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Speaker 1: It doesn't matter what you do in life, but you

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Speaker 1: need to be a good person. You need to have

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Speaker 1: a good heart, and you need to do everything with

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Speaker 1: your heart and soul in it, because if not, it's

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Speaker 1: not worth it.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, good afternoon, Good evening. Emily body. Here you

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Speaker 2: are listening to episode three hundred and twenty one of Hurdle,

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Speaker 2: a wellness focused podcast where I talk to inspirational people

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Speaker 2: about everything from their highest highes and toughest moments to

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Speaker 2: essential tips on how to live a healthier, happier, more

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Speaker 2: motivated life. We all go through our fair share of hurdles.

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Speaker 2: My goal through these discussions is to empower you to

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Speaker 2: better navigate yours and move with intention so that you

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Speaker 2: can stride towards your own big potential and of course,

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Speaker 2: have some fun along the way. For today's chat, I

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Speaker 2: am sitting down with the ever lovely Monica Puig. She

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Speaker 2: is known by so many as a professional tennis player.

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Speaker 2: She's also the twenty sixteen Olympic gold medalists. In these days,

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Speaker 2: she's spending a little bit more time on the roads

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Speaker 2: and in the water having some fun competing in triathlon.

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Speaker 2: She most recently competed in the iron Man World Championships

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Speaker 2: in Nie and Oh my god, I have the biggest

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Speaker 2: chills after reading her Instagram recap posts. I will be

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Speaker 2: linking to her page in the show notes so that

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Speaker 2: you can do the same. But I digress. In today's conversation,

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Speaker 2: Monica talks to me about the pivot from professional tennis

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Speaker 2: to triathlon, what that looked like for her, and of

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Speaker 2: course we also go way back talking about her upbringing,

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Speaker 2: how she got into tennis, what it was like for

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Speaker 2: her to take the gold medal at the twenty sixteen Olympics,

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Speaker 2: and the challenges that came hand in hand with navigating

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Speaker 2: injury after injury, and what her internal dialogue was like

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Speaker 2: when she made the difficult decision to step away from tennis.

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Speaker 3: Monica is such a light. I was so.

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Speaker 2: Grateful to her sponsor Athleta for bringing us together. We

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Speaker 2: recorded this in their Power of She space in Paris,

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Speaker 2: and make sure if you're not yet following along with her,

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Speaker 2: you do so a sap again. I linked her page

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Speaker 2: in the show notes. You can find Hurdle over on

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Speaker 2: social as well at Hurdle Podcast and I am over

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Speaker 2: at Emily a Body. Now a little bit of housekeeping

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Speaker 2: Before I let you go, I want to make sure

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Speaker 2: that you are getting the latest episodes of Hurdle in

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Speaker 2: your podcast.

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Speaker 3: Feed, So please, pretty please.

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Speaker 2: If you're getting your podcasts in Apple Podcasts or Spotify,

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Speaker 2: make sure in the upper right hand corner it says

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Speaker 2: that you are following the show. It makes a huge

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Speaker 2: difference in download numbers, in where the podcast gets shown,

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Speaker 2: wherever you are listening to your podcasts. And I know

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Speaker 2: I say this all the time, but your support it

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Speaker 2: means the world. So while you're in there and making

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Speaker 2: sure that you follow, also feel free to leave a review,

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Speaker 2: give the show five stars, tell the world why you

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Speaker 2: love being a hurdler.

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Speaker 3: With that, let's get to it. Let's get it's a hurdling.

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Speaker 2: Today, I am sitting down with Monica Puek. She is

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Speaker 2: a former professional tennis player. How are we doing today?

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Speaker 4: I'm doing excellent. How are you?

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Speaker 3: I'm not bad.

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Speaker 2: I can't complain. We're not in the worst place right now.

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Speaker 1: And we just did a pilates class, so I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think we're primed and ready for everything, primed and

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Speaker 1: ready for everything.

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Speaker 2: I am not the most skilled pilates er either.

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Speaker 1: Am I I had to say, like my buns were burning.

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Speaker 3: Buns were burning.

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Speaker 1: But it was a cool experience and among other things

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Speaker 1: that you know, we've been doing around here in Paris.

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Speaker 4: So it's one to check off the list.

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Speaker 3: I want to check off the list.

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Speaker 2: And I don't want to put words in your mouth,

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Speaker 2: but as someone who considers herself mostly an endurance based athlete,

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Speaker 2: I'm a runner, I'm a cyclist, I'm pretty into Olympic

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Speaker 2: lifting these days. But with all that said, I think

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Speaker 2: that many women like myself could probably use some more.

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Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, I didn't think it was going to be

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Speaker 1: that big of a workout. I was like plates, yoga,

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Speaker 1: they're in the same family.

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Speaker 3: They're not, They're not. It's an entirely different skill set.

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Speaker 2: Speaking of the brief mention of running and cycling as

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Speaker 2: something that you know very well, when you took a

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Speaker 2: step back from professional tennis, you did get into running,

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Speaker 2: marathoning and then ultimately triathlons. Talk to me a little

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Speaker 2: bit about that decision and what made you steer that way.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so it was a bittersw entrance into the different

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Speaker 1: world of running and triathlon because ultimately took up running

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Speaker 1: when I hurt my shoulder. When you can't use your

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Speaker 1: upper body, might as well use your lower body, and

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Speaker 1: started to do marathons with my husband. We've done four

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Speaker 1: out of the six major marathons, and ultimately we thought

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Speaker 1: running was a punishment because we both did tennis and running.

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Speaker 4: You know, we thought, you know, running a mile here

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Speaker 4: and there, and we would.

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Speaker 1: Always cry and complain about running, and then running just

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Speaker 1: sort of became this therapeutic thing once I was no

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Speaker 1: longer able to use my upper body while I was

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Speaker 1: rehabbing my shoulder from the injuries that I had during tennis,

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Speaker 1: and running became one of those outlets for my mind

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Speaker 1: when I was in a really dark place, not knowing

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Speaker 1: if I was going to be able to return to

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Speaker 1: tennis or not. And ultimately, once the tennis was over,

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Speaker 1: started to do those marathons, and my husband kind of

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Speaker 1: dared me into.

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Speaker 4: Doing Iron Man. He's like, maybe we should do one.

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Speaker 1: I thought he was completely crazy, until you know, for

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Speaker 1: a half iron Man, and you have to run half

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Speaker 1: marathon at the end of all things. So we thought, okay, well,

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Speaker 1: thirteen point one miles doesn't really scare us that much anymore,

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Speaker 1: so let's try and add the swimming and the bike

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Speaker 1: into the mix and did our first half iron Man

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Speaker 1: in September of last year and have done I think

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Speaker 1: it's three more or two more since, and preparing for

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Speaker 1: my first full in September and the Ironman World Championships

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Speaker 1: and Nie.

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Speaker 4: And didn't really think I would end up here.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Okay, there's so much the double click on.

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Speaker 2: The first thing to double click on, we have to

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Speaker 2: go back to the shoulder injury that you step away

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Speaker 2: from tennis. Talk to us a little bit about how

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Speaker 2: that felt for you when you got to this place

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Speaker 2: that you said, I just don't think it's happening for

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Speaker 2: me anymore. Right.

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Speaker 1: It's really hard to kind of wrap my head around

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Speaker 1: because in a way, I still feel like I haven't

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Speaker 1: totally accepted the fact that I'm no longer playing professional

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Speaker 1: tennis and being here in Paris. I've been to the

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Speaker 1: tennis venue a few times and seeing some of my

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Speaker 1: peers compete, and I wish I could still be on

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Speaker 1: the court, living all those feelings and competing again. But

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Speaker 1: I was pretty fortunate that in the thirteen years of

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Speaker 1: my career, the injuries I sustained were at the tail

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Speaker 1: end of that, so had a pretty healthy career. All

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Speaker 1: around accomplished some pretty big things, one in those being

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Speaker 1: the Olympic will medal in twenty sixteen, which for me,

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Speaker 1: I hate talking about myself in any way. I don't

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Speaker 1: really like to brag about anything in my career because

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Speaker 1: you know, that's that's not me. I like to hype

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Speaker 1: other people up. But that was something that you know,

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Speaker 1: I always said that being at the Olympics was something

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Speaker 1: absolutely huge, and it's I don't care what sport I did.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to make it there. So that for me,

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Speaker 1: I still don't believe that it happened. It was kind

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Speaker 1: of out of nowhere because I wasn't really the favorite.

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Speaker 1: But things just happen and when they're meant to, when

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Speaker 1: they're supposed to, and it just happened for me in

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. It's like all the star line and everything

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Speaker 1: came together. But in twenty nineteen it was kind of

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Speaker 1: the start of the beginning to the end with all

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Speaker 1: these injuries, and in a way it kind of prepped

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Speaker 1: me for the goodbye because it was four really big

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Speaker 1: surgeries for really big injuries that kind of piled on.

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Speaker 1: Within those I believe it was three years, three and

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Speaker 1: a half years of just dealing with all this adversity,

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Speaker 1: and in a way it made me mature even faster,

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Speaker 1: even more during my tennis career. I think there was

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Speaker 1: a lot that I could have matured on, but I

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Speaker 1: wasn't really ready at the time, And during those three

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Speaker 1: and a half years, I really had to grow up

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Speaker 1: and kind of accept the fact that these things were

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Speaker 1: happening to me and also start thinking about the next chapter.

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Speaker 3: Happening to me.

