199 - Why My Wife Competed in Hyrox While Pregnant - Ally Rossell

Ally likes to do hard things in hard seasons. Which is why she competed in a Hyrox while being 26 weeks pregnant.

She went in without a watch, without a time goal, and without a plan. Her only job was to finish. Running had been wrecking her pelvis for months. The week before the race she ran eight miles and could barely walk for three days after. She taped up her belly with KT tape, asked a stranger in the warm-up area what weights they were using, and went anyway.

I was more nervous than she was. She spent the day on the couch watching a movie.

We talk about what pregnancy fitness actually looks like, adapting when your body isn't where it used to be, and why doing a hard thing in a hard season hits different. Ally had tough days throughout this pregnancy. Days stuck in bed, workouts that used to feel easy now requiring twice the effort. She didn't complain. She kept showing up, then flew to New York and competed.

She finished with a 2:04. Winston came along for the whole thing. 

This one is inspiring to me, hopefully you too. Not because Ally is my wife, but because she proved that attitude it times like this matter more than your physical ability. 

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You're not lazy. You're not lost. You just know there's a gap between the life you're living and the one you're capable of — and that gap is getting harder to ignore.

Every week, I pull apart the mental patterns that keep capable people stuck — comfort disguised as patience, avoidance disguised as strategy, mediocrity dressed up as balance. I bring in philosophy, personal stories from the trails and the trenches, and conversations with people who decided to stop waiting.

This isn't a show about hacks. It's about the harder work: getting honest with yourself, building the discipline to act on that honesty, and becoming someone you'd actually respect.

Keep getting after it.

Transcript

Welcome Back And Big News

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Now you're back in the saddle. Welcome back to the show.

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 0:03

As always, you're my favorite guest, so I'm happy that we get to spend some time chatting about some new things that have just happened.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Okay, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_04 0:10

Me too. Um, for those of you who don't know, actually, I don't think anybody knows this, so we just got back from New York.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Yeah, no one has any reason to know that we are in New York.

SPEAKER_04 0:22

Yeah, well, unless you follow us. But um personals. Yeah, we just got back from New York. What were we doing out there?

SPEAKER_00 0:29

We went to New York because my brother and I were doing a high rocks.

SPEAKER_04 0:33

A high rox. And now you're a high rocks athlete.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

And now I'm a hybrid rock star.

SPEAKER_04 0:38

Hybrid rock star, baby.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

It was so embarrassing after Brett's walking around. You're my hybrid rock star, didn't you? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 0:46

I was so prompt.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

It's like the lamest sounding thing ever when you say it like that.

SPEAKER_04 0:49

No.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

No, it's pretty cool. Especially because you're pregnant, which we're gonna talk about. Um I

Why New York And Why Hyrox

SPEAKER_04 0:55

want to start at the very beginning, and by that I mean what made you even want to decide to do a high rocks.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Okay, well, going back further than even the beginning of the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Obviously, high rocks is kind of popping off right now. It's just very popular. Running is getting more popular as well. And I think our our last race that we did together, you and I, was the 50k. Yeah. And I think I was just a little burnt out from distance.

SPEAKER_04 1:24

Just running.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Yeah, just shame running.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

To be fair, we did do a high rocks together.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Well, this is what I was gonna say is that high rocks started piquing my interest around that time. But then you had friends that were doing a high rocks and invited us to tag along.

SPEAKER_04 1:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

And so you and I went out for doubles. But you were deathly ill.

SPEAKER_04 1:43

Yeah, that was so sad. It's still so sad. Because like I woke up that day, I think I had a fever, and I was like, I'm just gonna still do it. And the entire day I was just dreading.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Our race wasn't even until what time, like three or four?

SPEAKER_04 1:56

It was like 4 30, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

And so all day you just looked miserable. I was like, Oh, this is gonna be a long day. Like, we are so much time even leading up to I know our showtime.

SPEAKER_04 2:07

But we started off.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

We started off, we started, ended after sled poles. Yeah, so we got three events in. We got the ski, sled push, and sled pole with the kilometer run in between each. Yeah, but poor Brett, like you just know he's so competitive.

SPEAKER_04 2:23

It was really frustrating. It was sad.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

And and I know you were feeling bad, but I kept telling you, I'd rather us just pick it up a different time or at least walk. Like, yeah, you wanted to do so well. I'm like, we literally can finish this if you just walk, that's probably fine, and we just go slow, yeah, but it's either fast or nothing.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Yeah in your mind. I do have an issue with that sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

So in this case, it was nothing. Yeah, but we did some got some experience, and that was in February. So at the time I was like six weeks pregnant, I was super early.

SPEAKER_04 2:59

Yeah, really on, really, really early on. You didn't even show.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yeah, well, yeah, I'd hope not. Six weeks. And so at that time, I'm thinking, like, oh, it's kind of sick, I'm doing a high rock, six weeks pregnant, like I'm pregnant.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Boom.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

And then, yeah, obviously we didn't get to finish it, but I really like the environment. And then it didn't come back up around until my brother's like on his finished journey, you can say. He's gonna it, he's crushing it, and now he's running, which is great. So Blake actually talked me into doing the Salt Lake Half, which was in April, and then also signing up for the High Rocks in New York, just because he doesn't like to do anything alone, like literally most like needs companionship ever, which is fine. Um, but that's why I got talked into both of those because I really didn't have an expectation or like I wanted to keep working out throughout pregnancy, but I wasn't really expecting races necessarily.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Um, but with him being like, do the half marathon, sign up for the high rocks. I don't want to go to New York by myself. I was like, okay, I fall under peer pressure.

SPEAKER_04 4:07

I honestly though, I think it's amazing like you even considered it because I don't know, I've seen many pregnant women in my day, and a lot of them I don't think would want to do something as grueling as a high rox.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

We also have to keep in consideration that I've had a very smooth pregnancy.

SPEAKER_04 4:24

That's true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

If I was a little miss sicky all the time and nauseous every day, throwing up every day, like this probably would have looked very different. I don't know if I would have also been able to get myself to sign up for a high rox or a half or anything.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

I don't know. I like I might disagree with you because you had days, you had streaks of days where like you couldn't work out, you were fatigued, you were tired.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

That's my biggest thing is fatigue. That's such a dumb thing.

SPEAKER_04 4:49

You're creating a life form.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

I feel like that should I should always be able to work through that. I'm like, I just feel lazy, it's so stupid.

SPEAKER_04 4:56

No, it's not stupid.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Dumb symptoms.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

Um, but yeah, I mean, like the fact that I think you that you committed to it and you signed up, I know you, and you're like, okay, well, it's on the calendar, so I'm just gonna show up and do it. Um, that's another big thing, is like you didn't really set expectations. The only goal was to finish.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Right.

SPEAKER_04 5:14

Why is that important to you?

SPEAKER_00 5:16

You gotta finish what you start. That's why I always try to keep a race on the docket, because then I'll feel pressure. Like I said, I'm a I'm a sucker for peer pressure.

