Mind Over Miles: Staying Motivated on Long Runs

In this episode we dive into the mental marathon of long-distance running. Whether you're training for a half-marathon, marathon, or ultramarathon, maintaining mental motivation is just as crucial as physical preparation. We'll explore effective strategies to keep your mind engaged and motivated mile after mile. We also dive into the "Bannister Effect", and discuss how breaking the four-minute mile not only shattered physical barriers but also transformed the mindset of runners worldwide, proving the power of belief in achieving the seemingly impossible. Whether you're hitting a wall at mile 20 or just struggling to lace up for a morning run, this episode is your mental toolkit for pushing through and redefining your limit. 

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Transcript

Mind Over Mile

Speaker 1 0:43

All right, Good morning everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Do Our Things podcast. I'm JT running coach, high performance mindset coach, and today, you know, like every other episode, we are here to empower you to upgrade your life through mindset and movement. Angie, how are you doing this morning?

Speaker 2 1:02

I'm super tired, but I'm here, yay.

Speaker 1 1:05

You had a late night last night, didn't you? I did, what were you doing up on a school night? On a school night, what was the school of?

Speaker 2 1:12

my coach. Presidents' Day yeah, yeah, on Presidents' Day night I was in Columbia with the Derby team and we were scrimmaging Como Groller Derby and it was a lot of fun and it was worth it, totally worth it, but I'm definitely dragging Booty this morning.

Speaker 1 1:28

So tired. It was those. You don't have to work today so you can go get a nap. After this, go recover, get some more miles in.

Speaker 2 1:34

Yeah, yeah, that's the plan. That is the plan.

Speaker 1 1:38

Well, today our episode is called Mind Over Mile Staying Motivated on the Long Run, and we're going to talk about the mental aspects of long distance running. I'm going to share with you because my own brush with it over the weekend ran 18 miles. I didn't want to do it, I was just like I, just it was. It was brutal, it was 18 degrees, ran 18 miles. It was freaking hard. So, whether you're training, you know for your first, like 5K, 10k, half marathon, marathon, ultra marathon, whatever, whatever it is, mental motivation is just as crucial as physical preparation, and we're going to talk about some strategies to help keep your mind engaged and motivated so you can push through and totally believe that what you do in training transcends everyday life. So this is pretty crucial. But before we get into that, make sure you smash the subscribe button so you notify future episodes. We're on Spotify, apple, pocketcast, youtube. We're on TikTok over here. We're on social media, we're everywhere. So come find us, leave us a review. They really do go a long way, they matter, we appreciate them, and so if you gain any value from our podcast efforts, please just take a moment and leave us a review, and it helps other people find our podcast as well and share it with a couple of your friends, and we would love to hear your feedback. If there's a strategy that we missed or you got a great like nugget or takeaway, or even if we suck today, just let us know. We want to hear about it. So let us know what your, what your thoughts Good, bad, whatever. We love to hear feedback from y'all and so you can reach out to us directly. This episode is sponsored by Do Our Things Nation. We're a community committed to living life on offense. We empower you to upgrade your life through mindset and movement. Network with like minded people. We have frameworks and challenges and accountability so you can become a high performer that you know that you can be, and go to DoOurThingsNationcom, wwwdoourthingsnationcom. We're currently in the middle of the Tajie 100., we have the Do Heart Things 28. So if you need a free challenge to kind of get the mind right, body tight, go check that out. It's a. It's a it's challenge that you can do on your own, where you can score yourself, and just go to DoOurThingsNationcom. You can download the sheet. You can self explanatory. We got a few events coming up. We got the Rock and Roll Marathon in April. We got the Do Heart Things 9-11 run and Ruck in September. We got a few other events. Just go to DoOurThingsNationcom. Click on events. You can see what we have going on.

Speaker 1 4:05

So Saturday morning, there I was. It's 18 degrees outside, I'm freezing my ass off. It's cold, it's dark, it's miserable. And we're on for 18 miles training for our Rock and Roll Half Marathon and I just kind of going into this thing was just really kind of dreading it and it was cold. This is Lacey's first marathon training event and I think I've just a little, maybe a little fatigued from all the miles because I'm also doing some cycling preparing for this adventure race. But it was cold.

