Touching the Trail Podcast

Sorry for the delayed episode, I was out of town. My family and I went to Portland, OR! One of our favorite places in the world. But, not only that. I turned 18 last week! Yes, I did. I have many opinions on turning 18, that it is just a number and that I am living my journey so an age doesn't change it. However, I am still excited to be 18. This week there is no specific lesson or topic. Well I guess the topic is story. I tell the story of my birthday and of my trip to Portland. A lot of stuff has happened in the past week and I am grateful for it! Enjoy. audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

"As we become more in tune to our body and to the moment, it's like we're reborn in every moment." -SriMati To walk life's journey is to face two things, the good and the bad. To enjoy the best of times and to overcome the obstacles. In my own journey many people have helped me enjoy those best of times and to overcome those obstacles, but one person that holds a high place on my list of influences is Julie Piatt. I have never known her personally until now, but I believe that that speaks even more deeply to her ability to convey motivation, love, dedication, and enlightenment through the written and spoken word. Through her own teachings of food and song. Srimati has been a motivation to so many more people than I, also. Through her podcast, the Divine Throughline, she shares her accumulated knowledge. Julie is an incredible vegan chef with a sublime understanding of what makes food, food. She is able to capture the simplicity and complexity of the spirit in the dishes that she creates. Art is her forte it seems, or at least her wonderful ability to transfer her soul into what we conventionally call "art."  SriMati is an individual who holds more than just knowledge, she holds transcendence. Through this conversation I think we transcend just a little bit. The reason that I titled this episode "A Conversation," instead of the usual descriptors that I use, is because this is a wide ranging discussion that does not need to be teased. Just listen. Sit back and enjoy our chat on everything from being a loving and contributing member of a successful family to meditation and death. Transcend what you think you understand. srimati.com This Week's Sponsor: audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

Creativity is more than just an expression, it is a solution to issues and an expression of who you truly are. We all must be more creative, because our world needs truth. Through creativity we find and express our true selves, this world needs more expression of unique self. Creativity is a pathway to ourself and we must use that, because if we don't use everything in our toolkit, then our toolkit will wither away.  However it is easy to grow your creativity, despite what you may think. The two best ways are through meditation and art. I have talked extensively about meditation, but not so much about art. So join me today as I discuss the importance of creativity, the use of art (in my life and others), solutions to our ego, and something I forgot to mention last week, the reactions of people to my 100k. Please enjoy and I hope we can all be just a little more creative! http://www.audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

So let's talk about what has happened since Sean O'Brien. It was my first 100k so there was a lot to learn, even afterwards. Last week was a week of rest, relaxation, and recovery. I did not run and I focused greatly on meditation, yoga, and eating well. Making sure I recovered back to 100% was vital and I think I pulled it off pretty well. Recovering by Friday really. The week was tough nonetheless. I faced muscled pain, stomach pain, and great fatigue, but by eating well, meditation, and yoga I think I overcame it all. It has been a nice change to get a week of non-running and rest. Looking forward there are many more adventures to come and I talk about acknowledging your own mistakes so that you can do it better next time. Because you must be able to say who is truly responsible, you, before you can move on and strive for your better. Enjoy! http://audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

For my first 100k I choose one of the hardest 100k's in the country. Of course right? Well, it was brutally awesome. I had to wake up at 2 am and the race began at 5, my family woke up with me and stayed the entire long day. I only saw them once during the race. One step after another I covered the entire 14,000' of elevation gain and 62 miles, which is a 100k, in 15 hours and 18 minutes. A finish, which was all that mattered to me that day. I loved, or at least tried to love, every moment of it. It truly was an entire life in a trail. Enjoy! http://www.audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

From the earliest days of my running I have been inspired by Meghan Hicks. Her writings on fastpacking were a huge resource for my dad and I when we did the JMT. An accomplished ultrarunner, a wonderful writer, and a thoughtful person Meghan and I had a delightful chat. It was about more than just trailrunning. Our discussion ranged from our country's new administration to our experience of day to day life. Life comes at us hard, like Meghan and I discuss, but we can all learn to better handle it. In our world of fast paced hectics and vapid living let's all learn to be a little more aware. Hopefully you can enjoy Meghan's thoughts, opinions, and observations. Be motivated by Meghan to get out, push hard in, and save our world. Change starts with one person. https://audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

