot of really good swimmers there, every single time they're the kindest, always offering to help. Or this one guy. It was just like I see you in here every week. You're getting a lot better in my head. I'm like, oh my God, this guy thinks I'm terrible.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Yeah, you know yeah, stuff like that.

Speaker 2: 11:16

Stuff like that happens all the time.

Speaker 1: 11:18

So we get this group together, we go into Gravenhurst. There's a whole bunch of hype around it. Um, what are some of the stories that come to your mind?

Speaker 2: 11:30

Um oh God.

Speaker 1: 11:33

I can share my first one so yeah, they're like flooding my brain.

Speaker 1: 11:36

Yeah. So one of my favorite moments was, uh, and it's, it's a two-parter. So my client Andrew and I had a lot of battles not against each other, although you could also say that but no, he fought. He fought hard for his training and he has big responsibility outside of the gym and it's really hard to fit all that in and that's part of the art and that's part of the the, the cinema of doing something like this, doing something big. And a week out of Gravenhurst he had banked a whole bunch of training, he had gotten consistent, he had blocked out all these other things, he'd started saying no to stuff and he looked at me and he goes you know what I get it. Yeah, he's like this. This whole thing has nothing to do with the week, with the race next week. This whole thing has to do with the. Andrew I've become, yeah, I'm like, oh, fuck, yeah, man.

Speaker 2: 12:48

That's it.

Speaker 1: 12:49

That's exactly it. Yeah, um, and then he goes out and he has a great race. He's very critical, he's very hard on himself, um, but he had a great race and, uh, one of my favorite stories from that day was just like hanging out with his family jam and just waiting for him to come in and then, uh, I, and then I I saw I was keeping my eye on the corner and I saw him turn the corner. I just ran up and, uh, you know, ran, ran alongside the finishing shoot with him.

Speaker 3: 13:24

Yeah, it was great. Amazing. That's one of my favorite moments, yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:29

Mine are. Mine are a lot more like or maybe so when I think about like Jay's experience, for example. Like I, you couldn't. I couldn't be more proud of Jay because in his soul that man hates running. Like in his soul he feels it deeply, eats it right, and he loves to bike and he's learned how to swim and how to enjoy swimming. And one day Jay told me he's doing a 10K with Jen before Gravenhurst, right, and it's just like these little things.

Speaker 2: 14:08

And then we're talking about Gravenhurst, like kind of prepping it out, and he goes you know I fucking hate the run. You know that I am gonna try so damn hard on that bike because I love it and I can't wait to get on the bike. And then what happens on the run happens on the run and it's just like that's such a and it might not seem like this big moment, but to me that's just like such a. I have to do this thing that I don't like doing. I'm not.

Speaker 2: 14:34

He doesn't feel like he's particularly good at it, but he found a way to enjoy the swim, to go out and try as hard as he possibly could on the bike, and then what happens on the run happens and like. Is that not life? You know what I mean. Like you can't control everything, you're not going to love everything, you're going to have to do stuff you don't love. But what's your attitude like when that happens? You know, and he could have stopped. He could have said I'm going to, I'm going to go and swim and bike and not or be shitty about it out on the run. And he ran 10K.

Speaker 1: 15:05

Like a–.

Speaker 2: 15:06

Yeah, like. So it's those moments and I see Jay cross the finish line with this big Jay smile and it's just like I know you hated that run, but I also know you're proud of yourself for doing it. You know, and whether he does Gravenhurst again, to me it doesn't. You did it, yeah, you know. Or like I watched Daniel cross the finish line and his little guy, aiden, nine years old, running up to give him his medal and a hug, and it's like you get this opportunity to show your kids what it's like, yeah, what it's like when something is tough and you probably don't want to do it all the time and you made sacrifices to make the training work. Your kids see it, the people around you in your world see it oh, absolutely you set the tone for your kids and they are watching everything.

Speaker 2: 15:53

Yeah and so to like to stand, to take a step back and watch like his kids, shauna's, just see them cross the finish line, like those moments, to me, say so much more than the race itself.

Speaker 1: 16:13

The finish line was really powerful.

Speaker 3: 16:15

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:15

And I don't think you, I think you and I, like, knew it'd be great and but I don't think we realized how gripped we were going to be by it.

Speaker 2: 16:23

No, it was. It was very emotional this year.

Speaker 1: 16:26

Yeah, it really was.

Speaker 2: 16:28

Because we had 12 or 13 people in there go through their own kind of battle. Everybody battled something.

Speaker 3: 16:37

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 16:37

The not wanting to do it, the I'm not going to be good enough, all those feelings. What if I get injured? I suck at X, y and Z. What do I do? All those moments you see them kind of like float away at the finish line and you, just you get to experience someone celebrate their own self for once, All the hard work that went into it. It was very powerful.

Speaker 1: 17:04

And this is a perfect time to share one of my most favorite broken record things that I talk about with my clients this idea of unimpeachable credentials. And that's not like a me thing, I didn't make that up, you know but this idea of unimpeachable credential, nobody can take that from you. You train for it. You're always going to feel like you didn't train enough, you're not as good at it as you thought you'd be or you wanted to be, or whatever. Uh, doing the thing is not the hard part. It's having a life to manage while doing the thing.

Speaker 1: 17:45

It's always the hard part. Yeah, but every single one of those people Nicole Darcy, andrew Wendy yeah, daniel.

Speaker 2: 17:56

Shauna Jay.

Speaker 1: 17:57

Brendan, yeah, it just goes on. Did we forget anybody? Probably, I don't think so I we forget anybody? Probably, I don't think so. I think that was the group. Every single one of those people achieved something huge that day. They went from essentially not a triathlete to a triathlete. It is a life-changing experience.

Speaker 3: 18:23

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:27

Before we move on to Muskoka and Lake Placid. One of the sweetest things about that for me and I'm not a spiteful person, I'm not a grudge holder- no, you're not.

Speaker 2: 18:45

I'm not. You're a far bigger person than I am.

Speaker 1: 18:50

I don't like to carry extra bricks in my bag.

Speaker 3: 18:52

I do not.

Speaker 1: 18:55

But it was very real for me and it was palpable that we received a lot of criticism. We were called names, we were you know, we got a lot of undue flack.

Speaker 3: 19:11

A lot.

