Should I Ride a Unicycle Into My Wedding?

0:00Welcome to the free outside show and we're live. So I'm here with my fiance. I'm getting married in like, it's very soon. And there were some things I just thought that it would be fun to ask about or clarify live on camera. Also, the JMT, the John Meeer Trail, has been extremely busy lately with Joe Stringby McConaughey setting a record, the supported record, and then Harry Speritus, falling short of my record actually on the trail. So I'm going to put it in. But I'm having Joe, Joe Stringby McConaughey. I don't know how else to say his name. I could just say Stringby, but that feels weird. Joe McConaughey sounds like he's an NFL player. So I just say Joe Stringby McConaughey. He's a triple-namer. Like Nick Snow's a double-namer. Yeah. Joe Stringby McConaughey is a triple-namer. Yeah. So I'm having him on Monday.

1:01So if you have questions, comments, funny things, feel free to send them in. We have a really long history, but I think we're more friends than anything else, but also maybe kind of rivals. But if you want to text in, or send anything to the free outside hotline, 541-903-8065, I always have to pull this up. I have the phone numbers of the kids I hung out with when I was in first grade memorized, but I can't remember my own hotline for the podcast. So I do value you guys. I just can't ever remember how to tell you to contact me. So text in anything we got. A nice one just recently that said, congratulations, long-time listener, really no words of advice. So we'll just stop it there. All right. Cool. Great. People can they call to and leave a voicemail. Yeah, straight to voicemail. Yep. So as a millennial, no one will pick up. I called someone today because we did our own episode

2:03called Free Inside yesterday, or two days ago, whenever, and put it out. I don't even know. Yeah, put it out last night or today. And it was like, yeah, you need to get an outfit. You need to get a ring. You need to practice this dance we're doing. And I slept terrible. It was like, I need to start doing these things. So today, I made a lot of moves on my outfit. I think it's going to be good. It's going to require at least one costume change, but I think I've got it where I want it. But yeah, I had to call someone, and they picked up immediately. And it was like hello, and it was like, OK, come up with a good introduction on the spot. Well, where did you have to call us? These are all secret for our wedding, but I had to figure that out. I ordered a ring. I got a $20 ring. No, I think it was 40. But I think it's going to be here until I'm now. Yeah. OK. Yeah, it is. Why don't you trust me? I've ever failed before.

3:03No, you've never failed me even one time. So I was thinking, I'm going to start with $40 for like a real ring that makes a sound when you drop it. I am not opposed to wearing a ring, but I think if I wore one, it would be more one that I didn't have a fear. It would get stuck on my finger for the rest of my life. So I'm going to just ease into it. All the $40 one that should fit, I got my ring size, and then I'll have like the silicone thing. We'll just kind of gauge it. I've never been a big hand jewelry person, but we're going to figure it out. Me either, but then you gave me a nice ring, and now I haven't hardly taken it off. I have like a timeline almost. Yeah, there you go. So I've done those two things, but why you're here? I have some questions. The first one is, so apparently your family coming in tonight, the wedding is in nine days. You knew that. Yeah, it was. You knew Nicole was coming. It was mentioned and filed away.

4:04You definitely, I told you that Nicole was coming tonight. Meanwhile, I'm really, I'm doing a full mechanic upgrade on my old unicycle in the room. She's going to sleep in, but I guess we can work with this. She could sleep on the couch. She will care. No, she can sleep with the unicorn. OK, but two main things that I would like to bring up that I think our audience deserves to know. OK. Unicycling has been a big part of my life for way longer than you've been a big part of my life. So I'm thinking, when will unicycling fit into the ceremony? Because I've tried out my new mountain unicycle. And I think old reliable that's been with me since fourth grade that I picked up 70,000 pine cones to earn, or 7,000 pine cones to earn. Because my mom said I got a penny of pine cone. She just did not know. I had the mindset of an FKT accomplished

5:05sure that I would pick up pine cones until I accomplished the unicycle back then. But I'm thinking that one might be the one in the ceremony. Is there a way we can work that in? Like, can I write it back down the aisle once we're married? Or when will this work? I think that, well, there's no aisle. That's the thing. So you know the ramp. I can hop too. I can do like some obstacles. You can do some moves. I could do speed bumps. Do the guests need to be the speed bumps? No, I'm just saying if obstacles. Well, I say, like, do you want some really nice professional photos with it? Because we have a photographer hired. Yeah, no, that's the next topic. OK, OK. I think you should write it down the ramp if you can. You might need to practice. If I can. I don't know. It's a very steep ramp. I don't know. But I say you should write it down the ramp and do a couple of tricks and write it around.

6:09And then I'll walk in and meet you. And then we'll just walk up. Or you can view the cycle up to the stage. I don't care. OK, I think you I was singing about that today. I think you should definitely write it around at the ceremony. Somewhere involved in the ceremony. OK, I think you're I think you should be your interest. I think that your interest. That's going to be the most impactful. If you come in. OK, and I'm thinking for photos. I want to sign that says Jess married on the back. And I'm writing it with cans like clinking along behind. Perfect. And that should be the thing. But you should be like in the distance or something like I'm catching up to you. Yeah. Or you could be on a real bike or whatever. But I think that would be these are the types of photos we'll actually use. You know, some of the generic ones. This one. But the Jess married on a unicycle. That is good. As the kids say, that is fire. Yeah, that is fire.

7:10We need to use some cans or find some cans. But yeah, we'll just put that on the photo list. OK. The next one. You're going to can you just stall for a few like a minute here? Yeah, I can because I've been dying to say this whole time. I Jeff comes home and he's just chatting at me, cracking me up in hilarious. Like he always says. And then he goes, we have a really big episode to record. And then he comes out and he showed me his unicycle tire. He said, I'm trying to do something and he goes, wait a minute. I got to save this for the podcast. And I'll be right back. And then he just left for like 10 minutes to get to be here. OK. So the next question is where will Ted be in our wedding? I think Ted should be set up near the photo booth, don't you think? Or should Luke walk in with him? Oh my gosh. Definitely Luke should walk in with him. Yeah, Ted's going to be a big fan. I think part of my life longer than you or Luke also.