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Speaker 2: But then, as what I'm hearing you say truly is

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Speaker 2: that they were also happening for you. As difficult as

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Speaker 2: it was for you to walk away from tennis, it

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Speaker 2: was also now an opportunity to see not only what

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Speaker 2: else you're capable of, but then explore other areas.

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Speaker 3: And I really don't want to.

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Speaker 2: Over the fact that we just listed gold medalists yeah

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Speaker 2: the Olympics, which is truly remarkable because you came into

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Speaker 2: that Olympic Games unseated.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and rank thirty four in the world. So it

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Speaker 1: was my best year. I was having some really consistent results,

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Speaker 1: was riding a huge wave of confidence, having started that

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Speaker 1: year one hundred and eight in the world, I think,

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Speaker 1: with no real shot at making the Olympic team because

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Speaker 1: to qualify you have to be somewhere within the top fifty,

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Speaker 1: and it wasn't until the very last week of you know,

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Speaker 1: tennis qualification where it pretty much ended here at the

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Speaker 1: French Open. Actually I needed to make the third round.

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Speaker 1: I didn't know that at the time. My team did.

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Speaker 4: They kept it.

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Speaker 1: Quiet until it actually happened and they're like, you literally just

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Speaker 1: squeaked by.

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Speaker 4: Was elated.

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Speaker 1: I was so happy, and then ended up losing the

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Speaker 1: next round, as most things that happen in that way

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Speaker 1: when you're like, oh, thank God, and then you know

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Speaker 1: your kind of performance goes down the drain, but it's okay.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, it wasn't really expected of me. My whole

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Speaker 1: goal going into Rio was to enjoy the experience because

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Speaker 1: my mindset was, who knows if I'm going to be

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Speaker 1: able to do this again, because who knows what happens

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Speaker 1: from here to four years out, And COVID happened, my

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Speaker 1: injuries happened, so at the time I didn't know what

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Speaker 1: was going to happen, so I wanted to enjoy that experience.

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Speaker 4: I stayed in the Olympic village.

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Speaker 1: We had forty eight athletes from Puerto Rico and really

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Speaker 1: enjoyed my time with them. And I think that shift

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Speaker 1: in my mindset to really just enjoying myself, really just

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Speaker 1: taking in the experience relaxed me and took away the pressure.

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Speaker 1: Because the first three rounds of the tournament, I was like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I'm just you know, I'm playing well. This is great,

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Speaker 1: but didn't believe that I could actually win. Until after

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Speaker 1: the third round. I was like, I'm playing too well

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Speaker 1: to not believe in myself or give myself the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to even flip the switch and see how far I

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Speaker 1: could go. But all in all, every time I left

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Speaker 1: the Olympic stadium, the tennis courts, everything, I could shut

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Speaker 1: my mind off. And that's something that never happened throughout

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Speaker 1: my career. I was able to turn my mind off

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Speaker 1: and say, Okay, I leave the tennis on the tennis court,

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Speaker 1: and now it's time for me to enjoy this experience

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Speaker 1: once again. And many people have asked me, why couldn't

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Speaker 1: you translate that over into your normal career. I was like, well,

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Speaker 1: the Olympics is not your average everyday competition. It's something

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Speaker 1: completely different. There are so many athletes here who are

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Speaker 1: chasing the same thing. Who have like minded goals, who

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Speaker 1: really want this, and once every four years, this whole

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Speaker 1: event turns into you know, passion, desire, commitment, discipline, and

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Speaker 1: you see it in each and every athlete who comes here.

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Speaker 2: I find it so interesting what you said, Yes, the

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Speaker 2: I'm going to turn my mind off when I leave

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Speaker 2: the tennis stadium, but more so the bit about I

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Speaker 2: was playing too well to not believe what I was

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Speaker 2: capable of, and that shows up or depicts to us

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Speaker 2: that there was an amount of confidence that you were

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Speaker 2: still working to find within your tennis, that you were

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Speaker 2: still getting to a place where you could truly believe

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Speaker 2: not only am I.

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Speaker 3: Good at this, but I can win this.

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Speaker 2: For someone that might be struggling to home in on

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Speaker 2: their own confidence, do you have any recommendations or thought

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Speaker 2: processes or mantras that you use to really hype yourself

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Speaker 2: up before you have to show up.

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Speaker 1: Honestly, I wasn't really big on the confidence stuff when

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Speaker 1: I played because I always felt, you know, that I

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Speaker 1: needed to be this person that I needed to achieve something,

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Speaker 1: so confidence was really hard to come by. And also,

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Speaker 1: being a woman, you're always nitpicking on yourself. So I

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Speaker 1: feel like my confidence really has blossomed post tennis, and

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Speaker 1: my advice to anybody now is try and find that

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Speaker 1: little window or that room of giving yourself grace, of

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Speaker 1: accepting yourself for who you are, because in this day

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Speaker 1: and age, obviously we're critiqued so much and we're supposed

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Speaker 1: to be held to this standard of perfection. But perfection

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Speaker 1: is impossible. Is it is so impossible to be absolutely

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Speaker 1: perfect in every aspect of life? But accepting yourself, even

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Speaker 1: if it's for five minutes, because I know it's very

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Speaker 1: difficult as a woman to accept yourself sometimes, you know,

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Speaker 1: we're at least me. I critique myself in the mirror.

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Speaker 1: I change my outfits like five times a day before

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Speaker 1: walking out the door, and even then sometimes I don't

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Speaker 1: feel comfortable in what I'm wearing. But you know, there

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Speaker 1: are those moments where I look at myself, you know,

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Speaker 1: take a deep breath, and I'm like, this is me,

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Speaker 1: this is who I am, this is who I'm always

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Speaker 1: going to be. So let me just accept that, Let

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Speaker 1: me love myself.

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Speaker 2: Isn't it so interesting though, to sit across from another

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Speaker 2: woman and say something like that, And I can guarantee

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Speaker 2: you that every single person listening to this podcast has

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Speaker 2: certainly felt that way and non today, probably within the

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Speaker 2: last week. Yet still all of those women would look

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Speaker 2: at you and be like, what a beautiful human being.

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Speaker 3: And it doesn't matter what you.

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Speaker 2: Look like, where you come from, what you're navigating, et cetera.

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Speaker 3: Everyone's going to have insecurities at one point another.

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Speaker 2: You can truly be like an entirely let's call it

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Speaker 2: like body accepting, right right, I'm not even talking about

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Speaker 2: like extremely body positive in that right, like oh my god,

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Speaker 2: I have the best thoughts whatever, but like you can

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Speaker 2: be completely body accepting. Like I like to think that

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Speaker 2: I'm like pretty body accepting, But that doesn't mean that,

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Speaker 2: like there aren't going to be moments when I look

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Speaker 2: in the mirror and I'm like, oh, this is just

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Speaker 2: how it is now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: And that's so I've I try, at least I've tried

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Speaker 1: to build my brand around is one word, and that's relatability.

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Speaker 1: I want people to relate to me in any way,

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Speaker 1: shape or form, even on my socials, Like, you know,

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Speaker 1: I see all these artsy instagrams and like perfectly esthetic

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Speaker 1: posts and stuff, and I look at my content and

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Speaker 1: I'm like, why doesn't it look like that, but at

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Speaker 1: the same time, I sometimes I don't want it to

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Speaker 1: because I want people to relate to me. I want

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Speaker 1: people to relate to the fact that I don't know

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Speaker 1: how to make a real I don't know how to

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Speaker 1: take good pictures. But I also, you know, I know

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Speaker 1: what I like. I love coffee shops, I love my dogs.

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Speaker 1: I love being at home. Traveling sometimes sucks and I

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Speaker 1: miss being home, but then I also really love to

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Speaker 1: travel and explore new places and try new things. So

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Speaker 1: you know, if anybody can you know, look to me

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Speaker 1: or you know, take away anything, is that I want

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Speaker 1: to be able to identify with so many people. I

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Speaker 1: want people to identify to me, and I want people

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Speaker 1: to see me as a very approachable person because let

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Speaker 1: me just tell you, if you stop me on the

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Speaker 1: street and want to have a chat, I will stay.

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Speaker 4: There and talking until the cows come home.

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Speaker 1: It is very difficult to get me to stop talking

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Speaker 1: because I just love meeting new people and sharing experiences

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Speaker 1: and learning about the world about other people, and that's

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Speaker 1: really important to me.

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Speaker 2: Your sentiments earlier around perfection, just this concept that perfection

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Speaker 2: isn't relatable, vulnerability is relatable, and That's really what we're

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Speaker 2: getting at here when we talk about the desire for

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Speaker 2: people to be able to maybe see what you're putting

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Speaker 2: out there on the Internet on Instagram and be like, no,

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Speaker 2: I totally get that, and that's really special. I think

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Speaker 2: that as we continue on in this day to day

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Speaker 2: of the highlight reel, the best thing that we can

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Speaker 2: do as women who are trying to lead some sort

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Speaker 2: of an example is show up and be our authentic selves.

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Speaker 2: And that doesn't mean that sometimes there's not going to

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Speaker 2: be a nice bow on it by the end of

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Speaker 2: the day. Think about the net content that you're putting

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Speaker 2: into the world and if you are executing in a

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Speaker 2: way that would make your future self proud. That's always

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Speaker 2: what I'm kind of gut checking with myself when I

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Speaker 2: think about what I'm putting into the world. Is am

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Speaker 2: I creating something that not only has a purpose and

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Speaker 2: is worthwhile, but also just like make someone else feel seen?