SPEAKER_04 5:25

Not with like drugs and stuff, but not with yeah, not the bad stuff, not that things, but I do tend to I was telling you this yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

This is so embarrassing, it doesn't go anywhere else, everybody.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

Yeah, this is a podcast, it's this is a secret.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Super private conversation. Uh no, I joke that like everything is just like for the plot, you know. It's like, oh, that's kind of cool. Like

The First Hyrox Attempt Went Sideways

SPEAKER_00 5:50

high rocks at six months. That sounds cool for someone else to do. Like, I want to be cool. I'm gonna do that. Yeah, it's like, oh, being a pilot sounds cool. I want to sound cool. I'll be a pilot.

SPEAKER_04 5:58

Yeah. It's like all these side quests are doing. We yeah, we were talking about that. It's kind of funny though. Like, I don't know. I mean, it shows a lot about who you are. Like you're you're going after these difficult things even when it's not easy. Like, one of my favorite conversations that you and I had leading up to HIROX is uh we were talking about hard things. Like we sometimes do.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

I mean, it's uh we commonly talk about that. I was like, what conversation are you even talking about?

SPEAKER_04 6:22

It's a Rossell household, it tends to come up, but um we were talking about it, and like I have something I want to say after your HIROX that you said that kind of ties into this a bit. But before we get there, you said that Um you were doing a hard thing in a hard season, and that for me just like one and inspired me because I was like, okay, well, I think I try and just do hard things because things are going well in my life right now. Um especially when things are going well in my life. I'm like, oh yeah, I'll go out and run 20 miles on the weekend or I'll sign up for that 50k race. But you know, when I start a new job, or like when we have our little baby, like it's gonna be hard, you know, and it's gonna be more challenging, I think, to be more consistent during those times than it is when life's going good, when things are easy, and you know, when you have confidence, when your body's not hurt or injured, or you're not 26 weeks pregnant. Like, and I think a lot of the times we try and talk ourselves out of doing hard things because everything else is so easy. Um, but when you said that, like I'm doing a hard thing in a hard season, why does that matter? And why like why did you want to do something like that? Because you still actively chose it. So many people have told you, like, oh yeah, like you don't have to do this, you don't have to do a high rocks, you can drop out. I know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

You can just say, you can just say quit, Dina. I was like, Dina, that's like makes me not want to quit even more. It's like saying I quit. That's yeah, I just give them crap. But I know it's because they care so much and they care about baby. My family too. My mom and brother are like, okay, well, make sure you don't land on your stomach with burpees. I'm like, duh. Like, guys, I am the one that's most concerned. Like, thank you. It just cracks me up. Of course, I'm like thinking about all these things.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

But I think most people are supportive. I think most people are excited and like think that's neat and and are excited to see what you can do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:25

But one thing I want to call out, you never once considered it.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Quitting?

SPEAKER_04 8:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Yeah. No. Well, I love that.

SPEAKER_04 8:34

So hot.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

So ridiculous. Um, but doing the hard thing in the hard season, I think that's when that's when like you really like you learn resilience and like the lessons that we want to learn when we're doing a hard thing, like it's that much more prevalent when you're already in a hard season. And what I mean by that is I I honestly for some reason feel like I do better when I'm in a hard season when I choose to do a hard thing. But I think the reason is I'm thinking about it so much more because I'm planning so much more. I have to be so much more engaged and actively putting it in my schedule and so much more intentional. I think when everything is going well, I'm like, usually I can just show up and get things done because I've been able to be consistent enough. But when it's something that is difficult and a hard time, I'm like visualizing every chance I get. Like every time I'm going to sleep, I'm picturing how the race is gonna go. I'm gonna picture how like it is so weird, but I get hyper-fixated on it because I already know it's gonna be difficult.

Training While Pregnant With One Goal

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Like, I don't think I can just wing it the way I would if it was an easy season.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

And so if you're going through a hard time or like circumstances aren't in your favor, I think it just puts that much more energy into it and so much more like planning and all those things that I kind of enjoy that because then I kind of become obsessed with it in a way that I don't when everything's going smooth.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

And so this well, this situation's a little bit different because being pregnant, like I have had really hard days, of course, and I don't make it to the gym all the time, or like my workouts suck.

SPEAKER_04 10:17

But you've had days where you've been stuck in bed.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Yeah. So weird. Pregnancy's weird.

SPEAKER_04 10:22

Yeah, and then the next day you're great. Yes, it's so strange.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

But I also like I almost feel like I'm doing it for like our baby. So this is different where it's unique. Yes, I I want to do the hard thing where I can be learning these lessons at this time, and I can be like becoming the person I want to be by being consistent, we're through it all. However, I think so much of the time I'm thinking like, I want our kid to be thinking like I I don't know if he'll ever think this, but I want to set that example early. Like, I want Winston to be like, oh yeah, I did a Hyrux when I was six months in the womb, you know, half marathon on it.

SPEAKER_04 11:07

When I was negative three years old. Yeah, negative three months old. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

And and I just want that to like. And I know exercise is very important for baby's health, especially my like the brain function and all these things. So I I I'm more motivated to exercise for his health on those hard days. But as far as like doing it high rocks and races, I think so much of it is I'm like trying to set the example so early of hey, we don't just because circumstances aren't perfect, that doesn't mean we're not gonna try and push ourselves.

SPEAKER_04 11:40

Yeah, that's huge.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Hopefully that made sense. I know I'm a rambler, but that makes complete sense.

SPEAKER_04 11:46

I like, yeah, exactly that. It's like you because I a lot of times in life, I've noticed this when I mean you know I've struggled depression many times, um, or like I right now am dealing with like 136 testosterone levels, it's great, it's super high. Um super duper, super duper high. Uh, but like even in times like that, like I still try to do difficult things because I don't want life to determine who I am. And that's the biggest thing for me is I've seen many people in my life who have had something incredibly terrible happen to them, and then they seem to forget who they are. Because and and I mean I'm sure you relate to this a bit too with like your dad passing, like that grief can eat you away, yeah, and it can kind of take the person who you were, put them on a shelf, and now grief runs your life in a sense. Um and I could say the same thing about like when I was depressed, like depression could have run my life easily, but like I was making conscious choices every single day to be like, I'm still going to go work, I'm still gonna go to the gym, I'm still gonna show up for my wife, even when like things are hard. Not talking about those months.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

You pulled through.

SPEAKER_04 13:03

Um but yeah, like overall, like I am still deciding to do something difficult when life is saying that like life is handing me a hard card.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Okay, you said that so much better than me. No, but I agree. That's like a lot of that is what I was trying to get at in the sense of like you have to make those conscious decisions, and I think you're better because of it when you make those have to have to dial in so much more with your decision making and when things are difficult. But you're so right about grief and all like just life situations in general. It's so easy to lose yourself, and I hear that a lot with motherhood, and it scares me. I have like even just conversations with my sister-in-laws, it's like make sure you're doing things for you because obviously you want to be a great mom and you want to be very present and you want to do all these things to be a good mom, and sometimes it's easy, I imagine, to lose yourself and being a good mom where all you are is a mom.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Yeah, like so.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

What are your interests? You have to continue to work out for yourself, you have to continue to read or like hang out with your friends

Hard Things In A Hard Season

SPEAKER_00 14:10

sometimes or go on dates and whatever to be able to make sure that you're there for yourself. It's like the whole oxygen thing. Gotta get oxygen on yourself before you can assist another person.