8:10So I may have less true friends and things on the guest list, but I have some very meaningful parts of my life. I think Luke should walk in with Ted. Luckily, I've already asked for extra chairs at the venue. So Ted, well, I've got a roller chair he can use. OK. Well, Luke should definitely carry him in. And then I think we should set him up by the photo booth so people can take pictures with him. What do you think? Yeah. What do you think, Ted? Good idea. He's not a talker. Not a big talker. He was going to give a speech, but he didn't want to. He was too nervous. Yeah. OK. We've solved all the major wedding things. I just changed the tire or the tube on the tire for my traditional unicycle. I think it will just fit better through the sleek moves. I think, yeah, I can't wait. I can't wait. I need that involved. I need to get one more thing for my outfit,

9:11but I think that has really come together. I'm feeling good about it. I would say you may be pushing or your family leaning more towards traditional, but everything I'm bringing will be pulling us a little more away from that and more towards fun and memorable for the attendees. I'm super excited. I can't wait. All right. I'm thrilled. Do you need a bicycle pump, though? I mean, I will figure out how to pump up my tire. But after two days of doing some unicycle workouts, my growing just needs a little break today. So I'm just taking a day off. OK. Well, I think I know where you can borrow one from, is all I was going to get out there. OK. That's the major things. The other thing that I wanted to have you here today for us with is people, last we checked in with you, you had texted me that you still had a chance at 72 hours.

10:12I said this in the intro. And now you're here live with us on the show. How did the FKT go? What happened? Tell us the high points and the major learnings. Like tell it to us as if you want people to take home ways that they can succeed in their own life. What is relevant to listeners today? Well, yeah. Let me start with. Let me interrupt with. You did. We talked about the JMT earlier. And why I think this is funny is where your FKT ended is about where the JMT ends, but they kind of end like right at the same. You came out from different directions. Like if you connected them, what it got like 500 miles of trail. So you know kind of the terrain. You could be our expert. If no one on this podcast had set the John Mutrile FKT, you could be our expert on me. I think it was the thing to an expert. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Sheriff, for having me on. I really appreciate the opportunity.

11:14I've been really inspired by your work out in the Sierra's and decided to take on my own project out in the Sierra's. Good buzzwords, projects. Yeah, projects. You're on your own. Yeah, I'm trying to help out our SEO. Try to work in portfolio. Yeah, well, I needed to add, I needed to add something longer and unsupported to my FKT portfolio. My longest FKT at the moment before I started this one was 137 miles, but that was supported. So I felt it was really key for my growth as an athlete as I approached these different endurance endeavors, you know, to really build out my resume. So it's still way great. I still feel like I did the best that I could have done, given the knowledge that I had heading in and the time that I had to prepare for the effort heading in, which was only three weeks as you know, I took a pretty hard pivot from one plan to another. And as we like to say on this podcast,

12:16you did the best you could have done, given the situation you were in with the tools that you had. Absolutely, absolutely. And the best that I did was, you know, to some people, maybe not that fast, maybe not that good, but luckily I was able to rig the system before I started and I took on an FKT that had no time on it from anyone in any gender and any style. So therefore I was guaranteed a championship trophy at the finish. Overall FKT. Overall FKT, if I just get to swallow me, that is I am getting the overall trophy here. Yeah. So I think the biggest lesson is. Hold on, did that make it harder to like, because you had a pretty ambitious goal of three days, did it make it harder to like go really hard after it or were you able to mentally go really hard even though there wasn't a time you're aiming at? Because personally, I have harder times when it's like ambiguous, just I have no idea. It's easier when there's one out there of like, now I know kind of what to shoot for,

13:16but you had it something I've never gone to or I've never really met. I think it's hard to say because I also will say I haven't ever gone after yet a really competitive FKT time. Like I've had some pretty ambitious goals. And probably my most surprising time was the URE trail FKT. I thought I could do it and I would think I was aiming for somewhere between nine and 10 hours and I did it in like 840. But the previous unsupported time on that trail was like 13 hours or something and it's a 40 mile trail. So I was, might even have been 15 or 16 hours, but I was pretty confident heading in that I was, it was well within my wheelhouse to be able to go faster than the time that was on it for a female time. This episode is brought to you by John G, J-A-N-J-I dot com. Use code free outside for 10% off. What kind of clothing did you wear on the trail? Finally enough, I did wear all John G a diet.

14:18Wow, that is smooth. The AFO shorts, a tank top and a sun shirt. Wow, and you'd recommend them all. I would recommend them all. Fun fact, blood comes out of John G gear very easily. Which we both know from having bloody noses. You a coconut me in this year. We've both had our period, I mean, bloody noses. Bloody noses. Yep. And so it's hard for me to say if it's harder or not with it being ambiguous. I think the thing that was, it's hard to say what was the hardest, but what became difficult was that it physically felt like I was pushing very hard and mentally felt like I was pushing very hard towards the end. But I was not going that fast. Even though I felt like I had been running like 10 minute miles on the trail and then it was like you have gone one and a half miles in like 30 minutes and it was like, no, why is it so slow?

15:22I know it was hard watching some of the downhills from, right, the last place you have service because it was like, oh, it's not that fast anymore for like the last 30 miles or something. Yeah, the last 30 miles was really slow, but I was like jogging and trying to run. I was still trying to finish as fast as I could. I knew obviously 72 hours was out the window because I hit 72 hours with like 20 miles to go or 25 miles to go. Oh, honey, I didn't even show up to pick you up in 72 hours if that was what you knew. You could look at the tracker and tell. So what are the like, what did you learn the most or what would start with, what was your biggest mistake? What would you have changed? My biggest mistake was not bringing a sleeping pad. That was my biggest mistake for sure. Like would you say minimal sleeping stuff in general or you think just a pad would have saved? I think just a pad would have saved it. I really thought I feel like the Bivvy Sack to work great

16:25or I would take one of the space blankets again. Or if I took a lighter quilt or something, I would just want something that was would cover like shoulders to toes. So it's interesting because it's one of the biggest things I'll test out if it's an FKT that I'm going to sleep during is trying to find comparable like temperature I guess, but like elevation or like exposure and be like, can I sleep comfortably with this? So like on the Appalachian Trail, I took out like the shortest level sleeping bag tried it out for two weeks out there. And it was like, I just am not, I could sleep better if I had more coverage, but that's like the biggest thing that I protect if it is going to be a sleeping thing because sleep is like, if it's like a video game, that's like your recharge points. Like you want that to be really good. And then everything else can be like worse. Like your pack can chase you, you can have a bunch of issues, you can solve all that, but you want your sleep to be good. Yeah, as long as you're like mentally with it,

