The Masters Athlete Survival Guide
We explore thriving as an athlete after 40. Each episode, we’ll dive into tips, hacks, and inspiring stories from seasoned athletes and our personal experience. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a competitive pro, this podcast is your playbook for staying fit, strong, and motivated
The Masters Athlete Survival Guide
Savage Mindset: Candice Dutko Attacks Strongman, Ultra Running and Life
Candice Dutko, owner of Achieve Wellness and Fitness in Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, shares her remarkable journey from 220 pounds to becoming both a competitive strongwoman and ultra-marathon runner with a mindset of "just keep moving."
• From unhealthy lifestyle to fitness professional after being invited to a Spartan Race with friends
• A broken leg caused by her dog became the turning point in her fitness consistency
• Trains simultaneously for seemingly opposite disciplines: strongman competitions and ultra marathons
• Working with a mindset coach to develop mental strategies for pushing through physical barriers
• Creating a gym environment where women of all ages discover their strength, many lifting for the first time
• Hosting women-focused strongman competitions with accessible events for beginners
• Preparing for a 24-hour ultra-marathon with a goal of 120 miles
• Using "systems checks" during endurance events to assess if she can continue
• Emphasizing that "you can have excuses or you can have results, but you can't have both"
• Showing clients what's possible by leading by example in multiple fitness disciplines
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New episodes come out every other Thursday!
Welcome to the Master's Athlete Survival Guide, where we explore the secrets to thriving in sports after 40. I'm John Catalinas and, along with Scott Fyke, we'll dive into training tips, nutrition hacks and inspiring stories from seasoned athletes who defy age limits. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a competitive pro, this podcast is your playbook for staying fit, strong and motivated. Let's get started.
Speaker 2:And we're back, am still john and, like it or not, I'm still scott. Scott, who do we have today? We have, you know, I'm gonna let her introduce herself. Okay at her. I met her.
Speaker 3:Okay down in, uh, wilkes-barre, right um not on top just outside wilkes-Barre right Um not on top just outside.
Speaker 2:Wilkes-Barre. Okay, we were, uh, a friend of ours was, and I went down for a competition and met this incredible person who is go ahead, Candace.
Speaker 1:Hi Candace. No, no, no, he says he went down for a competition. Was this a pie eating competition?
Speaker 3:you suck oh, we did serve pizza pie at the end that people were invited to. Uh, you know, take advantage though, yeah there you go.
Speaker 1:Okay, before we get too deep into anything, because I try to research guests, so I researched you a little. The way that people research people these days, I cyber stalked. You are you, are you twins? Are you twins? No are you sure? Because? So I met you at a strong person, woman, man competition at the compound, yeah, okay, lifting heavy things quickly, very arduous, what?
Speaker 3:are you doing tomorrow? I am, good Lord willing, doing an ultra marathon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wait, stop, full stop Period this would be the Candice has seen Scott and John, so she knows that there's going to be a stop there. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because this is the twins comment. Okay, okay, so she knows there's going to be a stop there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because this is this is the twins comment like okay, so you train strongman and ultra marathon, that those totally go together like peanut butter and deviled eggs. What I like to have fun with fitness and, uh, what my body can do I, I, I don't know if I should applaud you or call 911.
Speaker 1:What that's? That's amazing. All right, so we need to break down one of those. So which which came first? The strong or the long, the chicken?
Speaker 3:That's a good question. I want to say a strong man and honestly like, whether you like it or not, crossfit came first and then strong man came after that. And honestly like, whether you like it or not, crossfit came first and then Strongman came after that and then you know, just kind of just one thing turned into another. Like I, like years ago, decided to do my first half marathon and then I want to say that was 2016. I think I did that and then maybe 2017 did my first marathon, did that, and then maybe 2017 did my first marathon and then um 2018 I think is when I did my first uh, and now maybe it was in track, maybe that was 2019 I attempted. I think 2019 is when I attempted an ultra marathon for the first time. Uh, I had signed up for 100 miles, so I figured I'd like nice round numbers and I made it 80 miles and then went back in 2020 and actually had to do a virtually cause they canceled the race, um, so then I did a hundred miles virtually.
Speaker 1:I have done, wait, I have done a hundred miles virtually. I was sitting on the couch playing video games, but my character went a hundred miles for sure, but my character went a hundred miles for sure.
Speaker 3:Um yeah, just all along, like no matter what I trained for, like just fitness and lifting. Um, like I said, I go back to CrossFit but honestly, sometimes, like if people were to truly look at my day-to-day program, it doesn't even look like a lot of CrossFit, but I just love enjoying like a little bit of everything. Like, believe it or not, I do love doing workouts with burpees, but then, like I also love ollie lifting. Um, so any chance I get, like I feel like even when I was training for um, ironman, uh past years, like I still snatched once a week preparing for an ironman and sometimes I doubt myself like, well, geez, like how many uh triathletes are out there that can do snatch, clean and jerk?
Speaker 1:or back squat zero yeah, no.
Speaker 3:So I even like like hashtag strong ultra runner as I build up for this race tomorrow.
Speaker 1:That's not a thing.
Speaker 3:I think it's like, yeah, a couple weeks ago I think, my top end deadlifts were like 82.5%. I'm like I'd probably look around me and I don't want to underestimate somebody, but uh, I can look around and say I wonder how many of these ultra runners can uh devilish like two 50 plus or none, no, zero, no, honestly, they probably all think that like it's detrimental to ultra marathoning.
Speaker 1:Like you don't? You don't want to be too bulky, right? You don't want dumb right, uh I did stomp all over. We should probably. I just I had to jump right on that because that was blowing my mind. But could you, could you go back and introduce who you?
Speaker 2:are and what you do, and a little bit about you know yourself and yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:I stomped all over because I was flabbergasted by the fact that like I still think you're twins.
Speaker 3:We we've yeah, that's okay. Just as much as I have fitness ad, I probably have just real life.
Speaker 1:ADHD, fitness ADHD. I am stealing that.
Speaker 3:So yeah, so my name is Candice Detko and I guess, if you were to be official about it, I'm Dr Candice Detko and I'm registered, I want to say, by career, I was a registered nurse. Well, I still do per diem work as a registered nurse, but a registered nurse and in 2022, I left my job in health care to start my own gym. I'm the owner of Achieve Wellness and Fitness in Mountaintop, pennsylvania, and I started out of my garage and then, in 2022, moved to a smaller location and then, about seven months later, may of 2023, moved to my current one, which is now larger, and we can host the strongman competitions, which is where we met Scott.
Speaker 2:And Candace, let me jump in there for a second. I applaud you because you know I've been to and held several competitions. Your competition was exceptionally well run. It was very smooth. I loved the way it happened and you know it was a great use of the facility that you had there. So it was. I knew when I was there and I said to mark. You know, I came down with our buddy mark and I said to mark. I said let's see how this goes you know because we're critical when we go.
Speaker 2:You know, gym owners were all like all right, what's this person going to do? And as Mark and I were piling in our respective vehicles to leave, I'm like I like that. I said we'll be back. It was very well run.
Speaker 1:So basically, he stole all your ideas for his own competitions is what he said.