Speaker 1: 19:14

And we stuck to the vision. People were like, oh, you're a triathlon gym. They tried to label us, they tried to gatekeep what we are and what we are not. We are, to this day, not a triathlon company. No, and I will be damned if anybody is ever going to take that power from me to gatekeep and decide for me the company that you and I own, that you and I dreamed up, that you and I own, that you and I dreamed up that you and I work our asses for, bled, for got through a fucking global pandemic, that I'm going to let somebody who has no interest in understanding what we want for people and they are never going to minimize what we have, what we want for people and you, they are never going to minimize what we were going for. And that day, seeing those people, it would made it all worth it.

Speaker 3: 20:24

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:26

It made it all worth it. That's one of the biggest, most impactful day things that happened on that day. Remember we talked about it.

Speaker 2: 20:36

This is why.

Speaker 1: 20:37

This is why.

Speaker 2: 20:38

And it yeah, you got to. It took a lot of like conversations behind in the office to be like Sean, I'm tired of getting criticized. It hurts, you know, it's heavy, it's exhausting.

Speaker 1: 20:51

It's fatiguing, it's heavy it's exhausting, it's fatiguing, it's incorrect.

Speaker 2: 20:54

You feel misunderstood, but I wouldn't change that To remove how amazing Gravenhurst was. I'd go through it again, Like you know what I mean.

Speaker 3: 21:09

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 21:10

Getting to watch Wendy cross the finish line like that that still gives me the feels when I think about it. Watching dana and shauna's kids, watching jay doing it myself I love this shit. It's because of who we get to become.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Yeah, you know imagine telling somebody else you can't what their career is. Right, you tell an accountant they're not a county enough. You know the this idea that we needed to be cornered and pigeonholed and labeled as a CrossFit gym. And we're not CrossFit enough, we're too triathlon.

Speaker 3: 21:49

Mm Hmm.

Speaker 2: 21:50

Mm.

Speaker 1: 21:51

Hmm, find me something more CrossFit From the beginning. We have never saw ourselves as a sole CrossFit company.

Speaker 2: 22:03

No, we love CrossFit because it's powerful. It's a powerful fitness modality. It's not the only thing.

Speaker 1: 22:10

It is a tool we use. It's a tool. Fitness modality.

Speaker 2: 22:11

It's not the only thing. It is a tool we use.

Speaker 1: 22:12

It's a tool in our toolbox and we love it, and we are not going to solely define ourselves by it.

Speaker 2: 22:19

Or by triathlon or by anything else.

Speaker 1: 22:21

Yeah, If it's inappropriate to use CrossFit as a tool to train or coach somebody, we're not going to do it. If it's inappropriate to have somebody go do a triathlon, we're not going to do it. If it's inappropriate to have somebody go do a triathlon, we're not going to do it.

Speaker 3: 22:38

or run, you know we are going to use the appropriate tool at the right time.

Speaker 1: 22:40

Yeah, yeah, redleaf sees itself as a very powerful and potent coaching service and it's always been that. And if that's news to you, you haven't been listening. Okay, and I tell you what your opinion means, because, as far as I'm concerned, I've got people. I'm down here in the arena. Okay, I'm a fucking gladiator. Okay, you're not entertained.

Speaker 1: 23:07

And you know where your ass is up with your opinions about what I'm doing. You're up in the nosebleeds. Cheap seats, in the cheap seats, yeah yeah, and the people that actually matter to me are sitting front row. I will listen to their. You know their positive feedback and positive criticism and constructive criticism and stuff.

Speaker 1: 23:32

I'm listening because you've earned my respect, but if you're a shithead in the corner talking smack and I hear about it and and and also the way you want to phrase that, if you're speaking to me in a way that I think sucks, if you're a shithead in the corner, yeah.

Speaker 3: 23:54

Is that?

Speaker 2: 23:54

too, much to ask no.

Speaker 1: 23:56

Just you know like it's crazy, right?

Speaker 3: 23:59

Yeah, this is a bit of a tangent going here A little bit, but that's okay, but it's insane.

Speaker 1: 24:05

Yeah, all you and I ever wanted to do is help people and I'll you know and not I'm never gonna stop because somebody has some sort of bizarre projection of how you should do that, yeah yeah, as if I'm gonna, as if I'm gonna tell someone else how to, how to do, how to career their career. Yeah, the hell out of here, and I would never try to hurt somebody's livelihood.

Speaker 2: 24:33

Well, yeah, that's a whole different.

Speaker 1: 24:35

And I'm not going to go too far down that one. No, let's surface a little bit, because that'll get you know could you imagine?

Speaker 2: 24:42

No, no, no.

Speaker 1: 24:46

So we are here to help people who want to be helped, using tools that are appropriate for you. We believe in who we are here to help people who want to be helped using tools that are appropriate for you. We believe in who we are. We always have, we always will. We've taken criticism won't be the. It wasn't the first won't be the last.

Speaker 2: 25:03

That's okay, yeah, we're. We're gonna continue to evolve yeah, yeah, yeah cheap seats and guess what?

Speaker 1: 25:13

I'm not even coming to your show, I'm not gonna, I'm not even gonna buy a yeah, yeah, yeah, cheap seats and guess what?

Speaker 3: 25:16

I'm not even coming to your show.

Speaker 1: 25:17

I'm not even going to buy a seat anywhere. Okay, I'm not even going to be high up, unless you, you know, unless you, I know what you mean you know. I do Woo, bit of a tangent there. Bit of a tangent there, bit of a tangent. Okay, so we got 20 minutes.

Speaker 1: 25:40

Um, let's just wrap that up and just say big shout out to everybody that went through Gravenhurst that supported that whole thing and understood why we were doing it and and the people that they became, uh, as coaches, we couldn't have been more proud, um and everything, and we will continue to be ambitious and audacious about the goals that we set going forward yeah, Always have been always will be, and there's going to be. There's going to be people that talk. That's okay, let them go. Let them go.

Speaker 3: 26:15

If you're a member here, it says a lot.

Speaker 1: 26:20

And when you do the stuff that we do, it's not that busy here. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 26:30

When you go after it, it's hard but we put help 13 people across the finish line yeah, you know what I mean by that, right.

Speaker 3: 26:52

I know exactly what you mean, yeah.