17:26then everything is easier. And sleep even one hour of sleep can like fix not be it with it. Oh my gosh, I think if I'd gotten one to two full hours of actual sleep uninterrupted, either together or one hour on night two and one hour on night three, like 72 hours feels totally doable for the pace I was on. Yeah, I just died because I was just like a zombie. And it's because of the pivot for probably just only having three weeks, like you could only do so much. Yeah, I didn't just not know it. Yeah, I just didn't even think to go out and test stuff because also as we've talked about, like I can be pretty stubborn around sleep and prior to this FKT be like, I don't want to sleep, you know, I've done 56 hours with no sleep or sleep. This episode is brought to you by Karaj Krongear. Karaj Krongear.com, where you can get a sleeping pad

18:27so you can sleep better than Allison. Yeah. In fact, her sleeping pad could be from Karaj Krongear. Who knows, but they also have hundreds of products. I've been meaning sometimes to just like print out or just, I don't know why we even use the term print out anymore. But just like save like all the products they have and try to list as many as I can in a minute, but they have a lot of products go there. Okay, back to you Allison. Yeah, they're awesome. Yeah, so I didn't even think about testing anything because in my mind I was like, oh, if it's 72 hours, like I'll probably just try to sleep one hour and I didn't, I just didn't think through like how important that sleep quality would be in the end. So that would be the biggest thing I would change is just bringing a sleeping pad, maybe a different quilt or blanket or something, but just, I think just having the sleeping pad would have made a huge difference. That and then I would change up or again, just with more time experiment more with different nutrition

19:27because I brought a lot of stuff that was, excuse me, really calorie dense, which was very fat heavy. And most of it was good and fine, but towards the end it was like, God, I wish I just had like some skittles, like something that just will convert to energy really quickly. Because- 80% rule, 80% what you should take in 20% what you know you're gonna want. Yeah, and I should have just thought about that more. I did have like some chocolate covered peanuts, but even that is like that takes on to should I just, it's a slower burning thing. And- Still a peanut inside the chocolate. Right, you know, a handful of hazelnuts just does not convert into instant energy the way that hand full of skittles well. Offer any five year old, a handful of skittles or a handful of like macadamia nuts. Yeah, they're definitely going skittles. Yeah, so that is the other big thing that I would change. There's a lot of nutrition stuff that I would keep, like the plantain chips I actually liked a lot,

20:28and they are the same calorie as potato chips, because they're basically potato chips or just plantains. I enjoyed that because it was just a different flavor, a little bit of a different texture, almond butter packets, like there's plenty of stuff that I brought that I enjoyed and things that I would bring more of, but I would definitely swap out like sunflower seed and raisin trail mix for just like starbursts. No, didn't I tell you this is just mix because it doesn't even have chocolate. Yeah, it doesn't even have chocolate, it's just mix. Okay, this is a good coaching corner here. So like you're gut, and that's why like a lot of gut things can solve like mood or even things like anxieties and stuff. Like it's tied to so much that I think there has to be way more well-rounded thought for anything that's multi-day or around like, not just what your body needs as far as what you're telling us as far as calories or macros and stuff, but just like also like a well-rounded thing

21:29for also what you're using in your daily life too. And I think this is a big mistake a lot of people use for FKTs, like you want things that are gonna make you happier or be more exciting, and you want the things that are like good calories per ounce. But then also there's this big thing that I think a lot of FKT coaching for me comes down to is just like, yeah, like we don't want to like dramatically just create a different person through, because all this changing you is what's going in, what you're processing and what becomes energy. And if it's like, like yeah, maybe once a week I'll have some nuts, it's like, then you're gonna go 80% nuts. Like this is not the move. Like I think it's a big miss in FKTs when you're like, peanuts are 180 calories per ounce. Like that's so good. And it's like, yeah, it's good until you're on day two and you're like, I hate peanuts. Yeah, I mean for me, I do eat a lot of nuts every day. So that I probably, again, I probably wouldn't change.

22:31I would still probably take a decent amount of nuts, but. Just better stuff to compliment. Just better stuff to compliment and build around that. And even it's true exactly what you're saying, like talking with Patrick, the mental performance consultant that I've worked with and you've worked with some, we were going through like all the six basic emotions and figuring out like how I would respond to each of those rather than trying to plan everything. Do you know the moment, can you enlighten us to what they are? Yes, I can. Let me try. Happiness, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness and fear. Nice. Yeah. So that was really cool. We built out responses just to each of those emotions. So that was more helpful than trying to think through like every single possible scenario could run into. It would just be like, well, what emotionally am I feeling? And how do I deal with that? And the response for if I start feeling sad is to eat something. Like that was our plan. You said all the time on your coach and calls when I over here.

23:33So yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do. And calls when I over here. So I mean, it's a good thing. But I know it's yours because it's the first one you recommend to out meet the coach. Absolutely. Yeah. And I mean, even at like the coconut training around, there was a woman there, Michelle, that I kind of know through women and ultra running. And she and I at the same time said to someone, oh, yeah, as soon as you start feeling sad, you got to eat something. And it's tough when you're feeling really sad and your only option is hazelnuts because they are delicious and they do love all kinds of nuts. It's like saying that with a question mark at the end, they are usually delicious. They are usually my go to but when it's three o'clock in the morning or two o'clock in the morning and sunrise is so far away and the top of the pass is so far away. And it's 65 hours in. It's just, yeah, it's time for skittles.