Speaker 3:I know Anything. I'm trying to steal ideas from his and try to run more than one event at the same time. So we are hosting a women only one in may and, uh, the plan is to have three of them going simultaneously. Uh, so that would be my first go at that, because I feel like every competition you learn a little something different on how you could do it better the next time. So, uh, so, just you know that I want to say for the one that thought was, that was like our only, our second one, and it was more than double the size of the first one, so which was like overwhelming and exciting all at once. Um, so I'm glad that it's, uh, it went as well as it did, because sometimes you're like, oh crap, and you just like someone builds up into it that day and it's just like the most exhausting day. Oh well for so many, and just see so many people just walk away and be proud of what they did just meant a lot oh, you have so many.
Speaker 2:One of the advantages and john knows, because you know john is on our board at the gym john will tell you one of the advantages that we have when we run events are the number of people who help, and I saw that in yours there were a lot of people. Just you know, wherever something was needed, they jumped in and did it right for sure, everybody's always rallied around and just helped.
Speaker 3:Of course, not everyone can help all day, but everybody jumps in and does what they can. The thing again I'm more than happy to work and coach and train men, but we are predominantly a gym that most of our clientele is women, so that did hurt us a little bit, in that we had a lot of guys lifting some heavy things and then when it came to putting stuff back at the start line, it was like, oh God, that was a lot of work. So I was like I need to like wrangle some guys for the next one for sure.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, I want to say I feel like something special about my story is because I feel like a lot of people focus on, you know, people who grew up as athletes their whole life. But I believe something special I bring to my service and what I do and where I am, is that I wasn't always in this shape or had a twin in that, like I say, my past twin. At my heaviest I was 220 pounds and definitely living an unhealthy lifestyle, and not that I was never encouraged to do sports when I was a kid, but I did sports. That maybe wasn't very good at it, like I just did it because I had fun with it. And then, kind of, as time goes by and life goes by, just more and more sedentary and uh, and then, um, I want to say maybe it was after nursing school, like friends invited me to be on a spartan race uh team that they were putting together and I was like you know, I can use something to work towards and uh, that's kind of like what jump-started my fitness.
Speaker 3:I mean, of course, it still took me a while to accept that you can't out-train a bad diet and I needed to rein different things in. But, um, but I went from being like someone who never went to the gym and, honestly, even at first, when I did join the gym gym I wasn't, uh, very enthused about going, like it was kind of something at the time I felt like I should be doing but didn't want to do, and it took my dog breaking my leg, uh, to help me be consistent. Um, because it was one of those things like, if I left work I worked as a floor nurse and if I went to my truck and I didn't feel like going to the gym, I drove home and, uh, one day I was playing with the dog in the backyard and threw his toy for him and I didn't know that I was. I didn't realize at the time I was standing in the leash. Of course, the moment it's about to happen, you realize what's about to happen.
Speaker 3:And just as soon as I realized, he yanked me over and I ended with like a small avulsion fracture in my leg and, um, couldn't go to work for like three weeks, um. So I was going nuts at the house and uh, and I messaged a gym owner. I was like, oh great, here's my out, I can get out of the gym membership. And uh like no, no, no, you come on in, we'll help.
Speaker 3:You know, we'll give you some upper body stuff like fine which um my one coach now tells me that fine is the other f word 100, so you know, I think it'll be because, like, I was pretty sore like the first week and then, um, fine, like I, you know, went in and was the, of course, I did a god awful number of push-ups or I rode with one leg, like whatever I could do, I did, and then, um, I think, just that, being a floor nurse in the hospital, like I was used to being busy and I just needed that something to keep me busy, I don't think I've gone less than five days a week since, um, so I truly believe that things don't always happen to you, they happen for you, and I think if that uh dog didn't break my leg, I don't know where I would be today and I wouldn't have had the adventures that I've had to this point.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's an amazing story and so much of it we've heard from other people. One of the things I think when people go into a gym and see fit people, they assume that they started when they were 13. That is not always sometimes rarely the case it takes you know, everybody's got different triggers that suddenly makes them wake up, whether it be an illness like, uh, our friend Jesse who was on the podcast, or you know just.
Speaker 2:Or Ricardo, a life changing cardiac event.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's not all. And it's funny, cause I again I don't think in the comics the common psyche that people think that you can start fitness late in life, you um one, at least one of your twins is definitely, uh definitely, a testament to that sure, sure, um.
Speaker 3:Yes, I didn't begin until I was like three, three and a half and uh, yes, I never felt like I was particularly gifted at anything. I was just willing to show up over and over again. And something I encourage my clients with is we start where we started. We go from there, like everybody starts somewhere, but many times people are judging their chapter one against somebody else's chapter 20. Yeah you can't do that.
Speaker 3:Oh, you make't do that, oh, you make it look easy. I'm like you know how much practice I've done to make XYZ movement look easy and still some days I feel like I'm struggling with whatever it might be. So, but again, show up and just do it.
Speaker 2:John asked me I had been at mime school for a couple of weeks. It blew me off. I blew him off and what John doesn't know is it was mime school because we had Cheetos, yeah. So I came back and he surprised me and he interviewed me and the one question he asked me at the very end was what would you tell yourself from the past to now?
Speaker 2:and you really just hit on it. So it's great to hear that other people have that same mentality. You know, I said don't f and stop you. Just you can't. And that's what you're saying. You know, find your thing, do your thing, but compare it to you, don't try to compare to somebody else, because you're right, you never know how long they've been doing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Well, I will say, I will say on behalf of probably every one of your clients and friends I met you once, I saw you compete once. I've talked to you now for 10 minutes and what I know is that your superpower is the ability to go, to just go, is the ability to go, yeah, to just go, because I guess, I mean, they're incredibly dissimilar the things that you're, you and your twin do when it comes to ultra marathoning and strong person, but they both require mental fortitude. They are both mentally like. There's a part of you, as you're doing, both of those. I would imagine, having never run an ultramarathon, but your body's gonna be screaming at you. You can stop, you should stop. It's okay to stop you. You've gone far enough.
Speaker 3:Stop yep, yep, so um I I need to know yeah, go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry, I think something I always go back to is like is just keep moving. And I think, like I just remember, like my very first Spartan race, I wanted to die I, what I thought I did to get in shape at the time, like did nothing, like if I'm going to do a little bit of jogging, do some pushups, and then I got there and like to start the race, like you have to like feel like a four-foot wall or something like that, and like I could barely do that without somebody helping me. I never knew what a burpee was to that day, and while I was on the mountain I was like I just want to get off of this right now, and it's like there's another way to get off here, just to just keep walking.
Speaker 3:So just keep moving. And that's carried me through, like so many things. Like you, you know, like when I did triathlon, like whatever it is you need to do to move forward, like you just got to do it, like it doesn't have to be beautiful at the time, like whatever you need to do to just keep moving forward and you know, I can even attribute that to the health journey Like not every day is great, but there's always something I can do, whether it be hydration wise or go for a walk or just do something. Like there's always something you could do to keep moving forward and just to keep showing up. And and I like I think about like, uh, like at your strongman comp, the um, the sandbag carry, um. Like like I told myself I was like I am not putting that down for a minute and like, yes, I had to pause, but ultimately I was still able to keep just moving forward.
