Grow the Good

My return to mountain bike racing after having kids has been so much fun! It's also had its fair share of challenges.

I sat down with my husband, Matt to talk about what it's been like going from 1 to 2 children, traveling and racing with 2 small children, and the lessons we have learned along the way. We talked about expectations, how pre-race routines and rituals are now different (and messy), and what we are learning to make traveling with kids a little bit easier.

We also recapped my High Cascades 100 race (my first race back after kids) as well as the Emerald Mountain Epic. And now? I'm prepping for Breck Epic. It'll be my third time racing it although it's been 9 years since my last Breck Epic experience (and win!).

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Dr. Sasha Heinz is a developmental psychologist turned mindset coach. She has her own private coaching practice grounded in psychological science. Dr. Heinz teaches the tools to change lives for good, develop mental fitness and transcend stress, anxiety, and self-criticism. She teaches her clients the science of unstuck.

She was one of the first 33 people in history to receive a degree in Positive Psychology. She received her BA from Harvard, Master’s in Applied Psychology from University of Pennsylvania and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia. 

In this week’s podcast, Sonya and Dr. Heinz talk positive psychology, self-help, sitting with negative emotions, coaching vs. therapy and more.

Key Takeaways:

• The danger with self-help
• Self distancing
• PERMA model
• How to sit in your negative emotions 
• Psychologically rich 
• Coaching v therapy
• The STEAR map tool

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Dr. Jonathan Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author and public speaker, and the executive director of Drawdown. Drawdown’s mission is to help the world reach the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to decline as quickly, safely and equitably as possible.

Dr. Foley’s work focused on understanding the changing planet and finding solutions to sustain climate, ecosystems, and natural resources. He has been a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, NGOs, and business leaders globally. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles and, in 2014, was named a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science. 

He has also presented at the Aspen Institute, the World Bank, the National Geographic Society and more. He’s taught at major universities on climate change, global sustainability solutions, the food system and other major world challenges. 

Dr. Foley has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Clinton; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation’s 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America; and the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Award. In 2014, he was also named as the winner of the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment.

Prior to joining Drawdown, Dr. Foley launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program (CPEP) at the University of Wisconsin, founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and served as the first Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. He was the founding director of the Institute on the Environment(IonE) at the University of Minnesota, where he was also McKnight Presidential Chair of Global Environment and Sustainability. And he also served as the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, the greenest and more forward-thinking science museum on the planet.

In this podcast, Sonya and Dr. Foley talk about climate solutions, food and agriculture, deforestation and how you can make a difference.

Key Takeaways:

• Where do greenhouse gases come from
• The five sectors of climate solutions
• How to feel empowered with climate solutions
• The food and agriculture sector 
• Deforestation
• Methane from cows/ruminants
• Fertilizers
• Things you can do at home

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Olympian Lea Davison began mountain bike racing in 2001. Since then, she’s earned a silver medal at the 2016 World Championships, a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships, and finished 3rd overall in the 2015 World Cup series. Lea competed in the 2012 Olympic Games where she placed 11th and also in the 2016 Olympic Games where she placed 7th.

Lea’s passion is getting the next generation of females riding mountain bikes, so she co-founded Little Bellas, a mentoring program on mountain bikes for girls. 

Prior to her start in mountain biking, Lea competed as a downhill ski racer. 

In this week’s podcast, Lea and Sonya talked about positivity, resilience, goal setting and the importance of family. Her dream was to get a medal at the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympics, but she missed making the team. Now, she talks about resilience and how to deal with that disappointment.

Key Takeaways:

• How she stays positive
• How to be Resilient
• Why we should remain open
• Mentorship collaboration
• Goal-setting in her races
• Her kit at UNBOUND inspired by Athlete Ally
• Importance of family

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Mark Bowden is a body language expert, keynote speaker and bestselling author of the books Winning Body Language; Winning Body Language for Sales Professionals; Tame the Primitive Brain; and Truth & Lies, What People are Really Thinking. He’s well known for his TedX talk “The Importance of Being Authentic” and his YouTube channel and weekly show “The Behavior Panel.”

Mark has a system of nonverbal communication called GesturePlane™ that helps audiences maximize the power of using their own body language to stand out, win trust and gain credibility.

He is also the founder of a communication training company TRUTHPLANE®, where he offers presentation skills training with live sessions or online learning.

Mark trains business and political leaders and he is the go-to media commentator on body language of politicians, celebrities and public figures for CNN, CBS, and Global News, and he is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and GQ Magazine.

In this week’s podcast, Sonya and Mark talk how to be approachable when you walk in a room, body language, charisma and more.

