Ashley Paulson on Her Ultra Training, Recovery, and Mindset Protocol to Break World Records

0:00Welcome to the everyday ultra podcast, a show designed to help you level up your training, crush your races, and ultimately become a veteran endurance athlete every single day. Whether you're an endurance athlete as a hobby or someone who wants to be the best in the sport, this is the show for you. I'm your host Joe Corseon and thank you so much for listening. Now let's get into it. Hey everybody, I always get asked a question, what shoes should I wear for an ultra marathon? Well, I always suggest looking at products that are specifically designed for ultra marathoning because it helps to support all the areas that we need the most help in. And so the only brand out there that does specifically make shoes for ultra runners is Mount to Coast. Their shoes are specifically designed to last a very long time, be durable and ultimately keep your feet comfortable, sturdy and moving for whether you're running anywhere between

1:0350K to 200 miles. It was one of the top shoes used by the top 10 of Cocodona this year and it's won several awards for product of the year, namely their H1, which is their hybrid road to trail shoe, which is great on the trails, but also comfy on the road and also their new C1, which is great for those long road runs or daily road runs with an extra great cushion as well too. So they have tons of other models that can support on the trail and the road, but they're the best shoes that I've worn. I wore them M ones, which are coming out real soon at Western States 100. I'll be wearing the C ones at Babwater and I wear the H ones and the T ones in my training all the time. And let me tell you, these pairs last a long time. Kevin Goldberg even ran Mammoth 200 in just one pair and it lasted in the whole time feeling super comfortable all along the way. So this stuff works. So if you want to give Mount to Coast a try, you can get 15% off your order by going to MounttoCoast.com and using code Everyday Ultra at check out for 15% off your order. Give it a try and I promise you will love these shoes. Ashley, we, her and I met a couple years ago after Coca-Dona and of course like I knew

2:09her and her amazing accomplishments and immediately right off the bat, the thing that just really stood out to me about Ashley is her kindness, her enthusiasm, her energy, her personality, her love for the sport. But most importantly, her desire to help to inspire so many people as an athlete, as a mother, as a wife, as an eye fit trainer is just an absolute, just amazing thing for the future running community. And that's something like where we became friends and I've gotten to know her well over the past couple of years. And of course I'm going to list off all the amazing athletic accomplishments but more importantly than the athletic accomplishments is the person that she is and she is just a joy of light. And of course to talk about some of her amazing accomplishments and this is just a small sliver list of the long of them. She is the fastest woman to ever run 100 miles breaking the world record for the female time earlier this year in February at Jackpot. Less than a couple months later, she broke the 100 mile treadmill record to be the fastest

3:10woman to ever run 100 miles on a treadmill. But it didn't stop their folks because then right after that in a matter of several weeks, she went out and got a second place finish at tower 200. Then after that, she placed for the bad water. And after that, she finished big foot 200 and then she's coming up on Moab 240 coming on to. So when you talk about someone going for big goals, Ashley is the definition of that. And another me talking because I know you guys all want to hear from Ashley. So Ashley, thank you so much for being here. Everyone's so excited to have you on and we appreciate you taking the time here today. Oh my gosh, what a welcome. Wow. I have no words. Thank you. You guys, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for jumping in. And what a group, what an incredible tribe you've created. What a gift that you guys all have each other and Joe is your fearless leader. So thank you so much. This is like what a what an incredible gift to be a part of something and a great. Well, we are so honored to have you here.

4:11I remember we announced that you were coming in to speak. Like people were like texting me like, oh my god, I love Ashley. And I think that speaks so much to like the energy that you put out, you know, through seeing people on the course and just having just great energy towards them, like your social media content and things you do with I fit, like letting people into your journey and worlds and, you know, people all the time just love your enthusiasm for the sport, for helping other people get inspired to do their own goals. So it all goes the same to you and my friends. And everybody here listening, like we would love to hear your questions for Ashley. If you have a question for Ashley, please put your chat, love a chat, we'll go through it, but maybe to kick things off here and, and, you know, I remember you and I, we had the conversation about like your big year and one of the many things that I just so love and appreciate about you is your desire to go for big goals. And so you like talk to me about like if someone here is maybe on the fence of going for something big, maybe it's super scary. Maybe it's something that is like they've never done before.