Speaker 2:Like it might not have been pretty the whole time and like towards the end, like my back was shot, but I was like I'm not putting this down, like I told myself I'm not putting this down, but, candice, let me jump in here for a hot second, because I remember, you know, when you and I talked and you said to me hey Scott, I'm coming up to your event, I was watching your training for this and what you were doing and there was at one point and I don't remember, I want to say your, your bag weight was like 135 pounds or something like that. You had like a 105 pound bag at your place and you carried it one length of your gym and it didn't take you long, but you set it down. You're like you were shot.
Speaker 2:So the fact that you went from that to not putting down a bag that was a third heavier and going like John said. That's your superpower, you just don't quit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we're not going to gloss over the theme of this podcast, which is there may be multiple Candaces. I think she mentioned a triplet. Did you say the word triathlon?
Speaker 2:yes, she did she actually said ironman at one point yeah yeah, I think 2018, 19, 20 and 21.
Speaker 3:I did um some triathlons those years um of course, as, as a strong person, does sure sure actually I want to say 2019, about six to eight weeks out I think it was like six or seven weeks out from my iron man that, like october, I think, I did a late august strongman comp uh, he was pa's strongest, I think it like I'm not sure, but that might have been the first time I ever did like 18 inch deadlift. So like here I am doing maybe 300 pound, 18 inch deadlift and pulling a truck and then, like six or seven weeks later, going and doing a triathlon. Like how many people can say they could do that?
Speaker 3:so uh, and actually now this year I actually have my first clients training for their own triathlon and simultaneously I'm prepping folks for their some of them their first strongman competition. So it's uh, I believe it helps me bring a unique uh perspective or um ability as a coach to help people do whatever it is that they want to do yeah, because they can't give you the.
Speaker 2:Oh, you don't know what I'm going through bullshit. I don't know what you're going through.
Speaker 1:It's like training with scott. I've been there, nobody can look at you and be like I don't know if I can do that I'm and you just might like what? Do you say anything?
Speaker 3:or you just like look at them for a hot minute like you've you've met me right, you've met my triplets yeah yeah, and I love, like, when people say like something can't be done, like oh, yeah, like I'm almost certain it can't be, um, maybe there's a deal up to do. Is this like woman made me miss Pratt? I was going to be like never doubt Candace Pratt, but yeah, when somebody says like oh, because I think I was on a call with another group of coaches and the one coach had brought up that he had a woman who was going to be training for her first half marathon and his coach's mentor asked like, and he's like, oh, he's like, oh, she hasn't started running yet. It was like like maybe four or five months.
Speaker 3:I was like, oh, she better start running around. No script, she should do that. Like, um, like I did my first half marathon and the first one had run a mile in years, was like four months prior, and I actually did the half marathon now. Granted, it was slow, but like, I did it without walking, um, and then six weeks later, I've already signed up for a second one, like six weeks later, without even having done the first one, and that usually quiets people so that's those micro goals you're talking now scott.
Speaker 1:What this means is I need a different podcast. I need to interview lazy people. This is killing me because the whole time I'm thinking here, I'm like could you stop taking my excuses away?
Speaker 2:so candace. Years ago, maybe two years ago, I bought john a shirt had all the excuses listed on it. There's a line through it and it just at the bottom. It's like just shut up and do it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know so, oh, yeah and uh facing it like, uh, and I joke, like you're honestly I don't joke, I'm like honestly serious. Like when people like tell me like any excuse you have, like on your weight loss journey, like I probably had it, like you don't have time, okay, well, you know I worked as a nurse and often did double shifts and yes, I have a kid and yes, I have this and that, like, um, I can give you all the excuses, like I probably all had them all at once, um. But then I go back to uh, something I work with like a mindset coach. Um, many times it's considered my therapist, but I work with a mindset coach and one of his phrases is you can have excuses or you can have results, but you can't have both um so sometimes like when I, when I like felt fallen short of, like maybe, a particular goal, like maybe it was like something nutritionally that I think, okay, candice, like what was your excuse this week?
Speaker 3:and and especially like in the ebbs and flows of like growing my gym, like I've had some hectic weeks where I've gone home and just exhausted and, uh, probably didn't make the best food choices, I just went with, was right there and like, okay, what was my excuse? Well, I came home I didn't feel like cooking. I was like, okay, well, that means I need to meal prep better for this upcoming week. So, um, so it's not always meant in like a condescending way, but like it helps me answer for myself like what do I need to fix, like in the upcoming day or week? Um, uh, to make things better.
Speaker 3:And I think, like, as I prepare to do tomorrow's run, um, I was just telling somebody else the other day like I'm I'm grateful for the runs that went very well, but I'm grateful for the ones that didn't work out, because then I learned something out of them. So, for example, like the one day, like I was underdressed for the weather and definitely had like a crappy run, and now tomorrow, like the temperatures are pretty much going to be the same as that day was like in the 30s, the 40s, and now I know how to dress because I, you know, didn't do something appropriately. So, um so, like, every mistake along the way teaches you something new, so that, like, it helps you go into something with more confidence the next time wow, so you you mentioned, do you have a mindset coach?
Speaker 1:could you talk to a little bit about? I don't think I know that that exists.
Speaker 3:Uh, yes, I sometimes often refer to him as my secret weapon, but I've been working with him since um, uh, 2020. I want to say shortly after I did like the a hundred miles. Uh, that was in April, maybe I started working with him. I want to say in May or June of 2020. Um, and it was kind of like. You know, his name is Bruce Young. He's actually in Canada on Instagram. He's next at next level coach and um started working with him and I want to say, because something that was holding me back at the time was um going through a bit of the grief process with my father having passed away, and so he kind of helped me work through that. But he himself is a CrossFit Games Masters athlete and you know, just using the mind to help you tap into performance.
Speaker 3:Like there's different things, like I'd have hangups on in training and, for example, like something I often struggle with is box jumps. So how do I prepare myself mentally for a session to do better with box jumps? But at the time I had said like, oh, by the way, I'm signed up for at the time it was potentially a back-to-back race in Texas. So in 2020, I had signed up for an Ironman in Canada that ultimately got moved. And then my coach that I work with for my fitness had said oh, did you hear this crazy thing that texas is doing? And I said, no, and here, like, they moved their full iron man to october, where they like traditionally, they do their full iron man in april and then their half one in october. But they moved them both to october in the anticipation that, like all these, like restrictions would be limited and they could have the races again. And they were calling it at that time the Texas Two-Step, where you do a full Ironman on Saturday and a half Ironman on Sunday.
Speaker 3:Wait wait, wait, wait the same people the same athletes. Yeah, there was going to be a special medal for those who chose.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it looks like handcuffs and they lock you into a very soft room for a while and so at the time, like preparing, thinking like hey, this is going to happen, and I remember so, just one of the first things that he helped me through and I was like you know, it's like 2020, I was like, oh, I have these virtual races I want to do. One was a like a virtual marathon and a virtual half marathon, and I said I really like to give those a try in the same weekend as like a prep. Like can I do it in a race setting? Like granted, I'm not going to repeat, like I'm not going to replicate the full race setting on my own, but just wondering, like can I even do like a marathon on a Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday and, better yet, can I PR my times in those?
Speaker 1:the correct answer. The correct answer should be no, by the way, on behalf of all lazy people. Should be no on behalf of those of us who are masters athletes?