Speaker 1: 26:55

This isn't. There's nothing wrong with Zumba, but this isn't Zumba.

Speaker 2: 27:04

No, we're crossing the finish line. We do hard stuff. Yeah, we do.

Speaker 1: 27:07

We go after it yeah.

Speaker 2: 27:11

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:11

We believe that it asks a lot. It does ask a lot.

Speaker 2: 27:14

But it also, I think, allows you to be in an environment where you get to rise to the occasion. Yeah, and that's a big deal. Yeah, yeah, because we believe in, we have those audacious goals, because we believe in people's ability to reach them.

Speaker 1: 27:31

Yeah, and the last thing that I want to say before we move on, because it's sort of bubbling up for me the idea or training should not be the sole purpose for training in itself solely. It should always support and get you to that big step, that big thing. How does it support your life, right? What does it add to your life? What's it adding what value? What is it allowing you to do outside of here? There's a big idea within the walls for us, from a coaching standpoint, about the it's not about the hour that you have in here no it's about the other 23 yeah

Speaker 2: 28:28

yeah, it's, but that's an important distinction that I'm not sure is very common in the fitness space. I don't think it is. It's sort of it's.

Speaker 1: 28:39

It's. It's somewhat at odds with the consumer um yeah. Sort of capitalistic, you know, make money yeah. Yeah, yeah it goes against that. We're saying, we're saying be. We're saying be here less. We're saying you know.

Speaker 2: 28:59

To that direction, kind of yeah, like, yeah, if you use like triathlon as an example, we don't have a, so we recognize that folks only have a certain amount of time in a day or a week to train. We're asking you to go somewhere else for one of them.

Speaker 2: 29:17

Because we believe in the bigger picture of how that is going to make the rest of your life better. And that's an example and it's not the only example, but it's an example of how we have to be able, as I mean as business owners, to have the confidence to say like, yeah, it's okay if you're here a little bit less, because we want to encourage you, to support, to find the things that in sport or in support and inspire the rest of your life.

Speaker 1: 29:48

And we stand behind that and that doesn't align with everybody. No, and that's fine, that's fine, that's okay, that's okay. But you know what we're not going to do? We're not going to talk shit about how that doesn't align with you we want you to go where you, where you feel happy yeah um, and we're also not going to go to battle with somebody about it.

Speaker 1: 30:12

So that's a very important distinction what we do and why we do and who we're trying to support and, um, you know, that's, that's what gets us up every day. So, yeah, and and nothing. You know when we get really excited when we hear, um, people trying new sports or you know, I had more energy with my kids.

Speaker 1: 30:34

I was able to do those functional things over the weekend which I couldn't do before, and you know that kind of stuff gets us really fired up. While we're always proud of PRS and things that happen, oh yeah, those are big as well. Those are great, yeah, but the things that we actually value as a team you and I, as the as the heartbeat of this place, um have far more meaning. When it comes to um, like how it impacts your life, that's what we actually care about.

Speaker 3: 31:02

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 31:03

So let's move on to uh Muskoka. That was a big day for you. You trained all winter for it.

Speaker 2: 31:10

Yep. So, I tried real hard you did, you did so good Thanks, it's so good.

Speaker 1: 31:18

Thanks. So how'd the race go?

Speaker 2: 31:25

What's your recap? My race recap is that, yes, I trained all winter to become a better swimmer and a key thing that I didn't train was in the lake, and I have I mean, I've told you about it Like I have a little mini panic attack most of the times when I jump into a lake, except Gravenhurst, because that time where you can float around is really good for me. So I had a. My heart rate probably went from like zero or whatever alive to 180 and it didn't settle down the whole time in the lake, um, which was unfortunate. But jeff told me right before the race. He said today's he's like I'm proud of you for doing it and today is just about problem solving. So when that's when something bad happens and it will just problem solve, um, so I, I can breaststroke to the whole way through and I, like I'm, I had an all right swim time with doing breaststroke, so that was fine.

Speaker 2: 32:22

I had an absolute blast on the bike. I had so much fun. God bless T train and them getting up on a Sundayay at 6 am, letting me join their classes every saturday with barry and tara and I get, and it was so as I was on the bike, I was just. I was thinking about, like karen is so strong on the bike and I got to train beside her all winter and instead of like being shitty about not being as good as her on the bike, it was so inspiring to make, to decide to, to be inspired by how good she is, instead of compare myself to how far, how much, far farther along she is or better than me she is.

Speaker 2: 33:03

Um, so I just on the hills and stuff on the bike, I was just like god, like thank god, I got to train beside Karen, you know, and she taught me so much. And every time we go out on rides and there'd be times when, like I would think about what you would do on a hill and I would picture you like picking people off just because you're strong on a hill. Like so you just, it was so interesting on the bike. What popped into my brain? And everything was positive. Now, I had no room for negativity. It didn't. It's not helpful. Um, and when it, when things started to get hard, it's just like, but look what you're doing, look where you are this time last year, 40 kilometers was like a PR. Now I'm doing a race that's 90 K double yeah.

Speaker 2: 33:48

And I felt good on the Hills. It was just the ride was so much fun and it gave me a lot of confidence that confidence in, like, my need to not compete with other people. Yeah, you know. So that was great. The run was the hardest run I've ever done in my life. It was so hot.

Speaker 2: 34:11

Yeah, and you turn around a corner and I was. I was like, what the fuck? Who put this hill here? Yeah, because it wasn't just like a proper hill, it was like a. It was like you needed a rope to get up at like. So I looked up and I was like, well, fuck, that was stupid placement for that. And so I just walked um and everybody else was walking and I was like, well, okay, that's how we're starting. So you know, um, and so, yeah, I walk, run the whole thing. I saw you on. You were coming back when I was about 10 minutes on my way out, which, like, it was just all this constant small decisions to to find the positive of the situation. That's hard, yeah, you know.

Speaker 2: 35:00

So, instead of being like, oh, fuck me, sean is so far ahead of me, I was like, there, there's my friend on this course, he looks strong, I feel great. What a day. You know know, it didn't matter. And then, like, I was out there and you know, when you get off the bike and your feet are moving faster than they should be, and I was like, oh fuck, you're an olympian, you can hold this pace forever. And then I just look at my watch and see it slowly taking, taking down.