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Speaker 2: And going back to wanting to feel seen and dialing

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Speaker 2: back a little bit to your injury period during that

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Speaker 2: time frame we're talking about that four year Olympic cycle.

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Speaker 2: Right after winning gold, who made you feel seen? How

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Speaker 2: did you do you find comfort in knowing that you

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Speaker 2: weren't alone in that difficulty that you were experiencing.

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Speaker 1: It's you know, obviously family, but pretty much going to

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Speaker 1: summarize it in one word or two words, and that's

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Speaker 1: my husband. I met him, you know, just in the

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Speaker 1: tail end of twenty twenty, just when I was starting

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Speaker 1: to get injured with my shoulder. I already had an

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Speaker 1: elbow injury coming back from that and my shoulders started

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Speaker 1: to act all wonky. You know, we were starting to

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Speaker 1: date at the time. I mean, he's known me through

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Speaker 1: pretty much all of my surgeries. He's seen me at

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Speaker 1: my absolute lowest point. He's taken pictures and videos of

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Speaker 1: me completely chaoed on pain medication, and like within seconds,

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Speaker 1: he gives me a coffee. He turns away to sit down,

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Speaker 1: and I'm dead asleep with a coffee in my hand. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and he's had to wash my hair in the sink.

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Speaker 1: He's had to see me cry because I simply couldn't

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Speaker 1: do the thing that I felt identified me as a person,

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Speaker 1: and that was Tennis, and he stood by me through

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Speaker 1: it all. I had to move to Arizona to do

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Speaker 1: shoulder rehab and he was working remote and he asked

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Speaker 1: if he could come with me, and this is when

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Speaker 1: we were dating, and I said, well, I don't know

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Speaker 1: how long I'm going to be out there for. He said,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't matter. I want to support you. It's in

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Speaker 1: those moments that I knew obviously I wanted to suspend

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Speaker 1: the rest of my life with him because no other

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Speaker 1: person would say I want to support you. And I

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Speaker 1: was at my low point, like I can understand what

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Speaker 1: people want to support at the high points of your career,

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Speaker 1: when you are on top of the world, where everybody

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Speaker 1: wants a little bit in peace of you. But when

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Speaker 1: you are nothing, when you are unseen, when you're down there,

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Speaker 1: the people who want to support you and be in

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Speaker 1: your life and are not there for all the glitz

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Speaker 1: and the lamb, those are the people that I hang

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Speaker 1: on to. And he really came into my life at

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Speaker 1: a point in time where I felt miserable, I felt

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Speaker 1: worthless because I felt like I was just invisible and disappearing,

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Speaker 1: and he made me feel seen. Yeah, and he supported

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Speaker 1: me through everything. Still does you know? And our life

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Speaker 1: is far from.

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Speaker 4: Home. It's very chaotic. I literally haven't been.

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Speaker 1: Home this year for more than like a month, and

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Speaker 1: he supports me in everything I do.

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Speaker 4: So it's really about having.

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Speaker 1: Great friends, amazing family, people that really care about you

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Speaker 1: despite you know, what's going on in your life, whether

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Speaker 1: you're at a higher or alone.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you can do good times with anyone, but you

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Speaker 2: can't do bad times with everyone. Yeah, So to have

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Speaker 2: someone there for you that supported you through those bad times.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for sharing how difficult they were for you.

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Speaker 2: On that note of the difficulty, you said you just

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Speaker 2: really felt a loss of self, a loss of feeling

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Speaker 2: of purpose. Can you elaborate a little bit on those

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Speaker 2: feelings and talk about when you started to realize that

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Speaker 2: there was light for you to reach for despite dealing

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Speaker 2: with so many hardships.

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Speaker 4: Well, it was tough.

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Speaker 1: Like I said, I felt like I was disappearing and

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Speaker 1: I felt invisible. So when you're playing in your professional athlete,

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Speaker 1: everything is done for you, You're completely taken care of.

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Speaker 1: All the attention is on you, what do you need?

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Speaker 1: And once you kind of take a back seat, obviously

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Speaker 1: you become one of the has been's kind of thing.

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Speaker 1: And it was kind of hard that transition from being

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Speaker 1: you know, in the public eye all the time, having

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Speaker 1: all of this attention to kind of just fading into extinction,

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Speaker 1: I would say, because you're no longer what you were.

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Speaker 1: And also in that time where I felt like it

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Speaker 1: was all you know, that beginning to the end, actually

402
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Speaker 1: did get a call and this is why I'm here

403
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Speaker 1: in Paris is to be with Athleta. I got a

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Speaker 1: call from Athleta and they wanted to be a part

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Speaker 1: of my journey. And I was like, hold up, wait

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Speaker 1: a minute, I'm retiring, and they said, it doesn't matter.

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Speaker 4: We want women.

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Speaker 1: Of all phases of life, whether they're new moms, whether

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Speaker 1: they are moms, whether they're retiring, whether they're at the

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Speaker 1: prime of their career. You know, all sizes, all body types.

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Speaker 1: We want to support women. And I was like, so,

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Speaker 1: this is what it's like to like, really be seen

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Speaker 1: by someone. This is what it's like to really be appreciated.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I found, like I said, those support systems,

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Speaker 1: you know, when I felt like I was starting to disappear.

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Speaker 1: That made me feel like a somebody, like I said,

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Speaker 1: my family, you know, they they helped me kind of

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Speaker 1: grasp the fact that I'm not just a tennis player.

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Speaker 4: I wasn't just a tennis player. I was Monica.

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Speaker 1: Every time I would come back from a trip, they

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Speaker 1: always made it a point to not talk about tennis,

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Speaker 1: not talk about work, and just ask me how I

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Speaker 1: was doing as a person, as an individual. Where is

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Speaker 1: your favorite restaurant, Let's go there, Let's let's really appreciate

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Speaker 1: the time that you're home and not really focus on

426
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Speaker 1: work in those moments. It's it's it's really important to

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Speaker 1: just see yourself as you know, the superstardom of it all,

428
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Speaker 1: it's put it to the side because it's it's it's

429
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Speaker 1: not real. I feel like that that life, that world,

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Speaker 1: it's not real because you could be up here and

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Speaker 1: everybody wants to know you, but when you're down here,

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Speaker 1: nobody really wants to be around. But the people who

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Speaker 1: really want to be around and you feel like the

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Speaker 1: world is ending.

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Speaker 4: Those are the people, and those are the relationships that

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Speaker 4: you have to value and keep close.

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Speaker 3: So special.

438
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:11,359
Speaker 2: Such a beautiful takeaway from a really difficult moment. And

439
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,680
Speaker 2: you said, not only after that moment where you met

440
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,080
Speaker 2: and started dating your husband, but then ultimately, after stepping

441
00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,080
Speaker 2: away from tennis, you two getting into triathlon. I want

442
00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:23,680
Speaker 2: to talk a little bit about that transition and almost

443
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,000
Speaker 2: establishing or picking up a new part of your identity

444
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,760
Speaker 2: when you really got into running. When you began with

445
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 2: that modality, did you find it challenging?

446
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:38,840
Speaker 1: Oh? Yeah, it was a very tough transition because I'm

447
00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,240
Speaker 1: going to be extremely honest. I was in a very

448
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,840
Speaker 1: mentally tough tennis player. When things got hard, it was

449
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,480
Speaker 1: very tough to push myself over the limit. Not to

450
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,439
Speaker 1: say that I didn't do it many times, and I

451
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,280
Speaker 1: had a coach and a team who knew what I

452
00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:56,080
Speaker 1: needed from them, and I needed them to push me.

453
00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,240
Speaker 1: But that self drive to push myself I always struggle with.

454
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: So when you're running a marathon or doing a try

455
00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,080
Speaker 1: off on or an iron man, you are out there

456
00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 1: by yourself. You know, I know my husband's somewhere on

457
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,000
Speaker 1: the course, but we're not doing it together because you know,

458
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,080
Speaker 1: we have this agreement that you know go. And also

459
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,919
Speaker 1: you have the finish line and you really have to

460
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,200
Speaker 1: battle your own demons out there, and whether you're super

461
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,000
Speaker 1: tired or you feel and ache and pain somewhere.

462
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:26,280
Speaker 4: You need to know how to push yourself.

463
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,680
Speaker 1: This whole journey helped me grow into that person, help

464
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,120
Speaker 1: me know when to push, when to say no, when

465
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,399
Speaker 1: to give my body a break and when to really,

466
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,800
Speaker 1: you know, just suck it up and go for it.

467
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,400
Speaker 1: And that was a really hard transition because running a marathon,

468
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,840
Speaker 1: you know, at the beginning, it's all really cool, I

469
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,359
Speaker 1: got the cameras, let me smile, whatever. You get to

470
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 1: mile eighteen and you feel like you want to just

471
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,800
Speaker 1: crawl on the floor and die. Same with the iron Man.

472
00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,719
Speaker 1: You know, you finish the swim, you feel like you're

473
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,520
Speaker 1: about to fall over because you're disoriented. You get off

474
00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,880
Speaker 1: the bike and your legs are insanely heavy for the run,

475
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,080
Speaker 1: But then that euphoria when you cross the finish line.