5:12What was the thing in you that made you say like, you know what, like I'm going to do this no matter what other people say, like what was that mindset like for you? You know, and I was debating on going like K 200s this year or 100s, like what should might your be? And I remember asking some friends and chatting with Maddie like, okay, what should I focus on this year? Should it be 100s? Should it be 200s? And I honestly don't know how it came to be that we're like, let's do it all in one year. Like why not? And like as we go back and I like trapped with Maddie, I was like, where did this happen? And I really think it was him that planted the seed like, why not do it all in one year and see? And I think that's so something that I feel is such a gift in my life to have somebody that sees in me the potential that I could, the person I could be, the athlete I can be. And he's willing to like be there for me with through the good times, the bad times, and

6:15there's been some really bad times this year along with the good, like some really hard times I should say. And he just believed in me and kind of helped me see like, okay, if you're going to give this much energy like to the negative of like, what if you can't, what if you fail, what if you don't get this goal, what if you need to give that same amount of energy to like, what if you can, what if you like can get this done. And so bringing that the energy, because yes, you're going to go through all of these things of like the, even the logistics of it is insane, right? But then go through all of the positive stuff and give that the energy as well. And it's so easy to focus on like, I might not get this. I might not get this goal. I might not. And some of them I haven't like gotten the actual goal of these. And so just having that person, having that tribe and that's what you guys have, you guys have each other to like, if you don't have that person like, you know, I'm blessed to

7:17have a spouse sensitive by my side, not everyone has that, but they, there's always a way. Like you guys have each other to like build each other up and like help inspire each other. And we're able to see things and other people that we're not able to see in ourselves so often. And having other people tell you like, yeah, I believe in you too. It kind of gives you that just a little bit like, wait, if they think I can, maybe, maybe I can. And so yeah, don't let these big fears hold you back. Fear is part of the process. Fear is like, it's not like I'm not scared. I have been scared of this year for every single race, like even like weeks before. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is coming. And that's part of it. Like embrace that. Bring that in. That means it's like you're going for something different, something a little hard. Don't let this, the fear hold you back from not showing up and trying because I guarantee, like even if you don't get that goal, you're going to be a better person, better athlete,

8:17just for going and trying and pushing yourself to that next level. Is it going to happen every single time? As you guys, if you follow me, like you know, like I don't always get those. I know it's built me mentally, like as a person and even as a wife and a mom and a friend on different levels. So allow that fear to be a part of it and be like, no, this is, this is okay to feel that way and don't let it hold you back. Mm-hmm. So good. I love that you mentioned too that it's not necessarily not having the fear. It's continuing to move even when you do have the fear. And I think that's such a good distinction because you know, you have like such a good attitude and like you're always like so, so excited for things. But you know, everybody, every single person like we might feel that fear regardless and it's not a matter of like, do we feel it or not? It's do we like move forward with it, which is so, so awesome. So we got some questions in the chat versus from Jim. So he says, what is your recovery protocol? Sleep, food, sauna, massage. And then he's got a second question out there too, which is a really good question.

9:20But let's start like the recovery protocol. You put in tons of miles, like you're doing a lot of work. I mean, you're a professional athlete. Like this is like, you know, you are like, this is like a part of like what you do. And so what is your recovery protocol with with all the miles you're putting in? Right. And I think recovery of people are they do think of just like, okay, sauna, cold plunge, massage, all this stuff. But like I feel like our biggest superpower, every one of us is our sleep. Like if I am getting adequate sleep, I'm okay if I haven't gotten my massage or whatever. Like I will love that part of the recovery, but it doesn't always happen. Sleep, I think we don't look at that as much as we need to for our recovery. We're like, well, I've got to get my compression boost. I've got to get in this, you know, and that's all amazing and everything. But if we can get our sleep and I tell you what, you will feel so much better. So prioritizing sleep.

10:20And I get it. I'm a mom of four. I understand like sleep doesn't always like I'm going to season on my life that I am able to sleep a little bit more. So young parents, I feel you, I feel you, I've been there, but I was always fine to nap too when I didn't get the amount of sleep if my kids were up at night or, you know, early mornings that I needed to train. I had no problem being like, okay, I need a 20 minute nap. Prioritizing your sleep is your best friend when it comes to recovery. But yes, I am indeed getting on, I'm jumping in the hot and cold therapy. I go to get a massage like, well, I should do it more often, but at least once a month. Yeah, I should do more, but and I eat a lot. I'm not sure when it comes to food. I feel like food is so much of our recovery. Not just during like our, like after our workouts, like during our workouts, it's going to make you feel so much better for tomorrow's workout.

11:20I'm not sure, like if you, anybody saw my post on Friday, I ran out of fuel on Friday because I made a stupid little, I got excited to run and I just kept going and going and I knew it was going to affect my run for the next day. And so that's my biggest thing with fuel. It's not just going to affect you for that day. It's going to affect you your recovery and how you train the next day. So sleep and fuel number one thing for recovery. So awesome. So that answers to, and I hope everyone takes away from this. Like, you know, Ashley is someone who competes at the very highest level and the two biggest things that she mentioned are like, like the, the things that are the basics, right? The food and the sleep, because I love that you mention that, which is so, so powerful. Yeah, so, so good. I'm one of my favorite clips. It was one recently. I think it was you're on a podcast or something. You were like, yeah, people talk about all the time about how you got to wake up and like five a.m. You're like, I'm waking up at like, you know, 738. Nine, I'm like, yes, like I love that. Like that is we need to promote that a lot more as opposed to like arbitrary wakeups at 5 a.m. That's so good. Another question is, is there a story behind your amazing hair color and when did you

12:23start with the with the pink hair? I was born this way. It's all natural. Yeah. Being okay. Okay. Okay. Fine. I restarted. Give away. I wish. I wish I was sure make my life easier. I always have like some type of pink in my hair for like at least, you know, the last 15 years or so. I called my little peekaboo, pinkaboo, you know, I was just like, oh, a little pop of pink. And then I kind of felt like it was, I was too old to go all pink, you know, to old, you know, that whole thing. And my kids were like, mom, you should just do it. You should just do it. Like, what is it matter? And I'm like, you're right. I want to. What does it matter? Like, who cares? And so I went full on thinking it was just going to be like a month type thing. And I'm like, this was back in 2017. So almost a decade now. And I remember racing.