Speaker 3:the answer is hell yeah, fine uh, but the answer is yes and uh, so it's actually awesome and um, so, uh, what was I going to say? Um, and one of the questions was like, and when I was asking, like yeah, I'm not sure if I could do it, and he just taught me he's like canvas and he said, just why don't you believe in yourself? And then I just had no real answer for him and uh, then we just kind of moved forward from there and and different mindset things leading up to that um, to where, like one of the things that he had me do and it's something I kind of tap into in any future thing was in preparation for this weekend. So this is what I was going to do was like on that saturday I was going to do the virtual marathon and then sunday do the virtual half marathon, and just leading up to that, like I had to identify like three physical feats of prowess, like three things that I've done. That like I was tremendously proud of.
Speaker 3:And I think at a time like I had, you know, I had my 100 miles that I had finished, I had like my first half Ironman and that sounds terrible. Maybe I mentioned like, maybe it was like the 80 mile. Like I can't fully remember the three that I identify at this time, but then I just remember being out on those runs and, like when we get tough towards the end, like I started thinking like Candice, do you remember when you did this and you didn't think you could and you did? Or you remember when you pushed through this and you did that, like it was just like all of a sudden, like that mental momentum that you, that you needed, needed, like in those tough moments. So like when I dig deep into a tough session, like I think about my race for tomorrow, like I just like I visualized that final hour so many times, like I just imagined it being awesome.
Speaker 3:Um, but in that race, like that weekend, like in and honestly, like those that, so what is that? I mean 26.2 plus 13.1, so 37.3 miles, at a time when I was maybe on average running five to six miles a week. I went out that Saturday and I want to say, in the preparation of the week leading up, it's kind of like focusing on controlling what you can control. It's like I can control sleeping better, I can control eating better, I can control my hydration, I can control stress, like having expectations around that that Saturday I went out and in my marathon I actually pr'd my half marathon time and then still finished and still pr'd my marathon time that day.
Speaker 3:And then, if you ask me that day, like I was like oh my god, like there is no way I can do this again tomorrow, and but then I just like again, just like catch everything like orderly, like it has been like, woke up, have my pre-raised meal, just like I did the day before, warmed up the way I did the day before, walked up like again and just did it through neighborhoods where I live, got to the top of the stream like, okay, well, let's hit start for another 13.1. And I took off and, believe it or not, like I was running faster than I was the day before, I ended up pr-ing my half marathon again from the time the day before wow and uh, yeah, I want to, and, um, I'm not even sure if I even went swimming that afternoon with the oh my god, stop just
Speaker 3:just um. But I think it was just to me, like at that moment, like I was sold, like if you are not tapping into improving your mindset, like you're leaving performance off the table because like there was nothing physically I was really doing different in training to prepare for that um, you know that I can fully explain, like to help me that. You know that I can fully explain, like to help me. That day, the only thing that changed was the work I was doing mentally.
Speaker 1:Well, it's funny because I think you sort of backed into something that I think people like somehow falsely believe if they're not prepared for it. Some athletes I know way too many of them they just assume that on race day they're going to be better and I think the moment that they're not, they crumble. Because I mean, I know, I I did collegiate track and field, so I know plenty of people that could do 37 miles in a weekend. Could they deadlift? No, absolutely not. So that is again.
Speaker 3:I don't know which twin is the deadlifter, but yeah um but, yeah, like, just like I try to have my clients, like no, like you have to believe yourself, like right now I, I can believe for sure I'm gonna deadlift xyz. But like some days it isn't there.
Speaker 3:But if I walk to the bar like well, I don't know if I can do this but, then they're probably just I'm not gonna do it, but like, if I can walk up to it, have a positive mental head, not like yes, like I'm gonna do this and I put forth my best like it doesn't happen. Like it doesn't happen, but like the chances of me believing myself and it actually like is going to help me actually make it happen right, but let's, let's call a spade a spade, though the belief is coupled with the fact that you put in the work.
Speaker 1:I mean you're you're going.
Speaker 3:You are going to the gym I mean one does not magically believe and they walk up to the bar.
Speaker 1:I have tried that I really have tried, that it literally doesn't work.
Speaker 2:I've seen that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it doesn't work.
Speaker 2:It sounds awesome, though, but you know, candice you hit on something there when you talked about, you know, your mindset coach and that positive mental mindset when you're competing. We have a lot of people that John and I know you know many of them train at the compound. They'll go up If they mess up a lift. If they miss a lift in a competition, they're done, they are done.
Speaker 2:They have turned the brain off like a light switch and they're not going to move forward. Like you said, I've got a dear, dear friend that I've known for a very long time, pat Duggan, and Pat said it's not a mistake, dear friend that I've known for a very long time, pat Duggan and Pat said it's not a mistake, it's an opportunity to learn what not to do next time. And you have to do that even in competitions. You know, and that's what you're talking about. I love that mentality.
Speaker 3:And I think I watched this. I even watched that happen at a strongman comp the one time. And uh, this, I think, is maybe when I was still novice and uh, they didn't have like a circus dumbbell for us, so we had to do like just a regular. I want to say 50 pound double. I think it was a 50 pound dumbbell at the time.
Speaker 3:And the girl that, like I gave her a ride that day and uh, and she was talking about how she'd been training with like fat bears on the dumbbells, I guess, in anticipation of the dumbbell, and then it was like it ended up being like a regular dumbbell that day and she was so thrown off like she picked it up and like the first time I was like I can't do this, like this is about practice. Like just pick it. Like just pick it up. Like amazing, like you're overthinking it. Um, uh, something like if anything, it should be easier, doesn't have a factor, but it should be easier for you now, um, or just thinking like, or just getting so strong.
Speaker 3:Oh, I should. I should have practiced in this parking lot Like there's pebbles there, like it's not pebbles, like don't like people overthink too much, like people look too much to want to replicate the same circumstances and like and I talk about this with folks like, for example, when they overthink, like pushing the truck or something like that, I'm like I have never practiced pushing or pulling a vehicle outside of the actual comp. I'm like it's just a sled push, like you've done you've probably done sled pushes or sled drives, that's all it is Like. Don't overthink it, and you can't get thrown off on just the stuff that is different. Like, just go back to what you know, focus on that.
Speaker 1:I would like it if you would get in this time machine with me and go back to my collegiate track.
Speaker 1:Uh, experience, because I was one, especially with the hammer throw. If the surface was a little weird, or it had rained for 11 milliseconds, or if the sun was in the wrong space, or I'd forgotten my favorite towel, or I had needed enough nutty buddies or any myriad of things, I was that guy. I was mentally weak. Scott has his hand up. He apparently has a question. Scott, go ahead. No, it's not a question. Oh are?
Speaker 2:you just waving. This is from Mime School and it's a comment. Go back in time. You're still like that. Oh wow, we need a mindset coach for John.
Speaker 1:I guess we do All right. Well, that looks like an experiment on our horizon. How often does how?
Speaker 3:often do you meet with your mindset coach? Um, I generally talk with them like at least once a month, um, and if I have something important coming up like we might schedule, like an additional call, um, so like, for example, like, uh, I want to say probably be my biggest thing of the year at least that I can imagine at this moment is this weekend. So I just like that last minute touch base with him and yeah, just to feel good about everything and cool.