476
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,199
Speaker 1: It's like I did that. I trained for that, and

477
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 1: I accomplished that. And that's what keeps me going. It's

478
00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:13,240
Speaker 1: that I continue to accomplish things. And like we were saying,

479
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,800
Speaker 1: these these sports were completely foreign to me, and it's

480
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:18,480
Speaker 1: like what I was talking about in the panel a

481
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:22,359
Speaker 1: couple days ago with Athleta. You can't limit yourself to

482
00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,080
Speaker 1: one thing in life. So tennis was my thing. But

483
00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 1: if I didn't try something else, if I didn't explore

484
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,439
Speaker 1: another avenue, another opportunity, because I felt like I needed

485
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,760
Speaker 1: a competitive outlet in my life to keep going to

486
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,160
Speaker 1: have a goal to push for every day, a sense

487
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,919
Speaker 1: of purpose. If you don't explore other things in life,

488
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:44,520
Speaker 1: you never really know what you're also good at. I

489
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,000
Speaker 1: never knew in a million years I thought that I

490
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:48,879
Speaker 1: was going to be a triathlete, that I was going

491
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,560
Speaker 1: to want to do iron man Like I said. It

492
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 1: was a dare, and I said no at the beginning

493
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,960
Speaker 1: because I thought it was insane. But you know, I

494
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,040
Speaker 1: discovered something, a passion of love for something else. But

495
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,440
Speaker 1: you know, people think I'm crazy, but I feel extremely

496
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,439
Speaker 1: empowered by this new world. And I always lived in

497
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,880
Speaker 1: this tennis bubble and now I'm discovering these athletes who

498
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,800
Speaker 1: have been doing this for so many years, and they're

499
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 1: completely badass.

500
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 4: It's incredible.

501
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:17,960
Speaker 3: The most badass, the most badass.

502
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,080
Speaker 2: And you know what else I think is really beautiful

503
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,119
Speaker 2: is it's not just opening yourself up and realizing that

504
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 2: you can be good at something else. It's the concept

505
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 2: of opening yourself up at all and realizing that there

506
00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:30,920
Speaker 2: may just be other things in life that.

507
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,600
Speaker 3: You can enjoy. You don't have to be good at it.

508
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,239
Speaker 2: No, Like I don't know, I'm not really good at

509
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,240
Speaker 2: cycling myself, but I really love getting on my bike

510
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:40,879
Speaker 2: and tuning out for two and a half hours.

511
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,320
Speaker 3: I absolutely adore it. Or I'm not really good at

512
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,160
Speaker 3: hot yoga. Actually I'm awful at hot yoga, Like.

513
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:49,639
Speaker 4: We're not great at pilateus. But you know, we enjoyed

514
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:50,800
Speaker 4: it at the end, exactly.

515
00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,200
Speaker 3: We enjoyed it at the end.

516
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,159
Speaker 2: And like I know, I'm using active examples, right, there

517
00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,280
Speaker 2: are so many things cooking aret like anything that you

518
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,320
Speaker 2: can name, and if you're just not doing it because

519
00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:03,040
Speaker 2: you're worried that you might not be good at it,

520
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,119
Speaker 2: or you're just intimidated to start, then you're truly missing

521
00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:08,919
Speaker 2: out on the opportunity. And that even goes back to

522
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,359
Speaker 2: our conversation about mindset. It was like you were saying

523
00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:15,200
Speaker 2: to yourself when you started to win those matches, I'm

524
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,880
Speaker 2: doing too well not to believe in myself. And sometimes

525
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:21,119
Speaker 2: you just need that one match that finally strikes and

526
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,280
Speaker 2: lights to be the thing that convinces you, oh no,

527
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 2: there's a flame under there. Yeah, I just have to

528
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,080
Speaker 2: be the person that's willing to stoke.

529
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:28,720
Speaker 4: It, exactly.

530
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,639
Speaker 1: And I feel like a lot of people sometimes need

531
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,480
Speaker 1: a reminder that there is so much more that you

532
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,720
Speaker 1: can accomplish that. You don't have to just be one

533
00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 1: thing in life. You can be so many things. You

534
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 1: can wear so many different hats. And like we said,

535
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,120
Speaker 1: sometimes people are so scared to try something new because

536
00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,959
Speaker 1: they think they're going to fail already. Yeah, look at

537
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,520
Speaker 1: babies when they start walking, they fall down, you know,

538
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,280
Speaker 1: dozens of times, but yet they keep getting back up,

539
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,320
Speaker 1: and they keep wanting to walk because they think it's

540
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,080
Speaker 1: fun and the world is interesting and they want to

541
00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:02,359
Speaker 1: explore more So in life, if you fall down a

542
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,200
Speaker 1: ton of times, that's just an opportunity to Okay, let

543
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,600
Speaker 1: me learn why did I fall down and what can

544
00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 1: I change so I can keep moving forward.

545
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,000
Speaker 2: Well, that reflection piece, that's the thing, right, because it

546
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 2: is up to us then to take the time not

547
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,600
Speaker 2: only to reflect, but then learn from what happened. And

548
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,160
Speaker 2: if you don't take the time to learn from what happened,

549
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:24,320
Speaker 2: then you won't be able to move forward in a

550
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,439
Speaker 2: way that really is representative of what you're capable of.

551
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,560
Speaker 2: If you want to do different, something's got to be different, right, period. Yes,

552
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,720
Speaker 2: And so if you're interested in taking on a new skill,

553
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,560
Speaker 2: trying on a new sport, or whatever the case may

554
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 2: be You have to be willing to fall a few

555
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,920
Speaker 2: times and then get yourself back up exactly.

556
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,760
Speaker 1: And you know, there's another aspect of that, like if

557
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 1: you're around other people, what are they thinking of me?

558
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,439
Speaker 1: Are they judging me if I'm doing it wrong or whatever.

559
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,199
Speaker 1: You don't have to do everything perfectly. You're not going

560
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,719
Speaker 1: to be an expert at everything. And that's something sometimes

561
00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,280
Speaker 1: that I struggle with if I'm in a group of

562
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 1: people and i feel like I'm doing something like you know,

563
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,400
Speaker 1: one of my teammates in my travel on team, he's

564
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:06,360
Speaker 1: an excellent swimmer.

565
00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:08,440
Speaker 4: He did swimming in college.

566
00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,480
Speaker 1: And I get in the pool with him and he's

567
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:12,960
Speaker 1: swimming super super fast, and his technique is much better

568
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,920
Speaker 1: than mine. And sometimes I don't feel like doing the

569
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,639
Speaker 1: drills because I feel scared and embarrassed that I'm not

570
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:23,320
Speaker 1: decent at swimming. But at the same time, that's his process,

571
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,399
Speaker 1: that's him. He is the swimmer I'm not. But I

572
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,359
Speaker 1: am trying to become a better swimmer.

573
00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:28,840
Speaker 4: Every day.

574
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 1: I'm focusing on the things that will help me improve

575
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,520
Speaker 1: as a swimmer. So you know what, I can't really

576
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:35,679
Speaker 1: focus on what other people are thinking. They might not

577
00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:37,879
Speaker 1: even be thinking of you honestly, or they might not

578
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:42,280
Speaker 1: even be paying attention to you. But if you're constantly

579
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,600
Speaker 1: limiting yourself because you're worried about oh my gosh, what

580
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: are they thinking of me? Or the what ifs of things,

581
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 1: then everything becomes that much less enjoyable. And you know what,

582
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 1: I think that that is very limiting factor in life

583
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 1: that I'm also trying to grasp. I'm not perfect at it,

584
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,640
Speaker 1: like I said, I still think a lot about what

585
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 1: are people thinking of me? But you know what, those

586
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 1: are the things in life that we need to get

587
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 1: better at and you know, start to evolve and adapt

588
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 1: and change.

589
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, let go of the uncontrollables, right, And

590
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:14,920
Speaker 2: you know, I don't know if you follow Laura Green,

591
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,880
Speaker 2: she's a really funny running let's call her a comedian

592
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,440
Speaker 2: and I'll show you her her profile page after we

593
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:23,440
Speaker 2: stop recording.

594
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,120
Speaker 3: But she always says, like, nobody cares.

595
00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, at the end of the day, like I mean, yes,

596
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,400
Speaker 2: there are people that care about you, but in the

597
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 2: scheme of things, everyone is more often than not so

598
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,200
Speaker 2: focused on their own stuff. Yes, that if you're tripping

599
00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:37,680
Speaker 2: in the corner, it's like, oh, it might be funny

600
00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 2: for a second, but.

601
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 3: Like it's really okay, Right, It's really okay.

602
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,560
Speaker 1: Hey, I've honestly like this is you know, this stays

603
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,280
Speaker 1: between us, everyone between us of the podcast. I have

604
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,000
Speaker 1: fallen face first on Fifth Avenue with cars around when

605
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,840
Speaker 1: I was getting ready for the New York City Marathon.

606
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:58,000
Speaker 1: Like I dragged my feet so much when I ran,

607
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 1: and it was so embarrassing. So happens, especially on the

608
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 1: avenue with cars and people around. But you know, you know,

609
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,560
Speaker 1: it happens. But then you get back up and everybody's like,

610
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, is she okay? And then they get

611
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:13,560
Speaker 1: back to their lives and the exactly, you know, the

612
00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,520
Speaker 1: horns are honking because the light is green and they

613
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,120
Speaker 1: have to move, you know, exactly.

614
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,680
Speaker 2: Taking a break from today's episode to talk to you

615
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 2: about one of my sponsors, and that is ag One. Now,

616
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,960
Speaker 2: as you know, morning routines are absolutely critical to me.

