1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,039
Speaker 1: Welcome to my little corner of the Internet.

2
00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,840
Speaker 2: If you are listening to this, you have arrived at

3
00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:13,319
Speaker 2: the first ever episode of Hurdle. My name is Emily A.

4
00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,560
Speaker 2: Body and here are some fast facts you should know

5
00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:17,040
Speaker 2: about me.

6
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:18,120
Speaker 1: By day.

7
00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,600
Speaker 2: I am a writer and editor living in New York City.

8
00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,640
Speaker 2: I'm a huge fitness fanatic, also a certified trainer, run coach,

9
00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,800
Speaker 2: spin instructor, all the things. To get a little more

10
00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,760
Speaker 2: insight into who I am, feel free maybe just to

11
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,320
Speaker 2: peep my social channels, all of which can be found

12
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:41,360
Speaker 2: at Emily A Body A B, B A T. E.

13
00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,320
Speaker 2: Now that you know the Vsball stats on me, let's

14
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,240
Speaker 2: talk about this here podcast.

15
00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:49,040
Speaker 1: Here is the deal.

16
00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,479
Speaker 2: Although you can't go back and change your beginning, you

17
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,880
Speaker 2: can change your end. Hurdle, a bi weekly podcast, features

18
00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,440
Speaker 2: people who got through a tough time a hurdle ofs

19
00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,680
Speaker 2: by integrating wellness into their routines.

20
00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:04,759
Speaker 1: In this modern world we live in.

21
00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,040
Speaker 2: Filled with so much anxiety and pressure and obscene amounts

22
00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,759
Speaker 2: of competition, wellness in all of its forms is an outlet.

23
00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,800
Speaker 2: Some of the biggest, baddest, most inspirational humans and top

24
00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,720
Speaker 2: CEOs got to where they are today because they found

25
00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,679
Speaker 2: themselves with the help of things like yoga, running, juicing,

26
00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,959
Speaker 2: a new approach to eating, meditation, crystals. Even the list

27
00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,319
Speaker 2: goes on hurdle brings you their stories, the lessons they learned,

28
00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 2: and hopefully gives you the push you need to live

29
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:55,360
Speaker 2: a healthier, happier, more motivated life. Now going forward, this

30
00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,320
Speaker 2: would be the part where I introduce a guest.

31
00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,680
Speaker 1: But spoiler alert, the first guest is actually me.

32
00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,840
Speaker 2: A little background, I guess first and foremost on this project.

33
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,240
Speaker 2: When twenty seventeen began, I told myself there were a

34
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,480
Speaker 2: few things that I wanted to do, I guess, as

35
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,600
Speaker 2: resolutioners typically do at the turn of a new year.

36
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,079
Speaker 1: Aside from really wanting to do.

37
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,560
Speaker 2: Things like get better at spending time alone, I remember

38
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,160
Speaker 2: actually going to the movies by myself and being so

39
00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,720
Speaker 2: proud that I kind of took that step last January.

40
00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,240
Speaker 2: Aside from wanting to take some more time alone, I

41
00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,640
Speaker 2: also wanted to start a podcast. And my ideas for

42
00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,120
Speaker 2: what this would ultimately become were a little all over

43
00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,000
Speaker 2: the place. But when I think about it, I really

44
00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,239
Speaker 2: do think that some of the best projects start out

45
00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:54,320
Speaker 2: that way. It's been a slow process, mostly because things

46
00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:55,480
Speaker 2: you know they get in the way.

47
00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,920
Speaker 1: But fast forward to about a month or two ago.

48
00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:02,600
Speaker 2: I was sitting here on my couch in New York

49
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,560
Speaker 2: City venting about something to a girlfriend, and I looked

50
00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,360
Speaker 2: at her with so much sincerity and I just said,

51
00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:10,760
Speaker 2: I just want to get over the hurdle.

52
00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:12,919
Speaker 1: And it clicked.

53
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,640
Speaker 2: I started to think about all of the hurdles I've

54
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:21,760
Speaker 2: faced and kind of just had this aha moment. Even

55
00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:27,360
Speaker 2: if they're tear inducing, that was ugly crying kind of things.

