Grow the Good

Kate Courtney found her love for cycling with tandem bike rides with her father in middle school and enjoying blueberry pancakes after the ride. "It was really just a vehicle for pancakes," she laughed. This was the beginning of 10x National Champion Kate Courtney's career on a bike.  Who knew that the little girl pedalling behind her dad in the woods of Mount Tam would become one of the top female cyclists in the world?  She started her racing career at the age of 14 in the NICA NorCal League, rapidly moved up the ranks and was racing Junior World Cups just 2 years later.

Kate is down to earth, approachable and vibrant.  As a recent graduate from Stanford University, she knows a thing or two about balancing school with training and travel as well as commitment.  She also knows what it takes to perform at the highest level.  She is sponsored by Specialized and won the U23 Elite World Cup series this year.  Next year, the 22 year old will be turning 23 and racing in the Elite World Cup Circuit.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• how to deal with pre-race nerves
• how to view results and self-worth
• social media and how it builds community
• women's cycling
• her path to becoming a professional cyclist
• how to be more flexible when things don't go as planned

Links

• Her CyclingTips article on balance and being a student athlete
• Her CyclingTips article on the mental side of racing
• Kate Courtney's Instagram
• Kate's page on Specialized

 

Support the Show

If you like my show, I’m aiming to make it an ad-free zone using crowdfunding to support it.  All donations will go directly to the production of the show. I’m raising money using Patreon.   A lot of podcasts sell ads to cover the production costs of the show, which can be quite high. I am not a fan of ads when I listen to podcasts so my goal is make this podcast an ad-free zone. The currently production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on Patreon. With my Patreon page, you can donate directly to the show which will help me cover the costs each week. If you find value and enjoy this show, you can donate any amount 200 dollars per month to as little as one dollar per episode (which is only 4 dollars a month!) I really appreciate your support!

Crowdfunding on Patreon – thank you!

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Thanks for listening!

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

The story of how Mountain Bike National Champion Kate Courtney became a rising star and the mindset behind being a top level athlete.

"Once you start acknowledging, and looking at, and being honest with yourself the role that the ego plays in the sport, and it's a big deal in mountain biking... once that starts to be addressed, then some smarter decisions can be made."  -Ryan Leech   Ryan Leech is one of the world's best Trials Mountain Bikers and has even performed with Cirque du Soleil.  But what is trials?  Trials is a discipline of mountain biking where you have to navigate an obstacle course at very slow speeds without putting your foot down.  In his shows, you will see him hopping from a railing to a rock like he is on a pogo stick or jumping up onto trailers.  To be a trails rider, you basically have to be a ninja on a bike.   Not only is Ryan one of the best technical mountain bikers in the world, but he is a meditation and yoga instructor and has an online skills coaching business called Ryan Leech Connection where he breaks down mountain bike skills into bite sized chunks. Most people who learn to mountain bike pick up the bike as a trial by fire, but we never learn the proper skills involved in a formalized coaching setting.   Check out these videos to get a a playful idea of Ryan's skills!

In today’s show, we talk about Ryan got into mountain biking, and it started with riding a bike as a paperboy and a mountain bike magazine!  Trials demands a headspace where you have to be completely focused but also calm. Ryan has performed in many trials shows and he says his favorite thing is connecting with his audience.  And he talks to you on a headset microphone while he rides along the narrowest railing you've ever seen and jumps 10 ft into the air to land on something else. We also talk about his online coaching program where not only does he have several other coaches and ambassadors with hundreds of instructional videos, but a mental fitness element.  I can definitely relate to the need to work on mental fitness because it’s self-awareness that helps you move forward, and also helps you understand the ego.  Sometimes people ride too hard or try things they shouldn’t be because they feel pressure to prove something.       Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• how you become a Trials rider
• meditation
• transition from full time pro to coaching 
• patience
• the role ego plays during technical mountain biking
• Ryan's online coaching and his passion for teaching

Links

• Ryan's online coaching: Ryan Leech Connection
• Interesting Infographic about Ryan's Career
• Ryan's Instagram

 

Support the Show

If you like my show, I’m aiming to make it an ad-free zone using crowdfunding to support it.  All donations will go directly to the production of the show. I’m raising money using Patreon.   A lot of podcasts sell ads to cover the production costs of the show, wh

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

The secrets to becoming a mountain bike guru with world famous Trials Rider Ryan Leech. Meditation, Ego, Ride Tips, and his personal story,

"The person inside your head that you're with 24/7 is yourself. So you have to be your own supportive friend. I tell people you have a choice. you can be an inner ally or an inner enemy. It's that simple.  The voice in your head can either be kind, supportive, encouraging, nurturing 24/7 or cutting you down telling you you're a loser, you're no good, you're not good enough." - Dr. Kristin Neff

The voice inside our head is possibly one of the most powerful influences on our lives.  Most people are very self-critical and hard on themselves.  Have you ever noticed that if a friend makes a mistake, you say "oh, that's ok, everyone makes mistakes" but if you make the same mistake yourself, you might say, "Ah Gosh! I'm such an IDIOT!"  How we talk to ourselves is extremely powerful and being mindful about your self-talk is the key to getting started. One of my favorite quotes is "The voice inside your head that says you can't do this is a liar."  I first learned about training my inner voice to be more supportive and gentle with the spiritual element of my yoga practice.  The good news about the voices in our head is that they are trainable and it starts with self-compassion.  That's where I found Kristin Neff, PhD.