Speaker 2: 35:29

But and like, I met two people out on the course who we kind of ran together for a while one person we talked for about three and a half kilometers. Um, then I met this older guy who's done a zillion of these races and he was telling me, like what to expect when you get around the corner. It was just, it was such a great day, it was so, so good. You know, dana and jeff were there at every transition. So I don't rush those things because those are the fun moments for me in between.

Speaker 2: 35:59

Um, so, to hang out with them and yeah, around coming around the corner, like things got really difficult at kilometer 16 for me. Like in my brain it was, it was, it was really hard. And and I remember having a conversation with myself saying like it's not too hard, it just is hard. And in that moment, like that saying that felt a lot better than it being too hard, had all this judgment like you suck, you're not a good runner. So I was just tried to be a bit more factual and like, yeah, this is hard, but that's okay, it's just hard yeah you know.

Speaker 2: 36:35

So removing that changed my mindset around it. I was just like, well, this is just hard now, okay, um yeah and then, with like one kilometer left, like you think, that the guy who had done it a zillion times told me, once you get to 20 kilometers there's nothing else, you're done. And he was wrong. And there's a, there was two hills there final hill, right yeah just yeah horrible horrible.

Speaker 2: 37:02

So I walked that because in my mind I was like, okay, you're gonna run the last kilometer and then I run. That hill came and I was like, well, you're gonna run after that, yeah 100, you have that idea of like how you're gonna finish yeah, and they put a hill, you put a fucking hill at the start and the end it's like what the hell?

Speaker 2: 37:19

yeah, what the hill yeah, and then yeah, it was just, it was so great, all I could picture. I knew you were done because I saw you very early on in my run and like at the end, when you're just like you're properly finished, I just I knew that you and dana and jeff were going to be at the end and I I don't I mean I was running slowly at that point but my effort was through the roof. I was like I just can't wait to get to the finish line, and not because I wanted to cross a finish, I couldn't wait to see my people. It was a very like. I guess that's part of what I love about these races is like I think if you're willing to sit with the uncomfortable thoughts for long enough, they kind of go away and you're filled with gratitude and love and appreciation for the people you have and the things that you have and the life that you have.

Speaker 2: 38:21

And so right at the end, that was that. It's all I could. It was like overwhelming how grateful I was to know that three of the most important people in my life will be at the end. And I didn't see any of you because I was very uncomfortable. So I was, I was bummed about that, I kind of blew it at the end and didn't see you guys, um, but it didn't matter, I knew you were there.

Speaker 1: 38:50

Yeah, it wasn't about about the run by it's not, yeah it was just like yeah.

Speaker 3: 38:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 38:58

An excellent race recap, thank you, and I want to talk a little bit about that with Lake Placid, because there's one major takeaway.

Speaker 1: 39:07

There's a lot of takeaways, but we don't have time to go through them all, but there's one that I want to share with, uh, this community that I think's uh important and powerful and transformative. Um, so I'll I'll quickly breeze through the, my Muskoka. Uh, the. The swim went off without a hitch, no problem. I probably cruise that a bit more than I should have. I should have practiced knowing that I had a race coming up. I should have hit that swim at swim pace. Okay, A little bit of um, you know, hindsight's 2020. Yeah, okay, a little bit of um, you know hindsight's 2020.

Speaker 2: 39:58

Yeah, so get out of that nice night. Good, cool experience too it was a beautiful swim.

Speaker 1: 40:00

Yeah, like swimming through like a river. Uh, that was neat. Um, and so we get out of there. I'm sort of fogging out on what it looked like we, yeah, people, people, it got rocky. Yeah, right at the endging out on what it looked like we, yeah, people, people, it got rocky.

Speaker 2: 40:13

Yeah, right at the end, of people are slipping, yeah.

Speaker 1: 40:14

It was like stepping on horrible rocks.

Speaker 2: 40:16

Right.

Speaker 1: 40:17

And people were helping you out in it. And then so run up, I went and proceeded to have literally one of the best bike experiences of my entire life. I had the legs you would dream of. And I'm not talking like Cindy Crawford in a red skirt. You know what I'm saying? Those kinds of legs. That was weird. Now everyone's picturing me in a red skirt.

Speaker 2: 40:42

No I don't think anyone's picturing you. Now they are.

Speaker 1: 40:48

Now they are no there is a term in cycling and it's called having good legs, and I just had so much yeah, you were flying and I've never done the course before, and so I was actually holding back a crazy feeling. It was so much fun. I was like the whole time I was screaming in my head. I'm in my element it was glorious. And so we get off the bike and get into the run, and I actually had really good legs on the run too, Like it was.

Speaker 1: 41:23

I just had a fantastic experience. The one mistake that I made was I was well. I don't know if it was a mistake, but because of how hot it was, I kept putting ice in my jersey. But the problem with that is is it goes right down in my shoes, yeah, my feet were soaked and that can cause some issues. Yeah, so I did a little too much of that, I think, but, like a lot of people, by the end the heat just broke me down.

Speaker 2: 41:50

Yeah, it was so hot, the sky opened up on the run.

Speaker 1: 41:54

Yeah, yeah, we just baked out there. So that was, that was just an incredible experience. Um so, and, and then you know, Daniel what a champ, daniel. Yeah, he, he didn't think that he was going to be able to do something like that. No, I'm so proud of him.

Speaker 2: 42:16

Yeah, I don't even have appropriate words yet for.

Speaker 3: 42:19

Daniel yeah.

Speaker 2: 42:21

Yeah, what he had to go through, the mental battles that that guy went through to get to race day. Yeah, went through to get to race day and then to see him cross the finish line with that smile it that I'm so proud of him, and for so, so many reasons. Very few of them have anything to do with the race day.

Speaker 1: 42:44

He is so proud of himself.

Speaker 2: 42:46

He should be. Yeah, he should be, yeah, he should be, yeah, yeah. That's a whole episode on its own.

Speaker 1: 42:53

It really is so okay, so we got three minutes to talk sean seven minutes, seven minutes all right, we'll go seven minutes.

Speaker 2: 43:03

Okay, so lake placid iron man, iron man wait for the record, dan Daniel and I have been calling ourselves half Ironman Accurate.

Speaker 1: 43:14

I don't think so.