SPEAKER_02 14:19

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

In order to be the best version of yourself for who you are loving and supporting and raising.

SPEAKER_04 14:25

Absolutely. I think a couple things on that. First is like one, you I think you said it, but you will be a better mom because like you're still taking care of yourself, you're still being interested in the things that you you are. And like for me, I want Winston to be like, hey, um, like I don't know. I go, I'm talking to him in the morning, like, hey, I'm gonna go for a run for a while, I'll be back. And then he comes back, or I come home and he's like, Well, how was it? Like, what was it like? I don't know if he'll say that, but I mean, like we're so ambitious.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

We're so ambitious that our kid's gonna like have so much interest in our cops.

SPEAKER_04 14:58

Honestly, what'll probably happen is I'll come home.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

He's like not gonna give gramps.

SPEAKER_04 15:02

Okay, yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

He's gonna say, dude, please don't go run. Probably hang out with me.

SPEAKER_04 15:06

Um, yeah, and that'll be tough. That'll be a battle on its own. But like, I don't know. I mean, just to your point of setting the example early, and I feel like if you miss out on who you are by forgetting to do hard things. And I know that sounds weird. Um I think a better way to say it might be like if you just let life push you like by, like, kind of blow you in the wind, you'll miss out on opportunities to prove yourself and test yourself. And then soon enough, like you'll become someone who like you didn't think you would be years down the line. And I think it's interesting we're having this conversation three months out for when we're supposed to have our baby. Because like yeah, it's kind of scary a little bit. But I think you and I are also both very determined to still do the things that we do, like, and that might come at sacrifice now. Like, you know, you and I are sitting here on a Sunday at 3 p.m. recording this podcast, and now it might look like, okay, well, it's gonna be at like 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night where I have an opportunity to record. But like as long as you're taking those chances, you're taking those steps to incorporate those things in your life. I think that's what makes you who you are, and that can make you show up best as a parent or however else you want to excuse me, show up in life.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Plus you.

SPEAKER_04 16:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

I love how you I was like, ah, and you go on to say like how you're worried about schedule change. I'm thinking labor. That's why I was doing and you go you go on about how it's gonna be difficult to get our true.

SPEAKER_04 16:42

I mean, I don't really have to go through that part, I just have to be there for you. And I'm probably gonna freak out a few times.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Um you're for sure gonna freak out.

SPEAKER_04 16:50

I'm not gonna let you see it.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:52

Yeah, I'll be very stoic the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

No. I mean, obviously, schedule change is gonna be difficult. I imagine when the baby's a really baby, it just lays there. I'm sure our schedule won't change all too much.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

But as your kids grow up, things get difficult and you adjust. And in any season, you have to adjust. But and you and I were talking about this today, I was like, I feel like it's gonna be might might be difficult to get back to flying after we have our kids. But like, how I mean, luckily, flying is a schedule where I can be a mom because I work at a company that has day trips, but I think about that all the time where I love to fly. I obviously want to raise my kids, and that's like number one, but there in this situation, luckily, there can't be a balance, and I think that's with anything in life, like finding the balance of things. Like right now, it's difficult where I'm tired all the time, I'm sick sometimes, and I just don't feel like working out. And the balance might be I go for a walk instead of I try to get a run-in and a lift, and so I think there's adjustments that can always be made and things to tweak, and I've learned that a lot during this season because it's weird having the same uh the same like what's the word? I I don't know if like drive is the right word. Drive's not the right word, but the same passion to like do races and stuff, yeah, like the same decision making. Like I still want to do these things, and it's so weird being in a body that's not handling it the same way that it was like six months ago.

SPEAKER_04 18:29

Yeah, it's strange. And so I can kind of relate to that a bit.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Yeah, exactly. So it's like I want to do these things, I've been able to do it. How come I can't run eight miles without being in so much pain all of a sudden?

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

And so it's been a very hard adjustment, but I think in any season there's gonna be adjustments, whether that you're doing great and you're flourishing and you're sprinting and you're doing all these cool cool things, great. Or it's a season that you got a new job and you're working really hard and it's mentally exhausting and it's affecting you physically, or a baby and you're sleepy all the time, whatever it is, adjusting to your new schedule and your reality, there's always things that you can be doing to further your progression, whether that be small things that look so minor that you it's easy to overlook, like getting outside, or it's a race or like a marathon ultra, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

So that's what I've been learning so far in the last six months. Adaption. It's very difficult, it's very hard to not be hard on myself. Every day I look in the mirror, I'm like, whoa.

SPEAKER_04 19:28

No, they get to do that. No, well your belly's perfect.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

Yeah, you love my belly.

SPEAKER_04 19:34

It's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

It is so weird.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

I felt Winston cake like six times a day.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Yeah, Winston, he's been a little active boy.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

Yeah, because you're doing high rocks.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

I hopefully not because I'm just drinking caffeine. I have it in moderation.

SPEAKER_04 19:47

Yeah, no, we're very we follow the rules.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

We do follow the rules.

SPEAKER_04 19:51

Uh every now and then, hey, listen, it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

He likes it, he told me.

SPEAKER_04 19:55

Again, after a podcast, I I always have a coke.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

I know that's why I joined you.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Yeah. So I'm glad you did.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Thank you. But that has been a hard thing, is like seeing my body change and doing workouts that used to be, or like lifts and stuff that I'm like, oh, I used to be able to do this distance or this weight, and now I can't.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

It's been very hard not to get discouraged. So having little victories, like being able to accomplish a high rox, even though it's not like the pace I want, is still like a big win in a different season.

SPEAKER_04 20:29

It's been really like admirable to watch. And I'm not trying to hype you up because you're my wife and everything. No, I mean, honestly, though, because um we're gonna talk about HIROX in a second, the actual race itself, because there's a few things I want to note. But the first being like before Hyrux even wasn't a thing before you went there into the race, and like you said, you know, you would do lifts or you'd do exercises that used to be so easy, but now require so much more effort, or like you can't do them anymore because like you have a belly and it's hard to bend over, you probably shouldn't deadlift right now, you know. Like, I don't know what the rules are.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

I'm sure it's fine.

SPEAKER_04 21:06

But what's been really awesome to watch and really inspiring to me is like you just say, Okay, this is how it is now. Like, I can't do this, I can't do what I used to do. That's how it is right now. I'm gonna adapt. And so, like, sometimes we're driving to the gym, and you're like, Yeah, what are you doing today, Brad? At the gym. Like, I gotta lift and then run. And I say, What are you doing? You're like, I got like my mommy stretches, and then I'll probably walk and you know, do a few exercises. And like, you don't have a bad attitude about it. Like, you're not complaining, you're not saying, like, like I have to do my mommy stretches, like I

Staying Yourself Through Motherhood

SPEAKER_04 21:40

can only walk today.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

My mommy stretches.