Speaker 1 4:41

We've been had like this bipolar weather here in the Midwest and it's been like it was like 60 degrees early in the week and then it snowed and then like it was 18 degrees on Saturday morning. But I knew it was going to be 60 degrees on Sunday. Yeah, I'm like hey, lacey, we don't have to run this on Saturday, we can wait till tomorrow. She's like I'm already, we already have the group meet up, you know, and we're all like mentally committed.

Speaker 1 5:06

It's like, okay, we showed up and we got there First five miles. We're okay, I mean it was cold icy patches. We had to kind of run on the road and sidewalks kind of slip, slip, slick, and then I don't know, after that, after after the six mile mark, I really got like I just don't, didn't want to be here, like I just want to go, I want to go get coffee, I'm gonna go back to bed and it took me everything I had mentally to get through this grind of a run and I enjoy running, but it was such a mental grinder and I still had, like you know, two hours to go and it was just one foot in front of the other. Have you ever experienced anything like that?

Speaker 2 5:47

Yeah, Absolutely training for the ultra Palooza 50 K it. Just, there are so many days you get up and you get out there and you know, even on the best prepared days, sometimes when you get to mile 14, 12, 16, I mean it's just, you really have to, you really have to pull out those mental, mental mind tricks to keep yourself going and keep yourself on track. But yes, yes, I've been there.

Speaker 1 6:27

Yeah, and it ultra blues. That's a King Kansas right.

Speaker 2 6:30

Yeah, yeah, also, what told me? I don't even know how to say it, right, but yes that's in the summer.

Speaker 1 6:36

Right, that's what makes that one. Yeah, that's freaking hot. Right, it is yes.

Speaker 2 6:40

Yeah, it is yes, Missouri and September. Oh yeah, it's hot.

Speaker 1 6:47

Why in the hell do you do that to yourself?

Speaker 2 6:51

Why do we do that to ourselves? That's why we're here right now. Yeah.

Speaker 1 6:56

No, that's, that's the thing. It's like that's, that's one of the thoughts that creep into my head. Well, that's like, why in the hell am I doing this to myself? Well, I don't have to be out here. You could see the perplexed look on the drivers passing us, like who are these people? Why are they doing this? And but yeah, it happens, it happens even to.

Speaker 1 7:19

We're motivated to do this and it can become such a slog. So I just want to kind of talk about, like all of the, all of the tricks that I had to pull out of my back pocket to Get through this run, and I just want you, the listener, to know that you're not alone. Yeah, when thinking about, like man, I just really don't want to do it. But how can I? How can I push through? So what kind of ping-pong back and forth between Angie and I and what are some of the tricks that we use to get through a Run like this?

Speaker 1 7:47

So the first thing that I did this is 18 miles and we were at a fleet feet group run. We had a six o'clock start and there's a group that meets up at seven. So in my mind, I just kind of broke it down into like each one of these little legs are going to be individual runs and so the first leg was like just over five miles. The second one was around six miles. Then we did another I think it was another six mile loop. So basically we had three 10 K's kind of essentially what it was and that really helped breaking it down.

Speaker 1 8:23

Like I just got to get through this individual leg. Now I'll be back in my car, I can reset with some food and fuel for a second and then just just I can do another 10 K and that's just like Throughout the week. That's typically what I run is probably somewhere between a 5k and a 10 K. So just look at it as like an Individual run, so breaking it down into manageable segments and then, even on those runs, breaking it down to a 1k or a one mile. Like I look at the horizon, I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna get to that, pull on top of the hill up there and then maybe I'll get a sip of water or maybe I'll at that point I'll turn on some tunes or something or it in celebrate the small victories, like, okay, I'm half, I'm halfway through this individual run, I just got to get through the next part and just kind of breaking it down and my mind seems to help.

Speaker 2 9:17

Yeah, do you use that methodology? Oh, yeah, yeah, I've used that from the beginning. I have chunked my miles, chunk them, chunk them, chunk them. For me, what works best is a 5k distance, because that is an that's my easy distance, like that's my super easy distance, and so I break all my long runs down into 5k. So yesterday we ran a 10k so it was two 5k's in my mind. Um, just that's that's what has worked for me. I think everyone needs to find their what is their easy distance to, to chunk their, their miles down into and focus on that, because that is absolutely Always part of my oh well, I've got two more five case, or I've got three more five case, or I've got four more five case, and but I just count them down. All right, that's four, that's three, there's oh yeah, five case, nothing, and that's really just it. That mode, the part of keeping me motivated to keep going and not Put my thumb out and hit your ride home In the middle or a long run.