24:37This is, if you take one thing away, when places are like, our gels are amazing, they're so good. No. Yeah, okay. But if you could eat a gel or ice cream, if you could eat a gel or a candy bar. Yeah. You're gonna eat the candy bar. Like no gel is the best food you've ever eaten. Yeah, I think that is a big thing I would change because I had a really good time and I am already like, oh, are there other routes that are similar or things I could explore? Could I improve on that time? I don't want to do the same route again, but anyway, in typically in ultra as like, I do try to pretty much still eat vegan, but I also am like, I can't spend a lot of, I don't try to be perfect. If I come into an organization and they're making pancakes and I want pancakes, I'm gonna eat pancakes. And I'm not gonna... Keep running, little stress. I love when you don't try to be perfect. Yeah, yeah. Like I'm not gonna worry about like,

25:38oh, are the pancakes vegan or something needs to make these special mashed potatoes that they didn't put butter in. You know, I'm not gonna eat a lot of cheese and I'm certainly not gonna eat any meat because I think that would really just upset my GI system. Like that's just a bad plan on... It's bad for the environment. On a digestive... Yeah, on a digestive front. But like, yeah, if I was going to do another one, I would probably be like, you know what? Let's get a Snickers. Or I used to love growing up. My favorite was zero bars. Which are like the white chocolate. So... Interesting. Or I loved white chocolate as a kid. There's two types of people. No chocolate and white chocolate people. And they always meet and get married. Luckily, it were a fit. Oh, perfect. The white chocolate with the Oreo crumbles in it. So I can definitely see myself being like, okay, it's a three day thing. Like we're getting three candy bars or three bags of Skittles or something just because...

26:40I didn't have like a, you know, break glass in case of emergency snack. It was like all this exact same thing every day. And some of it worked really well. And I would keep using it. And some of it was like, oh no. Yeah. What else did you learn? We talked about some things on the drive back. Like sleeping where it's lower because it would be warm or two. Sleeping where it's lower or sleeping during the day. Or maybe, you know, like just when it's like nine or like nine p.m. Would be like warmer than four a.m. Yeah. I was going to sleep at like seven p.m. But you're right. I was basically on the top of the pass at seven p.m. And was like, okay, I'm going to try to go to sleep. But that's how I was also just trying to not have this group of hikers pass me because I just didn't want anyone to bother me. But I could have gone further off trail or figured something out. So that's a thing that I would do.

27:41Yeah, I would time. I would try to do sleep at lower elevations. I would have been on the top of the pass. I was just going to be on the top of the pass. I would probably be on the top of the pass. And that a different time of day. Honestly, probably at like golden hour, because I really like moving at night. I would maybe also bring if it was going to be that cold. That's the other thing. I like hardly check the weather that much. I was just like cool. It's probably not going to rain, but I'll throw an arena jacket anyway. Check could have put on. I never pulled it out. But just probably some water pants at night or something. and that just burns more calories, makes you more tired, all those things. And with the extreme lack of sleep, it just compounded. And that I think is why I had the panic attack with like eight miles to go, because I was like, I can't deal with it with darkness again. Like I can't deal with this, I'm going down and it getting cool. I mean, I would have, I would have made it through. I do feel like I made a good breakthrough

28:41in not giving up. And not quitting. There weren't, I didn't even know what the bailout points were, honestly. Yeah, there weren't any. There really weren't any. But even when it was like, okay, it's not going to be the time that I want. It was just like, well, we got to keep going. Like the goal is to get there. And so I would have dealt with it and figured it out, but it would have been really rough to finish after dark. Yeah. So I finished right at sunset, just the reddit that need all. I was like, I can't take all my head, but again, I'm going to lose my mind. And so the last question, what did you learn about yourself from this endeavor? I think it's just really hard to put into words. I don't know if you know how to put it into words, but I feel like I locked into extreme presence at certain points where it really was just like,

29:43a brain floating through the woods. Like I'm just moving forward along this trail. Nothing else matters. Nothing's really entering my realm of awareness. And I also feel like I made a really good breakthrough in that I can struggle a lot with, I don't know if it's really comparison, but just like, I really want to be good at this sport. And I want to be taken seriously. And I want to be at the front of the pack in races and the reality is just that like at a very competitive race, I wouldn't be at the front. I'm just not that fast at the moment. And maybe I'll never be that fast, but I think I can struggle with just, yeah, wanting to be like taken seriously as a competitor, as an athlete and also going, but I don't really want to be a sponsored athlete.

30:45And I want to just have fun. And I want this to just be a hobby that I didn't know. And say that, do you just mean like the pressure that would come along with being sponsored? Yeah, because I think ultra running in a way really changed my life and really impacted my life in a huge way. And it just means so much to me. Running didn't, but once you hit ultra running, you were like, I guess running in general. Common game, we just have to check our ultra running because of the delicious time. Just like, well, running didn't change my life. But when I did ultra running, I mean running truly changed my life. And like I've written about this in the subsac, but I don't think we've ever talked about in the podcast that much, but like I definitely have had a history of eating disorders and disorder eating. And when I started running, conversely, maybe of what other people have gone through, like I still remember the day that I was like, okay, I'm getting into running and I'm so hungry,

31:45I like can't ignore it. Because when you have an eating disorder, you get very good at ignoring hunger cues and working through that. And I don't know, you just have different work rounds. And there was just a day where I was like, I actually can't, like I'm going to have to eat something. And I just ate an apple, which is not that calorie dense. But like- In 10 calories just as much as a gel, the cost about 47. There you go. But it really, it started to break down that wall of being very restrictive around what I was eating or not eating, which is part of the reason too that when I'm in an ultra, I'm like, I don't want to be thinking about, can I eat this food or not eat this food? Like if it's not cheese or meat and it's something that looks like I want to eat it, I'm just going to eat it and not think about it too much. That's so interesting that you're why for starting to reverse or work on a eating disorder is like a lot of people's why for an eating disorder happening. I know. It's so complicated.

32:47And I think why therapy in so many things are not only but mostly valuable, like one-on-one, because I think it's just so unique that you're why you're saving graces exactly what started a spiral for some other people. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. It's really, it's really different. But to me, running has always come hand in hand with like treating my body well and taking care of it and eating well. And I've had to go through my own lessons of like, well, if your knee hurts when you wake up in the morning, you probably shouldn't go on a run. You should take a couple of rest days. Like we all maybe have to go on that journey. But I think that's part of the reason that to me. No, but not that anyone has ever approached me to be a sponsored athlete in any fashion. But I don't. I think I've given you enough gear that you could be a sponsored athlete. I know. I did say my FKC was sponsored by Free Outside because you gave me a lot of gear.