617
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,560
Speaker 2: That is the biggest understatement. My morning is my favorite

618
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,960
Speaker 2: part of my day. It's my knee time, and so

619
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:44,800
Speaker 2: many aspects of my routine are a non negotiable, including

620
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:49,160
Speaker 2: drinking my ag One. I drink it right after working

621
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,160
Speaker 2: out and it truly makes me feel like I am

622
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,400
Speaker 2: ready to conquer my day, and I know that it's

623
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:59,080
Speaker 2: me doing something really good for my body. I actually

624
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:04,160
Speaker 2: recently ditched that second cup of coffee and I'm simply

625
00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,440
Speaker 2: just drinking my ag one and I can say that

626
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,520
Speaker 2: not only am I not noticing any difference in my

627
00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,920
Speaker 2: energy levels, but my stomach's feeling better. I'm feeling better

628
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,800
Speaker 2: and that is a win in my book. And it's

629
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:22,560
Speaker 2: actually really interesting because they recently posted some results online

630
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:26,080
Speaker 2: from studies that they conduct on individuals using their product,

631
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,840
Speaker 2: and it's really interesting to see how many of the

632
00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:34,480
Speaker 2: study participants had the same feelings that I have increased energy, focus,

633
00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:38,719
Speaker 2: supported digestion. I mean, after thirty days, eighty percent of

634
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,240
Speaker 2: people in one of their studies noticed less gas and bloating,

635
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,880
Speaker 2: and ninety seven percent.

636
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,480
Speaker 3: Of people felt more energy.

637
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:49,720
Speaker 2: I've been on the ag one train for a long

638
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,040
Speaker 2: long time, and I encourage you to give it a

639
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,920
Speaker 2: try and see how it fits as a part of

640
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,440
Speaker 2: your morning routine. Try ag one and get a free

641
00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,520
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642
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643
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,480
Speaker 2: over to drink ag one dot com. Slash hurdle again

644
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,400
Speaker 2: that is d r I n k ag one dot

645
00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,920
Speaker 2: com slash h U R d l E to get

646
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:28,000
Speaker 2: yours today. Which one which of the world Majors was

647
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:29,080
Speaker 2: your first World Major?

648
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:29,680
Speaker 4: New York?

649
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:34,800
Speaker 2: Okay, yes, talk us through that experience and how it

650
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,000
Speaker 2: encouraged and inspired you to do it again.

651
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 1: So my husband actually did New York one week before

652
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:47,280
Speaker 1: a wedding. Everybody thought we were crazy. My whole family

653
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,240
Speaker 1: wanted me to pull out of it because if something

654
00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,280
Speaker 1: were to happen, face plan on Fifth Avenue. You know,

655
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:55,560
Speaker 1: the the cuts and bruises don't really look so good

656
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 1: in a wedding.

657
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,959
Speaker 4: Dress, but it covers them.

658
00:32:59,000 --> 00:32:59,880
Speaker 3: What are you talking about?

659
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:00,880
Speaker 4: Yeah, talk I'm a.

660
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,200
Speaker 1: Very clumsy person, believe it or not, I really am.

661
00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,360
Speaker 1: I trip over everything. But it was something that I

662
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,440
Speaker 1: really wanted to do post tennis. Was you know, once

663
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,760
Speaker 1: I started getting into the running, was do one of

664
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,840
Speaker 1: the major marathons in New York. Happened to be the

665
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:18,040
Speaker 1: first one. We were very aware it was the week

666
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,280
Speaker 1: before a wedding, and we still wanted to do it anyway,

667
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 1: and it was a great experience. My husband and I

668
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,880
Speaker 1: did run that one together side by side, and that's

669
00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,840
Speaker 1: where we realized, like, Okay, our paces are very different,

670
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 1: so one of us needs to go ahead next time.

671
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:34,160
Speaker 4: And you know what, we finished it.

672
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:38,160
Speaker 1: We had fun and running twenty six miles, like I said,

673
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:42,520
Speaker 1: is a monster because at the beginning you are loving it.

674
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:44,920
Speaker 4: I loved New York. I love the energy. It was great,

675
00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:46,320
Speaker 4: but that.

676
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,360
Speaker 1: Race was one of the most miserable New York City

677
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,240
Speaker 1: marathons I think for so many people because it was

678
00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:51,720
Speaker 1: so hot.

679
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:53,600
Speaker 4: It was twenty twenty two.

680
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,560
Speaker 1: It was raining, then the sun came out, it was humid,

681
00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,560
Speaker 1: then it was overcast. I feel like we had so

682
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:03,480
Speaker 1: many different elements come in all at once. But then again,

683
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 1: it was a mentally challenging race and either you drop

684
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,239
Speaker 1: out or you finish, and we ended up finishing and

685
00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,400
Speaker 1: it was insane. But all the while you're running, you're like,

686
00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:16,200
Speaker 1: I never want to do another one again. You cross

687
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:18,640
Speaker 1: the finish line, you're like, when is the next one?

688
00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:19,200
Speaker 3: I'm ready?

689
00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 1: And that was We ended up doing Boston and London

690
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,480
Speaker 1: in the same week as well in twenty twenty three,

691
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 1: so it was kind of like that, Okay, when's the

692
00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:31,799
Speaker 1: next one? You have five days to get ready and

693
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:37,400
Speaker 1: fly across the pond and run another marathon, but it's again,

694
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:39,400
Speaker 1: you know, it's a challenge.

695
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,760
Speaker 4: It's what would get me out of bed in the morning.

696
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:43,960
Speaker 1: And even though you know I'm tired, I need to

697
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:45,799
Speaker 1: train for this because I want to feel prepared. And

698
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,239
Speaker 1: the more prepared I am, the less it will hurt.

699
00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 1: And the less it will hurt, the more I can enjoy.

700
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:52,760
Speaker 1: So that was kind of like the chain of thought.

701
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,360
Speaker 3: The less it will hurt, the more I can enjoy.

702
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:56,040
Speaker 4: Exactly.

703
00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:00,560
Speaker 2: I love that mindset around like oh no, we got Yeah,

704
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:02,000
Speaker 2: that's the more preparation the better.

705
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:02,520
Speaker 4: Yeah.

706
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:06,800
Speaker 1: It's like I met actually Elliott Kipchogi Humble Brag before

707
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,200
Speaker 1: the Boston Marathon and I had a one on one

708
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:10,160
Speaker 1: with him and I was talking.

709
00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:12,360
Speaker 4: He you know, gave me his book that was signed.

710
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,560
Speaker 1: I gave him a tennis racket sign and he looked

711
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:16,160
Speaker 1: like a little kid at at Candy story was like

712
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:18,640
Speaker 1: bouncing the ball in the racket and hearing by yeah.

713
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:20,239
Speaker 1: I mean they were trying to protect him, like if

714
00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:22,280
Speaker 1: the ball fell he would go and get it. Everybody's

715
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,200
Speaker 1: like oh, because they wanted him to WHI but he was.

716
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:28,680
Speaker 1: He was so sweet And then I asked him, like

717
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,160
Speaker 1: any piece of advice for me before I run the marathon.

718
00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,800
Speaker 1: He's like, don't worry, just run it in two hours

719
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,360
Speaker 1: and he'll be done in no time. I was like, okay,

720
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,680
Speaker 1: maybe for you, you can run in two hours.

721
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,680
Speaker 4: Me, I'll be done a lot later than that.

722
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 3: I need a little bit more time here.

723
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:47,560
Speaker 1: But you know, also a human like that superhuman who

724
00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,040
Speaker 1: can run at the speed that he does, and for

725
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,040
Speaker 1: you know, as as decorated as he is in the

726
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 1: marathon world and as celebrated as he is, you know,

727
00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,640
Speaker 1: he loves this so much. And he didn't have the

728
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,719
Speaker 1: best races. You know, he wasn't feeling great, but his

729
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:05,360
Speaker 1: mindset and approach to the races, his mindset. After having

730
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,600
Speaker 1: a couple setbacks in the races that he had and

731
00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 1: he didn't win, he just said, look, I had the

732
00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:15,600
Speaker 1: opportunity to get up tomorrow and better myself as an athlete.

733
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:17,440
Speaker 1: I'm going to see what happened. I'm going to learn

734
00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:18,759
Speaker 1: from it, and I'm going to come back to the

735
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:20,200
Speaker 1: next race and I'm going to try and do my

736
00:36:20,239 --> 00:36:25,160
Speaker 1: best to win. And that's the mindset. It's forever growing, changing, adapting,

737
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:27,640
Speaker 1: and forever learning. You want to be a student of

738
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,520
Speaker 1: the game, and that's something that I try and focus

739
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,040
Speaker 1: on even in track on. I have a coach, and

740
00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:37,800
Speaker 1: you know, he's teaching me all of these different things

741
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 1: because look, open water swimming is hard. Swimming in general

742
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:43,880
Speaker 1: is hard, so I need to learn the techniques. But

743
00:36:44,239 --> 00:36:46,080
Speaker 1: I had an accident on my bike a year ago

744
00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:48,879
Speaker 1: and still am very nervous when I get on the bike.

745
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:52,520
Speaker 1: I'm still very nervous for the iron Man World Championship,

746
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:54,480
Speaker 1: which is a niece, which is in a mountain, So

747
00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: you know, I'm not scared of the climbs, I'm scared

748
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,960
Speaker 1: of the descents. I've heard they're pretty dodgy. But again

749
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:03,120
Speaker 1: that comes to preparation, confidence, believing in yourself that you

750
00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:03,640
Speaker 1: can do the.