We all can read recipes or look at the produce in the market, but if we don't do anything with it then we aren't going anywhere. Food is not that hard, no matter how hard our society makes it seem to be. It's not that expensive, not that difficult, and not that disgusting. Because, healthy food is not bad food. It is not a punishment. It is not a shake for lunch or counting calories, it is making creative and delicious dishes that are easy and simple. Let's all realize the wonderful attributes of beans, avocado, tofu, kale/spinach, almond/peanut butter, banana, Brussels sprouts/asparagus, berries, lentils, rice/quinoa, cashews, and garlic/onion/turmeric. However, these are just my list of basic foods that can be leveraged into wonderful meals. You must find what you love and make it. There are so many different flavors, colors, styles, and ways to enjoy your health! Let's make it happen. http://www.audibletrial.com/touchingthetrail

When we think about a vegan lifestyle there are two approaches. If we have adopted this lifestyle already then we most likely think positive thoughts. However if we have not adopted one yet then those thoughts are probably negative. When we approach adopting a vegan lifestyle we can either adopt the "idea" or the reality. The idea are stereotypes and misconceptions. However the reality, if you make it this way, is health, flavor, community, color, and love. Let's all adopt the reality. All realize the reality. Make it our reality.

We go through our lives making excuses and lying to ourselves. Instead of making change, we tell ourself why we cannot. We say, "I'm to busy," or, "I deserve this cheeseburger or ice cream." We poison our thoughts with excuses. Instead of lying to yourself why don't you take your life by the reigns and turn it into a fulfilling one. Nothing is out of you hands, you control your life, so make it the best. Go out and ask yourself, "What is my excuse," and eliminate it. No more excuses, make it happen.

Happy New Year! I hope 2016 was great and a year that brought a lot of positive, lasting change into you and your loved ones life. Today's episode I recount tales from 2016, my adventures, my podcasts, my endeavors, and more. I hope you enjoy my recap of this past year and my thoughts going into a new one. Going into 2017 do not chase your ego and make sure to always stay present. Make this year the best ever! Thank you and enjoy.

As we approach the new year it's important to discuss and think about being honest with ourselves. Now I don't mean being honest and saying, "I can't do that whole gym thing." I mean being honest with yourself that you must and want to change your life to be fulfilling and true. Life is filled with both, lying and honesty. But, in a new year let's focus on honesty. To find commitment we must break down ego with the hammer and chisel that is honesty. Enjoy!!

So we all face it. All through our lives we face it on many occasions, but I've never dedicated a podcast to this subject and I think I should. In light of recent events in my life I think I'm in the perfect mindset to discuss this correctly. Listen in as I tell a story of failure or as we learn that it's much more of a lesson, than a failure. We can look at it either way and I want to take the positive and mindful approach, because that is the only way to have a fulfilling life. Enjoy my musings! Thank you.

I cannot believe it has been 50 episodes of this thing! 50 episodes of a journey that I thought would take much, much longer. This has been a wild ride filled with new friends and incredible people. Of course it's the listeners that make it all worth it so thank you! Also let's talk about my newest endeavor, Target Release Recovery. A sport recovery tool company with two tools that work. Designed by my dad and subsequently developed by both of us these tools work and this is the official announcement of them. They will launch soon, more info to come! Thanks again for listening I hope you have enjoyed it all, because I know I have! Thank you as always!!!

So sorry for missing last week's episode, I decided to take a little break and we were going to be out of town. It worked out though and I'm glad I did it, because I needed the rest and the break. Since we are coming off of Thanksgiving I think it's a good time to talk about or society's misconceptions about "weight loss." We face weight loss as a temporary phenomena and yes a phenomena at best. That it is not permanent nor something that is lifelong. But, true change is born from commitment and a full dive into your new lifestyle. It's simple to make positive change in your life, you simply need to change everything.

"I just wanted to combine all of my loves. DJing, veganism, and graphic design to create something that I would wear and that could spread the word." So I have had Jacky's company's shirts for a long time. I have a couple of them and always love seeing her new designs. She is the embodiment of an entrepreneur and activist. Through her t-shirt design she can and does spread the word of the best way to live. That is through veganism! So enjoy our discussion on entrepreneurship, a vegan lifestyle, commitment, and balancing a busy life. We all have dreams so let's listen to Jacky talk about how she made her's real through hard work and a love for our world to positively change. beetxbeet.com