33:48Our first sponsored athlete for the Free Outside podcast. It is, Alison Powell. But I just don't want anything to get in the way of that relationship that I have with running, which feels really personal. And I've used running as such like an emotional outlet throughout the last almost 10 years that I've been running. So I don't ever want to feel like my performance matters at a level that's not just like to me or to my coach or my friends, but it matters to like somebody's bottom line. Like I don't, I don't want to have that in my head at all. Do you feel like there is? Because now I want to go a couple of different directions because I'm a very good interviewer. But do you feel like there is a weird thing where especially like let's start with like the Ultra Minute? Like they know us. He knows us pretty well. I've actually had him on the show. But like when you get your name in there,

34:50is it like like yeah, I'm in there. Like what? Yeah, how does it feel? Because you do get recognition because you did win. You won like divide, you won things. You, but yeah, how does that coincide? Because I have a lot of that worry more on their like FKT through hiking, backpacking front. I think I just came in sideways into old trending that I don't really care. Like I feel like I don't traditionally fit in. So it's like anything there is sort of like, yeah, look at that. Like gotcha, like I'm not even like. I'm not even supposed to be. I don't even go here guys. Yeah, exactly. Like my best thing is not even what you guys recognize, but I'm still here. Yeah, but how does that feel for you who like came up in running and now you do get recognition? Is it is it hard to separate personally from socially because now like some bigger names definitely know who you are too? I don't, I don't know is like the full answer.

35:51That's like something I would have to unpack in a session with Patrick probably. But I think I just think overall my current relationship with running or the past couple of years, when I have had some, because I have had some success at some races for sure, it makes it harder to not have that always be the goal, to not register for race and always go like, what's the course record time for, you know, Jigger Johnson or Tushers 100K or something and be like, oh, okay, well, that's what I should shoot for. And put that pressure on myself, but it's just really challenging because like leading into Coca-Cola owner this year, I was like, hey, you know, I've done other 200s, I've wanted 200, like I'm not one of these big names really that people know, but nobody seems to really care.

36:54And maybe I don't want them to care, but maybe I do want them to care. And then I was mentioned in one race preview, and immediately I was like, no, don't look at me, don't look at me like, I don't want people to know, now that I don't want them to know that I'm showing up, but it did add a different, just a different layer to the experience. I would say when you're like, oh, yeah, I am now listed in this race preview and people know who I am or know my resume, that's okay, but I don't know, like I showed up to Moonlight on Mount Ascension, which is just a local race in Helena, and this woman who I didn't know, she didn't know me at all either, she just looked at me and she was like, well, you look fast, I bet you're gonna win. And it was like, okay, like I'm literally coming back from like my first DNF, a huge DNF, overtrainings syndrome, like I'm just here to see like what happens, I have no idea.

37:54But secretly, yes, I do also want to set the course record at this event, so we will just see what happens. So I don't know, it's a tricky thing to balance. My coach likes to say or help me come up with like, I like to train like a professional, and I take this very seriously, but I don't want to be a professional, but it does make it hard on a starting line to not start thinking about like, who's my competition or how many women are ahead of me, or where am I gonna place, and just relax and have fun. And I feel like to go back to your original question from five minutes ago, that was a big thing that, wow, I feel like I am gonna cry, but like that I just really locked into on this FGT. It was like, oh, I'm not gonna make 72 hours. For sure. And also 72 hours doesn't mean anything to anyone. Yeah, it doesn't mean anything to anyone.

38:55That's like a time I just sort of pulled out of nowhere. Yeah. To shoot for it, give myself something to aim at. And also, I really realized while I was out there, I was like, absolutely no one cares that I'm doing this. Very few people know that I'm even doing this, and now that I have finished it and did, you know, set the first known time. As far as I know, it hasn't been listed anywhere. It's not in the FGT newsletter. I don't think it's been an ultra minute. Like, nobody really knows, but I had this moment on the second night when I turned off my watch because it was gonna die. It was like golden hour, and I was just hiking along this lake shore, and I was just like, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that nobody knows that I'm doing this. Like, truly, and it doesn't matter if I go faster than I thought, I was going to, or slower than I thought I was going to, like, I know every step of this,

39:57I've been trying as hard as I can to go as fast as I can on this totally new adventure and journey. And that is a win for me, and that's all that matters. It doesn't matter what you think about it. It doesn't matter if it gets in a newsletter or if it gets me on a podcast or anything. Like, I really was able to lock into like, I'm doing this for me, and I haven't really felt that since probably my first couple of races. You know, I locked into it earlier this year at an event in February and just had so much fun. I had so much fun, and I had so much fun doing this as well. And I think I've been trying to get back to the fun of racing and not the thought of, well, yeah, is this going to get me in the ultra minute or is this going to affect my ultra signup score or whatever?

40:59And just like, who cares? No one cares. Well, they hit kind of reminds me of when I had Monica McGraw on who did the Washington trail unsupported. And it just like, it was her thing. Like, she put it so much into it, but it just, she didn't care if it meant anything to anyone else. It was like, this is her thing that she's going after. And that's what's really cool. And then the second part is like, I think that fixed time races are really good for re-suttering your mindset. Like the moonlight on Mount Ascension, because every goal, it continues to end. So that one, it's like 11 mile loop. So if you have a goal, well, it's actually figure eight. So call it a seven mile loop and a four mile loop. Every goal is seven miles or less or four miles or less. So you get like, mind practice of continuing to finish a goal over and over again. And I think that's what happens. Like, we have our own fixed time that just happened. But if you focus on your goal is that lap. And you just like, it's usually, if I like,

42:02I'm looking at possibly doing like a fixed time race here in the near future and like trying to do really well. But the goal in the mindset is just, this is my pace. So this is my goal every single loop. And I don't need to check that every loop. But it's like, you get reinforcement of accomplishing goals. And I think that's so good for a world where we're continuing to look at where we want to be and not being there that we never accomplish goals. So I think that's why it's so big and good and why you felt that thing of like, I'm still going to accomplish my goal. But it doesn't really matter what the details of my goal are type of thing. Yeah. I mean, two things from that one, I would say, I very much relate to that from Monica as well. Because like this FJT, Tahoe de O'Semite is one that I found years ago before we met before. I had done some FKTs already, but just like before I knew more about the world, let's say. And I even told you about it like early on in dating