Speaker 1:So. So this weekend is a hundred miles, a hundred miles on a track.
Speaker 3:Well, well, well. So it's a 20,. It's truly a six day race. There's people that have been running since Monday at 10 o'clock. I find that I want the only for the 24 hour option. So really, how many miles you do is up to you. So if you're 24 hours to use, as you as you, my personal goal. I feel like I've done 100 miles, so I don't want to repeat that. At a minimum I want 101. But really my top end goal is 120.
Speaker 1:How long is 120 going to Do?
Speaker 3:you sleep for a while and come back.
Speaker 1:Do you nap? Do you rest?
Speaker 3:My plan is to not leave the track unless I have to change my shoes or socks or go to the bathroom. Otherwise, like I have, my nutrition is all pre-packaged and laid out and I have two running belts. So as I turn in one running belt, they'll hand me the next one to help me be able to keep on going.
Speaker 1:For 24 hours.
Speaker 3:Just keep moving for 24 hours, so are you going to move?
Speaker 1:for 24 hours. Yep, so are you going to move for 24? I'm sorry, I hope the flabbergast comes through this, are you?
Speaker 3:moving for 24 hours. That is the goal. Good Lord, that is the goal. Yeah. So I want to say what was I going to say about that? Because I joke with people. It's only 24 hours. Like, um, as a nurse, like I can't tell you how many times you might show up for your shift, and it's, uh, either you volunteer to stay or they're going to mandate you because they're short staff. So like, it's not going to be the first time that I've been up for 24 plus hours and having to stay on my feet and do stuff. So, um, yeah, with me, like, maybe you know, maybe that's why I'm like, yeah, it's just 24 hours, all right.
Speaker 2:So I'm sitting here doing the math and it one of the financial aid folks that I work with at the college says the math in my head isn't mathing. So what you're saying is your goal over 24 hours is 120 miles Roughly. You want to run five miles an hour. Now you think, okay, you know, for a trained athlete like yourself, five miles in an hour you could do that easy. For an hour I could do that. But no, you couldn't. You couldn't drive that.
Speaker 3:Okay, but you're talking about it for 24 straight hours.
Speaker 2:You want to run 120, basically 12 minute miles.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes over the course of a day, oh yes oh, I can't do that now some things that are more optimal for this, uh, to hopefully make that happen is. So this race and I want to say this came from, like I think, when I was reading about or learning about, like david goggins background yeah, um, the format where it's at a, like it's at a track like this one here. It looks like, it looks like a regular school track, um, it's a 400 meter track and, um, you just run that track, so one I have that. There's no elevation, um, against me, it's flat, um, it's a track surface. So it's kind of to the feet, like when I did the 100 or the 80 miles, like those were all on a trail, and I want to say, like, your feet take a real beating. I mean not that I I can imagine my feet will be sore at some point tomorrow, my legs, um, but it's not going to be the same beating as, like being on the trail and stepping on rocks and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:So I do have some things to to my advantage, but then I also have not to my advantage. It's gonna rain, um, there's gonna be like some winds throughout the day, so I'm still gonna have other adversity to to work through, but, um, but I mean, uh, all of like a good majority of my race practice, like I've practiced like a certain interval structure and uh fueling and hydration pattern, um, that I've been able to sustain 12 minutes or better by doing like a walk run interval. So whether I, for example, for the most part as long as possible, I want to sustain like nine tenths of a mile where I run and then I use a tenth of a mile to walk with purpose, like I'm not just walking and relaxing but I'm moving forward with purpose and that's my time. Like to eat a snack or something like that. So, again through experimentation and training, like I didn't like running and eating but I much prefer, like that walking break, to snack at the time.
Speaker 3:And then I have planned like I usually pick like a landmark at the track and every time I pass that landmark, so roughly like every quarter mile, like I'm taking a sip of my hydration, like I use like a carb splash electrolyte drink because really like endurance sports, like you need you need to eat and stay fueled and hydrated, because as soon as you get behind, like you're probably not going to recover from it and it's just going to make for a bad day. So, like bad nutrition or poor nutrition on that day or planning can, like you know, cause your race to go poorly before, like my ideal training would.
Speaker 1:So, scott, we have Claire Shorenstein from Eat for Endurance coming on in two weeks, so clearly we're setting a trend here we're learning about. If I was ever to run 100 miles, I would maybe know how to do it.
Speaker 2:John, I got to tell you I'm looking for I mean.
Speaker 1:I have so many questions, I don't even know where to start. You know like? Because she said David Goggins. David Goggins started in Western New York Like he was broken by his dad here in beautiful Western New York.
Speaker 2:Lived in Buffalo he was, you know and then moved to what was it? Ohio, I think.
Speaker 1:Something, but all I can think of is I know, I know what, I know what Candace is talking about, where he talks about running on a track, basically until he breaks his feet. Yeah, the Goggins mindset.
Speaker 2:why do you people?
Speaker 3:exist.
Speaker 3:You're ruining it for the rest of us, or me at least, because I want to say like and I joke like um, I've told my coach like um, the uh, the a hundred miler that I did. I say, like the miles 90 through a hundred were physically the most painful thing I've ever done. Like I didn't know that, like one could hurt so bad and I feel like I use that as a measure for everything now, like um. So back back this past year, back in September, I mean, I think I signed up in June, but um, it's always been on my mind. I don't know why these weird things come to mind, but like I had it on my mind that I wanted to do a marathon without really training for it.
Speaker 3:And uh, as on my mind that I wanted to do a marathon without really training for it and, uh, as one, as one does, okay, yeah, like who doesn't think of that? I was like no, it sounds like I'm doing a marathon without training for it, yeah, and like maybe at the most I had gone out and like ran, slash, walked um like an hour, maybe an hour and a half to two at the most, um, and then kind of just like went out and did it and, uh, maybe incorporated like some running into my things, but by no means did I regularly go out and accumulate miles like I did for this one a little bit right and I want to say mile 12, like I was over it, like I'm like you know, and I wonder if I can get a ride back.
Speaker 3:I don't want to do this anymore. And I kind of like I call it a systems check, where you kind of do like a head to toe and I'm like, well, you know my head, it's like, of course, like upstairs, like I'm fine, I don't want to do this, but I'm fine. I'm like okay, my back feels fine, my arms feel fine, like at the end of the day, like, okay, are my legs tired? Yes, but like, am I in pain? No, and then I like ask myself, like, are you a mile 90 to 100 pain? The the answer is no, then you can keep on going. So anytime I get in a workout like I'm not a mile 90 to 100 pain, so I guess I can keep on going. So now I'm curious tomorrow, like, will I unlock a whole new level of pain? Like, well, I'm not mile 110 through 120 pain, so I must be okay.
Speaker 2:That's actually I got to tell you. I'm going to message you like middle of next week, when you have a chance to recoup and say so, talk to me. What's the difference between 90 to 100 and 110?
Speaker 1:to 120? I think some of our listeners need to know, and some of our listeners being me, so I think you said you have.
Speaker 3:I'll message you the link so that you can track my progress.
Speaker 1:You have a child, right, you had a baby. Yeah, is that true? Yes, All right, so let's look at the scale of having a baby versus mild 90 pain. Where are we for people who haven't ridden?