56
00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,040
Speaker 2: Heartbreaking or difficult. Hurdles define us and it's hard to

57
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,400
Speaker 2: see in the moment, but the obstacles that come with those,

58
00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,839
Speaker 2: they really shape our character. And so I know what's

59
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,720
Speaker 2: coming up. You're like, Okay, true, I'm down with this,

60
00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,520
Speaker 2: but what's with all the wellness stuff? Well, as I mentioned,

61
00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:50,280
Speaker 2: I'm a freelance fitness editor and writer. I was last

62
00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,800
Speaker 2: full time at Self Magazine at the end of twenty

63
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,360
Speaker 2: sixteen as their fitness editor before the book closed, and

64
00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,240
Speaker 2: before that, I was as an editor at Rodale, the

65
00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:08,960
Speaker 2: publishing company that only for now owns Men's Health, Women's Health, Runners,

66
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:14,160
Speaker 2: World Prevention, Bicycling, etc. I'm also, as I said, a

67
00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,240
Speaker 2: personal trainer, a run coach and a spin instructor at

68
00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,400
Speaker 2: Swerve Fitness here in the city.

69
00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,200
Speaker 1: And here is a little bit of a plot twist.

70
00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:30,200
Speaker 2: I weighed two hundred and four pounds ten years ago,

71
00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,159
Speaker 2: so that's what's going to lead us up to my

72
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:38,880
Speaker 2: hurdle moment, the obstacle that led me to losing seventy

73
00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,680
Speaker 2: pounds in college. You know, it smacks me like a

74
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,560
Speaker 2: ton of bricks every single time I say that out loud.

75
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,080
Speaker 2: So come back with me, will you? To my dorm room?

76
00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:55,480
Speaker 2: In two thousand and seven, time flies. I was a

77
00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,120
Speaker 2: freshman in college at the University of Connecticut, Go Huskies,

78
00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,960
Speaker 2: and I was madically overweight. I grew up in a

79
00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,919
Speaker 2: big Italian family and food was sort of the crux

80
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,880
Speaker 2: of everything. I loved food, and you know, I still

81
00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,080
Speaker 2: love food. But here's an example. I was never the

82
00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,520
Speaker 2: kind of kid that was like, eat a quick bowl

83
00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,960
Speaker 2: of cereal and then Dad would drive me to school.

84
00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:19,200
Speaker 1: In the morning.

85
00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:26,400
Speaker 2: It was bagels all the time, everything cream cheese, egg

86
00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:32,760
Speaker 2: sandwiches all the time, extra bacon pancakes all the time.

87
00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,520
Speaker 2: Food was always an Event's that what's that saying? It's

88
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,680
Speaker 2: like I live to eat instead of eat to live

89
00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,120
Speaker 2: that was one hundred percent me anyway, Like so many people,

90
00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,880
Speaker 2: this sort of comfort for me I found in food,

91
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,160
Speaker 2: and as a result, literally from when I was a

92
00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,719
Speaker 2: tween until this point in two that and seven, my

93
00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:59,200
Speaker 2: weight fluctuated constantly. I have photos of me at age thirteen,

94
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,360
Speaker 2: and I'm sit on a mini golf course and I'm

95
00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,080
Speaker 2: probably tipping one hundred and sixty pounds, and just for

96
00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,000
Speaker 2: the record, to this day, I stand roughly about like

97
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,880
Speaker 2: five three and a half. And then I have photos

98
00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,560
Speaker 2: of me and I'm sixteen, and I'm lean, and I'm

99
00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:18,560
Speaker 2: teaching dance classes four times a day. Anyway, for the

100
00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:23,200
Speaker 2: purposes of this story, I am a freshman in college,

101
00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,039
Speaker 2: as I said, and I am two hundred and four pounds.

102
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,360
Speaker 2: So here we are, We're sitting in my dorm room,

103
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:31,720
Speaker 2: and there I am, and I look down and I

104
00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,279
Speaker 2: see a scale that I definitely hadn't touched since move

105
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,200
Speaker 2: and day, and it's under a stack of books from

106
00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,000
Speaker 2: the previous semester. And just to reiterate again, it wasn't

107
00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,960
Speaker 2: like I didn't know that I was overweight at this time.

108
00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,400
Speaker 2: Like I look back, and uh, I look at all

109
00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,440
Speaker 2: the photos I have of myself, and they're all just

110
00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,440
Speaker 2: selfies of me and friends, and they're just of my face.