Speaker 1 10:19

Yeah so. So breaking it down is man, it helps out significantly. There's been times that I've stopped my watch and restarted it just to give my own self that mental piece of like, okay, I'm just doing a little five case here to get through this thing. Yeah, whatever you got to do, whatever it takes, and so I think it's a great tactic. So, yeah, set micro goals and it's okay to walk. Like there were segments on this thing that I had to walk and I Did the telephone pole game where you, like you, you walk a telephone pole from one pole to the next and then you run to the next One and you might do that for a set distance. Then, like, at that point I'm gonna start running again. So, whatever you got to do to trick your mind, it's all about, you know, tricking your mind and into doing whatever is necessary to get through it. But take little snack walks.

Speaker 2 11:02

I mean it doesn't have to be a phone pole, it could be. I've got a bag of crackers and I'm gonna eat a cracker, yeah, walk.

Speaker 1 11:10

I'm gonna smash this peanut butter sandwich. It's in my pocket. Yeah, I don't care. Yeah, I did that at one of the stops. Like I got there, they were waiting on me. I'm like I'm gonna enjoy my little sandwich here. They took off running. I'm like I'm not, I'm not running till I. I'm gonna enjoy this thing that I run in again. So, so, set micro goals. That's strategy number one.

Speaker 1 11:31

Next one positive self-talk. This is just positive affirmations. I mean this is just you know, whatever your mantra is. I mean, obviously around here we say I do hard things and for a lot of people they've adopted that, like I can do hard things, this is good for me, I lean into it, I can do this, I, I've overcome challenge before what?

Speaker 1 11:52

Whatever your mantra is, like I do hard shit, I'm a badass. Whatever it takes for you, you just kind of got to tap into that superpower as a reminder. Like I got this, like I Got this. But you don't want to develop this mantra on the fly like you got, you got to empower yourself before you get into this thing and it should be like an ongoing thing. So, whatever that is for you, obviously you can, you can adopt, do hard things if you want, I can do hard things. We do hard things, whatever that is, but it's absolutely true and those positive affirmations and are really, really incredibly powerful and it just reminds you of who you are, that the badass superhero inside of you. You got that. Do you have any mantras aside from do hard things that you use, angie?

Speaker 2 12:36

Yeah, my body can do like my. This is what I can do. I, I focus.

Mastering Mental Toughness in Training

Speaker 2 12:43

I'm just so thankful and in awe of what our bodies can do and so if you've never been athletic and you know, if I'm speaking now to people that maybe have been athletic, often on their whole life, and it just has come naturally there's a lot of us that have not like we came from not being athletic, we came literally couch potato to now what we're doing, and so for me, I just I just sit right back into that. Oh my god, I can't believe what I'm capable of. I can't believe what we are capable of. I can't believe how, how far we can go, and it's always, unless you have an injury, it is mind over Everything else, because your body is capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for, and you usually stop Before you should, and so I just remind myself of how strong I am, how fucking amazing I. I'm trying not to care, but yeah, I mean, I just pumped myself up. I am my biggest cheerleader in my brain.

Speaker 1 13:44

Yeah, I. Another thing that I've learned to use I got this from Lacey is I get to do this. I don't have to do this. Yeah, I get to do this. And it's just a reminder of I mean, there are people out there that would give anything to have the body that I have and that they are limited from some capability and that this is a gift from God that I still get to do this Mm-hmm, and it's just. It's just a mental switch that you know what I? I get to do this. This is an amazing gift from God and to use it and you can't convince me otherwise but humans were designed. We are the ultimate endurance athlete. We were designed to do long distance running, cycling, whatever yeah, part of our biology and it's it's just part of it. Yeah, so yeah, but positive self-talk, whatever that is for you. Practice that absolutely Visualizing success.

Speaker 1 14:39

Spend time visualizing the run before you start. Now. This is where I probably have fallen short when it comes to training, because I'll do this for races and it's very, very powerful, but I didn't do that on my run this weekend and I probably should spend some time doing that. But just going through a visualization exercise from start to finish of what your run would look like. Visualization helps you build a mental framework. It helps you, like, prepare for the proverbial wall right and how to break through that. What are some things that you could kind of prepare for that you some obstacles that you might find in the way, and Visualization is incredibly, incredibly powerful. Pro athletes do this all the time. There have been countless studies that show that visualization works. I know it's definitely helped me with with races. I just forget to do it on my long run. I take it for granted, but I Did not visualize.