Speaker 2: 43:15

What do you think?

Speaker 1: 43:16

I would say Ironman.

Speaker 2: 43:17

For the record. Daniel for the record.

Speaker 1: 43:20

I don't think, yeah, I don't think that applies. That's why they didn't call it half Ironman distance, they call it 70.3. Okay, yeah.

Speaker 2: 43:29

Carry on yeah, six and a half minutes.

Speaker 1: 43:33

Yeah, so we get a beautiful cottage. The vibes are hilarious. We're having a really good time, right? Jeff and I had trained all year long. We roll into I don't know. By the grace of God I slept that night. I had a great sleep. Did Jeff sleep?

Speaker 2: 43:55

For the most, like five, six hours, like enough.

Speaker 1: 43:58

That's pretty decent.

Speaker 2: 43:59

He had a great sleep the night before, though so that matters.

Speaker 1: 44:04

So we roll in and it starts raining, which wasn't a big deal at all. It was kind of like just sprinkling and stuff and starts raining, and which is, it wasn't a big deal at all. It was kind of like just sprinkling and stuff, and we watched the pros go, we go do our warmup swim, it's all great. And uh, jeff and I line up together and we lose each other immediately. It's a fucking washing machine.

Speaker 2: 44:29

Yeah, it was crazy.

Speaker 1: 44:31

And if you don't know that term, essentially what that is is, even though it's a like a staggered start, it's not a mass start anymore. It used to be when, like, everybody would start at the same time and all rush the water and it'd be insane. And even though it's not that anymore, they slightly over oversold the race and there were way more athletes in there than they were probably prepared for. I don't think it was unsafe.

Speaker 2: 44:53

No, but it was a lot.

Speaker 1: 44:54

There was tons of lifeguards and like I think yeah, but of lifeguards, and like I I think yeah, but it was just, it was extremely busy that's not what my first iron man was like. It was my first iron man was beautiful, yeah, glory like I had yeah, so much, you had the whole freaking lake yeah, yeah, uh. So yeah, we line up at the 120 mark, which is uh way slower than where je Jeff should have been, but we didn't even have a chance.

Speaker 2: 45:23

No, you couldn't get to.

Speaker 1: 45:24

It was too busy.

Speaker 2: 45:26

Yeah, where you were. Is that's when you're going in?

Speaker 1: 45:27

Yeah, and that's exactly where I should have been. That's my. The 120, 115, 120 is my likely that's a predictable. Likely that's a predictable. But, um, I should have started faster because it was just there was just way too many people trying to pack in, yeah, Uh, so again, hindsight's 2020. So both of us go uh, proceed to get beat up in the swim, jeff had an interesting approach. Beat up in the swim, jeff had an interesting approach.

Speaker 2: 46:05

Once Jeff had hit his acceptable limit of people pulling on his feet, some unfortunate soul made the mistake of trying to literally swim over top of him, which meant he was going to get pushed under the water. So someone came up, put his hand on Jeff's back or shoulder and kind of tried to drag him out of the way. Yeah, and Jeff responded with an elbow yes, so I don't anyone swimming that close to Jeffrey. I don't recommend trying to go over top, Just just go around.

Speaker 1: 46:36

Yeah, yeah, now, I didn't have that strategy.

Speaker 2: 46:43

No, what did you do? You were a gentleman.

Speaker 1: 46:48

You know what I was. I was a just get me out of here because I don't know what this is. So what I did was I slowed down and I went wide, way too wide. I'm not a golfer, but, like you know, when you slice, right.

Speaker 1: 47:05

Like there's, if you have one stroke that's stronger than the other, it will slightly turn you and then, if you are always sighting, you're now like a snow plow through the water. So the first loop of that swim was super frustrating and when we go around the first buoy, even though I was wide, I it brought me back with everybody, right. So it starts being a washing machine. There's arms and limbs and shit everywhere and I was just trying to not be in anyone's way and somebody bats my heels out of the way, which causes me to be so tense. Because I was like, oh my God, that guy's mad at me, right.

Speaker 1: 47:50

Why is it Jeff? No, no, no, jeff was, would have been way, way bats my heels out of the way. Do know what that feels like? Yeah, number one this is so stressful. Number two I'm like did I do something? Yeah, and so it caused me to be really tense and you kind of freeze up. So what happens? A delightful, delicious little, uh, left leg calf cramp oh, that's what you want in the water that's a nice, nice thing.

Speaker 1: 48:18

Yeah, that's nice. And that frigging calf cramp stayed with me through the. So I get up and you had to run around. So I get up on that first loop and it's locked up, oh good. So I walked to the water table and take a drink and stretch my frigging calf.

Speaker 3: 48:36

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 48:37

And then I get back in the water and then this time I stayed and I swam the cord like the line. So for people that don't know, the swim course in Lake Placid it's a regatta, so it's a training regatta, so it has like a a line for the boats to stay on and a lot and everybody kind of fights to stay on that line.

Speaker 2: 48:58

Cause it's kind of like swimming in a lot and everybody kind of fights to stay on that line.

Speaker 1: 48:59

Cause it's kind of like swimming in a pool, but in the lake, exactly yeah, so I swam the line and, uh it, I swam fast enough that I got out of the bulge Right and there was way less people, it was way less physical and I just I just uh kind of dangled my left leg and I would kick kind of every third beat with my right just to keep my hips up and I had a really fast second loop.

Speaker 3: 49:29

Good.

Speaker 1: 49:29

It felt efficient, I felt not stressful, like it was really really good. And then finishes up, hop out, I'm feeling good, I'm like okay, that's what happens in a race, it's war.

Speaker 3: 49:44

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 49:45

And I see, Kevin. I didn't see you guys Cause I said you guys ran to the bike.

Speaker 2: 49:50

We ran to the after we saw the you guys come out on your first loop. Yeah, we ran to the bike spot.

Speaker 1: 49:55

That's right, yeah, so I look over and I see Kevin and he's freaking out for me. And Kevin's been on my case about doing the Muskoka 70.3.

Speaker 2: 50:07

Well, it was two weeks before your Ironman. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 50:10

He was quite vocal and very colorful about me doing that yes.

Speaker 2: 50:14

In your taper.