111
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:55,680
Speaker 1: And that's a.

112
00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,839
Speaker 2: Pretty strong indicator that I had some body issues. Because

113
00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,920
Speaker 2: I couldn't even stand to like look at evidence of

114
00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,000
Speaker 2: myself in this time that showed my body as its

115
00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:12,040
Speaker 2: true size. I couldn't really admit to myself that I

116
00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:17,040
Speaker 2: hated my body. Hell, that's a that's a harsh sentence

117
00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,000
Speaker 2: to kind of put out into the world. Uh, you know,

118
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,040
Speaker 2: I was getting by without feeling like I really needed

119
00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:27,160
Speaker 2: to do something about it. So I take out the

120
00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,200
Speaker 2: scale from under my bed, my bunk bed, and I

121
00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,880
Speaker 2: tap it with my toe and I step on it

122
00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,280
Speaker 2: in that way that we all sort of do, where

123
00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,960
Speaker 2: it's like if I tiptoe toward the left side, maybe

124
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,000
Speaker 2: just a little bit, it'll tell me that I'm ten

125
00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,440
Speaker 2: pounds later. And I stared down, and I swear those

126
00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,720
Speaker 2: four seconds that the scale took to populate, it felt

127
00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,640
Speaker 2: like an eternity. And when I saw the two hundred

128
00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:58,520
Speaker 2: and four pounds staring back at me, I felt empty.

129
00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,280
Speaker 2: I was in the state of total bewilderment. So many

130
00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,920
Speaker 2: questions like how did I get here? How did I

131
00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,200
Speaker 2: get to this place. How did I let it get

132
00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,600
Speaker 2: this bad? And get off the scale and I throw

133
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,720
Speaker 2: on some old sweatpants and a hoodie and sneakers and

134
00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,400
Speaker 2: did something that at the time was totally not instinctive

135
00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,640
Speaker 2: to me at all, which was run down three flights

136
00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,840
Speaker 2: of stairs out of my dorm and sprint down this

137
00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:32,199
Speaker 2: like dimly lit road. I probably go for about thirty

138
00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,400
Speaker 2: seconds until I am totally out of breath, completely zonked,

139
00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,199
Speaker 2: and I clapse into the grass next to the sidewalk,

140
00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:45,720
Speaker 2: just so beside myself, absolutely hysterical, and through the tears.

141
00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,520
Speaker 2: I remember looking up at the stars and just knowing

142
00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,079
Speaker 2: I was so dumb with her.

143
00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,280
Speaker 1: In that moment, my hurtle moment.

144
00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,840
Speaker 2: I knew I had to evaluate, I had to reevaluate.

145
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,240
Speaker 2: I had to take a step back and spend time

146
00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,839
Speaker 2: on me. I knew that I was better than two

147
00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,000
Speaker 2: hundred and four pounds. I knew that I deserved a

148
00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:09,480
Speaker 2: life that wasn't so.

149
00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:13,880
Speaker 1: Heavy. You know.

150
00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:19,600
Speaker 2: In the past five six years, I've picked up running,

151
00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,440
Speaker 2: which we'll get to, and I've done multiple marathons, I've

152
00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,960
Speaker 2: done a triathlon. As a personal trainer, I've taken my

153
00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:33,120
Speaker 2: own personal training clients. But this night in the grass.

154
00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:40,120
Speaker 2: This was my biggest victory that night. I decided to

155
00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,760
Speaker 2: invest in myself that night, the girl who was so lost,

156
00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,440
Speaker 2: like it just clicked. I needed that scare, I needed

157
00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,880
Speaker 2: that empty feeling. I needed that reality check on the

158
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:57,199
Speaker 2: scale to reaffirm that I was worthy of my own energy.

159
00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,560
Speaker 2: So I'm thinking that this is the part where we

160
00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,280
Speaker 2: talk about how I lost the weight, because it's not easy.

161
00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:07,920
Speaker 2: It wasn't easy, So I think we'll cover that a

162
00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:12,040
Speaker 2: little bit here. The first half of losing it all,

163
00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:17,760
Speaker 2: which I would say to giver take about three years,

164
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:24,000
Speaker 2: was really developing a better relationship with food. It's embarrassing

165
00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,200
Speaker 2: really when I say this out loud, but I remember

166
00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,120
Speaker 2: points growing up where my parents would leave me at

167
00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:34,720
Speaker 2: home alone, and I'm like at least sixteen at this point,

168
00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,400
Speaker 2: and I got excited that I would have free rain

169
00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,240
Speaker 2: over the kitchen. I would make French fries in the oven.