SPEAKER_04 21:44

I don't know. I mean, that's what you call them. That's what I thought they were called.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

I just made that up. I don't know. It's just mobility stuff that you're supposed to be doing, I guess. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 21:52

Either way. Like, I just it's so impressive the attitude that you have during this time because you and I have both talked about if I was on the other side.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

So grateful you're the dad.

SPEAKER_04 22:02

Yeah, you would be going through hell right now, and I probably would be too. Um you're a different kind of person who instead of playing the poor me card or like this sucks so bad, I'm just gonna complain card. Like it's like I I'll try to make the most of it. We just watched Kung Fu Panda.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

We did.

SPEAKER_04 22:22

You know where I'm going with this? Master Ugoy says a quote where he says, Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

I'm just saying, we treat every day like that. Like it's like, oh, you know, every day is a gift.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Oh, you're saying I'm good at that? Yeah. That's very nice. And it's funny because it's sweet that you feel that way. Hopefully that means I'm not a big complainer. It's not easy like that all the time, like in my head, you know?

SPEAKER_02 22:52

I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Because that can be so such a bummer because some of those days I'm like going to go do my mommy stretches, and then the reason I'm walking is because I try to run it and it sucked. And so then now I'm walking. And it can be very discouraging, discouraging to feel like your my fitness is going down, or feel like I can I because I see all these other pregnant women on social media and they're freaking doing marathons at 30 weeks pregnant, and I just not gonna be me. Like I'm gonna do a 5k.

SPEAKER_04 23:20

I feel like that's a 0.5% of all pregnants.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Yeah, I know that's super rare, but of course that's what you see. And I feel like I'm not I actually don't consider myself like a like I compare a lot. Like I don't think I do that all that often. Um, but you notice it. Like I'm more like impressed, like dang, especially now that I did a half marathon at uh four and a half weeks pregnant. Then I was like, dang, that was hard. Four and a half. Sorry, months pregnant.

SPEAKER_04 23:48

Yeah, I was gonna say, no way, it was weeks, four and a half months pregnant, and I was like, that was hard.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

I cannot imagine doing a full marathon. I have a whole new appreciation. Before I was pregnant, I was like, wow, these women are freaking ballers. Now I'm like, wow, they are literally superheroes. And and it has been eye-opening to me, and I I love to see it, but it is hard to be like to to not put myself in that c category. I know every pregnancy is different, everybody's so different, yeah, and I'm grateful that I can move because a lot of people can be bedridden when they're pregnant.

SPEAKER_04 24:18

True, yeah. Everyone has a and who knows, sometimes worse.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Maybe our next kid I'm like deathly ill the entire time on IVs, like you never know how each pregnancy is gonna go. And so just the fact that I'm able to do these things, like I I think it'd be a sin to not be grateful that I'm able to move.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

So that's a great way to look at it, and I think that's what I've seen fuel you a lot of the times. Well, thank you. But let's uh let's go to New York.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 24:44

We're there now. Um, by the way, I think I was more nervous that day.

SPEAKER_00 24:48

You're so you're always nervous.

SPEAKER_04 24:51

Because Wednesday, Blake went into the city. He just wanted to go hang out. He likes the city, and I was still had to work that day, and you and I decided, like, okay, we'll just go to your race because it starts at 4 50, so we'll leave a little bit earlier. Um, like two hours early, two and a half hours early. And that entire day, like, I was so nervous for you. I was sitting at my desk, like trying to concentrate, and I was talking to people and stuff. I was glad I had a lot of calls because I made it go by faster.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

I didn't know that you were that anxious.

SPEAKER_04 25:18

I was just nervous. Like, I was like, oh man, I I want her to do well. Like, I don't want her to hurt or anything like that. I was more nervous about like how your body would respond.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Yeah, that's what I was nervous about as well.

SPEAKER_04 25:28

But what I loved is like as I'm there, I'm super nervous for you. You come out and you're like, hey, check out my outfit. What do you think? And I'm like, I love it, it's great. You have these two braids on the back of your head and your green high rock shirt.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

And then back in my head.

SPEAKER_04 25:40

And then like, then you just like hung out. Like it was like nothing phased you. You just like sat on the couch watching a movie and stuff while I was working, and then you got ready to go, and I was like, How are you feeling? You're like, Yeah, I'm excited. It was like super nonchalant, and I loved it. Um but yeah, so then we get to the venue, and I have butterflies, but you were just like you have butterflies. Yeah, I was nervous for you. You're so funny, and then yeah, so we just kind of get ready to go. And I guess I'll I'll say this and then I'll let you take over. Then it was like what, 4 15, and you're like, okay, I'm gonna go warm up. So you go behind stage, behind the scenes, and you're you're doing whatever Allie did. I couldn't be there with you, so you're just doing whatever you did. And like that time, that like 35 minutes from when you were about to start, I was like, heart was beating fast. Yeah, I know like every time a new group would run, because they start every 10 minutes, every time a new one would run, I'd be like, Oh my gosh. She's like, She's so close. Um but, anyways, so walk us through a little bit of a race day.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Yeah. I mean, it's not that I wasn't nervous at all. I mean, you make it sound like you were like on the edge of your seat. But I was. I I was nervous because yes, I also didn't know how my body was gonna respond. You and I have talked about this a lot, obviously. Turns out your ligaments get loose. Who would have thought?

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Who would have thought?

SPEAKER_00 27:10

Who would have thought your pelvic just does whatever it wants? And running has been very difficult for me. And like the week before I ran eight miles just to make sure I could. I was like, I'm gonna just test this out super slow. I could hardly walk for the next three days. I have such sharp pains in my pelvic region that is so and like growing in my adductors, it's like it feels as though like I literally you have a knife. Yeah, I have a knife in areas that the knives

Adapting To A Changing Body

SPEAKER_00 27:40

aren't supposed to be, and it is it's so painful, like taking any steps. And I was so worried that that I was gonna feel like that again. But most of me was I'm okay with being sore. Like, don't care if my muscles are sore. If my pelvic is sore, then so be it. I don't care as long as I finish the race. I just didn't want that to happen during the race. That's what I was most nervous about. I just wanted to finish so bad. I don't care how slow I am, I don't care about anything. I just want to be able to complete it. I hope and pray that that means that I don't feel like have a knife anywhere that's not supposed to be.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

And so that's what I was most worried for. So, yeah, day of leading up, I was just doing a lot of my stretches, taking easy. The day before, I was with my brother and we're like walking around New York. We walked for like 10 miles. I know, and it messed me up, and I was so nervous because I was like, I only walked, and I'm starting to feel all those same sharp pains. So I was very nervous in that aspect going in, already feeling like maybe a little nervous, maybe yeah, maybe it's gonna give out on me.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:47

But I taped up my belly with some KT tape, which I really don't like KT tape because I can never take it off. My skin's too sensitive.