Speaker 1: 50:15

Yeah, in the taper. So I look to him and I have a big grin and I and I yell back to him. I say, kevin, I shouldn't have done. And he starts howling he's laughing he's like go, go, go. I was like okay, so I ran up, I go, and I have a pretty fast transition from that point although. I couldn't run the chute.

Speaker 2: 50:48

Oh, because you're a calf. Yeah, just walk.

Speaker 1: 50:50

I had to. I walked the chute, although it got better. Yeah, so I had a really really long transition time, and that was outside of my game plan. Yeah, so I had a really really long transition time. Um, and that was outside of my game plan. Yeah, I was supposed to have a very short transition and that was um, but it just. You know, you can't get caught up in the way you thought it was going to go. You just got to keep moving, so I get on my bike, which is my metaphor for life.

Speaker 1: 51:20

Yeah, Get on the bike, which is like my happy place. I'm feeling, you know. I'm like, ah, I'm so happy to be here and I see you guys. Uh, and I gave you the double pump as I was at the bottom, Cause I saw you still had the video going. I was like, oh yeah that was funny, karen. That was funny.

Speaker 2: 51:37

Karen and I. That was some shit getting it was. It was difficult, to say the least, getting in position for good camera and we were trading off and yeah. I very much believe that so for all the people who saw the videos. You're welcome.

Speaker 1: 51:56

Yes, yes, anyways, carry on. So I want to be brief in the recap because I want to make sure that the highlight of what we talked about today was just how proud of everybody else we were in Gravenhurst. But I think there are some people who wanted to hear the full tale. So get on the bike going and that calf cramp is not going to go, it's there. So and I know because I've had, I've suffered, a lot of cramping luck in the past the cure for it is flow. You need, you need to spin those legs. So I had to kind of change my strategy a little bit and I stayed in some, in some, in some gears that allow me to spin, and just wanted to get as much blood flow out of that as possible. That was the goal and it was working. Uh, until the hills, you need your calf on the, on the hills.

Speaker 1: 52:57

So what happens is it starts sending this like up the chain I don't know compensation pattern or something and my left adductor is just like doing way too much work. Now contrast this with the fact that I'm actually having a lot of fun. I'm so happy to be there. Everything else is pretty well online. Everything is good.

Speaker 3: 53:22

Right.

Speaker 1: 53:23

So I'm not really all that concerned about this stuff. And then the. There's this famous part of the race called the three bears, which I actually think are overblown. I don't think the really all that hard.

Speaker 1: 53:37

There's a false flat before that which I think is quite a bit more nefarious than yeah um and soul crushing than the I could see that bears, I could see that that one, I would imagine, just sneaks up on you and you're like fuck the three bears are at the end of the loop, which, timing wise, if you had, if you had your nutrition right, it's okay, it's not that much of a beat down and it's very pretty yeah, it is.

Speaker 2: 53:59

It is stunning, it's a stunning course.

Speaker 1: 54:00

Yeah, it's hot, you're out there, you're baking a bit, but yeah, that's not the part that the three bears were fine, it's the false flats that are harder. But the false flats light you up and so what happens is after the second I don't know I hit the first loop and feeling great, slightly slower bike plan, no big deal Start getting into the hilly section in this area of that town called upper J or not town, but it's like that area around Lake Placid called upper J right out of doctor.

Speaker 1: 54:38

So I think what happened without me noticing was I went into this race real tight. Kevin Cunningham, you were right, I didn't know.

Speaker 3: 54:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 54:53

And the right adductor just started um, lighting up on me and it would cause me to have to get off my actually my, I tried to get off so I could just go and stretch it and I like, as I know, like when you're when your adductor's tight, it's not necessarily you need to stretch your adductor.

Speaker 3: 55:10

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 55:11

You can stretch your hamstring if you can stretch, yeah, but I couldn't get off my bike. That was the moment where I started to where it hit, and this is the story that I was talking about earlier that I wanted to tell, which I felt was really important. So I had put so much into this day. I had put so much into this day it was, I had crossed the finish line over and over and over. In a certain way in my head, it wasn't going to go that way.

Speaker 3: 55:53

Right.

Speaker 1: 55:56

And there is nothing that can prepare you for something. You've a movie that you've played in your head, An alternate ending that you didn't produce or direct, but you're the starring role.

Speaker 2: 56:14

You have no control over.

Speaker 1: 56:17

So I was so much in pain. Uh, all I could think about was oh my god. And val was at the. You know I had found out that val had surprised, you know, and the people that I care about so much are at the finish line, and all the people tracking me on my on the Ironman tracker my family, my clients, the members here, people who care All I could think about was the alternate ending. Oh my God, I am going to tear an adductor and the next time that Val and Michelle and Karen are going to see me is going to be in some medical buggy or whatever that van is.

Speaker 2: 57:09

Yeah, bringing people off the course.

Speaker 1: 57:13

That was my thought at that very moment. I'm sitting at the bottom of this hill and thinking, oh my God and I'm sitting at the bottom of this hill and thinking, oh my God, that was one of the single most transformative moments of my athletic career, flat out right there, because I had to decide that was not going to be my alternate ending that was not going to be my alternate ending. But it took so much work to just be like because how close.

Speaker 1: 57:48

I was anybody who you know talking to coach Tara about it after she was like adductor cramps feel like they're tears.

Speaker 2: 57:56

Yeah, they're terrible.

Speaker 1: 57:57

Yeah, it's very scary, it's very jarring, it is. I've never, never, not been able to. I couldn't get off my bike and I thought what I was going to do is get off in a blaze of like frustration, like fling your leg over and, yeah, just fuck, fuck, you know, frustration that's the word, thought I was gonna just throw my leg over in frustration and fuck, fuck you know, frustration, that's the word thought I was gonna just throw my leg over in frustration and just tear my stupid leg and just be like be done with it.

Speaker 1: 58:27

So essentially what I did was I took a deep breath and there was luckily nobody really on the course at that point. I don't really know why I didn't. It didn't feel all that busy, um and I decided, uh, the right leg was a little bit less shit than the left. So I was like, okay, maybe what you could do you wanted, maybe you could do the stretch in the saddle with one leg out the one that you wanted to do, get off your bike and go stretched. Why don't you try stretching your hamstring so I get back in after sort of straddling the bike and waddling it up.