Speaker 3:Well, I sadly cannot relate. My child had to be evicted.
Speaker 1:Oh damn kids.
Speaker 3:My D-day, I want to say was the 28th, and I had no signs of contractions or nothing and uh. So we, like my doctor, said, if you go, you go, but if not, it doesn't seem and I'm not sure if it's beyond the guy's uh understanding.
Speaker 2:But my cervix wasn't softening and uh, we scheduled a c-section and uh, yeah, so she was had a contraction so I can't uh, can't relate I gotta tell you you said that and it was all I could do not to laugh out loud. My child was a victim.
Speaker 1:I know I love that may be one of my favorite long time. I'm adding that to my personal. That was awesome yeah, that was great, so all right. No, I have questions. Don't don't you say anything, because there's so much we need to unpack on this I was gonna head towards the training. No, I know we're not even near training because I have so many race questions um what are we eating and two questions or during during the the during part is is where my mind is blown.
Speaker 1:What and and what is going on in your head? Do you shut your thoughts off? Are you doing that constant, like systems check over and over and, over and over and over? Are you screaming in your head? Are you singing michael jackson songs? What's, what's going on?
Speaker 3:well, just like you prefaced with uh using the uh four letter words um beforehand.
Speaker 3:Um so well, there's a few questions there.
Speaker 3:So, hydration something that's common in the endurance space is a product called Tailwind Okay, which is kind of like Gatorade but kind of not Like.
Speaker 3:It's a bit better on the stomach and their slogan is it's all you need all day, really. So like every scoop, I want to say, has 25 grams of carbs and 100 calories, and I usually aim for about 400 calories an hour or even like a little more if I can. So I have that and I have two different flavors. This way, every other hour is a different flavor to mix it up a little bit, and periodically throughout the day I have like a little bit of protein shake, or even in the evening, like my husband's doing like a four hour shift, I'm like I want a coffee. Bring me a coffee, but that and then something. In preparation for this one, I had done some additional reading on the similar format and another gentleman who I think holds the world record at the time, like when he was interviewed something he had pointed out was about palate fatigue, so like mixing up what you eat every other week snack and then every other hour having a salty snack.
Speaker 3:So this way it's always something different. So, like the menagerie of things I have, like I have really come to like the banana, crispy fruits. So again, looking at that like carbs, potassium, like things that are going to help you, like I have like maybe the other hour that I have like some like mini pretzels. So again for the salt, one of my favorites is gummy worms. I think I even have pop tarts and then I have some crackers and I'm trying to use some of my other salty snacks. So I think riptits, cheese, crackers, like stuff that I've experimented with and trained that I know all helps me yeah feel better, like it doesn't bother me or I'm not turned off at the idea of eating, um.
Speaker 3:And then I want to say sometimes I'll even like suck on jolly ranchers for like a consistent uh flow of carbs, and this way it also keeps your mouth wet, because, like this way, like you're panting while you're running, like your mouth doesn't get dry, so I'll suck on jolly ranchers, but also for the carbs so um for hydration do you?
Speaker 2:go into like the element type of thing. Are you a gator?
Speaker 3:well, that tailwind stuff is um yeah, the tailwind is gonna kind of like a gatorade mix, um, but like I do like prioritize, like I do still have like a bottle of electrolytes if it's drinking and I do have more of that to take with me tomorrow see, I'm not probably with the tailwind, yeah, uh, and I'm not, and I have no black and white way like to describe it like and then sometimes I just kind of get a feel like I need something that's not electrolytes, and then I will occasionally have some just like plain water, um, but uh, yeah, I want to say like that's primarily the plan, is like that electrolyte drink, um, yeah, to keep me going, um, but then, yes, it is important to uh have a mental mantra and something that, um, you know whether I just, you know just something to help you stay mentally strong.
Speaker 3:And many times, like, I'll just find like a pattern Sometimes I just get into like a pattern, just like just saying things I'm grateful for, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be out here. You know, thank you, god for like a strong body and a strong mind, for like a strong body and a strong mind, um. So I want to say my mental mantra for my iron man, um was I'm a savage motherfucker and I'm the grittiest motherfucker out here, and then I just use that to get from one thing to the next amen sister, give you one of those z-shaped snaps there you go.
Speaker 3:When I got my, when I got my um uh tattoo to commemorate my iron man um, I had savage mf built into it nice, love it so, uh, so yeah, tomorrow I just remind myself that, um, I'm a savage and I'm here to do some savage things and, uh, this is what savage people do, and uh, just do my best with it I I feel less all of a sudden.
Speaker 1:I feel unsavage, I feel like I should I feel like I'm I should run home? Oh wait, I'm home, never mind, I'm good. Yeah, I'm good, I can run home. Wow, wow, wow. I just want to say wow, wow, you are a savage, because, again, we're focusing a lot on this, on this ultra distance running, and I've also seen you carry some heavy shit.
Speaker 3:So, wow, well, like I said, I never go there and count myself out for anything. I mean, I realized that from like dabbling in a whole bunch of like little things, like I may never be great at any one thing, you know, but just for me to just go and experience it all and and again, just see what I'm capable of, could I just go back to like the 20 pound me. Like if you told me I'm gonna do any of this, I'd be like yeah, right, uh, like I could.
Speaker 1:I could have never imagined myself being where I'm at and like the things that I've done are about to do so yeah, and we lose sight of the fact that and I I tell Scott this all the time, cause he can get his mind there sometimes too we are in the 1% of 1% of people who aren't on the couch, haven't given up, are eating Cheetos, don't think they can't do it at all? So I don't, I can't, applaud the three of you. Are all your triplets named candace? Because that would probably keep it easier if they were?
Speaker 3:all the same good lord like I had one coach tell me like sometimes, like you know, I might get a little downfall, geez. You know, I wish I would have done better on that and uh, you know, but sometimes that might come from comparison. You see, perhaps somebody else do something faster or better, and he's like just remember he's. He's like again, this might be setting the bar low. He's like if you walk into Walmart, you're probably the fittest person in there. I'm like yeah probably yeah.
Speaker 2:Like in most rooms.
Speaker 3:You're the fittest person there, Like just think about that. Yeah, I'll be.
Speaker 1:I'll be in a restaurant with with chuckles over here and he'll be saying something like oh, I was in the gym and I was pulling 700 and it wouldn't go up, and like he's sitting there totally seriously, like bummed. And I can see the people like next to us that are kind of listening in and they're just looking like wait, that old man can deadlift 700 pounds, what is what? So yeah, we lose sight of that fact for sure, but I think that's you know I hate John bringing stuff like that up Honestly at this rate, being able to watch it all week and even sharing with my clients.
Speaker 3:Like some of the participants here are in their 70s and 80s and some of them have clocked over like 100 miles already this week.
Speaker 2:That's just so awesome.
Speaker 3:I mean we joke that they have a lot of free time to train.
Speaker 1:How does a six-day work? Do you just kind of go to the track and do what you can? Go home, sleep, come back.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, there's like tents set up along the side of the track that you can sleep in or do whatever you want, like again, I mean, I guess, like if you had a hotel nearby and you want to go back to your hotel, but yeah, like it's your six, six days, whatever, six times 24 is to use however you want it.