SPEAKER_04 28:54

But it is very sticky, it is so sticky.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

But I was just telling myself that's gonna help. And I felt like it, I I get made fun of a lot because I am pretty nonchalant about big things, I feel like. And it was I it's one of my favorite things. If I was going for time, I think I'd be way more nervous.

SPEAKER_04 29:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

If I was like, I have to go like this pace all the time. My goal was to keep it slow, steady, and accomplished because I knew that I didn't want to burn out, I didn't want my heart rate to get crazy high where I'm feeling uncomfortably fatigued to a fault.

SPEAKER_04 29:32

Like I was like You didn't even wear a watch, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

I know, that's why. And I was like, I'm not gonna wear my watch, I'm not gonna know what time it is, I'm not gonna know what my heart rate is, I'm going purely off feeling. Yeah, I want to feel strong the whole time. I don't want to feel like I'm on the brink of death. If you know, like how you do if you're actually going for speed.

SPEAKER_02 29:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

And so that was my goal. And I was like, I just want to be like smiley, enjoy it, and just like be there for the vibes. So I talked myself down a lot with those type of thoughts. And like kind of how it can be. Except for it's funny because when I was in the warm-up area, I'm like talking to these other ladies, and I realized I don't know like anything about high rocks. I was like, okay, can you guys tell me like what this map is like? And also what weight are we doing? Like lunges were um you had a 10 kilo sandbag on you, and 25 pounds or something? I don't even know how many pounds it is, but I was doing way heavier in my training thinking it was supposed to be like 30 kilos or something.

SPEAKER_04 30:31

I was like, Yeah, you did actually. You did like 25 kilos.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

Yeah, and I and so but when I got there, I saw 10 pound sandbag or 10 whatever sam uh sandbags. So I started talking to this girl's like, what weight is sandbags and wall balls? Like, what are the weights for these things? Because I should have paid more attention. So she's like, I always just pick the lightest one. I was like, okay. And so that was her advice.

SPEAKER_04 30:56

Always just pick the lightest.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

She's like, if you're doing women's open, it's the lightest of the options. If you're doing mixed doubles, it's heavier, and then pros are like heavy. And so she's like, whenever you get to a station, just choose the lightest weight. I was like, okay. So so I went in, kind of like not really knowing what to expect. I did heavier weights, yet I didn't do as many.

SPEAKER_02 31:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Turns out it takes like 120 lunges to accomplish that distance. And so that obviously like kind of crushed me. But and my adductors are the things that are always messed up. So, but yeah, so leading into it, I was more curious than anything else. I'm like, you know, I'm just gonna take it super slow. I'm gonna try to keep my pace very steady. I thought that I was gonna have to walk a lot more. I was anticipating having to walk on some laps. Yeah, um, I was actually pretty stoked that I was able to jog all of them, even though it was a very slow jog. But um, but yeah, I think my I was able to accomplish my goal of just keeping it slow and steady. And I try to have fun with it, give you a little dance every so often.

SPEAKER_04 32:00

That was my favorite. I loved that.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

I knew you were so worried. Like I could tell that you were like, every time I'd glance over at you, you're like giving me thumbs up. Like, are you good? Are you good? I'm like, oh my gosh, relax. And so I wanted to.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

I lost my voice pretty quickly too, because I was just like, I wanted you to hear me.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

You were screaming a lot.

SPEAKER_04 32:17

I was screaming.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

So I wanted to make sure you're comfortable, so I try to keep it lighthearted. Um, which is so funny. It's gonna be interesting to see how you are when I'm delivering a child's.

SPEAKER_04 32:26

I'll be very stoked, I'm telling you. I'm gonna I'm already still probably I want you to be excited. I'm gonna I mean excited, but I mean like when things are happening and they're like rushing over to do something, I'm just gonna be like, hey, alright, I'm here. I'm here.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

A steady presence.

SPEAKER_04 32:40

Yeah, steady presence, but very excited.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

But yeah, so I think I felt pretty good throughout the whole thing. Uh going into it, I was nervous, but I was pretty excited.

SPEAKER_02 32:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:51

Uh I knew I could move all the weights, I just didn't know how fast I could.

SPEAKER_04 32:55

So I love it. That was interesting. Okay, so the thing I was gonna mention when we were talking about a little bit earlier, the attitude piece. Um even when you're doing something hard, like high rocks or like the burpees, which I would probably say might have been the hardest for you, you might think differently.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

But yeah, burpees and lunges. Burpees suck just because well, burpees I can't jump.

SPEAKER_04 33:21

I mean, it was it looked hard.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

I just can't jump to save my life, and it was just so humbling. I I literally didn't even train that because I was like, mm, I'll just figure out what happens when I get there. I was like, I hate I hate jumping so much that I didn't even train the jumping because I hate it so much. So yeah, that was interesting, and then of course, everyone is supposed to go chest to floor, and I can't do that, so I had a modification of chest or belly to floor. So it was like kind of like a weird everyone's like laying on the ground taking a breather, and I'm like struggling, trying not to touch my belly. It was weird.

SPEAKER_04 33:53

Someone was like, it looks like it's harder for her because like she has to hold that position instead of like flop on the floor. Um, but anyways, during the burpees piece, like you finished half of it, and then you were halfway through the second part, and you just stood there and you like started dancing and stuff, and you were smiling. And I was like, I love that because this is like the hardest part of the race. Everyone says says burpees um or after burpees is when the race starts, right? Um, and like here you are, just enjoying your time rather than hating everything that's probably why I was doing that.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

I'm probably like, I hate this so much. Let's lighten it up a little bit. Yeah, let me just dance with like I need a breather, I'll just give them a little jig.

SPEAKER_04 34:37

I'll just dance. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

So I think maybe that was a

Race Day Nerves And Warm Up

SPEAKER_00 34:40

way of me catching my breath for a second, too.

SPEAKER_04 34:42

But hey, either way it worked.

SPEAKER_00 34:44

Um I think positive attitude changed your whole outlook on things. Like I was struggling so bad on burpees, like I just hated it so much, and the distance felt so much longer than I expected. Yeah, and it was just taking forever. And I knew that was gonna be in my head and like this freaking sucks. Like, you do three jumps, and you're like, mmm, wow, I got like the whole thing still to go. And I think the only thing that really pulls me out of that is like, okay, try and have fun, try and enjoy it. It's just for like short term. So I think throwing in a little dance or chalking you guys a little bit or whatever is what's gonna kind of pull you out of that negative headspace of okay, I literally hate my life right now.

SPEAKER_04 35:21

Yeah, no, that makes sense. Like, that's something I'm still working through. Like, I struggle with that quite a bit.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

You lock in so hard.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

And I'm very much the opposite. I need to lock out. I need no thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

Step on the outside.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

Yeah, I I need no thoughts in order to accomplish hard things because if I get into my thoughts, then I'm thinking of every step, every breath, every heartbeat. I'm thinking I'm like overanalyzing everything. So it's better for me just to not know what's going on, my body just take over.