170
00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,240
Speaker 2: I would eat ice cream out of the container. I

171
00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,600
Speaker 2: would eat cheddar cheese from the bag.

172
00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:46,880
Speaker 1: Oh man.

173
00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:53,160
Speaker 2: I remember distinctly texting one of my oldest friends, Tom Dargan, Hey, Tom,

174
00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,760
Speaker 2: if you're listening to this, I'm saying something along the

175
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,320
Speaker 2: lines of I need to get to a point in

176
00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,200
Speaker 2: my life where I don't go to the fridge and

177
00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:06,320
Speaker 2: eat cheddar cheese out of the bag. So these habits,

178
00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:09,400
Speaker 2: they were really only exacerbated once I got to college

179
00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,679
Speaker 2: and I had the option to eat tater tots three

180
00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,800
Speaker 2: meters of the day and indulge in banana chocolate chip

181
00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,880
Speaker 2: ice cream from the Yukon Dairy Bar, which important note

182
00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,360
Speaker 2: here is by far the most delicious of best.

183
00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:24,559
Speaker 1: Ice cream in the world, if you want my opinion.

184
00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:30,320
Speaker 2: So yeah, with losing weight, my relationship with food had

185
00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,559
Speaker 2: to change. I started to learn more about portion control,

186
00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:40,000
Speaker 2: and instead of completely eliminating foods or feeling guilty about eating.

187
00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:44,400
Speaker 1: Them, I just I learned how to eat them in moderation.

188
00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,520
Speaker 2: I never really wanted to be on one of those

189
00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,360
Speaker 2: elimination diets or feel like I couldn't live my life

190
00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,840
Speaker 2: as a twenty something college student and go out drinking

191
00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,559
Speaker 2: from some sketchy keg or what have you. And I

192
00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,680
Speaker 2: was lucky because there were parts that I was really

193
00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,200
Speaker 2: good at. You know, I loved vegetables like I adored them.

194
00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,000
Speaker 2: I still adore them, and I adored them almost as

195
00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,440
Speaker 2: much as I adore banana chocolate chip ice cream, and

196
00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,200
Speaker 2: I learned to eat more of them and less tater

197
00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,400
Speaker 2: tots and more protein and.

198
00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:20,160
Speaker 1: More just good stuff.

199
00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:25,000
Speaker 2: And those changes paid off, because within about a year

200
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,440
Speaker 2: and a half I'd lost forty pounds and was keeping

201
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:33,160
Speaker 2: it off. And that's about the time where I started

202
00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,360
Speaker 2: to fall in love with running. Now to date, I

203
00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:42,960
Speaker 2: have run five marathons and done a single triathlon and

204
00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,959
Speaker 2: way too many half marathons to count. And that run

205
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:51,200
Speaker 2: on sentence is just crazy to think about, because I

206
00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,880
Speaker 2: never thought that I could be a runner, especially because

207
00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,679
Speaker 2: growing up my brother, who was the track athlete of

208
00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,040
Speaker 2: the family, with me being slightly overweight, he'd always quip

209
00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,320
Speaker 2: a me, telling me to go run a mile whenever

210
00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:08,440
Speaker 2: I was annoying him. And now today I can't even

211
00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,400
Speaker 2: tell you how many people I talked to that want

212
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,800
Speaker 2: my advice on running. They want to know how they

213
00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:18,640
Speaker 2: can run, how they can become a runner. Well, I

214
00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,920
Speaker 2: sucked it running. I was the worst at it. I

215
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:26,040
Speaker 2: hated it. And at this point, again I had lost

216
00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:31,600
Speaker 2: about forty pounds and I was working for a summer

217
00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,480
Speaker 2: at Camp Laurelwood in Madison, Connecticut, and obviously at summer

218
00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,040
Speaker 2: camp there is no planet fitness where you can go

219
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:43,840
Speaker 2: log forty five minutes on an elliptical mindlessly. And I

220
00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,600
Speaker 2: didn't want to go back on all the progress I made,