Speaker 2 15:36

I did not. I'm not visualizing going out in 18 degree weather and what that race is gonna look like. I've visualized it myself, dressing right in all the right layers and being prepared for the run While I'm out there and being comfortable while I'm running. That is my visual aids Visualization. That was my visualization. And 80 degrees this this weekend. I was just like, yep, nope, I'm not even gonna think about the trail. I'm not gonna think about anything but preparing, being well prepared and being comfortable and enjoying myself.

Speaker 1 16:04

That is my visualization visualize that that coffee when you're done. But visualization is incredibly incredible, so could.

Speaker 1 16:14

I recommend that enough. Yeah, focus on your. Why? Just remember why you started like, why the hell are you, I heard in the first place? You know, the big motivator for us is we. We are gonna go to rock and roll Nashville and we want to have a good time and we want to want to run the thing like we want to. We want to. You know it's Lacey's first marathon and we want to run, have a good time and not make it like so. I've run marathons before you can go off the couch, run a marathon and complete it. I've done that before. Yeah, it's miserable, it's horrible. I get you're gonna want to be like. You know we want to. I want to be able to walk away from the marathon and go have a good time that night.

Speaker 2 16:51

Yeah, right so it's like remembering.

Speaker 1 16:54

You know, why are we putting in the training miles now when we don't absolutely have to? You know we're not going there to win it. But a win for us is, you know, a good, solid time. We want to start and finish it and feel good when we're done.

Speaker 2 17:05

Yes.

Speaker 1 17:05

And and so that's that's, that's a why.

Speaker 2 17:09

Dude I'm. There's such a huge difference in running and and being really prepared and training really well and and building up your endurance and Feeling tired. You know you have to recover right. There's a difference between that and feeling like you got hit by a Mack truck and you don't want to move for like three days.

Speaker 2 17:28

And so when people experience both and they're like, yeah, so the the whole training thing, yeah, that's that feels so much better. That is such a higher motivation to get out there and get those training miles in and be fully prepared, and Just because when you feel that good afterward it's the best feeling in the world.

Speaker 1 17:49

Yeah, it's been amazing because I've worked with a lot of runners in running coaching where they they've never really worked with a coach before and and they did they walked away from a half marathon or a marathon feeling like they got hit by a bus. Then I took them through a training cycle and they're like holy shit, I didn't know I could feel this good after a run and that's that's. That's the. That's the argument for for training, and the interesting thing is it the training doesn't. It's just the right amount of distance with the right pacing tempo. It's not that difficult. Like with proper training, it makes your training even easier. So could not recommend that. I know it's a shameless plug for for my own running coaching, but find a coach, if not me. Find somebody To work with if you've never worked with one, and see what difference that would make, because it does make a huge difference. But yeah, anyway, focused on your why, remember why you started, and that was that was our, why we. You know we are willing to brave the 18 degree of weather because it's part of our training. We're committed to the cycle, so All right. Next one just practice mindfulness, stay present, stay focused on the moment, pay attention to your breathing, you know, pay attention to the scenery around you.

Speaker 1 19:03

Mindfulness can help your mind from wandering into dark thoughts or feelings of fatigue. I had a moment where Lacey came up to me and I'm like I and I kind of broke away from the crowd. I'm like I need a little bit of time to myself. At the moment I'm not having a good time. I'm going to get present with myself Because I'm just angry for having to be here right now and I'm like I need to change my attitude and I need some peace to do that. And that's what I did. She ran off and I'm like okay, I get to do this. I do hard things. This is painful, but I'm better, for I kind of went through the whole mantra.

Speaker 1 19:35

But that's the mindfulness. Right, it's not a not a pretty process. Mindfulness sounds beautiful and woo woo. It's a messy process. You have to take yourself from a Negative space where you might be cussing at the world or having some a tough conversation with Jesus, and bring yourself back to center, and it's not always the most pleasant thing, like I need at that moment. I was kind of a Punk-ass bitch at the moment and I had to rewrite right myself. Sorry, linkedin, why you kicked off that's. You know. I had to get my mind right because that's where I was. I was like I was in a dark space.