43:05and you were kind of like, why? Why that one? Yeah, it was like you should do the Wonderland Trail or the John Mir Trail before. And we've done, you've done the whole Wonderland Trail and significant portions of the John Mir Trail since then. And so now you can see. So now I can do it. But it was kind of my own thing because it's a route that some, I don't know, somebody put on there, but no one had gone and done it. It was my own thing that I'd researched and found. And I just had a whole new shift. Anything. You didn't only with anything, which I know I've said before, like I do really appreciate because it would have probably been easy for you or not. But I'm sure you've thought like this sleep setup is not a good idea. I did make you take a down jacket. Like you did make me take a down jacket, that's true. You gave me the down jacket because I'm sponsored by real side buckets. But I want you to get to learn all these things and the fun is in the learning. And it's like, I think it can be helpful to like,

44:06I don't really mentor whatever type of thing. But it's like, I think it's most fun when it's like your backstop is just like, well, you're gonna finish no matter what the time. And then it was just like, okay, maybe just like throwing a little more warmth but other than that, you're good. Yes. And I think. And you'll learn. Yes. And like the lessons that I learned are just so much more impactful because it's like, I made that decision and I saw the consequence or the benefit, you know, either way, I made some decisions that I feel like we're really good. And it just, it just makes them resonate more. So I do feel like, yeah, I have total ownership at the moment of that trail and that FKT. And then with the fixed time thing, I think it's also helpful with the goals because you always say like, don't change the goalpost. Like if your goal is, or don't move the goalpost, you know, if your goal is X and you hit X,

45:07just be happy with that. Don't be. Like celebrate with everything that your A-goal deserves that you hit X and then like go back excited. Like I can set away higher goal, but don't be like, oh, I'm bummed I didn't set a high enough goal. Like I think that's, that's at least how I coach and there's one time I hit it on a fixed time 48 hour race. I hit my A-goal of 200 miles with like an hour and a half to go. And I was like, I'm good. Like I hit my goalpost. Yeah, I can stop. Yeah, I can go home. I did what I came. I'm not going to like tell my mind that even if you and your body do everything you're supposed to and our goal, that you still have to keep going. Like that is toxic. So that's my mindset. Yeah, I think that's really helpful. And but conversely, I do think it can help. And this is sometimes what I coach do when athletes are like, well, what should my time goal be? And it's like, I don't know. You've never run 100 miles before. Like no one knows. But I think it can be helpful when you're in the event to, if you can and you have the mental capacity to look ahead,

46:10if you need to adjust a goal and make a new thing. Like during Jigger Johnson, like my goal is to course record. I came into an incision and the lead, the Val and I, Erica, it looked at each other and I was like, do you think you're going to break the course record? Because she was ahead of me. I hope she would. And she was like, oh, no way. And I was like, okay, go me. They're like, let's just do our best. And we had a great time. But as I got closer to the finish line, I was like, okay, well, can I get in under 40 hours? Nope, that's out of the way. So can I do 40 hours, five minutes? No, I took her on turn. Okay, can I do 40 hours, 10 minutes? Like something to keep you motivated to keep pushing and trying, I think is helpful. And that's what I also had at Moonlight on Mount Ascension is like, I started doing the math and it was like, can I get so that I finish on the seven mile loop? Because for whatever reason, this four mile loop, I hate. And so like, how fast do I need to get this next loop done? And so I think that can sometimes be helpful too. Like you were saying, like, you know, was I always pushing as hard as I could to set a time

47:13as fast as I could. And I think yes, but sometimes you just have to be realistic and adjust and go, okay, so I can be 72. Can I do 75 hours? Okay, nope. I feel like I've been running for five hours, but I'm not really any closer. So like, what can I do? Okay, can I finish before dark? Can I finish and not have to take out my headlamp? So micro adjustments, I think can be helpful during events too. Yeah. And this, so I probably get three or four questions a week through like social media. And I don't, I didn't, so also, I didn't even know you like had a public tracker because I don't really do stories or reels on there. I feel like when I go on social media, I mean, they're now I rarely post anymore because I feel like it's just so much on there. But it's usually like responding to people. And that's like my social media time. But a lot of questions are like pointed and stuff. And if there are specific questions, I love helping or I'll give my opinion.

48:14But if it's like more open-ended of like, how would you do this or any advice? It's more like, I don't like giving that like specific to your thing, to your FKT because I feel like that's where creativity is like ruined. Like I would only be good at this sport or these FKTs if I did it my way because everyone at compete against probably has a slightly fat, probably every single person that I break their FKT has a slightly faster moving time. But I'm way better at sleep deprivation and efficiency. So my time that I am moving out of the entire thing is like 95%. And so like if I had just gone with their strategy, I never would have known I could do anything or do well at these things. So that's where it's like, I don't want to blunt any creativity of like, any general ideas. It's like, I'm not going to tell you how I do them because I think even if I coach someone, it's like they're totally different. And that's where we use like training camps and like figure out stuff.

49:15But it's like, that's where it's big. You just have to like go do it. Like you, like you figured out what you're good at and what you're not good at. Like all my FKTs, they're probably the most even split FKTs or negative split, like the AT was negative split. Like no one does that in any races or FKTs, except for me. But that's my way to do it because I'm not a top tier VO2 max. But yeah, you had to learn how you would do them. So what did you learn on how you would approach something like that in the future as far as pacing? Pacing, I don't, I think, hmm. I think I would just try to do maybe more similar to your approach, like really just consistent pacing because I think I was averaging around three and a half miles an hour early on when I was just hiking and hiking strongly. Yeah, you worked really well for 48 hours. Yeah, thanks.

50:15And I think that... Which was to the point you'd gone before. So then when you entered the unknown, it was only... Exactly, it all got weird out there. I didn't really have any hallucinations though. That's interesting. I didn't thought about that. But I think that I, I don't know if it's just my metabolism or whatever, but I think I struggle more with like the, you know, get into running and then slowing down and hiking like I just burn more calories. And I think it makes me hungrier. And I think if I were to do something of that length again, just keeping that really consistent hiking pace and something that I can eat easier while hiking and walking because I feel like I'll do, you know, okay, this is really flat smooth or slightly downhill, whatever, okay, I'm gonna try to run and then I get to the end of that and it's like I'm just totally spent and need to eat a lot more, just kind of recover from that.

