The Ultramarathon Mindset: Trail Talk

Devin and Jonathan are both returning podcast guests. They are both part of the Buckle-Heads running group in Topeka, KS. They have trained and raced together and supported each other in pursuing their running adventures. Their next big race is the Bighorn 100 on 16 June 2023.

Tara Bianca returns to the podcast for more great information about how breathwork can improve your health. She was my guest back in Ep. 74. In that episode we talked more about breathwork for runners. This week's episode is focused on how breathwork can benefit your health in general. Bio: Tara Bianca has been a holistic health practitioner for almost 20 years. She is the owner of BE Light Transformative Therapy, a now fully online holistic health company specializing in therapeutic breathwork, bodywork, mindset and sound healing. Her primary focus is on educating and coaching people to change the quality of their breathing, in order to powerfully improve the quality of their lives. She is passionate about building a global community that is dedicated to achieving optimal health and wellness – for people and for planet – as holistically as possible. Here are my links:Website: https://www.belighttt.com/Breath Boot Camp: https://www.belighttt.com/bootcampBE Light Community: https://www.belighttt.com/communityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/belightttInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarabelight/

John Crum was my very first guest on this podcast. When we last spoke, he was on an impressive run streak. Running at least a mile every day since November of 2015.He is still on his run streak. But his tenacity is impressive because he has also done 33 marathons or ultramarathons, including running a 100 mile race during his run streak. That means that he was out the door the day after finishing all those races to run at least a mile.I'm glad to have him back again for another conversation.

New Year used to be celebrated in the spring until the calendar changed in 1582. The New Year celebration lasted from March 25 to April 1.Some say that those who held to the old system were called fools. Thus, the origin of April Fools Day. But there is little evidence that this is true.But the fact is that your mindset is chained to the way our calendar is set up. How would you handle the change if we all went back to counting the New Year in the spring? If you are going after an epic life, you need a mindset that is able to handle and adapt to change, whether it's your choice or some crazy idea to change the calendar.

Artificial Intelligence -- AI -- has come to the mainstream. All the movies about what might happen when humans have to interact with AI are playing in the back of our minds. I asked ChatGPT to write a 10-minute speech about goal setting. It was a textbook speech. And the content was good. But if good content was able to change our lives, we'd be super-human by now. There's no shortage of good content. I dive into a couple of comments ChatGPT made in conclusion. Will AI ever be able to understand what a human mindset is all about?

The education system conditions us to find the "first right answer." We have to learn the answers so we can repeat them back when we're asked to provide them. So we come out with a framework of "answers" that condition us to see how the world works and what our role is supposed to be in the world.Another word for "framework" is a Matrix. Yes, I want you to think about the movie. That is the world we live in.And we stay trapped in the Matrix of the answers we "know" until we learn how to ask higher-value questions. Answers will keep you stuck where you are. But asking better questions will set you free to live an epic life.

What are the best days of your life? If you follow the common belief they are somewhere in your past. Things were better "back then." But what if you change your mindset and start telling yourself the story that your best days are still ahead of you. How would your life be different? There is a truth that your expectations will determine what you get in life, for good or bad.

There is a phenomenon called the placebo effect.You can have the benefits of a drug even without taking the drug.Your belief will create the outcomes.Drug trials - placebo even creates side effects.Placebo is a fake drug. It’s a magic feather.It’s your belief and expectation that produce the results.

We tend to believe that we are right in what we think we know. But “what we know” isn’t always right.Some things we used to “know” that aren’t so.The earth is the center of the universe.The earth is flat.The sun revolves around the earth.Disease is caused by humours in the blood. The cure is to drain some blood out of your body.Humans only use 10% of their brain.Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.Eating carrots will improve your eyesight.Women are intellectually inferior to men.

Mandy Miller has developed a strong ultramarathon mindset in her races and adventures from all around the world. She had run everything from multi-day stage races in the Sahara desert to 100 mile self-supported ultramarathons in the Yukon in January to Iron Man competitions in Hawaii.

Sandi Nypaver is an ultramarathon runner, running coach, and adventurer. She did sports in school. But it wasn't until she went on a youth expedition with Impossible to Possible that she got a taste of the mindset to test her limits. (Ep. 129 is where Ray Zahab talks about starting the organization of Impossible to Possible.)Sandi decided to do an ultramarathon. So she signed up for a 100 mile race and ended up winning.

Western States 100 is the "Boston Marathon" of trail running. It's an iconic race that many trail runners put on their bucket list.But there are other options if you don't want to wait for your name to come up in the lottery for Western States. You could create your own 100 mile trail race on trails close to where you live!That's what Gary (Story Hawk) Henry did. The trails near Lawrence, KS, are challenging. And, he says, during the night portion of the run they don't look much different from the trails at Western States.