Speaker 3:I guess if you want to go home and sleep for a day and come back and do more, you could, um, but yeah, it's your time to do whatever. So, for example, one of my clients, who has now become a good friend, like she's doing the race with me and I want to say her goal is about 50 miles, but and I don't want to say it's only two miles an hour but like, really, like you can walk just over two miles and like, say, about a half hour, and then she can go sit down the rest of the time and then come back out and just do it again. So, yeah, it really is manageable, like in painting. That's another great point to make is like, just take that big goal and divide it into the smallest steps possible.
Speaker 2:Like, again, 50 miles, easy Two miles, and change an hour, um, and again you could probably walk it the whole time if you wanted to um, can I someone one of the things that I, that I actually kind of stole from you a little bit when I was out at your place in mountaintop, you've got. You know you're almost the whole, I think it's your front room is covered in like chalkboards and you know it's that chalkboard and people will write messages themselves or they'll write their you know their personal brag type of things. Did this made this club? You know Susie got into the 500 pound club or whatever, and seeing those things all over the place and I think you know you talk about you have a mindset coach. You have coaches to help you to get to the places that you want to get yourself. But I think the impact that you are making on other athletes be them, you know, the 20-something or teenage person just coming out or the master's athlete, what you're modeling- for them just can't be glossed over.
Speaker 2:It is an incredible process because you know, john, titled this, this podcast that we host, the master's athlete survival guide, and I think what you're showing is that you can survive with this and you just have to do it. You can't, you know. Get off your ass and do it oh yeah. John.
Speaker 3:Like the favorite thing, like so, for example, like the most of the front walls are what we call like leaderboards. Like, for example, like we have a bench press leaderboard, a back squat, a deadlift leaderboard just different lifts and actually, like so many of my clientele started being 55 and above that I have a 55-plus leaderboard, amen. Now I do have a 71-year-old client who's trying to make the case that she needs her own leaderboard.
Speaker 1:She earned it. She earned it, give her a leaderboard.
Speaker 3:And I have a quote up there and I wish I could remember my own quote, but like again, kind of going into it because I didn't want it to be a comparison game, like because I didn't want you to be comparison game, like I don't want people to fall short of. Like well, just because you can't do what this other person is doing, doesn't mean what you've done isn't important. And I have something along the lines like let's not these, like the results of others, be like cause for comparison, but just to see what is possible for you. And whenever I meet someone new, like because I tell people like many of those women on those leaderboards and we do have some, we do have a guy's leaderboard too, but we do have by far more women's leaderboards um, but almost half, if not more, of the women on those leaderboards never touched a barbell till they came and worked with us. Like many of them never knew what a bench press was or a strict press, a deadlift, a fast squat.
Speaker 3:Like many of them never even knew what any of that was that's awesome, and if I can't play like some of them just like, are just so amazed when they get there, like, oh, what do I need to do now to get on that leaderboard, like, and they're just like. I've never seen a woman get a personal best on her lift, even if it's not a leaderboard lift, and not walk away proud, um, so it just kind of never like, no, like it's not for you to compare yourself. I mean, for some people it does turn into like you compare. It's not like no, no, no, that's not what that's supposed to be.
Speaker 3:Um, but I just want you to know what's possible, because so many times people want to say, well, I can never do that. Well, what do you mean? You can never do that like, you don't know, like you haven't really put in the work and tried like, so don't tell me that you can't do it because you haven't tried. Um, but just to give you something like to to work towards. But you know, I want to say in the back of the gym we do have a wall close there. That kind of started off encouraging. It kind of took like, uh, a snarky, sarcastic as jim's.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, that's fine they were like um, and I want to say this came from, uh, coach bruce. Um, because I had said you know, wouldn't it be crazy if I could do 120 miles? And, like he said I'm not allowed to use the word crazy he said crazy is for people without ambition, um, so I had to put that on the wall and uh, uh, you know. But then, like, so we have things like that, or um, uh, don't complain about the results from the work that you didn't do. Like we have some like different, like inquiries up there and mindset things, but then we also have like, stop digging around, um, don't be a bitch. Like we have some other things left there too. That became less like supportive, but uh, but we all joke about her. I want to say um, uh you're talking to john.
Speaker 1:You know right, I know right now candace, just so you know scott's taking notes and I'm gonna hear all this, all of this, all of this 71 year day when my 71-year-old client.
Speaker 3:She couldn't flip the tire and she just joked like she's my fucking delicate, my delicate hand, I'm like Elaine, you're fine. And which then, a few weeks later, she did flip the tire and, if I can tell you like, seeing her be proud just made all of us so proud. But, yes, now we have up on the board. I'm fucking delicate. Hey, I have up on the board, I'm fucking delicate. Yeah, uh, hey, I have a t-shirt that says that um, or like I think, uh, we were trying to use a gauge as far as what weight to choose and the coach had said where he's like um, you want to do your best, or do you want to fight for your life, or something like that, uh, and then determine how much weight you like you put on the bar.
Speaker 1:So wow, I am really, I am really glad I live far away from your gym, because your gym is far too unforgiving for my delicate excuse ridden self.
Speaker 3:There's a two week grace period until we get to know you like, okay you're nice to new people for two weeks oh my god, I didn't give John two minutes when I met him basically are you going to be a bitch, or are you just going to do this?
Speaker 1:Ha, ha ha. All right, so I'd like to stop talking to the David Goggins twin and I'd like to talk to the young lady who's running the strongman competition, because it's a female-focused one, right which I think is pretty rare and awfully cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you had brought that up when you were up here before.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when, and what is that and what kind of events are you doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we did it for the first time last year and, again, being primarily like a women clientele gym, we kind of did it as initially although I didn't carry it over to this year. We still carry the name so, um, latina's battle on the mountain, and, uh, because it's a mountain top, and at the time we named the events after, like greek gods, um, but I didn't go into that mental, I didn't go into that this year. As far as naming the events like that, but, um, but I wanted something that I'm not saying that I'm necessarily like picking and choosing things around my gym that people can for sure do, but just something that's very novice friendly. So last year was a novice only, women only event, but this year we did make it. Like always we do have like open classes and whatnot, um, so, uh, just I want to say like the movements tend to be not as like technical, to make it more friendly to people who just might want to like, for example, like myself, like I consider myself like a dabbler, like not that I won't go do like a lot of events, like I can if I had to, but like I'm not, like I'm not hip on like preparing for it, so like I don't take super technical things for people to do so, for example, like we're honestly gonna have a fun, uh, a strongman cornhole so tossing the sandbag into something, a jenny hole, a jenny holes, um tire flips and then a like hand over hand, chuck pull, like harness chuck pull, so, um, so nothing was like necessarily super technical.
Speaker 3:As far as clean and jerking, like I want pretty much people from most gyms or like maybe average walk of life, can kind of learn how to do it and come have fun and do it.