51:16So I think that even pacing would be a big thing I wouldn't try to experiment with. Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing with coaching, I'd say maybe a third of my athletes or FHT athletes is like, like we practice and train eating, like eating a certain amount. And that's not like eating while moving. It's like eating a certain amount while moving. I think it's just really lost on the fact that you have AIDS stations as a backup or crew stops and stuff, it's just like, and I mean, for my training camp on the AT, that was like practice, how much can I eat? And by the end of that, it's like 10,000 calories a day. And when you get a text, like what do you want at the end? And it's just like nothing, like I'm so sick of eating. Like I don't think everyone realizes it is not the miles, it's not my legs, it's not my feet. It's the fact that my mouth, my teeth, my stomach, they are having to eat so much food constantly. Like if there's not something that I'm gonna open in a minute

52:19or that I just finished, like I'd better be digging something out to eat again. Like that's where I think actually Nick Fowler, I learned that from him, because he, like it's even a taxi, even more so, like he'll go, I'll, I can do like 10,000 calories a day. He's done like 11 or 12,000, but it's just like the sheer amount that if you eat that much, it takes care of so much with sleep deprivation, like you can sleep less, you can move better and everything, but like you're not eating that much in daily life, so you have to practice it. That's why these things are so immersive. And then that's where it's hard coaching where it's like someone wants to be coached, but has an FKT in like three months, it's like, well, I can get you fit, but I can't like do all the soft skills that are so important, which you probably learned matters so much more than just running. Right. Yeah. I totally agree and same with like the three weeks,

53:19not being a ton of time to really prepare and do all of those things, because I do feel and I know I've mentioned this to you before. And we've been on back for Cox before, where I've just been like, I just want to do one thing at a time. Like I just want to take a one minute break and sit and eat. And then I will get moving again. I must be the worst of backpack wet, because I'm like, oh, yeah, that's fine. I totally forgot people need breaks. Yeah, we can take a break. But in time, I didn't realize people humans needed to sit down, but we can't. We could take as long as you want. We can do that. But it's not just backpacking for you. Like I did it during Moab 240, which was my first 200. I was like, you know, I am going quite slow. I'm very much towards the back of the pack, but it was like, please, can I just sit on this rock and eat my peanut bread and jelly sandwich that is the smushiest, saddest thing. And then I'll get moving again. And I think that's one thing that I can sometimes beat myself up over. But when I think about it, I'm like, well, it's probably better

54:21if I'm getting in more calories to take that, you know, 60 to 90 second break and actually get something good down. But it's something that I would want to practice, just walking and eating more. Yeah. Yeah, anecdote that didn't fill people in on. I was looking at a couple different FKTs. And then I did like a 60 mile training run here. And I just didn't like how I moved while feeling. And it just like I was like, maybe I could slide under one of the FKTs I was looking at. But it was just like, I'm not where I want to be for what I'm going after. And then there are a couple other factors as far as like there's external life stress. And maybe that impacted how I was moving or feeling during this thing. Of course, like going to a wedding, getting married, directing a race. Those are like the tracks. There's a couple big things. Yeah, three big weekends in a row type of thing. But it was so that was the big thing of like, well,

55:22this is the most important factor in an FKT is feeling because that impacts energy. And like I know we'll have the baseline fitness. But it was just like, it just doesn't, like I'm not doing it as seamlessly as I need to to get a time I'd be happy with. And so it was just decided not to go after an FKT. Like that's kind of what it takes or how big. Like I put in so many runs and workouts for athletes. Like, feeling and then doing harder work at like so many things where it maximizes like getting used to feeling. And then for FKT, it's like almost flipped where like fueling is what you want to make sure you can still run after doing. Like fueling is the workout and make sure you can do the miles because it's just so important because yeah, that's. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's really important. And I just turned in my paper. So I could have my coaching certification renewed. And I wrote it on under fueling because I think most

56:23all sure athletes are under fueling unintentionally. And it's just so easy because life stress things are busy, but it's so important. And I hear you say it all the time. I know I say it all the time to my athletes as well. It's like the number one training hack or whatever is just eating more food. Just eat more at this morning. I finally followed my own advice. And I literally ate a bowl cereal and then I ate a bagel and then I went to work. And I had already had like a little snack before my run this morning too. And yeah, fuelings like everything. Yeah, I think the biggest thing because there's so many levels of where people are at whether you're like looking to lose weight or wherever you're at. But I think the biggest number one thing across the board were not dietitians. But what I've and I've had probably like five dietitians on it. So hard to get out of them. It's just to the, but I think the biggest thing that I've learned, especially I've been doing some experiments

57:24on myself for the last year. But the biggest thing is fuel around your runs. And so how I've kind of decided this makes the biggest impact as far as like probably 40 data points on harder workouts is between when you wake up and when you go running like free fueling time, whatever you want to eat, like obviously aim better, but especially just like better fueling protein shake, bagel as much as you can eat during your run as much as like that you're supposed to do. So carbs an hour or whatever you look at calories, like do that. And then after your run fuel for recovery, there's so much. The best probably the most sciences around the last 10 to 20 minutes of your run and then immediately after the more you eat, the quicker you're going to recover for your next run. So fuel all of that. And then once you've hit and put an exclamation point on fueling after your run and like you're satiated and stuff and drinking up water, like then that's where wherever your individual goals looking to do, like that's where you can impact

58:28it from say like, I don't know, noon to wherever on if anything, like that's where protein or more fiber, and that's where everyone can be more individualized. But I think for everyone, it should all be fueling through the end of your run and then enough for recovery. And then from there on, like if you're training a bunch, continue to fuel and eat a bunch. If you're like have other goals or things like I would say it's worth the money. And I've sent a lot of athletes to like professionals and like dieticians and stuff. But like the number one thing I've gotten from so much feedback either on the podcast or just in calls and text to learn more about things is fuel through your runs, your workouts that you're doing and then in that bonus time after because it's got the buffer of sleep. Like that's where you can do whatever your individual goals are. But I think that's the biggest thing that we all neglect and I