SPEAKER_04 35:47

That's smart. I need to be more like that.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

No, it works different for everybody.

SPEAKER_04 35:51

Yeah, that's true. But then if something goes wrong, it eats at me.

SPEAKER_00 35:55

Yeah, which is normal, I would say.

SPEAKER_04 35:58

I know I'm trying to work through it though. Um, so when you cross the finish line, how'd you feel?

SPEAKER_00 36:04

Great. I mean, this is why I think people think I'm like pretty nonchalant because I'm like, I was expecting to finish it, so like cool.

SPEAKER_04 36:12

Um I'm gonna put up a picture of you holding your little tag right here.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

I will say I am a little the thing I'm most disappointed in is I accidentally skipped a lap. And I will confess it here. I wasn't gonna confess it to anybody.

SPEAKER_04 36:28

Wow. But being open.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

I'm very vulnerable right now, I um it was hard because you you run, you pass the the insign to go into your workouts. You pass, you enter it on the third lap, and so I guess the third time you pass it. So it's like two laps, but you pass it three times. It's kind of like a weird thing. And I remember I was like coming up on it. I'm like, oh my gosh, did I do one or two laps? And I'm like trying to think it over. I was trying to remember the last time I saw you, yeah, and I just couldn't remember. And I was like, I'd rather take a penalty and do another lap than to do a third lap, like an additional lap, especially because running's the thing that hurts my body the most.

SPEAKER_02 37:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

So I was like, I don't know, I'll just go in and work out. And then I found out it was a freaking seven minute penalty. I thought it was gonna be two minutes or something. I was like, well, that's like pretty comparable. Seven minutes. I was like, oh my gosh, but so it's pretty discouraging because I know I could have like I had enough in me at the end of the race that I could have done multiple more laps, you know? So I it I it wasn't out of like I'm tired, I'm just gonna take the penalty.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

That's fair.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

I'm just bummed that I missed it because I I wanted to do the whole thing like thoroughly. I just got confused.

SPEAKER_04 37:41

Well, now next time you're gonna crush that time.

SPEAKER_00 37:43

And then my brother accidentally did an extra sled pull. It's like you gotta like pay attention to this stuff because like you zone out for a second and you're like, dang, was that five or six polls?

SPEAKER_04 37:52

And no one's telling you.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Yeah, the judges are just making sure you're not stepping out of the boxes that you're like doing the workout correct, but you're counting for yourself, and you don't even know that you did it wrong until at the end when you see that you have a penalty, and your little tracker is the thing that tattletales. So I like you have no idea until you run across the finish line. You're like, oh man, I didn't even know I missed that, or you know, so it's like kind of that's a bummer. Um, it only goes up from here. Yeah, I need to focus up a little bit more. The wall balls were the last workout, and wall balls are my worst. My hips are like the least flexible thing in the world, and I was like, I cannot get low. Like, I'm so sorry. I saw this girl before me, and she crushed it. She was like bouncing on that thing, like she butt to the floor, like she only needs 90 degrees, and she was crushing it. And that is a thing I want to work on before my next high rocks is mobility for sure. Because that was a belly, yeah. I won't have a belly. So the high rocks, yeah, the wall balls were like killer at the end, which made it that much better getting across the finish line.

SPEAKER_02 38:56

Oh, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 38:57

Being like, oh, thank heavens, I hate wall balls, and then I wasn't getting low enough, so then it'd be a no-rep. So I probably did like 115 wall balls because I kept getting no reps.

SPEAKER_04 39:06

You just get stronger, that's all it's doing for you.

SPEAKER_00 39:08

It was so frustrating, but it was definitely a good feeling crossing that line because I the goal was to finish it. And like secretly, you always have secret goals, you know. Yeah, I had no idea what to expect. Like, I had no idea like no time frame. I was like, I could be an hour and a half, I could be three hours. I have no idea like what to expect. So my goal was under two and a half, and then my secret second goal that I never tell anybody is under two hours if I was like feeling good. So I kind of was in the middle of those.

SPEAKER_04 39:44

I my I feel like you would have gotten under two hours even like if you had that extra lap.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

If I got the lap in. Because my official time was like 157, but or my time was 157, but then I got the seven minute penalty. So I feel like I could have ran that like one lap within three minutes, you know. For sure. So I feel like it could have been under two, but my official time was 204 because of the penalty, which is a bummer. But still impressive though. But I gotta remember, I wasn't going for time. And I was telling myself that every second because I I am such a person who looks at time all the time, hence why I didn't wear my watch.

SPEAKER_04 40:17

So I admire it. I would have for sure looked at my watch.

SPEAKER_00 40:21

You wear your watch every second of the day. The only time you don't wear your watch is like if it needs to charge for like 20 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 40:26

Yeah, that's true. So kind of a problem.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

You love data.

SPEAKER_04 40:30

I love data. What can I say? But honestly, like that was one of my favorite things to see. I I was talking to you about this, and it was fun being a spectator for one of the first times.

SPEAKER_00 40:40

Like IROX is cool that you can like watch the whole thing.

SPEAKER_04 40:44

That's what, yeah, you and I were talking about that too. It's like with running, you only see that person, your person that you're there for,

Pacing, Modifications, And Mental Game

SPEAKER_04 40:50

maybe once, and it's usually at the end.

SPEAKER_00 40:52

Yeah, and if it's twice, it's for like four seconds as they went by.

SPEAKER_04 40:55

It's like okay, hey, um keep going. Excuse me. But um, yeah, I mean, that was so fun just watching you through the whole thing, seeing your attitude, seeing how like you push yourself, even when it was hard, even when you're 26 weeks pregnant, and like I it's just I know this sounds cheesy, but like I honestly want to be like that. I want to be like you in that sense. Um, it was just fun to watch. Like, it also proved to me that even if things are hard, if your body's not where you want it to be, you can still go out and do hard things. Like you said, it might not be for time, it might not be for like a serious uh competition. But like you're out and proving to yourself that you're still in the game, and that's what's important. Like that is why we do hard things. It's to build confidence, it's to um show us that we're capable of more, so we have more potential than we thought.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

I agree. And I didn't think I was gonna like having you guys watch my every move. I was like, especially burpees. I'm like, go get go to the bathroom, go get some water when I'm doing burpees, and do that like five times because it's gonna take me forever. But uh it was funny because it was a lot more enjoyable than I thought being able to like see you guys along the way. And then my brother's high rocks was the next day, and he like kept thanking us over and over, like, thanks for cheering me on, like that was so fun you guys were there. Like, he loved that we could see every aspect, and I I never really thought about that. Like, that is like I'm like I get easily embarrassed if I feel like I'm not performing well. That's why I'm like, don't look at me. Yeah, but I think he was more spot on that like how cool is it that you have people that would chew you on? And so like that it's kind of funny because Hyrock's community is kind of similar, kind of different than the running community, where like when I was doing the laps, like people were passing me, they're like, Good job, like keep it up, or like you're like I was rowing, and rowing hurts my stomach the most, believe it or not. Like the running hurts my pelvic. Rowing, I think I'm just like squashing baby. And like I stand like I when I stand up straight after getting off rows, it literally feels like I don't even know how to describe what it feels like. It just like hurts, like cramps and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 43:04

Your stomach?