13:24I was racing professionally as an Iron Man athlete at that time or triathlete. And my husband was like, I love that I could tell it was you coming towards us. Can we all look the same? We're all on like these like little sling like anybody clothes on bike helmet. And he's like, I knew it was you. And he's like, that was fantastic. And all of the cheers that I got out there, it was ridiculous. Like I was like, that was fun. Maybe I'll keep for a little bit longer. And here we are. 10 years later. And I legit feel like when people like, I love your hair. I'm like, what are they talking about? But then I'm like, oh, yeah, my hair's pink. And I feel like it's just part of me. And it's just who I am now. So I can't imagine being any other way. My son, he's never even seen me blonde. So yeah, we're, I think I'm going to go to a grave like this. So. I hope you do because I feel like if you and I hopped on a call, or if I saw you in person, you had a different club. Who is this? I'm sorry. Have we met before? Yeah. At this point, it is you. It is a part of you. Yeah. I joke about it. Like to my husband, like our pictures before we've been married for almost 26 years.

14:26And I was like, your first wife, that blonde, like she was so boring. She was like, you know, like, you know, this is why there's another personality's come out. You know, that is awesome. That is so, so good. That's awesome. And so that's the story behind us. That's amazing. A little bit more of like a broader background question. This is from Hannah. Hannah says, what started your passion for ultra running and what fuels you to keep showing up each day? Yeah, for those that didn't know, actually mentioned it too. She was a professional triathlete before really diving into ultras too. And so yeah, like, so to revert at the question, what started you to passionate for ultras and what fuels you to keep showing up every single day? Yeah. Like the ultras, I was, I was sure myself that I was going to continue to be a professional triathlete as long as I could. I thought maybe well into like my, like, 50s. You know, some triathletes were going into the 50s. But actually, I had done a few, like, I had done like a 50 mile or I'd always be on the trails. Trails were not anything new to me. I would train a lot on the trails. But I COVID hit. Um.

15:27COVID hits. And in 2020, and I was in like probably the best shape of my life for Iron Man. I was going to, I wanted to go with that one. And I felt really good about it. And they canceled it. They canceled my race 10 days before, you know, because there's about another athlete set shop with us in COVID. You can't have that much. What did they not cancel during COVID? The ultra running. Like the ultra stuff. And I hadn't been on a trail probably for six months. My last time when I was on a trail, I did it 150 mile race and, uh, and then I had been on since because I was just filming every single day with my job. And I was like, but I'm in such great shape right now. What can I do with this fitness? And I looked and there was a 100 mile race 10 days out. And I'm like, gosh, I'm in Logan. I wonder how I would do one 100 miles, you know, the bare 100. It's not an easy core. I didn't know what's easy ignorance is bliss sometimes, right? 24,000 feet of climbing.

16:28Sure. Beats me what that means. You know? And like I said, I wasn't not familiar with trails. I've done plenty of trails in the last decade of training just for fun, but never really raced except for 150 mile or at a marathon, I think on a trail. And I went out there and, um, I loved it. It was so much fun. Like the aid stations, the energy, the people. And I didn't have the fitness for trail running, but I had fitness and fitness is fitness and it's going to translate over. Are you going to feel a little different tweaks because you're not out running? It's absolutely. But I ended up doing pretty well. I like, I think I did, it was like 22 hours and not that this had anything to do with my passion, but I ended up like winning that race. And I was like, oh, wow, that was fun. And kind of like plan of that seat a little bit like, oh, maybe this is going to be happening earlier on in your future than you thought. Cause I first thought for sure, like I wouldn't do that until I was like in my 50s. My sister, like, isn't that world quite a bit?

17:30And I'm like, yeah, when I'm 50, I'll join you, you know, and retire from triathlon. And COVID, give me that little lunch. And I just love the variety. I'm such a variety junkie. That's one of the reasons I love triathlon because it gives me that variety. So I was like, ooh, this might be one more thing to add. And so to continue to show up, it's not just about like the running, the trails, it's like that variety. I love the road. I love the dirt. I love the dirt. I love to climb. And so that gives me excited. So as long as I'm staying excited, I think I'm going to keep progressing. If I just focused on all surrounding, I think I would get bored. Does that sound bad? Does that sound bad? But I love variety. So I'm like, I'm still riding my bike all the time. I'm still out like doing all this stuff. I haven't raised as like a triathlon in years, but I'm sure I'll do it again. And I love marathons. I just, so it's not just alchemying. I love to move my body and see what I can do on all levels.