Speaker 2 20:08

Yeah, so that's it. That's mindfulness. Gratitude really helps with that, guys. Gratitude, just being thankful that you're in, that you're out there doing the hard thing, you're enduring the suck, that you're training, that your body hurts and your lungs might hurt if it's, you know, negative one million out there and you know maybe just ain't enough sleep. But just sitting in that gratitude and feeling that gratitude and looking around like holy crap, I'm out here, you know, I mean it, just it. That goes such a long way.

Speaker 1 20:42

Yeah, the gratitude bit. When you're in deep gratitude you can't help but be in a positive space. So, mm-hmm, it just might take a minute to get there, because it's where I was. I was like man, I was out of gratitude, I had to get myself back in alignment and I definitely helped, took about a mile, but I got back in there. I All right, embrace discomfort.

Speaker 1 21:01

You know discomfort is part of long-distance running as part of the lifestyle. Accepting it rather than fighting it can reduce the mental burden because it's always exciting to get up and get moving. That first mile it's always, you know well after the first mile, usually that first miles a little tough. But once you get in the group feels good and then realize at some point it's gonna start to hurt and Just embracing that as part of the process, being comfortable with being come, just being comfortable with discomfort and just realize that this is temporary and and when it gets tough that you know you kind of maybe distract yourself with some music or you know a conversation with your friends, but whatever mental game you got to play, but just realize that yeah, it hurts, it's designed to hurt, it's going to hurt, even in a marathon, like even if you're properly trained, like the the, the last six miles Once you you're gonna hit the wall. The last six miles are always painful and it's okay, it's part of it.

Speaker 2 21:55

But yeah, yeah for sure. And I think being prepared is because, yeah, like Jay said, you're gonna be uncomfortable when you're out there on these long runs and it's not gonna be happy, happy, happy, happy all the time. But if you are prepared, that is one thing that has, I know, 100 million percent. That has gotten me through. I've. Have I chafed? Yes, I've chafed, but minimally, like I don't chafe a lot because I prepare.

Speaker 2 22:24

I prepare with different chafing, anti chafing Products that work for me and I make sure, you know, even like on a six mile run, I'm like, oh, let me, let me break this out Because I don't want to chafe blisters. I know, I know what socks to wear and For the miles, I know what shoes to wear for the miles and I have very minimal blistering. You know I have. I've figured out how to fuel and how to hydrate. Yes, you need to fuel on long runs your body, or or maybe you don't, but you have to figure these things out and then put them, work them into the process because you know you're gonna be uncomfortable. But be as comfortable in the uncomfortable by being prepared, like I live and die by that.

Speaker 1 23:08

Absolutely and get the, get the right gear. Experiment with gear like I don't want to spend the money on, but, tony, nice, nice clothes, nice shoes, nice socks, they last a long time, they, they make everything more comfortable. This is the funny thing, because I like to camp and people like I can't camp or I just so miserable, it's because you don't have the right equipment. Like if you had a nice sleeping bag and it was more comfortable, I bet you would absolutely love it. But when you're using Equipment and tools that there you know, they just make it more difficult. It's not going to be as fun. So, yeah, don't, don't? You know? It's all about experimentation and and trying to learn, and it's little things that make all the difference in the world.

Speaker 1 23:49

Yes, yeah, run with a grouper partner. Obviously, you know having suffering with a group is always better than doing it alone. I, I think you know having a social support and accountability is huge. So having a running partner, a group, whether in person or even virtually, you know it helps you share the workload, makes the miles more enjoyable and makes you realize that you're not alone out there, and so that's that's always useful. And you know that's what we're doing. I have to do our things nation creating a community of like-minded people getting after it. But I think that's important. So yes definitely helpful.