SPEAKER_00 43:05

Yeah, I don't know how to describe it. Like my my lower core feels really crappy, anyways. There's this person next to me, she's like, Um, keep your back straight and like give me tips as I'm like doing rows. I'm like, dude, this is not the time for tips, but thank you.

SPEAKER_04 43:19

I'll take them though.

SPEAKER_00 43:20

But I was like, I know it's like coming from a good place. Like she was like, Come on, ladies, you know, like all excited or whatever. And so I was like, cool that like it's there's still community, even though it's like kind of an individual race. Yeah. Um, but also like just the fact that we're able to, like I said, for spectators to be there for every aspect is is different, but it's I needed a better attitude about it because I didn't want you guys to watch. But coming out of that, I was like, you know what, that was really really neat, and like I think that's way more important to have people in your corner than I give it credit. So so thank you for joining.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Of course. And I'll do it again as many times as I need to.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

Yeah, I want to do another one. I actually really liked it.

SPEAKER_04 44:01

I want to do another one.

SPEAKER_00 44:02

I want us to do a freaking relay. I think that'd be cool.

SPEAKER_04 44:04

That would be cool.

SPEAKER_00 44:05

I thought it would be fast.

SPEAKER_04 44:06

But um You should do doubles in your night again. Redeem ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Yeah, I think we should. I know I've been thinking about that too. Literally, like the day after, like that night, I was like going to bed and I was thinking about like my postpartum high rocks. I'm like, I was like, I want to like actually get in shape and actually be a runner going into this. Because running, the whole thing is running, like endurance. It's an endurance sport, even though it takes strength.

SPEAKER_04 44:31

Oh, for sure it is.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

But I was like, and my endurance has been my worst right now that has been in the last three years. So I want to like have a big comeback, and I was already thinking about it. It was like a really, a really fun environment, really neat. And I like lifting and stuff. I was like, it's a nice combination.

SPEAKER_04 44:47

Yeah. And you crush it. That's your environment.

SPEAKER_00 44:50

I think so. I'll still run. I'll still try to do that stuff, but I think I you like mixing it up.

SPEAKER_04 44:57

You like variety.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

I do like variety. That's why I don't know how like I don't know if ultras are really my future. I did 50k, which is great. I could see me doing a 50 miler one day.

SPEAKER_04 45:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:09

But I mean, that's the training is just so long. It's like, okay, I gotta go run four hours as a practice.

SPEAKER_04 45:14

Yeah, it's a long time. But like I think the important thing is is like I talk a lot about running. And I talk about how it waits.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

It's a perfect metaphor for life.

SPEAKER_04 45:22

It's a perfect metaphor for life. But I always talk about like how it's changed me. And the key point there is it's changed me. Like your way of you changing could be you doing high rocks, it could be you getting into powerlifting or biking or triathlons. Like it doesn't matter what it is, as long as you're finding something that you enjoy, right? You can do for a long time. Because that's the that's the purpose. Like I think a lot of people who try running and they ha they set the goal to hey, I'm gonna run a marathon, and then they're they it's like one and done.

Finish Line Lessons And The Penalty

SPEAKER_04 45:55

I think it's because they didn't enjoy it. Yeah. And it hurts, and it's a lot of times difficult to push through. And that is important, but also you should enjoy it. So if running isn't your thing, like that's completely fine. Find whatever your thing is and go all in on that.

SPEAKER_00 46:11

Yeah, I always want to keep running, I think it's so important. And my brother and I were talking about this. We're on the the bus going from our place to New York, and we're like under the tunnel or whatever. And I was thinking about that. I'm like, running, say we got like traffic jam, we're stuck under there, and the tunnels collapsing, we got water coming in. Yeah, I was like, I'd be dipping out of here so fast and sprinting out of this tunnel. Yeah, and I was like, the first people are gonna die are the people who never run. Like in any not that you're ever really in a situation where you think that you're gonna just need to like run.

SPEAKER_04 46:48

Or a Lincoln tunnel's gonna collapse.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Right. But but I have some my brother and I were talking about that. We're like, I feel bad because all the people who don't make time for exercise, like who are overweight, not caring about running or lifting or anything, like they would have no chance in an emergency situation. And I always want to be in shape enough that I can handle emergencies, uh, whether that be lifting or running.

SPEAKER_01 47:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:14

And I think that's the same thing with like um like finances. I always want just to be able to have a skill to make enough if something ever happened to you.

SPEAKER_02 47:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:23

But I think it's just good to always, and that sounds dumb to like exercise to be prepared. Like you shouldn't be like anxious that you're gonna get stuck in a tunnel and like it's flooding with water.

SPEAKER_04 47:32

It brings up a good point though.

SPEAKER_00 47:33

But but you never know what situation you're in that you wanna be capable of like keeping care of yourself and your family.

SPEAKER_04 47:41

Or it's like, hey, listen, we have Winston on the way, he's already an active baby. When he's three years old running around, I want to be able to keep up with that kid.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:49

Endure.

SPEAKER_00 47:50

True, true. Yeah, just like all the longevity things. That's why you always say pharmacaries are like the things for longevity. Yeah. And it's cool that Hyrox has pharma carries. Farmer carries felt the best for me. I'm like, I can do this all day long.

SPEAKER_02 48:02

I love pharma carries.

SPEAKER_00 48:04

I know, so great. But um, so things like like that's why I like Hyrox and it's a mix, is because I want to be able to run and enough. And I would still do races, like I wouldn't be surprised if I do another Ultra, but but I like the strength aspect because I've always lifted to help with my running or just to be healthier, but having it as a competition finally, I I think I just need something on the docket. So that I think that's why I enjoyed it a lot too.

SPEAKER_04 48:32

That's good.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

Where I'm like, okay, now I actually am motivated because I have to be able to push this weight. It's not like I want to, but like I have to be able to move this thing in order to in order to finish. So that would be so fun to watch.

SPEAKER_04 48:43

And I just I don't know, like that whole time. You prove so many people wrong, just like that. You can't do hard things in hard seasons.

SPEAKER_00 48:51

Your dad yesterday. I didn't think you were gonna do it. I'm like, Todd.

SPEAKER_04 48:54

Todd, that's the meanest thing you can say to anyone. You hate me, huh?

SPEAKER_00 48:59

Just kidding. No, but no, but he he talked about the same thing, how it's like it's very normal to not like quit necessarily, but like if some things are just not the time. And I think I think that is important to differentiate the difference of if someone's pregnancy is high risk or if they get sick easily, then it's not the time. And if you were signed up for a high rox, there's no problem in quitting, there's no problem saying, like, I'm gonna get back to the six months postpartum, or whatever your situation is. I I don't want to make there any shame around choosing something that I didn't choose because everybody's body responds differently.

SPEAKER_04 49:38

So I've done that with ultras before.