18:33Yeah. And it's, that's like one of the cool things that seeing your career, right? Because I know you and I have talked about this before, but some people, they like to lock in on a specific type or distance. And like through your career, I mean, you, you've won bad water outright. You've gotten the course record at Bigfoot 200, which are like two incredibly different races, right? You've done mountainous 100 miles, you know, flat 100 miles. You've done like a lot of the stuff in the variety. And I just love even like when you look at the races you're doing this year, like there's a lot of like very different stuff, but you love that ability to stay diverse in your approach, which I think is so cool. And it's such a good message for people because I think sometimes people think like, you know, this is a lane I'm going to stick in, but you've been the proof that you can not only do all this other stuff, but you can do it well. So it's been super, super cool to see that. And I guess it's still our vein to the next question. So what is the next big goal on the radar? So obviously like, you know, we know like the next goal on the radar. And I guess maybe to add a little bit of that question, like how are you approaching? I mean, you've already had like such a big season, lots of efforts. And you know, there's still a few goals on the horizon.

19:35So what's your next big goal and how are you approaching those goals? The next step is the third and final of the Triple Crown. We've got Moab 240 in the house. And my wise coach says, this is my, my cool, the course that I'm going to do best at because it's so runnable. So hopefully my coach, my coach's never wrong. So Joe's my coach if you guys don't know. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. It's my backyard almost, I mean, three hours away, four hours away. And it's what I'm really used to. And I would really still love to, I've got my last two, two hundreds have been a while like finished like really ugly finishes. And it's all part of the sport is all like what we do. And so hopefully this will tie it all in and we'll be able to get a solid time at Moab and push my limits a little bit and you know, not fall and not get sick. Because I mean, and that's all part of racing.

20:36So keep a good attitude as all I can control. Like I'm going to keep and keep that food coming in. And whatever, however that placement falls, that time falls, I'm grateful that my body's been able to carry me through this many races in this short amount of time. And I still, I like, I don't have any, like, I'm injury free right now. I feel really good. I've had some solid training the last week coming back of Bigfoot. I had to think of what race I did. So we're going from that like solid long 240 five weeks later, we're going right out to Tunnel Hill for another fast flat 100 mileer. So very different, but that keeps me so excited and I feel like I can't stress this enough to people like if you're not excited about it, if it does not like freaking like fill your soul with sunshine and rainbows and lollipops, like, like, why are we, why are we doing this? Like, find that like whatever it is.

21:37You know, if it's a mountain race, a flat or triathlon, whatever that is, because that's what's going to make and bring out the best version of yourself if you're excited. I would have been out of this sport or even racing a long, long time ago that I just listened to other people and stayed in that one thing for some people that works. But for me, I'm the best version of myself by doing this variety and be like, this is so scary 240 miles. And then like slow, I mean slow, you know, and then going into a fast like 100 mileer, what is that going to do to my body? What is that going to do to my mind? How am I going to react? And I love those questions that I get myself. So that's how we're finishing out the year. It's going to be, I'm really excited. It's going to be great. Before we get back in the episode, I need to ask you an important question. Are you training for an ultra marathon, but deep down, you're not fully sure if you're training the right way. Maybe you've tried figuring out yourself. Maybe you've even tried using AI. And yeah, AI can give you the workouts, but here's the thing. It can coach the whole human. It can see when life stress is crushing you, when you need to back off, when you need

22:40to push, or when you need a real person in your corner. And also it can give you a community of other ultra runners who are supporting you along the way. And that's why we built the everyday ultra racing team with our coaching and community platform built in there. So you don't just get a training plan with every ultra coaching. You get personalized coaching, race strategy, accountability and access to a private community of over 400 ultra runners inside discord who are chasing big goals right alongside you. So you get paired with a one-on-one expert coach who is going to be there with you every step of the way, giving you personalized insights, being there on text whenever you need questions and meeting on you with calls every single month to make sure that you're on track. And you also get connected with other ultra runners to share the experience and be supportive with the community who's cheering alongside you every step of the way. We have athletes from going to think it in 100K was possible to completing 200Ks in one year. And many athletes with no prior running experience finished their first 100Milor strong injury free and fulfilled in the process. And that's what happens when you stop guessing and start being supported. So if you're tired of doing this alone, tired of wondering if you're doing training the