221
00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:48,880
Speaker 2: you know, for me, at that point, it was not

222
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,160
Speaker 2: an option. I'd worked too hard to get there, and

223
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:54,480
Speaker 2: so I knew what I had to do, and that

224
00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:58,079
Speaker 2: was pick up running. And so every day after lunch,

225
00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:03,480
Speaker 2: I would change into some black cotton leggings from Target

226
00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,720
Speaker 2: and Haynes white cotton v neck and I would go

227
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,400
Speaker 2: run for fourteen minutes and I did the exact same

228
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:16,080
Speaker 2: route down and back every single day. I did this

229
00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,240
Speaker 2: for about seven and a half weeks, and at the

230
00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:22,600
Speaker 2: end of the eight week summer session, I decided to

231
00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:24,320
Speaker 2: measure it with my car. And I kind of had

232
00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,120
Speaker 2: just assumed going into it that I was running a mile.

233
00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:29,040
Speaker 1: Like I just figured I was slow.

234
00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,520
Speaker 2: It was taking me fourteen minutes, but I was doing

235
00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:34,440
Speaker 2: it and that's all that mattered. So I get my

236
00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,240
Speaker 2: car and I measure it, and at the end I

237
00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,960
Speaker 2: look down and it's a half mile.

238
00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:44,560
Speaker 1: A half mile. It took me fourteen minutes to run

239
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:45,200
Speaker 1: a half mile.

240
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,200
Speaker 2: And it's kind of funny thinking about it now, because

241
00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:49,880
Speaker 2: how I wasn't angry about that.

242
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,440
Speaker 1: In retrospect, it's crazy.

243
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,920
Speaker 2: The thing was is that I didn't even care that

244
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,960
Speaker 2: it was only a half mile at the time, because,

245
00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,040
Speaker 2: like I said, I got to a point where I

246
00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,840
Speaker 2: liked running. I looked forward to that time for myself,

247
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,920
Speaker 2: and it didn't matter how far it had been. All

248
00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,640
Speaker 2: that mattered was that I was doing something for me.

249
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,440
Speaker 2: I was investing in myself. I was keeping true to

250
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,840
Speaker 2: that promise that I made myself in the grass, and

251
00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:25,640
Speaker 2: that was really really special. You know. It's definitely something

252
00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,440
Speaker 2: I struggle with a lot still, this concept of self

253
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:32,240
Speaker 2: love and investing in myself. I think a lot of

254
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,160
Speaker 2: people share in this notion that it's so easy to

255
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,080
Speaker 2: give to others, but it's hard to spend time and

256
00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:44,680
Speaker 2: energy and money on ourselves. As a freelance writer, if

257
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,760
Speaker 2: I land some mega assignment and I'm making crazy money,

258
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,200
Speaker 2: I tend to develop what I like to refer to

259
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,120
Speaker 2: as total Oprah syndrome.

260
00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:54,440
Speaker 1: I become super generous.

261
00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,880
Speaker 2: It's like you get a sweater and you get drinks

262
00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,320
Speaker 2: on me, and I'm gonna buy you this cactus, even

263
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,360
Speaker 2: if I know you're going to kill it within two weeks.

264
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,400
Speaker 2: It's just what happens. And the thing is is that

265
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:08,480
Speaker 2: when it comes to giving back to me, I am

266
00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:13,520
Speaker 2: so conservative, so conservative, I feel like I don't need much,

267
00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,920
Speaker 2: you know, because this idea of giving to other people

268
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:24,480
Speaker 2: it feels so much more rewarding than giving back to me. Still,

269
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:27,680
Speaker 2: out of all of the lessons I learned at losing weight,

270
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,680
Speaker 2: which like I said, took at least three years from

271
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,760
Speaker 2: start to finish, the biggest of them all was that

272
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,680
Speaker 2: the people around you, if you surround yourself with the

273
00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:42,320
Speaker 2: right kinds, they really want your best self. And although

274
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,000
Speaker 2: it might feel a little counterintuitive, sometimes spending time on

275
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:52,600
Speaker 2: yourself is really for the collective benefit. Good people won't

276
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,520
Speaker 2: be mad at you when you need to do things

277
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,280
Speaker 2: for you, period. And although it may not feel like

278
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,680
Speaker 2: you need to get back to yourself, you just got

279
00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:02,120
Speaker 2: to do it.