751
00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:06,600
Speaker 2: Hard things or those that don't have the context. Can

752
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:09,440
Speaker 2: you talk a little bit about how you are racing

753
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,719
Speaker 2: the World Championship knowing that you're, like I said, relatively

754
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:15,799
Speaker 2: is an interpretive word, but relatively new to triathlon.

755
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:20,319
Speaker 1: So the World Championships in Nice, they give the opportunity

756
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,120
Speaker 1: this year for a couple of people who qualify in

757
00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,960
Speaker 1: half iron Man's with a certain time in qualification to

758
00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:29,520
Speaker 1: be able to qualify for the full World Championship, so

759
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,279
Speaker 1: I was able to get my slot into Nice and

760
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,719
Speaker 1: I've always wanted to race in a World Championship, whether

761
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,080
Speaker 1: it be half or full. Going to be doing my

762
00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:42,000
Speaker 1: first full, it's insane. I'm very I'm very, very scared

763
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:45,080
Speaker 1: to get this is Nice, right, I'm scared because it's not.

764
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:49,200
Speaker 1: You know, my best halftime was actually like ten days ago.

765
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:51,520
Speaker 1: It was five hours and eleven minutes, and knowing that

766
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:53,640
Speaker 1: it's going to have to be double that and five

767
00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,320
Speaker 1: hours and eleven minutes on a flat course, right, so

768
00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:58,160
Speaker 1: this is not going to be flat. It's going to

769
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 1: be mountain for the bikes, so lots of steep inclines

770
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,719
Speaker 1: and then the descents you know, are very technical. So

771
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:07,120
Speaker 1: there's also you know, strategy involved. Do I take my

772
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,000
Speaker 1: try bike, do I take my road bike? What is

773
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:11,000
Speaker 1: going to be most comfortable for me? How do I

774
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:15,000
Speaker 1: approach the run? Because you know, like most people, when

775
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:16,920
Speaker 1: you start a race, you're very enthusiastic.

776
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:17,760
Speaker 4: You want to get going.

777
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:21,200
Speaker 1: Especially on the run, you need to control your pace

778
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:24,319
Speaker 1: because after a swim, after a bike, you need to

779
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 1: run a full marathon after that. How am I going

780
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:28,680
Speaker 1: to approach that? How am I going to handle these

781
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:31,279
Speaker 1: things mentally, because in a half you can race. I

782
00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:33,399
Speaker 1: feel like there you can really just say, Okay, I'm

783
00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,480
Speaker 1: going to exert myself to the fullest and I'm just

784
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:37,560
Speaker 1: going to go. And I feel like for a full

785
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,319
Speaker 1: you need to learn how to pace yourself and just

786
00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,560
Speaker 1: think of it as I need to be doing this

787
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:48,000
Speaker 1: for a whole day, and that's from sun up to sundown,

788
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:51,120
Speaker 1: and you need to finish, and my ultimate goal is

789
00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:52,920
Speaker 1: to finish under twelve hours.

790
00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 4: Will I do it? I don't know. Will I finish absolutely?

791
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:57,800
Speaker 4: And they're going to have to drag me off the course.

792
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,440
Speaker 2: Yeah. You know someone who's listening to it here as

793
00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,600
Speaker 2: you talk about such a really impressive but also very

794
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:07,439
Speaker 2: difficult challenge ahead of you, and maybe they're asking, how

795
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,480
Speaker 2: do you garner the courage, the confidence? What do you

796
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:13,880
Speaker 2: say to yourself during those hard moments to show up

797
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:15,000
Speaker 2: and rise to the occasion.

798
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:16,879
Speaker 3: What is it that keeps.

799
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:21,200
Speaker 2: You going when it really does feel absolutely awful.

800
00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:24,960
Speaker 1: It's again remembering how I feel at the finish line.

801
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:28,520
Speaker 1: It's also knowing that I signed up for this because

802
00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,759
Speaker 1: I wanted it, not because anybody's forcing me to do it.

803
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,160
Speaker 4: This was my decision.

804
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:36,120
Speaker 1: So when I toe the line, it's pretty much like

805
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,400
Speaker 1: there's no turning back. I Am going to finish it

806
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:40,640
Speaker 1: because this is what I wanted to do. This is

807
00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 1: my dream, this is my goal. And whether I accomplish

808
00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 1: a time or not, that's like, you know, that's a

809
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,840
Speaker 1: secondary goal, but you always want to finish. And I

810
00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 1: want to hear the words Monica Puig, you are an

811
00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:54,480
Speaker 1: iron man and that only happens when you complete a

812
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:59,480
Speaker 1: full and you know that is amazing in itself, and

813
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:02,759
Speaker 1: being able to do and participate in a World Championships

814
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,640
Speaker 1: is already amazing. I qualified for the half World Championships

815
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:08,319
Speaker 1: next year as well, just when I did the last

816
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,239
Speaker 1: half in Ohio, And for me, that's what I also

817
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:13,120
Speaker 1: love about the sport is that an.

818
00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,200
Speaker 4: Amateur can qualify for World Championships.

819
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 1: So like you don't need to be a pro, you

820
00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:20,440
Speaker 1: obviously need to dedicate a lot of your time. I

821
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:22,399
Speaker 1: feel like I don't have a social life because of it,

822
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:24,440
Speaker 1: but I'm fine with that. I don't mind, you know,

823
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,640
Speaker 1: training and laying on the couch with my dogs and

824
00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:29,400
Speaker 1: just being like, okay, the day is done. But you

825
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,400
Speaker 1: know you have something to push for, you have something

826
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:35,759
Speaker 1: to strive for and you it's honestly so enjoyable to

827
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:39,960
Speaker 1: see improvements each and every day in three different sports.

828
00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:41,280
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, for sure.

829
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:44,200
Speaker 2: So to speak dynamically about all the other things you

830
00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,160
Speaker 2: do as well. Clearly, when you were playing professional tennis,

831
00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:49,960
Speaker 2: that was your full time gig. Now how are you working,

832
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:51,480
Speaker 2: what are you doing? Talk to us about what you're

833
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:51,759
Speaker 2: up to.

834
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:56,440
Speaker 1: So apart from the triathlon, I work in commentating in tennis,

835
00:40:56,880 --> 00:40:59,840
Speaker 1: so I work for ESPN Deportes at the Grand Slams,

836
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:03,359
Speaker 1: do it in Spanish commentating, and then I do work

837
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:05,480
Speaker 1: with Tennis Channel as well, so I go out on

838
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:09,280
Speaker 1: location to some tournaments or I'm based out in La

839
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 1: at the studios, which is incredibly awesome. The opportunity presented

840
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:17,200
Speaker 1: itself when I was injured, so kind of open the

841
00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:20,359
Speaker 1: door and set myself up for the next chapter of life,

842
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,840
Speaker 1: which was you know, for me, it was nice that

843
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:25,000
Speaker 1: when I retired, I knew I already had something to

844
00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:29,120
Speaker 1: fall back on, which sometimes for athletes can be pretty scary,

845
00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:33,320
Speaker 1: like what is next? What else can I expect of myself?

846
00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,000
Speaker 1: What am I good at? And it was always clear

847
00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:38,480
Speaker 1: to me that I wanted to work in that field.

848
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: I love and feel very comfortable being in front of

849
00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:44,279
Speaker 1: a camera. I love to talk and socialize, so that's

850
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:47,560
Speaker 1: also very good. But you know, I love journalism. I

851
00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:49,759
Speaker 1: love to write. I feel like I'm very created when

852
00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:51,920
Speaker 1: it comes to my words and what I put together,

853
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:54,840
Speaker 1: so that was great. And then also working with Athleta

854
00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:57,440
Speaker 1: doing a bunch of different things, wearing a ton of

855
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,080
Speaker 1: different hats, doing some MC work A tournaments, which I

856
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 1: absolutely love because then I get to interact with some

857
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:06,000
Speaker 1: of my peers who I am still very close with,

858
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:09,920
Speaker 1: And it's just nice to be this busy. Although I

859
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,160
Speaker 1: do miss spending time at home, which I didn't really

860
00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:15,239
Speaker 1: really realize that I missed and loved so much since

861
00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:17,960
Speaker 1: I retired. You know, it's fulfilling for me because I

862
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,759
Speaker 1: always wanted to keep busy and not just be like

863
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:21,960
Speaker 1: twiddling my thumbs at home.

864
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:23,600
Speaker 3: Not twiddling my thumbs at home.

865
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:26,160
Speaker 2: What would you say has been the peach and the

866
00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:29,080
Speaker 2: pit of this transition period within your life.

867
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:32,200
Speaker 1: I think the peach of it is just, you know,

868
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,520
Speaker 1: still being able to travel, still being incredibly busy, and

869
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,520
Speaker 1: having a lot of things to look forward to. The

870
00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:41,600
Speaker 1: pit of it is, you know, sometimes wanting to be

871
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,520
Speaker 1: at home. My husband's at home working, he's with my dogs,

872
00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:47,359
Speaker 1: not being able to see my family as much. Those

873
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,360
Speaker 1: little things that you know you wish you could be doing.

874
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:53,799
Speaker 1: But you know, they understand and they support me, and

875
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:56,319
Speaker 1: they want me to be happy and live my best life.