23:40right way and you want to become the strongest, most confident ultra runner you can be, you can apply for everyday ultra coaching today by going to the everyday ultra.com and looking at our one-on-one coaching options. And guess what? You can hop on a free console call with one of our coaches. No pressure. We won't hard sell you. You can see if it's a good fit for you. And if it is, we'd love to have you on the team to work with myself and our everyday ultra coaches. So go to the everyday ultra.com, click that one-on-one coaching button and we would love to help you run your best ultra marathon yet. Hey everybody, real quick, if you're serious about running ultra as well, your routes should match your training and making routes should be easy. So you can create great routes quickly so you can spend more time running. That's why I love using the app called footpath where you can draw your route with your finger on your phone, instantly see the distance in elevation and get turned by turn voice navigation while you're out there. Plus, if you're looking for bike paths for those speed workouts or easy road days, you can find them instantly with their bike path overlay. And the best part, you can export your routes to put on your watch so that you have navigation on both your phone and your watch. So if you want to give it a try, head to footpathapp.com such everyday ultra to download the app

24:42and unlock Unlead features free for 30 days. And guess what? If you want to move on to the paid program, a lead is only $24 a year and gives you everything of their best mapping features. When it comes to being prepared, safe and intentional on the trails, it's honestly a no-brainer. So that's footpathapp.com such everyday ultra download the app unlock a lead features free for 30 days. And if you want to continue on, it's only $24 a year. All right, everyone, let's get in the episode. Heck yeah. And we're also stoked. I mean, like even like Moabit, like I said, is a course bread. Like that is designed for you. Like that is like the run-able hot stuff. So like we're all super excited to see it. And by the way, I mean, I know you talked about, you know, the tile finishes and the big foot finishes, like being a little bit rough. But I think still so inspiring because, you know, those I don't know, actually got sick like right before Tahoe and still ended up finishing getting a second place finish and then took a bad fall at Bigfoot, but still got it done. And I think, you know, you have shown that like you said, you said it best is you can always control your attitude. And even when these things, crazy things happen in races, like you still always had such

25:43a great attitude. Every video I saw, you always had a smile on your face. And every time we would talk after this, you always be like, all right, like we're excited for the next thing. Let's go like it never gets you down. And I think that is such an important lesson for everybody and not just all-turning but life. And you do it so so well. And it's awesome to see this happen. Thank you. Thank you. It was an interesting one at Bigfoot when I, I legit was, I was ready to tap you guys. I told my husband I was like, I can't, I can't. And the biggest lesson I learned there, like obviously there was no way to get me out of there. I just had to get off the mountain. But my biggest takeaway there was like, I was in a lot of pain. I took it and I took a good nap, 11 miles to the finish. I was like, who takes a nap, 11 miles to the finish when it all rode. But I came back actually running those 11 miles rather than walking at a 1.5 miles an hour. I was able to actually run like an 11 minute pace or something like that last little

26:45bit. Across that finish line, cricket, my like running side-trace, I said to my husband, I was just like, wow, like I, I said I was done. And I was like, you can't, don't like say something so permanent and do something permanent off of some temporary pain. That was temporary pain. And there was a solution to it. Sleep. It's okay. And I felt so much better. I mean, it was still there. My back was still jacked. But that would have been permanent. Had I let him take my backpack, had I let myself put my arm around him, that would have been a permanent disqualification. And so when you're out there pushing through, don't make a permanent decision off of temporary pain. And I was like, that was my biggest takeaway, that race. So that's one thing. If you next race you're tapping into that hard, it's meant to be hard. I've never set that in my life. I've never set that in my life that I'm done.

27:47And yeah, my husband was like, you know, give me that side. I like, hmm, are you though? Let me take you back, pal. And I'm like, no, no, let me then disqual side. Don't you dare touch me. Yeah. So that was my big takeaway of that race. So always lessons, always lessons to be taken at a win, a lose, not that I lost, but like, like I didn't get my goal, right? You know, so take that with you in your next hard effort. And that's such a good quote to have on there, right? Because so many times in Ultramarathon, we can think the pain is like, I mean, it's so intense. We're in there, but you just said it best. It's temporary. It's a temporary thing. And don't make permanent decisions based on the temporary pain. I love that. That's amazing. Dominic, with a little bit of a switch of question on here, is what did an average week of training slash week in the life look like while training for the record at Jackpot? Ah, okay. This was a really fun training cycle. I had just taken Joe on as my coach, been like, hey, we're going to attack this year.

28:48Like, this is what we're going to do. And I didn't know he didn't know how I was as an athlete. I didn't know how he was as a coach. And some of the training that he dialed in was just so much fun because, you know, I hadn't had a coach for a long time. So that was like just something new and exciting too. But one thing that he gave me every week was it was like a five hour run. I believe it was four or five hours. And I did this five mile loop. And pretty flat. And I would just keep it right at that world record pace that I was going for. And then we'd still be out on the trails. We'd still be cutting vert. But I like that he doesn't do anything based on our just time. I'm sorry, speed. Exactly. It's more time based and effort based. But of course, in my head, I'm kind of marrying the two the way he does it the way I want to do it for different things. So I'm like, hey, let's just tip around. That's 715 feel good pace. And so that one was one that built my confidence. I think we did that four or five weeks in a row. And that built my confidence like, okay, we've got this because I felt so good after doing