SPEAKER_00 49:40

Yeah, and so it's like sometimes you need to adapt. Like you were super sick before your first one, yeah, and then we ended up just doing a different one instead.

SPEAKER_02 49:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

Um, so being able to recognize, like, okay, can I push through it? Is this something that, like in my situation, I was uncomfortable, but baby was safe, I was fine, doctor approved, life's fine.

SPEAKER_04 49:59

You were good to go.

SPEAKER_00 50:00

I'm gonna go. But that's not gonna be the same from baby to baby, from person to person. And so I don't want it to be like, okay, I can do it. Come on, you guys can push through through a hard season.

SPEAKER_04 50:10

No, and everyone's heart is gonna be different.

SPEAKER_00 50:12

Right.

SPEAKER_04 50:12

Like you were talking about how there's pregnant women who run marathons 36 weeks pregnant. And like, you know, everyone has a different heart, right? You know, and that's the thing is you shouldn't compare yourself to those other people. But I think the point of your story for me, at least today, is like it's just so inspiring to know that there's people out there who are uncomfortable in day-to-day and who aren't where they used to be fitness-wise, but are still finding ways to push and challenge themselves. That is what is important about your story.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Yeah, that's what you were just saying. I mean, everyone's hearts different between person to person, but also like you're saying, like just day to day.

SPEAKER_02 50:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:49

Like some days I'm like, oh, I feel great, I can run eight miles, and the next day I'm like, I can hardly walk. Like, I don't even want to go on a walk outside.

Community Support And What’s Next

SPEAKER_00 50:55

I can't even wake up. I'm staying in bed all day. And so, and so, yeah, it's definitely a different day-to-day. And I know Todd, like that's what Todd was getting at is like this is like a difficult time. Like, no one is ever gonna put shame on someone to push off goals.

SPEAKER_02 51:09

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 51:10

Especially during a difficult season. And I agree with him. I'm just glad that my body held up. Winston loved it. Obviously, that's what we're naming our child.

SPEAKER_04 51:19

Yeah, he had a great time. Yeah, he had a great time.

SPEAKER_00 51:21

He's been jumping around since then, so I think uh he liked it. He wants to keep going.

SPEAKER_04 51:25

He's amped up.

SPEAKER_00 51:26

So, but yeah, I uh I'm thinking the only other thing we have on the docket before pregnancy is a 5K.

SPEAKER_04 51:32

That's right. Well, I do a half marathon, you're doing a 5k. Why are you doing a 5k?

SPEAKER_00 51:37

Well, it's three miles, and that's three weeks before I give birth.

SPEAKER_04 51:41

Yeah, baby. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

I was actually thinking about doing a 10K too, six weeks out, but we'll see.

SPEAKER_04 51:47

Cause I know that my You and I can just do that one.

SPEAKER_00 51:50

Just like outside?

SPEAKER_04 51:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Well, that's near the 4th of July, and there's 4th of July runs. I was looking at them. We'll see. It's just running's been like the thing that hurts the most. And I was talking to my doctor, I was like, Can I tear ligaments up in there? Because like it feels like it.

SPEAKER_02 52:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:07

She was like, Yeah. I was like, I didn't know you could actually. I was like, I wasn't worried about it. As long as I'm in if I'm in pain, I don't really care. Yeah. If I'm injured, I care. Because I'm supposed to be popping a baby out of there. Like, how am I supposed like if I tear things, that could be bad.

SPEAKER_04 52:21

Bad story coming.

SPEAKER_00 52:22

Oh, that would suck so bad. So I'm very grateful that I'm like, I'm more recovered than I was after a five month.

SPEAKER_04 52:28

No, you've been walking great. Yeah, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 52:30

So I'm very grateful for how it went. But yeah, so maybe a 10K, but yeah, my mom and I are doing a 5k and while Blake and Brett do a half marathon in Nebo in August. So that's really right before we go.

SPEAKER_04 52:43

Seriously, right before. We give births. August 29th.

SPEAKER_00 52:46

Yeah, 28th, something.

SPEAKER_04 52:48

28th. One of those days. But it's freaking awesome.

SPEAKER_00 52:52

I mean, I was like, if I need a walk, I need to walk. Goals change.

SPEAKER_04 52:55

Goals change, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

But we'll be back.

SPEAKER_04 52:57

You'll be back at it. Stronger than ever.

SPEAKER_00 52:59

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 52:59

Because you have done this.

SPEAKER_00 53:01

I hope. It's a weird feeling. And I know postpartum's different for everyone too. And I'm like thinking I'm gonna be back, like, oh, like nothing hurts anymore, and I can run a million years or whatever. But I'm I'm sure it's just as difficult, if not has its own difficulties, different from pregnancy. So it'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

SPEAKER_04 53:20

I'm interested. And it's a fun ride to go with on you. What did you say? I was trying to say it's like a fun ride to take with you.

SPEAKER_00 53:32

I was like, whoa.

SPEAKER_04 53:33

Yeah, uh I'm obviously losing it. So that's funny. Um we could wrap up. But I'm just I love you and I'm so grateful for you and so cool to see.

SPEAKER_00 53:43

Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 53:44

Anything else you want to tell the the listeners?

SPEAKER_00 53:47

I love you too. First of all.

SPEAKER_04 53:49

Thank you. Yeah, we want to make sure that they know that.

SPEAKER_00 53:52

Yeah, we like each other. Um no, I just it's fun to talk about just because it was a goal of mine that I even know I had, and yeah, and it's been I just feel very grateful that my body can keep up, and I know it's it's uh it's adapting. So I'm grateful. It's cool to see. But everyone can do hard and hard season, so I'm grateful that I was able to do a little something.

SPEAKER_02 54:16

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 54:17

A little something with baby, and it's just needed to be like, oh, we did it together. Yeah, and we just joke that like we did it. I was like a team doubles, you know. So it's doing doubles. It's fun uh to just kind of like pretend that he's conscious, yeah, aware of what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_04 54:32

Yeah, that's so funny. The other day, I think it was last night. We were talking about Winston, and like I was explaining things to him. I was talking to him. Yeah, I was like, Yeah, so it's so funny, you know. You're the size of like my foot, you're 13 inches. And I was like, you don't know what a foot or 13 inches is, or even what length is, like what measurement is. So um,

Upcoming Races And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_04 54:50

yeah, get the size of an eggplant.

SPEAKER_00 54:51

It's a purple fruit, or whatever. You're like, you don't know what purple is. I'm like, he doesn't know what an eggplant is. So dumb.

SPEAKER_04 54:58

Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 54:59

But yeah, it's just fun to to chat with him. But so, anyways, that's just kind of a neat little experience for me. So I don't know. I'm very I just feel very grateful and I'm just excited for baby to come right out onto the next hard season.

SPEAKER_04 55:10

That's right. Give me a good one though.

SPEAKER_00 55:12

Yeah, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_04 55:13

So well, thanks for coming on, sharing your story. I think it's pretty inspiring. I think a lot of people like to hear it. So um, until next episode, everybody. Keep getting after it, keep getting after it.