The Banister Effect

Speaker 1 24:28

And then, reflecting on past successes, the more that you do this, the more that you've had these moments where things didn't, you weren't having the best of time at the moment, but you got it done. Anyway, you can always reflect on it, like you know what I've done this before. I can do this again, you know, I it's just just my mindset at the moment. I just need to overcome it and you can. You can draw on those past memories to give you strength in the current moment when you're facing difficulty. And I think that transcends just everyday life. Right, I can do hard things, have done hard things before. I am confident in my ability, I can push through. I think that's that Definitely makes a difference. And the more that you get comfortable being uncomfortable, the easier it gets. Yes, yeah, hence why you got a. You know you got to push. You got push the envelope on what that is for your life. Yeah, absolutely. And that leads me into the banister effect and in mindset when it comes to that. So I got a little story for you, okay. So running a four-minute mile, it just can't be done. It's impossible. People have tried and failed before. The body just can't handle it. He's risking his health. What a waste of time. It's a fool's errand like these. These are some of the statements that were that were made when naysayers of Robert banister was attempting to run a sub four-minute mile, and In sports there are some established records that become what is perceived as an Instrumental barrier, and in the world of running, it was the sub four-minute mile that was considered the Mount Everest of athletic achievement, and for over 70 years runners had been diligently trying to break the four-minute mile barrier, and it was finally broken May 6th 1954, but up until that time, the fastest recorded time was four minutes. One second point four, and Runners from around the world I mean it was like it was like newsworthy they were attempting over and over and over again. Loud, large crowds would gather to see people try to to break this record attempt, but it couldn't. It could not be done.

Speaker 1 26:30

Sir Roger banister, he was a medical student and he was a middle distance runner from Britain, and the key, though, as they analyzed him and his methodology compared to the others, was that he truly believed that he could do it, and he approached it with a growth mindset. He'd not only focused on the body but his mindset. He had a demanding medical school schedule. So he had to think outside the box and how he could get his training done. And he and he ultimately, to do this, adopted an unusual training plan when he would combine interval training which was new, and that's what we train today and Visualization. He would visualize and spend time Just mentally preparing and seeing himself accomplish this. This was different from all of the other runners and on May 6th it was a overcast day 1554, he proved the world that it could be done and he smoked it with a 359, 0.4, so two seconds faster. It was during unfavorable running conditions, was windy that day, and He'd done what was what Experts thought were absolutely impossible.

Speaker 1 27:42

Now here's the unique thing. This is where the term banister effect comes from. Just 46 days after banister's record, an Australian Runner by the name of John Landy ran the mile in 357, so like, almost like a second and a half faster, mm-hmm. And then, in less than a year, three more runners broke the record. So so what happened?

Speaker 1 28:01

70 years, all these runners were trying to, you know, go for it, and they couldn't break it. Now, all of a sudden, like the floodgate was open. So what happened? It? Did humans evolve suddenly physically? Was there some type of technological breakthrough in running shoes or socks? No, it was the mindset of what runners perceived this barrier to be. Runners up until this point were held back by the mindset that they couldn't do it, mm-hmm. And then, when the record was broken, it shattered that limiting belief and the possible was now possible, and the current time for the one mile run is 343 340. Wow, even it's, that is in. Yeah, so in 17 seconds, faster than you know what this insurmountable, you know Time was. For the longest time, there was a woman indoor track record, I think. Over the weekend broken indoor tracks a little bit slower because of the, the tight corners I think 416 for females over, which is super, super fast.

Speaker 1 29:00

Yeah, so the banister effect is the term used when someone breaks through a barrier that was previously thought to be impossible. So this is outside of running. This has become like a coin when something thought to be impossible becomes possible and it leads people to believe into a new possibility. And so we all have assumptions about our own capabilities, our own limitations, and we need to be able to break through that. We need to identify, you know, what is that four-minute mile in our life, and how can we shatter that limitation in our own life? And so I just want you to think about In your own life, when you pushed beyond your own limits, your own limiting beliefs, and and achieved something that you thought was impossible, and what did you learn from that experience? Have you had anything, angie, that you thought was impossible in your life?

Speaker 2 29:50

Oh, hell, yeah. I thought, man, if you want to ask me if People regularly ran hundred milers or 50 K's or 50 milers, six, seven years ago, I would have been like, no, people don't do that. No. And then here I am, I'm out. I mean, I will never forget the day that I went out for a 14 mile training run and ran 36 miles because of the people that I was with, I mean that there was no.

Speaker 2 30:18

I was like you guys are there, like you're gonna end up running at least a marathon today, and I'm like you guys are shut up, there's no way. But the more you're around it and you see it and you're like, wait a minute. You know, we know people that regularly run 50 milers and 100 milers, because that their mindset is that they can do it, and so absolutely, yes, 100%. When it's a normal thing to say, oh, how far are you gonna go run today? I don't know, I'm gonna go run 15 miles today. I'm gonna go run 10 miles today, like that's, that's normal in our, in our friend group, you know, and it's just crazy, it's crazy, yeah, what, what?