29:52those. And then, you know, hours on the trails as well, but it wasn't just all pavement. We were still getting out on the trails because we knew that there was some show races coming this year. So as for miles, how many miles around I have no idea. I really hardly ever look at that. I'm usually just like, okay, I got my training and check, check, or got the time and great check. So I don't know how many miles I really didn't each of the weeks I can go back and look. But that's something I don't really pay attention to. I'm really weird that way. Every once in a while, I'm like, hey, today I want to hit 26.2 miles. But that's very rare. Like 95% of the time is all about time. Yeah. So good. And I will never forget, like, because this is like the first time we were working together. And logging into training peaks and seeing the data on those like five hour runs. And I remember like texting you and I, you know, mutual friend and killing. I texted killing. I was like, dude, she's, she's going to smash this record. Like because like, I mean, those runs were some of the most like insanely just like perfectly executed runs that I've seen.

30:52And it's so cool because like through that, like that was the big confidence builder. That was the thing that you just. The race. And so it was a fun training block to fall along on. And then of course, we all know the end of the story. And you went to jackpot. You you smashed the record, which was so freaking awesome. Kind of in a similar vein, which is an interesting question because Matthew, him and ask, I want to know was on your playlist for the world records. But technically a jackpot, right? You were you weren't allowed to listen to music, right? And was it similar? Same with the treadmill was also unique format too. So I guess there is no music in there. So maybe you like because there is no playlist, how did you handle no music for, you know, 12 plus hours? Oh, man. I am a music junkie. I am probably the reason they don't allow music because it feels my soul like I'll turn on a song and I'm like, people like, well, it was not on. But yeah, it's actually not allowed. We're not allowed to have music. You're not allowed to have Pacers. And in fact, like Matt couldn't even take like a seat. He didn't even dare take a step with me.

31:53Like you know, at least handing me all things, you know, people are watching like Hawks as they should not like word, but sometimes like, oh, was there a step there? Like we were so nervous that there was one little thing that would be off. So he's like, glue a speed. Got me like, are you better? You better be good at catching it. But yeah, so no music, but the beautiful thing about Jackpot, it's a 1.2 mile loop. And so there's people everywhere that are, you know, obviously I'm going for the record. So I'm passing people quite a bit. So the entire time you can know I'm not allowed to have a piece or I'm still able to cheer other people on or they're doing that for me. Like it was amazing. The energy there was like so insane. So many people cheering for me. So much love. And then I got to see Matt every eight minutes and like 10 seconds. Yes, because I was trying to chip away like clockwork, right? It was 1.2 miles. So we were doing about 7, 10s in the beginning. Kind of pulled it back to 720s and even 730s near the end. But so I was able to see my people the entire time. And not right there was huge.

32:56It just because I like music and I can't have that. So I got to just like get out of my head and they were there. You know, just in the time that I'm like, can you that little jump of energy and bam, there's Mattie with like he can have music at the booth. He can have, I never heard the music because they were screaming so loud. The 86 times I passed him that booth was not ever quiet. Like it was amazing. It was so amazing. And so that's one of the things that I'm actually like as I'm going into the tunnel hill. It's going to be different because I want to, did I mention this? I didn't. How did you like you mentioned that? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Wait a minute. No. Well, the goal for tunnel hill is to actually break my own record for the 100. I know. So we're, but this is a different format completely different. They say it's an easier race. But I won't see Mattie every eight minutes intense. So, and that's how I tick really well is by energy.

34:00That like people's energy gives me energy. So, you know, talking with Joe about he's like, you're going to have to dive into like, why you wanted this and this? You know, it's like, you're right. Okay. And that excites me because it's something different, you know? So yeah, no music has allowed there, but music was allowed at the treadmill one if I wanted them. Yeah. So, I think it was a lot of years they've just had it going on. Matt would have it up at like a speaker going so that I would kind of do. I felt like I was like a rock star like singing because I would just be singing and I wouldn't dance because I can't dance anyway, but I would fall for the treadmill. But there was plenty of singing at the treadmill world record in the Boston one. So it was just different completely different vibes because you're in one spot. Yeah. And the finish wasn't saying there was so many. I mean, it was like, it was insane. Like you had the whole convention center packed and shearing. I've never seen a sign like that in ultra running. It was insane. It was really cool.

35:00I mean, it was really emotional and that was one of the weirdest parts, I think, about the treadmill. One is even during jackpot, even though that's a tight loop, I could still like turn a corner and because I get emotional who doesn't. I hope you guys get emotional. I'm like a silly girl and all crumb like, I'm so grateful. You came out, you know, and you have to hold that in. But sometimes like, okay, you run past it. You're like, okay, keep it together, keep it together, shake it up. But like they're right there the whole time. And I see my last, the last hour of the race. I see my little 11 year old boy holding the screen with my three daughters on there just, you know, for an hour screaming, I'm like, I can't escape this. Like I and I broke down crying and I'm like, I can't crack because I can't breathe. So I was a different experience, like a different feeling of like, like, hey, where do I go? Where do I hide? And I couldn't. I just needed to take it. Not that I'm afraid to cry in front of people, but have you ever tried running and crying