280
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,120
Speaker 1: And there are so many ways that you can do that.

281
00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,760
Speaker 2: You know. Maybe you're taking a step back and you're

282
00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:12,560
Speaker 2: relaxing on a Sunday afternoon and watching HGTV until you

283
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,399
Speaker 2: don't ever want to hear the word ship lap ever again.

284
00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:17,680
Speaker 1: Or maybe you.

285
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,639
Speaker 2: Wake up an extra hour earlier and if you like

286
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,280
Speaker 2: to run, you run a few miles, or perhaps you

287
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,000
Speaker 2: go on airplane mode after nine pm at night and

288
00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:30,239
Speaker 2: you just totally disconnect whatever it is.

289
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:31,920
Speaker 1: You've got to do.

290
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:34,720
Speaker 2: Something, because when I take a step back and I

291
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,040
Speaker 2: look at where I've come from, my whole life changed

292
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,960
Speaker 2: because I decided to give back to myself my career

293
00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:42,600
Speaker 2: path too.

294
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,240
Speaker 1: Really, I mentioned being a freelancer a few.

295
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,000
Speaker 2: Times now, and I really just don't believe I would

296
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,199
Speaker 2: be as successful as I have been, or have the

297
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,679
Speaker 2: grit to be my own boss or chase assignments and

298
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,920
Speaker 2: deadlines and meetings and people if I didn't go through

299
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:04,080
Speaker 2: through this period. It's as if getting over this hurdle

300
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,480
Speaker 2: instilled in me this champion's mindset. It's like I became

301
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,800
Speaker 2: very aware that as hurdles would keep coming at me,

302
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:18,640
Speaker 2: I would have the tenacity to get over them. That's

303
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:20,960
Speaker 2: not to say that I've got this whole thing figured.

304
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,080
Speaker 1: Out, far from it. Far from it.

305
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,040
Speaker 2: But once I believed in my inner game changer. You

306
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,040
Speaker 2: know how great is that term game ginger?

307
00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:29,600
Speaker 1: I love it.

308
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,919
Speaker 2: Once I believed in my inner game gener and I

309
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,639
Speaker 2: believed that I was strong and capable and that I

310
00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,080
Speaker 2: could be better, it ripped off on other things, and

311
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:45,040
Speaker 2: that's when everything changed, and more than obviously in a

312
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,240
Speaker 2: physical way. Also a little note I want to throw

313
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,760
Speaker 2: in here. When you make a difficult decision, you come

314
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,440
Speaker 2: to terms with this idea that you're about to put

315
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,199
Speaker 2: in work. You know, and I truly believe the people

316
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,920
Speaker 2: that say I just can't do this they don't want

317
00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,240
Speaker 2: it enough, they don't want to put in the work,

318
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:10,680
Speaker 2: And man, can that be frustrating, especially if it's within

319
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:17,159
Speaker 2: a relationship. Fact, you can't make someone want something for themselves,

320
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,600
Speaker 2: but when you want something bad enough, you come to

321
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,920
Speaker 2: terms with this idea that every single day going forward

322
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,720
Speaker 2: may be a little bit more difficult than the last.

323
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,760
Speaker 1: And it's scary, yeah, but think about the payoff. Just

324
00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:32,520
Speaker 1: think about it.

325
00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:37,560
Speaker 2: The biggest rewards in life come from moments of adversity,

326
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:43,119
Speaker 2: for things when you've worked your butt off. I once,

327
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,639
Speaker 2: here's a fun fact about me, ran two marathons in

328
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,840
Speaker 2: one week. It's crazy, I know, and in hindsight, it

329
00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:56,560
Speaker 2: was absolutely insane and involved so much opportunity, cost abundant

330
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,840
Speaker 2: amounts of training. I had to skip over dinner with friends,

331
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:05,080
Speaker 2: I had to get up early as all hell and

332
00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:10,160
Speaker 2: run twenty xs miles starting at five point fifteen am.