876
00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:58,439
Speaker 1: And ultimately, I know there's going to be a time

877
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:00,319
Speaker 1: where I'm just going to take a back seat and

878
00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:00,680
Speaker 1: take a.

879
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:01,480
Speaker 4: Little bit of a break.

880
00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:04,600
Speaker 1: But right now, with all this motivation, energy drive, I

881
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:05,800
Speaker 1: just want to continue.

882
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:07,719
Speaker 4: To pursue these dreams and goals that I have.

883
00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:11,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, you say being happy being such a priority for

884
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:15,120
Speaker 2: you outside of the triathlon, What would you say are

885
00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:17,560
Speaker 2: the things that bring you the most joy now when

886
00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:18,520
Speaker 2: it comes to your career.

887
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:22,359
Speaker 1: I think you know, like I said, I really love

888
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,000
Speaker 1: the travel of it all.

889
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:25,760
Speaker 4: I like going to the tournaments.

890
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:27,640
Speaker 1: For example, in a couple of weeks, I'll be going

891
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:30,160
Speaker 1: back to the US Open and working. I like being

892
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: in that environment because you know, it brings back some

893
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:35,000
Speaker 1: good memories from when I played. I like being able

894
00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:38,640
Speaker 1: to discover things that I'm good at and continuing to improve,

895
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,080
Speaker 1: as for example, a broadcaster learning how to you know,

896
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:47,880
Speaker 1: find my voice, still learning how to express my opinions

897
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:50,680
Speaker 1: in a very respectful way as well, because you know,

898
00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:53,600
Speaker 1: there's a lot of criticism that comes in journalism as well.

899
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,239
Speaker 1: But you know, I like to learn and take things

900
00:43:57,239 --> 00:43:59,120
Speaker 1: from each and every person that I meet or that

901
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:02,799
Speaker 1: I watch get better at studying my craft. What can

902
00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:06,200
Speaker 1: I do to get better? What anecdotes or notes? You

903
00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:09,279
Speaker 1: know that goes into you know, being a good broadcaster.

904
00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:12,239
Speaker 1: But you know, there are so many things that I

905
00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:16,120
Speaker 1: thoroughly enjoy. I think I'm a happier Monica from when

906
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:18,000
Speaker 1: I was playing tennis because I put I did put

907
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,680
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure on myself. But now I feel

908
00:44:20,719 --> 00:44:23,600
Speaker 1: like I understand life a little bit better. And that,

909
00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:26,000
Speaker 1: like I said at the very beginning, comes with maturity

910
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,960
Speaker 1: and knowing who you are and loving yourself.

911
00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:30,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, And what I'm hearing you say also is that

912
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,520
Speaker 2: it wasn't that you didn't love competing in tennis, but

913
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:36,200
Speaker 2: there's a little bit of freedom that comes when you

914
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:39,120
Speaker 2: get to a place where you're not setting the bar

915
00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,080
Speaker 2: so high all of the time, right, And I say that,

916
00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:44,520
Speaker 2: and I also respect and understand that, like you do

917
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:46,279
Speaker 2: have a high bar set for yourself by how you

918
00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:48,680
Speaker 2: want to show up on broadcast. When you're in the stadium,

919
00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:51,080
Speaker 2: when you're working in this new way, it's just a

920
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:53,120
Speaker 2: different type of pressure exactly now.

921
00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:55,520
Speaker 1: It's not the pressure that, Okay, I need to do

922
00:44:55,719 --> 00:44:58,080
Speaker 1: exactly the right thing to achieve this outcome.

923
00:44:58,239 --> 00:45:00,000
Speaker 4: The outcome is going to happen already.

924
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,640
Speaker 1: I know that whatever I'm going to say, it's either

925
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:03,520
Speaker 1: going to rub people the right way or the wrong way.

926
00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:06,759
Speaker 1: I know that I'm going into my broadcasts, and I

927
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,280
Speaker 1: know I'm going into every single match that I call

928
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:11,799
Speaker 1: with the facts and the facts are there. I'm just

929
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:14,520
Speaker 1: going to say what I know because I have lived it.

930
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,120
Speaker 1: I have been out on the court. So when I

931
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,560
Speaker 1: see somebody going through a pressure situation, I'm going to say,

932
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:21,400
Speaker 1: this is exactly what they're going through because this is

933
00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,640
Speaker 1: how I felt it as well, you know. And I

934
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:25,960
Speaker 1: just try and go as prepared as possible, and you

935
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,839
Speaker 1: know what, whatever happens happens. But I know I'm going

936
00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:31,720
Speaker 1: into each and every day giving my one hundred percent.

937
00:45:31,920 --> 00:45:32,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know.

938
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:34,600
Speaker 2: At at the top of this, we talked a lot

939
00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:37,680
Speaker 2: about what it felt like for you to have these

940
00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:41,880
Speaker 2: expectations placed on yourself and perhaps like interpret the opinions

941
00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:44,759
Speaker 2: of others. Someone comes to your Instagram page and they

942
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:48,080
Speaker 2: see that you are someone who has a gold medal

943
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:51,919
Speaker 2: and see your beautiful history with tennis and also now

944
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:55,600
Speaker 2: this newfound passion for triathlon. But when you look in

945
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:59,440
Speaker 2: the mirror, Monica, what is it that you see now

946
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:00,480
Speaker 2: looking back at you?

947
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:04,799
Speaker 1: H looking back? You know, I see Monica who is

948
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:10,400
Speaker 1: very ambitious. She was, you know, maybe a little bit insecure,

949
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,600
Speaker 1: because I feel like we all are or were at

950
00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:16,160
Speaker 1: one point in time. And you know, I see somebody

951
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:19,120
Speaker 1: who wanted to be accepted by everybody and be loved

952
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:23,080
Speaker 1: by everybody. And you know what, that's okay. But fast

953
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,960
Speaker 1: forward to the Monica now and it's just a more authentic,

954
00:46:28,239 --> 00:46:34,320
Speaker 1: genuinely happier, more accepting, more at peace with life and herself.

955
00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:37,719
Speaker 1: And that again, I said, just comes with the maturity.

956
00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:41,839
Speaker 1: And you know, all the years of just understanding that

957
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:42,759
Speaker 1: this is who you are.

958
00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:44,919
Speaker 4: Sure, we all.

959
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:48,120
Speaker 1: Evolve, we all change, we all, you know, become different

960
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:51,120
Speaker 1: versions of ourselves over the years. But at the end

961
00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,759
Speaker 1: of the day, this is who you were built to be.

962
00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:56,799
Speaker 1: And your future's already written out for you, and we

963
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:58,920
Speaker 1: don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But if we

964
00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:02,359
Speaker 1: try and be good, decent human beings each and every day,

965
00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:05,080
Speaker 1: you know, with the values that our parents instill in us.

966
00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:07,600
Speaker 1: And you know, my parents made it very clear they

967
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:09,160
Speaker 1: didn't care if I was a good tennis player, but

968
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:11,279
Speaker 1: they cared that I was a good human being. And

969
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:13,960
Speaker 1: that's a value that I hold with me near and

970
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:15,759
Speaker 1: dear to my heart each and every day, and a

971
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 1: value that you know, in the future when I have kids,

972
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:20,719
Speaker 1: that's that's going to be the number one thing. It

973
00:47:20,719 --> 00:47:23,040
Speaker 1: doesn't matter what you do in life, but you need

974
00:47:23,080 --> 00:47:24,719
Speaker 1: to be a good person. You need to have a

975
00:47:24,719 --> 00:47:27,080
Speaker 1: good heart, and you need to do everything with your

976
00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:28,920
Speaker 1: heart and soul in it because if not, it's not

977
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:29,439
Speaker 1: worth it.

978
00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:30,719
Speaker 3: If not, it's not worth it.

979
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:32,440
Speaker 2: So when you look in the mirror, you see a

980
00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:34,359
Speaker 2: good person, yes, looking back at.

981
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:36,640
Speaker 4: You, at least I hope. I hope. So, But that's

982
00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:37,600
Speaker 4: that's what I feel.

983
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:39,399
Speaker 3: Yeah, some days you feel like a little bit better

984
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:42,800
Speaker 3: than others. Depends exactly.

985
00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:46,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, we have two problems, and that's fine, that's fine.

986
00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:47,919
Speaker 4: Everybody has an off day.

987
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:51,200
Speaker 1: But yeah, as a whole, being a good person and

988
00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:53,600
Speaker 1: being kind is extremely important to me.

989
00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:56,200
Speaker 2: I love that, and I love the the nudge or

990
00:47:56,200 --> 00:47:59,799
Speaker 2: the note, really crediting your parents with instilling that with

991
00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:02,840
Speaker 2: a you. Within my own family, our family motto is

992
00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:06,319
Speaker 2: doo good. And so I'm always asking myself when I'm executing,

993
00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:09,240
Speaker 2: am I doing something that's good? And am I doing

994
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:11,759
Speaker 2: something that genuinely has good intentions behind it?

995
00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:13,040
Speaker 3: And if not, then what's the point?

996
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:13,880
Speaker 4: Right exactly?

997
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:16,680
Speaker 1: Because there's you know, if you're being kind to other people,

998
00:48:16,719 --> 00:48:20,359
Speaker 1: it's it's going to be repaid in the future. You know,

999
00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:23,520
Speaker 1: you just have to always, you know, be kind to

1000
00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:25,680
Speaker 1: others because you know there's really no point.