36:01at the same time? It's not. I can't breathe. So it was super emotional in that way. And then I'm like, okay, keep it together, keep it together. But it's like, just let it out. Like it's not bad. I can't breathe if I do. So yeah, they were both very, very amazing finishes and a different ways. And so and that's exactly what I wanted this year to feel different feels. So good. And it's awesome that you got it was like a much different feeling experience to then, then the standard world record that you did several weeks before that. And it's so cool how even they're both a hundred mile records, still those both vastly different and hit that variety. It's that, you know, you mentioned earlier in our chat today, which is so, so good. This is a great question from Liza. She says, I love cooking for my family, but between work, life and my training, keeping up with meals has been a struggle lately. How does your family manage meal planning? And this is also, I will say really important, as you mentioned, how eating is a very important part of the recovery. And so how do you, so I guess the question is, how do you and your family manage meal

37:03planning? Like, and by the way, like, you know, I coach Ashley, I see your schedule. She's, you know, shooting with I fit a lot like, like, like, very, very busy schedule. So I'm even very, like, curious to hear about this myself too. Oh, man, can I just wish everyone had a Maddie in their life? He says, that man, he takes care of me. He does, he does. We do like, I mean, we could just kind of switch roles a few years back, like, okay, like he's now, he quit his job because of like, with I fit and stuff, he, we're like, he's just home. And he can do that. What a gift that he is now able to be at home. And I am able to do what I love and I don't look at as a job, but it is. And so he actually does our meals. I wish I could be like, oh, yes, I still get, you know, I get my crop pot or whatever people do in the mornings and let it simmer all day. I don't do any of that. But we do still keep things very simple.

38:03I'm a very simple eater. I actually get my meats sent to me. They're pre cooked and pre seasoned. And so even for Matt, they're super easy to make. And it's really good stuff. Like we are picky when it comes to food, but simple. And so that is probably been our biggest, like, saving grace for food. Cause it's not like he likes to cook. He likes it more than I do. But I'm like, we just get our side dishes out or salads or fruits and whatever we want as a side. And then our meat is done within a few minutes. So that main portion that usually takes people hours of prep time. I can have my fresh, fresh steak like that tastes so good in like, you know, a matter of five minutes as long as he pulls it out of there. But he's, he's legit out there right now making like getting some sides ready for dinner. So yeah, he takes care of me in that way. I used to do that for him. I used to. But now I was like, we got to switch roles here on ways. He's like, you go train. I've been on the treadmill for the last few hours. And he's been out getting stuff for dinner and stuff for tonight.

39:05So yeah, get yourself a matty. If everybody can just, we can just like duplicate matty for everybody. We need to get on a clone matty for everybody. Yeah, that's, we got to figure that out. Yeah, it's not the word. It's cloned. Yeah. I'm not, I'm caught up on my carves from my run yet. So yeah, he definitely saves me on so many levels. He is such a good dude too. I mean, just getting to know him too and, you know, seeing how he supports you and shows up for you is just truly, truly awesome. And, you know, it is, it is so cool to see you guys working together as a team and just the amazing, you know, connection that you guys have. It's truly special. It's one of the coolest, you know, a couple team that I've seen an ultra on him, which is absolutely amazing. Oh, so next question, I guess we already answered this, but Julie said, do you schedule your own training? Do you have a one-on-one coach? I mean, I'll even just chime in this too, because Ashley is also a coach too. And what's super cool is like she has a lot of years of experience and I do. And we like, what's really awesome about our coaching relationship. It's like super collaborative. So it's very much from a standpoint of like, here's like the training, but, you know,

40:09Ashley, you know, she also has like a lot of experience and things that helps too. So it is a very like back and forth kind of process. It is a very like flexible kind of thing. And so that's what I've found very unique for my end of like being your coach is like, this is more of like when people say, oh, you coach Ashley is like, yes, and no, like, yes, and like, knowing the sense of like, you know, it's almost like we're working together. Like we're we're working together for your project. And I think that's the coolest experience I've had on there. And yeah, I don't know if you wanted to add anything, but I felt like that was like important. Yeah. No, I think that is really important because I, um, I love to do like I've set a million different things. And if somebody's like, Hey, we're doing this this weekend. I am not going to say no. And now I just want other eyes on it be like, so how should, how would you adjust this? How is this? What would you think this would be best for my body? And I love hours and hours of biking. And Joe's not like maybe maybe you do coast cycling, but I'm like, I'm just going to go out. I want to go ride a hundred miles on my bike.