Speaker 2: 59:05

Yeah, like walking it in basically.

Speaker 1: 59:07

Yeah, that was the first thing I tried, but I was like this is just not going to work. So I started cycling with one leg and the other leg was sticking out stretching and it felt so good.

Speaker 2: 59:25

I bet.

Speaker 1: 59:26

And I was like, okay, okay, I think you have something here, okay. So then I did it with the other one, and then I would just repeat that and then to go up those hills, just before the bears, I would come up out of the saddle and I would, I would ride those out of the saddle.

Speaker 2: 59:43

Right, just to take some pressure off.

Speaker 1: 59:46

Yeah, yeah. And here's, and here's the most important part. Okay, here's the kicker, here's the upshot, knowing that I had two options. One was pain and like the just letting myself down. And what I felt, like I was going to let you guys down, which I know is not true, but you feel like it and it's, it's very real.

Speaker 1: 1:00:11

Yeah, I know that there's somebody watching my dot on an app right now and I felt like I was going to let them down. And so, knowing that that could have been an option and instead getting creative in the shittiest possible moment on doing the thing that, arguably, is probably my strength, and having that not happen, there is not a drug in the world that could flood your brain with the amount of dopamine and serotonin that I received on that bike in that moment, like when I came up over it and I was like you're going to fucking go.

Speaker 3: 1:00:52

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:00:54

That was you can't. There's no way to simulate that.

Speaker 2: 1:01:03

No, you can't. You. There's no way to simulate that. No, and just like what you said about gravenhurst, you can't. Nobody in any experience can ever take that experience and that decision away yeah yeah, you know, races where everything go well feel great, but races when things don't go well and you have to make a really hard decision on what the person you're going to be in that moment.

Speaker 1: 1:01:24

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:01:25

It's the whole point.

Speaker 1: 1:01:27

And both of those rabbit holes call to you.

Speaker 2: 1:01:30

Of course they do One probably stronger than the other Right.

Speaker 1: 1:01:34

Sean give give up.

Speaker 2: 1:01:35

It's okay, it's over, don't need to do it.

Speaker 1: 1:01:37

It's over.

Speaker 2: 1:01:38

You tried yeah it's okay, it's over. You don't need to do, it's over you tried.

Speaker 1: 1:01:43

Yeah, you know you're not a triathlete, not this year you're. You know you're too big for this sport. All those things, you all those like they start, they're calming yeah, you're taking yourself off the hook people are still gonna love you.

Speaker 1: 1:01:56

And all these things are true, right, and then. So that was the thing that I wanted to tell is that, you know, in that moment of despair I came close to it but I didn't, and I was flooded with so much everything, and I don't know if that's just like human anatomy, right, I don't know if that's like how we're designed or how we've evolved, where it's like suddenly your brain starts like issuing this like, and like adrenaline came and then, and then I, I still so I'll finish out what happened. So then I, you know, I, um, I continue to, I make it through upper J, Uh, and then I think there's some nice flatter parts where you get a bit of speed, um, kind of downhill, and then you get to the bears and, uh, just did the strategy when I needed it. I needed it less and less and less.

Speaker 1: 1:02:57

And then, as I started getting close to town, I was like I'm here.

Speaker 2: 1:03:03

Yeah, you already won.

Speaker 1: 1:03:04

I'm done.

Speaker 2: 1:03:05

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:03:06

And knowing that I was you know, I just and knowing that I was, I could walk the marathon if I had to yeah. Because that was the other thing coming up. I was like I don't know what's going to, what these legs are going to be like on yeah, how am I gonna run yeah? Yeah and then uh, and then of course I see val and you know she comes running up and it was like heavy it was powerful right like and you know I had to. I had to tell her what happened, right?

Speaker 2: 1:03:34

yeah, but what else did you say? Do you remember?

Speaker 1: 1:03:40

tell me you.

Speaker 2: 1:03:42

You said my legs blew up and Val real nervous, because she just wants you to have such a good day and she wants so much for you to be happy. And you pointed to your head and you said but I'm still strong up here. And then you came. Then you came around the run with with a big smile, like you're ready, and you said I'm ready to go fight, something like that.

Speaker 1: 1:04:05

Oh my God, On the run. You know, I haven't thought about that moment since.

Speaker 2: 1:04:08

That's all I think about when I think about.

Speaker 1: 1:04:10

That's so funny, those moments. That's so funny. I haven't thought about that moment Like that quote, but you're right, that's exactly what happened. That's where my headspace was.

Speaker 2: 1:04:23

I know that's what I mean. Like you can't learn that. Find another scenario in life where you have that sort of thing. Athletics is so powerful, not because of the position you come in when you cross the finish line, because the decisions you make along the way. Do you turn left or do you turn right? Do you take the shorter route or do you go longer? Do you quit? Do you say I'm still strong in my head, even though my legs feel like shit? It's easier. It's always easier to quit, always thousand voices saying a million.

Speaker 2: 1:04:57

You had 42 kilometers to run.

Speaker 1: 1:04:59

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:05:02

You know, like I listened to, like when Jeff talks about his, he wanted to about 25 kilometers in. He was like couldn't eat anything, he wanted to throw up. But what do you do when those things happen? And that's the power of these things.

Speaker 1: 1:05:17

Eat, oranges, eat, oranges Eat oranges.

Speaker 2: 1:05:19

You know, like daniel had a terrible training ride one day and we went for a big walk and he was not happy about it and he's like but I'm not somebody who quits, I don't quit. So what do I do? How do I make the next ride better?

Speaker 1: 1:05:33

because I'm not gonna quit and the reward waiting for you right after that moment when you decide you're not going to quit, is unspeakable. Until you've ushered yourself through it, you don't know.

Speaker 2: 1:05:47

Yeah, and I remember on that walk with him saying I'm so glad this happened to you and he had this look like, fuck you, You're supposed to be someone who cares about me and it's like no, no, no. What you learned on that ride will be with you forever. You'll tell your kids that over dinner when they're having something difficult, when you tell the story to William and Sadie when they're old enough to understand it, when you and Val talk about this or you have a client like you can't replace those moments. You can't replicate them, in my opinion, anywhere else.

Speaker 3: 1:06:19

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:06:21

The brain quits long, long after the body does, and for that reason this was the best race of my life.