Key Takeaways

• Curiosity
• Agreement vs acceptance of others
• How to be approachable when you walk into a room
• Levels of understanding someone: phatic, data, evaluation, emotion, self reflection
• What is charisma
• Truth plane vs grotesque plane
• How you talk with your hands impacts energy

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

On this week’s podcast, Sonya sat down with Jamie Mason Cohen, a resilience and leadership development expert. A Canadian native, Certified Leadership Coach, and a work history that includes Saturday Night Live, Jamie teaches resilience, wellness, leadership and communication to organizations. 

Jamie works to cultivate resilience through unique performance assessment, the science of positive psychology and leadership strategies. He uses a “Speed Analysis’ process, where each person learns how their strengths serve an organization in 60 seconds. 

He is also a commentator on CNN, Forbes and the Morning Show, and is often recognized for his TEDx talk on leadership.

Sonya and Jamie talk resilience, values, drive, handwriting analysis and more.

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

One of my most interesting realizations recently is that I am at my best when I'm living in the present moment and I am at my worst when I'm comparing myself. 

I've been doing specific contemplative meditations on comparison to learn more because it's part of being human to compare ourselves to others. The human mind compares so it can make predictions about the future.  It can be a positive thing, but it can also be detrimental to happiness and lack of fulfillment.

Comparing without awareness behind it leads to feeling like we are not enough.

Even comparing ourselves to a previous version of ourselves can become a problem if it is unrealistic and/or we have different inputs to our lives.  

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Michelle Segar is the director of the University of Michigan’s Sports, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center, adviser to the Department of Health and Human Services, and chair of the United States National Physical Activity Plan’s Communication Committee, and author of the 2022 book The Joy Choice. 

The NIH-funded researcher at the University of Michigan, has three decades of experience studying how people adopt healthy behaviors in ways that can survive the complexity and unpredictability of the real world. 

Michelle combines research with real-world health coaching to create sustainable healthy behavior change. She is also the author of NO SWEAT! - used to train professionals in health coaching and patient counseling. 

Michelle holds a doctorate in Psychology (PhD), a masters in Health Behavior/Health Education, a masters in Kinesiology, and fellowships in translational research and health care policy from the University of Michigan. 

In this podcast, Sonya and Michelle talk about behavior change and dive into the topic of The Joy Choice, her new book that showcases the new science and method for breaking down all-or-nothing thinking and cultivating the in-the-moment decisions that support self-care, health, and well-being. 

Key Takeaways

• The problem with our system of behavior change
• Why complex habits don’t fit in the cue behavior reward
• Curiosity is king and queen
• Value, positive emotion, and expanding our thinking
• How executive functioning plays a role in behavior change
• POP decision tool 
• Pick the joy choice.
• Typical things that get in the way of behavior change

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Frank Overton is a full time cycling coach and a USA Cycling Level 1 coach since 2006. He founded FasCat Coaching in 2002 to live out his dream to help cyclists. He focuses primarily on masters road, gravel, fondo, time trial, mountain bike and cyclocross athletes who take their training seriously. He previously worked for the Priority Health Professional Cycling Team in 2006 as well as the US National Team in Europe for the 2007 World Cup race season.

Frank raced competitively first as a semi-pro mountain biker and then as a category 1 roadie for 10 years. He started Power Based Training, utilizing his sports science background to maximize athletic performance. 

He has a masters degree in Physiology from North Carolina State University and comes from medical school spinal cord research and molecular biotechnology (he even holds a U.S. patent for discovering a gene).

In this week’s episode, Frank and Sonya talk masters athletes, recovery tips, performance goals and more. 

• What age do you become a masters athlete
• Physiological changes that occur 
• Recovery tips 
• HRV
• The role of meditation and mindfulness in training
• How to make progress 
• How to set performance goals
• Pre-ride rituals for masters athletes

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

On this week’s podcast, Sonya sat down with Jamie Mason Cohen, a resilience and leadership development expert. A Canadian native, Certified Leadership Coach, and a work history that includes Saturday Night Live, Jamie teaches resilience, wellness, leadership and communication to organizations. 

Jamie works to cultivate resilience through unique performance assessment, the science of positive psychology and leadership strategies. He uses a “Speed Analysis’ process, where each person learns how their strengths serve an organization in 60 seconds. 

He is also a commentator on CNN, Forbes and the Morning Show, and is often recognized for his TEDx talk on leadership.

• How he came to work for SNL
• Where resilience comes from 
• The importance of being seen and acknowledged 
• Comparing past versions of yourself
• Values - how to make them real
• Drive can be a strength or a liability
• "Yes, but" and "Yes, and" thinking
• Handwriting analysis
• What is graphotherapy