41:11And he's like, K as long as it doesn't affect your main run that week, do we need to adjust your main run? Where we put that we can work on that. How was your fatigue? How was this? So having just another voice in my head, I've been doing this a long, long time, but it's so nice and refreshing to be like, okay. Yes, that does make sense to adjust it in that way. Or like, you know, like today, I added a little bit more of a thing. He had programmed on there because I'm like, I'm feeling ridiculously good until I wasn't. We'll talk about that later, Joe. But or you'll see my, my Instagram and see like, Oh, Ashley failed at her training today. That happens too. But you know, it's, it's one of those things that I feel like it's such a gift to have other eyes on it and to not just be alone, be like, was that, was that best? Like, you know, just, and so we worked that out together. And for me, that's been the best way to have it. Other coaches, yes, there's been times it has been so structured. That's when I find myself feeling like it's a job.

42:14That's when I find myself not loving what I'm doing as much. And I don't care if I'm number one in the sport. If I'm not loving it, like if I'm number one, I'm hating it. What good is that going to do me in the long run? Like, it's not. I, I will say 10th or whatever that is, wherever I place, I don't know where I felt like in, in a race, as long as I've loved that process of building up to it. And sometimes it might get me first. That's just a huge bonus. So awesome. I love that you talk about the love for it because that's like the most important thing at the end of the day. And you know, to have that approach out there, I mean, I think it's what speaks to it. Not only you continue to do all these amazing things as a sport, but like doing it really well. Like I truly believe if you love the training, like you're going to perform well. And I think you've shown that like through your career, which is just so, so amazing. It's been so awesome work with you and collaborating with you, which has been so, so amazing. So we got a question from Leanne here. This is really good. She said, you are known for doing incredibly hard things to get there. We often have to do stuff on days. We really don't want to.

43:15On the days when motivation is not just low, but it's completely left the building. What do you tell yourself to get your shoes on and get out the door? Anyways, how do you force yourself motivation that doesn't exist on hard days? Oh man. And that is so real. And it does hit as long as much as people are like, you're always so excited. I am not always very like super excited. But I'm also like, I'm very dedicated. I want this to happen. Not just it's not just about me anymore. This is about. Okay. I'm a day one of my periods of giving you a second to not be emotional. But like this is years, years and years of other people sacrificing for me to get these goals and these dreams. Like of Maddie, like giving up things. I'm like, I can't just like not go out because I'm tired or because I'm like, I don't, I'm feeling lazy. I feel like watching a show right now. Look at everything he sacrificed for the last decades of me to get my goal.

44:16Who am I to like, like just be like, Oh, I don't feel like it today. And so it's not those days I have to not make it about me and turn onto other people. Like what they have sacrificed to give me this amazing gift, this amazing job. If that's what you want to call it. And so like those days, I'm like, it might not get done at the right time or whatever that means. Like the other day, I was just procrastinating straight up procrastinating for hours and hours. I didn't have a busy day. I felt great. But I was finally getting on the treadmill. Like I guess I think it was like six o'clock or five o'clock. And I'm like, you know, I can't not do it today. I'm not going to not get it done for my dedication, for my goals, for the people that have sacrificed so much to help me get there. I'm not going to disappoint them because I'm like, I just didn't feel like it. I love that. And I think that is so, so powerful. Like I was eating it super emotional. I think we can all relate, right? We can all relate with having whether it's family members or like sacrifices that we're making are people that like also put into that.

45:18And it's almost like making that work worth it. You know what I mean, which is so, so awesome. I love that you share that and put that at the top. And you know, you also like outwardly express it through your enthusiasm and energy. And it just really just brings a light to not only like you and your training, but like to everybody out there to show that even when, you know, the work is hard, even when there's challenges, like you can still have a huge smile on your face. So that is a great question to end it on to. And by the way, I want to say everyone, please show a thank you to Ashley for being here. Let's show her a comfortable love. Ashley, we all love you. You are so amazing. Thank you so much for this too. We are all rooting for you big time at Moana and Carl Hill. And yeah, it's just an honor to have you on today. So thank you for taking, look at all the hearts flying. I know I'm like, I love this. Yeah. I love you. I love this cold. This is amazing. We got about 40 people on here. I'll show in love. So you guys are incredible. What seriously? What a freaking tribe. Ah, this is a gift. Wow. Well, thank you so much for being here.

46:19Ashley, we appreciate you. And I'm sure you and I will be chatting real real soon, but we're all rooting for you. Thank you so much for this again. You guys, thank you so much for listening and just being here. You know, continue to show up hard days, good days, bad days, all the days show up movement is our medicine and keep smiling because it's certainly a lot better if we do and we're going to run a lot faster. Heck, yeah, it's spoken from the world record holder herself. That is awesome. Well, thank you again, Ashley. We appreciate you, John. And thank you for taking the time. Also, if you're looking for running a peril that is going to be comfortable last you a long time and not leave the chafing, I suggest using John G. John G has been my exclusive apparel that I've been using over the past three years and it has helped me in every race to not shave to feel cool in the hot months and ultimately be comfortable. My favorite items are the run all day tea, which keeps me nice and cool in the summer months and also just feels very, very comfortable and the two and one multi short which has never chafed me which chafing sucks. So you don't want that. So that's why I love it because it has a compression liner that doesn't shave. So if you want to shop those and all my other favorite options, you can go to johng.com slash

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