1001
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:27,759
Speaker 2: I also think like as someone and I'm sure that

1002
00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:30,319
Speaker 2: you can relate to this because you are certainly an

1003
00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:33,120
Speaker 2: entrepreneur yourself at this point, as someone who has to

1004
00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:36,080
Speaker 2: be their own advocate and an entrepreneur and has the

1005
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:39,240
Speaker 2: opportunity to work with many different people, I'm constantly reminding

1006
00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:43,400
Speaker 2: myself that it is possible to both be kind and

1007
00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:47,440
Speaker 2: also be firm. You can be someone who treats everyone

1008
00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:50,200
Speaker 2: with respect and also be clear with what it is

1009
00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:52,960
Speaker 2: that you're worth, what it is that how we communicate

1010
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:55,920
Speaker 2: what the expectations are, And I think that that can

1011
00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:58,319
Speaker 2: be a lost art. Sometimes people are not understanding that

1012
00:48:58,480 --> 00:48:59,920
Speaker 2: you don't have to be a mean person to get

1013
00:49:00,080 --> 00:49:03,400
Speaker 2: what you want exactly. You can also like just approach

1014
00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:06,080
Speaker 2: a situation with a nicety to it.

1015
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:10,200
Speaker 1: It's called setting boundaries. Boundaries for yourself, boundaries for others.

1016
00:49:11,160 --> 00:49:14,439
Speaker 1: Knowing that when somebody crosses your line, because we all

1017
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:17,920
Speaker 1: have a line, whether it's here or here, there's a line.

1018
00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:20,759
Speaker 1: If it's crossed, you need to let people know and

1019
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:24,200
Speaker 1: you know, be firm. I've had people who you know,

1020
00:49:24,239 --> 00:49:27,640
Speaker 1: I'm having a conversation or either they disagree, they start

1021
00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:30,520
Speaker 1: raising their voice, and I'm not going to you know,

1022
00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:34,319
Speaker 1: stoop to that level. Like Michelle Obama says, when they

1023
00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:37,360
Speaker 1: go low, we go high. So it's always being like, okay,

1024
00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:41,400
Speaker 1: let me stay within my boundary. If when they're crossing

1025
00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:44,160
Speaker 1: my boundary, I'm going to let them know, you know,

1026
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:47,680
Speaker 1: take a couple steps back or calm down because this

1027
00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:50,160
Speaker 1: is not the way to talk or this is not

1028
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:54,040
Speaker 1: the way to act, and let's have a civilized conversation

1029
00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:57,040
Speaker 1: about this, you know, or if we're getting heated ourselves,

1030
00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,960
Speaker 1: let me take a step back because I'm also crossing

1031
00:50:00,120 --> 00:50:02,080
Speaker 1: my own boundary and that's not what I want to do.

1032
00:50:02,160 --> 00:50:06,120
Speaker 1: Because then you know, you lose essence of you know

1033
00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:10,080
Speaker 1: what you want to either communicate, you lose essence of

1034
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:13,719
Speaker 1: where you are, your situational awareness or everything. So it's

1035
00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:17,200
Speaker 1: always about being as present as possible and knowing where

1036
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:18,000
Speaker 1: your boundaries are.

1037
00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:21,280
Speaker 2: This really goes into that whole concept of respond versus react,

1038
00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:24,680
Speaker 2: and sometimes when there's a lot happening, it's a hectic situation,

1039
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,200
Speaker 2: it can be easy to react, yes, by asking yourself

1040
00:50:28,239 --> 00:50:30,280
Speaker 2: and we said this before, what would make my future

1041
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:31,000
Speaker 2: self proud?

1042
00:50:31,239 --> 00:50:31,399
Speaker 3: Right?

1043
00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:33,839
Speaker 2: I want to always do my best and it might

1044
00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:37,080
Speaker 2: not happen every single time, but of course I dedicate

1045
00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:40,000
Speaker 2: myself to always making an effort to respond, and I

1046
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:42,359
Speaker 2: think there's so much, so much, so much value in that.

1047
00:50:42,760 --> 00:50:45,920
Speaker 2: As we wind down here, I'm so appreciative for everything

1048
00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:49,120
Speaker 2: that you've shared about your journey, especially highlighting the lows

1049
00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:51,080
Speaker 2: and the highs that have come with the last handful

1050
00:50:51,120 --> 00:50:54,960
Speaker 2: of years since Rio in twenty sixteen. Right now, looking

1051
00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:58,440
Speaker 2: back on your journey, going back to those numerous surgeries,

1052
00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:01,600
Speaker 2: those hurdles that you fail as you started to come

1053
00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:03,719
Speaker 2: to grips with the fact that you were.

1054
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:04,720
Speaker 3: Going to stop playing tennis.

1055
00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:09,120
Speaker 2: Knowing what you know, now, Monica, what advice would you

1056
00:51:09,160 --> 00:51:11,040
Speaker 2: offer yourself going through that hurdle moment.

1057
00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:15,680
Speaker 1: I think the biggest word would be patience because that

1058
00:51:16,440 --> 00:51:18,719
Speaker 1: I'm not a naturally patient person, and I've had to

1059
00:51:18,840 --> 00:51:20,799
Speaker 1: learn a lot of patients, especially in the world of

1060
00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:23,319
Speaker 1: endurance sports, you need to be patient because it's not

1061
00:51:23,360 --> 00:51:24,880
Speaker 1: going to be a short journey. It's going to be

1062
00:51:24,960 --> 00:51:28,160
Speaker 1: very long. And also patients in dealing with the injuries,

1063
00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:32,600
Speaker 1: Patients in dealing with what doctors tell you, what pts

1064
00:51:32,680 --> 00:51:35,240
Speaker 1: tell you, what your own team is telling you, Patients

1065
00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:38,440
Speaker 1: with people maybe not understanding what you're going through. And

1066
00:51:38,560 --> 00:51:42,680
Speaker 1: patience with yourself because like I said, I'm not naturally patient,

1067
00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:45,560
Speaker 1: and in those moments when you know, the doctor was like,

1068
00:51:45,600 --> 00:51:48,000
Speaker 1: maybe you should wait another week before you start PT

1069
00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:51,000
Speaker 1: or maybe you should wear the brace for another week,

1070
00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:52,960
Speaker 1: and I really didn't want to because it was uncomfortable.

1071
00:51:53,040 --> 00:51:55,160
Speaker 1: I needed to be patient with others and patient with

1072
00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:59,719
Speaker 1: myself and knowing that I'm healing, things are happening, patients

1073
00:51:59,719 --> 00:52:03,160
Speaker 1: in knowing that what I knew for you know, my

1074
00:52:03,239 --> 00:52:05,600
Speaker 1: whole entire life, and you know, since I started playing

1075
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:08,160
Speaker 1: tennis up until when I retired, like twenty one years.

1076
00:52:07,960 --> 00:52:09,759
Speaker 4: Of my life. It might be coming to an end.

1077
00:52:09,840 --> 00:52:10,359
Speaker 4: So let me be.

1078
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:13,000
Speaker 1: Patient with myself and allow myself to feel the feelings

1079
00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:16,560
Speaker 1: that I am feeling, because that is also not very

1080
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:19,520
Speaker 1: easy to do. You want to be this strong, confident,

1081
00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,759
Speaker 1: independent person, but you're also feeling a lot of things

1082
00:52:22,760 --> 00:52:25,080
Speaker 1: and that's okay. So be patient with yourself and allow

1083
00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:28,000
Speaker 1: yourself to do these things. Allow yourself to feel these feelings.

1084
00:52:28,320 --> 00:52:32,080
Speaker 1: So whether it's advice to myself or advice to others,

1085
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:34,920
Speaker 1: be patient with yourself, be patient with others, be patient

1086
00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:39,279
Speaker 1: with the situation. Because patience is not easy, but it

1087
00:52:39,320 --> 00:52:41,560
Speaker 1: can help you in a lot of different situations.

1088
00:52:41,680 --> 00:52:44,640
Speaker 2: We'll never regret being patient, and you owe it to

1089
00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:48,200
Speaker 2: yourself to be kind to yourself. So many really awesome

1090
00:52:48,239 --> 00:52:51,520
Speaker 2: takeaways here today Monica. For those that don't follow along

1091
00:52:51,560 --> 00:52:54,320
Speaker 2: with you just yet on social give us the details.

1092
00:52:54,600 --> 00:52:58,719
Speaker 1: So my handles are Monica Ace ninety three on X

1093
00:52:58,760 --> 00:53:02,640
Speaker 1: on Instagram. Don't really post on threads. I'm not really

1094
00:53:02,680 --> 00:53:04,799
Speaker 1: big on TikTok. Maybe I should be, but you know,

1095
00:53:04,840 --> 00:53:07,600
Speaker 1: I'm no Simone Biles on TikTok. I'm no cocoa golf

1096
00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:10,560
Speaker 1: on TikTok, and I don't want to pretend to be

1097
00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:13,960
Speaker 1: because they, you know, set the bar very high. And

1098
00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:17,440
Speaker 1: but again, you know, on my socials, be prepared to

1099
00:53:17,480 --> 00:53:20,759
Speaker 1: find lots of content on coffee, my dog's traveling, and

1100
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:24,760
Speaker 1: you know, just relatability. I'm always doing something, goofy, always

1101
00:53:24,960 --> 00:53:28,080
Speaker 1: making fun of myself somehow, so we love it.

1102
00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:31,080
Speaker 2: I'm over at Emily's body and at Hurdle Podcast. Another

1103
00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:33,720
Speaker 2: hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time