Speaker 2: 1:06:30

Well, and not to mention you shaved an hour off your time, which is pretty good with one leg on a bike.

Speaker 1: 1:06:36

And it was also a massive PR right Like objectively.

Speaker 2: 1:06:38

It was also a really good race. It was a massive PR. Right Like objectively, it was also a really good race.

Speaker 1: 1:06:41

It was a massive PR and I learned so much in this race that I'm going to put in my next year ahead and I'm going to go into next race and I'm going to know. Nothing's guaranteed.

Speaker 3: 1:06:56

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:06:58

And I'm never going to be surprised again. Yeah, I'm never going to be. I'm never going to have the story written. I'm never going to have the carriage before the horse ever again.

Speaker 2: 1:07:14

Write the story as you're doing it.

Speaker 1: 1:07:16

Yeah, that, among so many other things that I didn't even talk about, um, were huge lessons and, as far as me as a coach, being able to have you learn the most through through pain yeah, you do and so I'm going to be able to have that experience, to be able to coach my athletes. Uh, you know, in the future going through stuff like that, um, but nothing's guaranteed, you are owed nothing. Uh, it doesn't matter how much work you put into something.

Speaker 2: 1:07:46

No, it doesn't.

Speaker 1: 1:07:47

Life has a funny way of flipping that script on you.

Speaker 2: 1:07:51

Yeah, and it matters how you respond. That's, that's just it.

Speaker 1: 1:07:56

Yeah, yeah. And then the last thing I want to share, just because it's the best. So when, uh, we finished the run and um, tons of leg issues, not a single cramp on the on the run, not one. Remember the first one my face cramped, yeah, your fucking jaw cr yeah With a piece of bar in there.

Speaker 2: 1:08:20

We're like. This is what takes me out.

Speaker 1: 1:08:22

Yeah, yeah, face cramp.

Speaker 2: 1:08:24

The cliff bar and a face.

Speaker 1: 1:08:26

Yeah, nothing Glorious.

Speaker 3: 1:08:31

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:08:32

So have a relatively good run. Yeah, not my strength, uh, but everything went really really smoothly and, uh, it just crossing that finish line just meant so, not my strength, but everything went really really smoothly and just crossing that finish line just meant so much more. It was just such a beautiful, beautiful race and a great experience, something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life.

Speaker 2: 1:08:50

Yeah, it's a magical place.

Speaker 1: 1:08:53

It really is.

Speaker 2: 1:08:53

It is.

Speaker 1: 1:08:59

And as I crossed the finish line, if you see my finish line video, I do the pogachar bird what's? That I'll show you later it's so ridiculous, but I was drunk in my mind and I thought that was a good idea and I crossed the line and and the and the receiver comes up and she's just like hey, how are you?

Speaker 1: 1:09:13

I'm like how are you? Thank you for being here and just for being you, Just so elated, and I, you know I. And then they springs me over to pizza and I was like oh, you didn't For me. Yeah, and there was pizza and fries and they were like which one do you want? I was like can I have both? She's like yeah, yeah, you can, so they hooked me up with pizza and fries, because that's all I wanted remember.

Speaker 3: 1:09:42

It was fries and ketchup.

Speaker 1: 1:09:44

Gave me these hot fries that were crispy and salty. And then I saw my friend that I met at Tremblant Iron named Elena, and I went and chatted with her and I was like, ah, it was just like I was totally drunk.

Speaker 1: 1:10:01

Yeah, I can exactly picture you in that moment, just with my people, you know, like you haven't just done, 13 hours of bullshit, yeah and then, uh, you guys call to me, and then I come over and then I thought you were there, but no, jeff and I were up on the hill okay, so yeah so Kevin yells like how do you feel? And the first words out of my mouth were let's do this again that I had the the time of my life. Yeah, and I really meant it. I know, it was just such a good thing it was.

Speaker 2: 1:10:38

it was really cool watching. So Jeff and I were on the other side of the fence and I called Kevin and I was like fuck, look, look, look in front of you, man Cause I was yelling and but I have a quiet voice and he looks up and he starts yelling and cheering and then we see you. I could see you come because I have. I was on the opposite side so I could see you come around the corner and I was like Val and I'm trying to scream for Val and Jeff's, just like she can't hear you. You have the voice of a 12-year-old. They're not going to hear you. And so we just got. I stopped yelling and we just got to watch other people, because I'm usually right beside them, right, and I'm usually watching you, but watching other people watch their person cross the finish line gets me every single time it so emotional you think you're going to be cool with it and you're not.

Speaker 2: 1:11:27

Yeah, yeah, it's just.

Speaker 1: 1:11:29

It's so emotional and so much fun and next year I'm probably going to be a mess when I see my kids.

Speaker 2: 1:11:35

Oh yeah, good luck yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:11:39

And I know Val's going to be a mess and they're going to be. Yeah, that's yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:11:43

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:11:45

They're going to pull me across the finish line. Sadie will be four by then and she'll be yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:11:53

She'll be old enough.

Speaker 1: 1:11:56

So again, like there's always so much that goes down and we never really have the opportunity to cover everything, um, so you know that's. I hope we got through as much of that. Uh, I hope that we got as much out there as we could, alison.

Speaker 2: 1:12:17

Alison will let us know. I hope this brought.

Speaker 1: 1:12:20

Uh, you hope this brought us up to speed and we will not let as much time go by before our next one, because I don't want that tone piercing tone, anything else to add that tone piercing tone.

Speaker 2: 1:12:48

Anything else to add? Just one last thing that if, if you are at all, have the courage to try, you know, if you're thinking about it and it's too big, um, we wouldn't we won't encourage people to be in a scenario that's they're not capable of doing. It's kind of our coaching superpower. We know, like we can see what you're capable of doing. Um, I hope that people kind of start to like listen to these stories and see it for what it is and it's not the race itself. And so I think if there's one takeaway that I really hope people can start to open their mind to, it's have the courage to believe that you are capable of trying stuff like this. I don't care if it's five, five kilometers, it doesn't matter to me, that's a big deal. So that would be my takeaway just start to believe in yourself that you are capable of the person who gets to experience all this stuff and become the person love it.

Speaker 1: 1:13:59

Such a good way to end it. Pick a goal and we'll help you do epic shit. That's what Redleaf is.