Speaker 3:Um, because people come and they just see like the camaraderie and the encouragement and the strong like in a strong manner, this case strong woman events, um, and just overall have a good time. Like they've walked away so proud and like I'm so excited because, like one of my clients, um, uh, like she has like a challenging history. When she was young, I want to say she had lyme disease and just had like some really significant joint problems and like a surgery when she was younger and I want to say some of like sometimes the dead lifting or like lowered body stuff can be challenging for her, but she's made such great progress and she just mentioned, like last year, bringing her two daughters to watch and seeing people compete and she's like you know, she's just talking about how much her daughters talked about that for like weeks, like how awesome they thought that was that's, that's organic, that's organic inspiration right there right, like you've just touched another generation right, because I mean, I just feel like the gent, like I'm 44.
Speaker 3:And I just feel like you just grew up in the mind, like people are, just like the focus was on being as small as you could, not as strong as you could, and trying to have that shift and encouraging people to be as strong as possible and as healthy as possible, which might not always mean as skinny as possible.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And to me, like I just think it's so cool because now this woman, like these are kind of like events that she could do, like not that, like I want to say it took her a few weeks to be able to do the tire flip, but she can do it now and she's even doing better each time that she practices. So like I am super pumped for her own daughters, like to see her come do that. Like they talked about it when it wasn't even their mom. Like I can't wait for them and I have so many other clients like their kids they're going to see them do this and just like how like cool it was.
Speaker 3:Like I hope their kids get in the fights over like whose mom is stronger yeah, I hope these kids go back and have fights in school over whose mom is the strongest, and some kids try to say something but, uh, but I just think it's just like such a a cool thing for them to see here. Like we have some like, um, I want to take some like we think we have like two masters athletes and uh, um, one is a return from last year and another one, uh, another one of my clients, but I don't know that she has like local grandkids but um, but just so, just for other people to just to see what's possible. Because, again, like many of these women walk through the door with never having experienced this, but just kind of me sharing like, oh, this is something I do or this is something I think you can do, and let's just go do it and have fun with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I applaud your choice of event because you're right, they're very doable. They're also very real world, like understandable, like I think everybody realizes like, hey, you just pulled a vehicle, wow. I mean you know you're, you're right, like a log. I look at log press as one of the more technical strong men moves. Uh, you know you can a lot. A lot can go wrong and it's something you really need to practice, but I don't think, looking at it, anybody realizes how hard it is, whereas you pulled a vehicle. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:You're right, because at some point you've all tried to push something.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 1:Right, that's awesome. When is your event?
Speaker 3:May 31st.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh, so people could still sign up.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So when I get over this because I want to say the past two weeks or so at least have been a high-stress time just like training was winding down, so I feel like, and I don't mind running and training for it, but it is like a significant time out of my day.
Speaker 3:So, for example, like two hours every thursday, uh, midday was running on the treadmill at the gym, um, and then every sunday I was usually running for like another two hours, but it was always like at least like a half hour drive to the track that I would go train.
Speaker 3:So it's easily like three plus hours out of my day and then plus like trying to keep the gym running and going and then also being awake for the weekend for those four days, and then also in the meantime my daughter's softball season has started and going to her games, and like I just feel like I had so much on my mental plate to get done, to be ready to be able to leave for the weekend to come do this and have this is my definition of fun um, but there was like a lot of mental stress like leading up to this and uh, so I just feel like I keep telling myself when this race is over. I have so much to get done and uh. But yeah, just like to start uh, just like the final prep uh for the competition, because that'll be about six or seven weeks away at this point now oh, what, um, what's, what's recovery from tomorrow's run?
Speaker 1:look like for you. How long is it going to take until you're somewhat back to baseline?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I feel like I have my. I'm glad I had the experience of the under-trained marathon back in September because then, like I kind of every like now I mean Sunday I'll try to sleep. But I've been in this circumstance before again where I've done like these events, events like where you're up for a period of time and you think when you come home you want to sleep so bad that you can't sleep like I'll be lucky if I just get in like a few naps on sunday, like it's going to take a lot, I want to say to try to sleep through the night um so it's a few days of like disrupted sleep.
Speaker 3:Um, you usually kind of feel sick to your stomach but you just do what you gotta do.
Speaker 3:But uh, but what I did like the week after the marathon was I just kind of like well, I want to say monday I did take completely off and had a, um, I did get a massage and a chiropractor visit and I do have a massage and a chiropractor visit scheduled for monday already nice um, but then each day, like I'll do something to move, like I might just like pedal lightly on the bike, maybe do air squats or like wing rows, like I kind of just looked at each day like, okay, what is the thing that's the most sore, and kind of worked on that thing, so like, if my legs are so, like, well, I'm just gonna do some air squats today, like I don't not move.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, if anything, movement helps, it feel better. And then maybe the one day like yeah, you want my hip flexors to kind of feel shot, like I'll do some kind of like lunge or something like a variation where I'm kind of like leaning in and opening those up, um, and just like to kind of bounce back over the course of the week. Um, uh, because, honestly, like a secondary challenge I have to myself was like my group, my members of my gym, are doing a 5k next Saturday.
Speaker 1:Wait a minute.
Speaker 3:I know.
Speaker 1:I read this book, I know where this is going. Go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 3:At first I told him there's no way. I was like I'm committing to any running after this. And then, like I've had some like really good runs recently, I was like you know what. And again I said to coach Bruce I was like wouldn't it be wild if I PR'd the longest distance I've ever ran in the week and then later on that week PR'd my 5K. So next weekend I might try to PR my 5K if I can get my body to bounce back well enough. But then he also said I'm not allowed to say wild because I can't remember the….
Speaker 1:Is that like crazy? You're not allowed to say crazy.
Speaker 3:I'm not allowed to say wild, because it's only for the intimidated. It's only the intimidated that say it's wild.
Speaker 1:Wow. I think I need a mindset coach.
Speaker 3:So I'll let you know. I might get one mile in and then the thing happens and then just walk the rest of it. But like I'd rather, like again, I'd rather shoot for the moon and see what happens, and you just never know what might happen 100%, wow.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I think this is a reasonable place to stop, because I'm getting exhausted just listening to all the things that you're going to accomplish, but I would like very much to reserve another time to speak with you when the dust settles from this, because I'm going to have a lot of questions on how this all went. Yeah, you are astounding. I hope you do great in your race this weekend. I hope that your strong woman goes well. I applaud you for inspiring people who don't think they can. I think that's an amazing thing and I think your mission in life is being fulfilled with every sounds, like every word that comes out of your mouth, so I deeply appreciate you coming on. I feel like I got to go run something Scott. We got to go, I got to go run. I feel like I got to go run something, scott. We got to go, I got to go run.
Speaker 2:My excuse is I trained before I came here oh yeah, whatever. Oh yeah, oh yeah, candice thank you so much yeah.
Speaker 2:Thank you so, so very much. It was kind of fortuitous that we met last year in October when we came down. Kind of fortuitous that we met last year in October when we came down and you know you, you blessed us by coming up here to compete in a compound strikes or no, a stone wars. I'm sorry, but you know, and then you know truly getting onto the podcast with us. So please let us know how it goes, and we, we most definitely want you on here again to uh, to tell us how everything went.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Okay.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you so much, Harry. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Well, kansas, say goodbye to the triplets. For us, and as always, I am still John and I'm still Scott. Thanks, have a good night, have a good race, bye, bye.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post it on your social media or leave a review. To catch all the latest from us, you can follow us on Instagram at Masters Athlete Survival Guide. Thanks again. Now get off our lawn, you damn kids.