333
00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:15,359
Speaker 2: It was a lot, But the reward of that experience,

334
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,280
Speaker 2: the reward of those experiences together, one day, you know,

335
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,280
Speaker 2: I'll be able to tell my kids that I did

336
00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:25,400
Speaker 2: this and they're going to think their mom is a

337
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,000
Speaker 2: total badass. And that's the nugget. And granted, you know,

338
00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,080
Speaker 2: the nugget isn't always going to be two marathons in

339
00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:34,000
Speaker 2: week one week, But you just think about the things

340
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,000
Speaker 2: you really want and how great you feel at the

341
00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:39,760
Speaker 2: end of them when you realize that you were capable.

342
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:44,000
Speaker 2: You were capable all along, and that's the good stuff,

343
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,199
Speaker 2: that's the magic. So what do I want you to

344
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:54,280
Speaker 2: take away from my story, Well, really hopefully that anything

345
00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:56,440
Speaker 2: is possible if you believe it's possible.

346
00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:57,280
Speaker 1: Period.

347
00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,919
Speaker 2: You are the one who decides where you're at mentally, physically.

348
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,600
Speaker 2: It's so important to invest in yourself. There are gonna

349
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,480
Speaker 2: be so many hurdles along the way. And although the

350
00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,680
Speaker 2: work may be hard, remember that it's part of a story.

351
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,280
Speaker 2: It's part of your story. And even though the end

352
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,200
Speaker 2: might not be exactly what you envision, that doesn't mean

353
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,240
Speaker 2: that it's not beautiful. It doesn't mean that you didn't

354
00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,199
Speaker 2: work hard. To get there and whether or not you

355
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:29,160
Speaker 2: believe it yet you.

356
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,160
Speaker 1: Too, Yeah, you.

357
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:37,200
Speaker 2: You're a game changer. You are I think I think

358
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,040
Speaker 2: it's about time to cut it. If you're still listening,

359
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:45,120
Speaker 2: thank you. I appreciate you. I can't even stress how

360
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,080
Speaker 2: much work has gone into this project already and you're

361
00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,920
Speaker 2: only listening to episode one. It's still in its infancy,

362
00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,040
Speaker 2: from doing things like learning how to build a squarespace

363
00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,000
Speaker 2: and host content and finagling the best way to host

364
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:05,160
Speaker 2: these from my we workspace, which has been the ultimate

365
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,600
Speaker 2: saving grace as a freelancer, getting me outside of my

366
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,359
Speaker 2: apartment and providing me with enough freshly brewed coffee to

367
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:13,840
Speaker 2: fuel my never ending thoughts.

368
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,840
Speaker 1: You know, the work feels endless, and.

369
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,320
Speaker 2: I also, of note, wouldn't be able to do any

370
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,840
Speaker 2: of this without the support of my family and friends.

371
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,199
Speaker 2: A holler to my friend my Corn for my beautiful music.

372
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,880
Speaker 2: Please take a moment to leave a quick review by

373
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,439
Speaker 2: clicking the link with the description to this episode. Like

374
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,879
Speaker 2: I said, we all face multiple hurdles in life, and

375
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,600
Speaker 2: I want to hear about yours. Reach Out to me

376
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:47,159
Speaker 2: at Emily at hurdle dot us. Connect with the podcast

377
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,639
Speaker 2: on Instagram. And Twitter at Hurdle podcast and again, of

378
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,320
Speaker 2: course feel free to connect with me to over at

379
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:59,560
Speaker 2: Emily A Body a B B a t E. On

380
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,120
Speaker 2: the next episode of Hurdle, I am going to sit

381
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,119
Speaker 2: down with Alex silver Fagan. She's a Nike trainer, a

382
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,320
Speaker 2: Wilhelmina model, a creator of her own program Flow into Strong,

383
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,879
Speaker 2: and author so many accolades. I like to rag on

384
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 2: her because she calls herself a fitness entrepreneur. I guess

385
00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:21,280
Speaker 2: everyone's an entrepreneur in their own right. Alex got to

386
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:26,000
Speaker 2: a point where she was only ninety pounds working in

387
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:30,320
Speaker 2: nightlife and kind of had this hurdle moment where she

388
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,399
Speaker 2: knew she needed to make a change for the better.

389
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:38,560
Speaker 2: I catch up with her about bikini body competitions, what

390
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 2: life is like now, and what inspires her every single day.

391
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,600
Speaker 1: I'm really looking forward to sharing this with you guys.

392
00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:51,600
Speaker 2: And with that, the first of many hurdles conquered until

393
00:23:51,640 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 2: next time. Last time,