59:28don't know why, but it seems like a thing of we're all like against breakfast after growing up. It was like each sugary cereal. It's the best meal of the day, but like no one eats breakfast anymore. I breakfast every day. I love breakfast, but I thought you were going to say, and this is one thing that you have said to me that I keep in my mind and I keep coming back to when you said like it's worth the cost. Like a lot of times when I'm out running around, I'm doing work, I'm going to the gym, I'm going here, I'm going there, whatever. And I get really hungry and it's like, well, I don't have a stack with me. So like, oh, well, I've gotten to the point where I'm like, no, I'm going to like stop at a goth station and buy something. Like it's worth the cost. And you have said like you take this really seriously, you want to train like a professional like if you're traveling through the airport and it's a meal time, like don't go, oh, I'm not going to buy a $20 burrito because that's such a waste. I'll just, you know, eat a couple snacks and be fine. It's like, no, go buy this $20 burrito.

1:00:28Like you should be investing in your food and your fuel and your recovery. So that is a big thing that I've started doing recently. Okay, we've hit on a second one of my mantras that now you're all getting for free. So I think I'm going to just put the John Meertral episode next Monday's bonus one. I told you guys you only get one a week. But this is pretty good. And I think long enough. But my second, my second one is, what were we just talking about? Wow. Well, can I say one more thing? Cause I feel like this is a good mic drop and maybe it'll, cause are you going to say always pre eat maybe? No, no. But the other thing that this conversation has made me think of is I have a friend who on a run one day said to me that they had been working with a dietitian and that person said to them, nothing is as unhealthy as not eating. And that comes back to me a lot. And I think about that one a lot because again, if you're running

1:01:29around and you're busy and you're popping into the gas station, you're not getting a beautiful salad or a fresh smoothie or something usually it's like, okay, well, I'm just going to get a cliff bar. And maybe that's not the most healthy thing or I'm going to get a bag of potato chips, but it's like nothing as unhealthy as not eating. If I'm hungry and I need fuel, it doesn't matter what that is. Again, always, you know, do your best. Try to eat something healthy. But if it's pringles, so be it. Yeah. I like thinking about these things in terms of like if your goal is a race or an FKT or whatever, like if during that race, you needed something like what's it worth? Like if it's $200 and you could get that FKT because you spent that, like, would you do it? If it's 50 bucks, would you do it? If it's five bucks. And so it's like, if you think of all those things in the construct of your goal, like you signed up for a $500 100 mile race

1:02:32and in training, it's like, well, I got to go to work. And then I got this two hour run, like I didn't bring anything. Like, well, is the five bucks to buy something at Safeway on the way? Would you pay that to be successful in your 100? And if the answer is yes, then go buy it. Like I think that's like the permission I like to give. And I, especially in FKT's, it's accentuated a bunch of like, well, if these, I don't know, if you have old shoes and it's like, well, if those shoes hurt your feet and you, if you could get new shoes for 200 bucks and that would give you a better chance for that FKT, would you do it and the immediate answers, yes. And then it's like, well, then buy those shoes. So that's how I like to, I don't like to coach by telling people what to do, but it's like a gateway into like, well, here's the gear item that's in question. If this would give you a better chance at success at your goal, would you do it? And if the answer is yes, then yes. And so I think that applies to food a lot too, especially just running around. Like something comes up, I got to run to, I was going to say the bank,

1:03:36but it's like the worst example knowing us in the bank anymore. I don't even know why they exist. But it's like, I got to run to the bank so I can't go home and get my snack. It's like, well, what being successful in a month for this thing that you've got an Airbnb, you got friends, you spent, yeah, with that be worth the $10 for a meal on the way to your run. And if the answer is yes, it's like, well, then throw it out of your mind is like, it's not a consequence. It's not a bad thing. It's just a thing you're doing. So that's, that's how I like to coach and think about food and buying food in general. I think it's a really big disconnect between ourselves and the last generation, which was like, we don't eat out. We buy cheap things on the menu where it's like, I think our values are just different and they're more experiential. And if you're going to pay for an experience, you want to be a better experience. And that might come with whether it's eating out or buying something on the way to something or buying a $4 water. Like, and I think that's okay. So I think we should have a little bit more leeway to do that.

1:04:37If we want experiences in our lives, we shouldn't compare ourselves to a generation that didn't care so much about experiences. Absolutely. I would never think I would grow up and buy food at an airport. That's what rich, crazy people do. But I guess I'm a rich, crazy person now. Yeah, I'm at least a crazy person. Yeah, that's, that's how we were raised by the last generation. Yeah. So all right. If you guys have questions for the Mr. String being himself, don't call him String. Yeah. I don't want to call Mr. anything. So Joe String being conned. Mr. Connay. Yeah, but I like the way. Yeah. If you want questions to ask him, I think it's going to be a really fun conversation. Or anything in general, we're getting me and this lovely lady across me are getting married like nine days now. The first family member is getting in tonight in four hours.

1:05:38So shocker. Texting anything fun. This has been a fun way to interact. Five, four, one, nine, oh three, eight, zero, six, five. And then you have a sub stack that has been pretty weekly for at least a couple of years. Where can people find that? It's just Allison Harding Powell dot sub stack dot com. Yeah, I just put it out every Tuesday. And I think I've been doing it two over two years. Where did Harding come from? As a family name. It's a family name. Like your family owns it. I don't know. It's what it's a my great grandmother's made a name. I think it's also my grandfather's middle name. Okay. There's a lot of pals in history. Are you related to any of the famous ones? Not that I, um, no, not that I'm aware of the most famous person in history that I know I'm related to is William Penn. Penn is a my dad's mother's made a name.

1:06:44Wow. He signed a declaration of it. Yeah, he had a good signature. Yeah. Get a insurance company for a while. Maybe still does. Maybe still does. All right. Thanks for joining. Um, I'll put out a bonus episode on Monday because we went long enough that you guys got too much good in front of giving more. You get bonus of bonus. Yeah. All right. Cheers. Cheers. Wait, wait. Say it. Staley, my friends. You did it.