Speaker 1 30:58

It sounds. It sounds insane to drive 100 miles. I got about to get off the podcast. Go drive 100 miles.

Speaker 1 31:04

It's a long way to drive little own to run, yes, and it transcends, you know, into your personal life, like there's a lot of races and things that I've done. I mean my whole growth mindset journey started with running and but that bled over to my personal life. You know, I never thought that I could be a father of triplet daughters. You know, I didn't think I would ever be a father. I didn't think that I came from nothing. You know, going to college and earning a bachelor degree, I didn't think that that was possible. Then that led me to oh my gosh, a master's degree. I don't think I can do this and I did it.

Speaker 1 31:37

And I not only did it once but did it twice In my career. You know, becoming an officer, that wasn't, that wasn't in the cards for the likes of me and where I came from and I did it. I did it well. And so, time after time after time, there were things in my life outside of just running that I thought were impossible, that but I was able to leverage those other impossibilities in my life. I had banister effect in my life and I'm like you know what. I think I can do this if I, if I apply these principles hard work, showing up dedication, getting a coach and a mentor, getting the right community around me.

Speaker 1 32:11

Like I feel like I'm pretty freaking, unstoppable, right yeah, and my current four-minute mile is this expedition race. I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared. The expedition O's are coming. I'm scared, but I'm using all of the tools at my disposal. We're leveraging a community. I've got a partner, I've got a bunch of people clapping when I win and supporting me. I'm getting all the gear and equipment and that's my current four-minute mile that I'm working for, trying to finish this race. So I think everyone has that. What is that in your life? You just realize that you're only limited by your own mindset and you can shatter it.

Speaker 1 32:52

That's it damn. You can shatter it. Well, it's 632. 632.

Speaker 2 32:59

Alrighty alright.

Speaker 1 32:59

We gotta pull up my screen here. We got our weekly winner and then alright, so our weekly winner is gonna be a little bit unusual because I don't have full-blown photos. I'm gonna share with you a Facebook page because Ray is primarily on TikTok. Ray Dijkstra, your weekly winner. And is that working? There we go, boom. Alright. Ray Dijkstra, whom is right here? Look at that. Look at that handsome devil with a frowny face. Ray, you gotta update your profile photo. Dude, you look angry.

Speaker 1 33:30

He's actually the nicest guy in the world. He shaved off his beard over the weekend. He's been doing a big fundraiser. He founded the America First Project and he's building tiny homes for veterans and he has been working diligently. He's his big footprint is on Facebook but he has been working diligently on doing fundraising to build tiny homes. He's buying some land up in South Dakota and he's auctioning off a bunch of.

Speaker 1 33:57

He's got people donating like woodworking. He's got people donating vehicles, all sorts of stuff to get this project of making, you know, providing housing for homeless veterans and he's been working so hard on. He's constantly going live on his TikTok, just spreading the word on his mission, and he's such a just a kind giving person. He did a battle the other night where people were gifting and he lost the battle but they raised a bunch of money. But he shaved off his beard on TikTok just as a way to raise funds and I just appreciate his heart and what he's doing in his journey. So, ray, for just being a role model for other people and being selfless, we're gonna send you a do hard things shirt for just kicking ass and appreciate what you're doing.

Speaker 1 34:46

But these are some of the woodworking that the people are donating and all the money that he's raising behind the scenes that make this happen. So, ray, we appreciate you. That's awesome. Yeah, so well, that's it. That's all I got for today. It is Monday. It is Monday. Go buy yourself a nice mattress, if you want, because they're all on sale. Yeah, I am gonna go spend the day. I'm gonna take my daughter to a blues game.

Speaker 2 35:12

Right on, I am gonna spend the day this morning. At some point we're gonna go run, I'm gonna hang out with my better half and our little furry companion, our little old dog, and then tonight we've got roller derby practice. So more roller derby, yeah. So I'm excited. So today's gonna be a great day. Go out and smile. Don't forget to make someone else smile. Make yourself smile first and make someone else smile. Put a smile on somebody's face.

Speaker 1 35:41

Make the day count because you can. Yeah, you can. So we appreciate y'all and yeah, we will see you all in the next episode. Keep kicking ass, all right, thanks.