Kristin Neff, PhD is a pioneer in Self-Compassion is and widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts is creating measurable research in her field. She developed the first Self-Compassion scale enabling academic studies to be conducted about self-compassion in human beings. She also is an author of the book Self-Compassion.  She is also a speaker and associate professor in the University of Texas at Austin's department of educational psychology. 

The interesting thing about learning how to work with our inner voice in the light of self-compassion is that it actually makes us less afraid to fail and more accepting of who we are.  That makes us show up in a more easeful manner to the people around us as well.  

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• self-compassion vs self-pity
• 3 components of self-compassion
• techniques to work with the voice inside your head
• will you lose motivation if you have more self-compassion
• empathy vs compassion
• constructive criticism
• how to use social media for good

Links

• Her Book: Self-Compassion
• Get her book on Audible (audiobooks)
• Self-Compassion.Org
• Dr Neff's Guided Meditations
• Kristin's TED Talk
• Horse Boy Mongolia Documentary and Book
• My TED Talk on Redefining Success 

Support the Show

If you like my show, I’m aiming to make it an ad-free zone using crowdfunding to support it.  All donations will go directly to the production of the show. I’m raising money using 

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

We are often our harshest critic. In this show, we go in deep about self-compassion with Dr. Kristin Neff and how to have positive self-talk. We also discuss the myths of self-compassion.

Some people are wonderfully infectious with their smile and enthusiasm.  Caroline Burckle is one of those people.  Not only is she a positive force that transcends the 2 dimensional boundaries of social media, but she mentors athletes who are rising stars through her RISE LIFE business.  Caroline is a veteran in what goes on behind the scenes of human performance.  She knows about pressure, accomplishments, and hard work.  She has personal experience with overtraining. Caroline is a Bronze Medalist Swimmer performing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 4 x 200m relay.  Not only that, she took gold in the 2007 Pan Am Games in the 800m freestyle, was the 2x NCAA champ, and was named the 2008 NCAA Swimmer of the Year!

I first found Caroline on Instagram and we instantly became online friends.  After only a few conversations with her, I was inspired by her energy, her commitment to personal growth, and her journey.  She was training to race the Othillo Swim Run World Championships with Hilary as her teammate and was planning to share the journey with Rich Roll and Chris Hauth. (Check out this New York Times article on the event and on Rich and Chris' adventure.)  Caroline suffered an unfortunate injury and fractured her heel (calcaneus) and had to pull out resulting in over 4 months of forced rest.  During that time, she decided to dig deep into the depth of her soul to continue learning more about herself. 

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• her journey as an athlete from a child to an Olympian, managing expectations, and competition
• how to redefine your life after retiring as a professional athlete
• continually searching for that next achievement and what that means
• personal identity and knowing that it's okay to always know your purpose
• the importance of rest, symptoms of fatigue
• the duality of pushing and pulling 

Links

• Rise Elite
• Caroline Burckle's Website
• Caroline's Instagram
• Rich Roll's Podcast (mentioned in the conversation)
• Peak Performance "have the courage to rest" episode
• Youtube video with Caroline in Tahoe + Rich Roll & Chris Hauth & their podcast
• Across the Lake Swim Kelowna

 

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

An episode with Olympian Swimmer Caroline Burckle on the topics of injury recovery, sports psychology, self-identity, symptoms of fatigue, and slowing down to speed up.

Goal setting is tricky. It's most common around January 1 when people are setting their New Year's Resolution. In fact, 92% of people who set them for the new year fail!  Here's a post I wrote about goal-setting. We are told that we need to have a 5 year plan, find our purpose, and set challenging goals but it's rare that you read about the actual process behind goal setting.  I've done a lot of my own research and found Brian P. Moran's book, the 12 Week Year.

As athletes, we have all heard of using periodization in our training.  Brian P Moran took Periodization and converted it into a goal execution system. In Brian's book, he creates a different system around goal-setting where you view your year as 12 weeks long and set only 2-3 new goals in that period.  Through process control, weekly scoring of your process, and by taking ownership of your execution, it's a lot easier to take the steps needed to lead you down the right path.  Brian says, "You don’t have to be perfect on the execution side. [stay on track] 80-85% or higher week in and week out and in most cases, you will accomplish the goal. You have to have the courage to measure your results and score your execution.”  In fact, I was reading Brian's book and used his system to get my podcast launched!  I had been dragging my feet for months because there was a lot of moving pieces, but by mapping out a weekly plan and checking back in with myself, I got it going!

Another big challenge with sticking to a goal is time management. Ever notice how clean your house gets when you need to study for an exam or write an article?  Or how you start checking your email to avoid doing other tasks?  Yeah, me too!  Brian discusses how to map out your time during the week including leaving time for fun!

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• how to prioritize your goals and tasks around your goals
• how to figure out what your vision is
• how to stay committed to a goal
• the process around setting a goal and how to execute it
• accountability and ownership of your process
• how to use time management and time blocking to slow down and focus
• what balance really looks like
• Brian's free email list for getting started
• Get the Book!!  The 12 Week Year

Support the Show

If you like my show, I’m aiming to make it an ad-free zone using crowdfunding to support it.  All donations will go directly to the production of the show. I’m raising money using Patreon.   A lot of podcasts sell ads to cover the production costs of the show, which can be quite high. I am not a fan of ads when I listen to podcasts so my goal is make this podcast an ad-free zone. The currently production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on Patreon. With my Patreon page, you can donate directly to the show which will help me cover the costs each week. If you find value and enjoy this show, you can donate any amount 200 dollars per month to as little as one dollar per episode (which is only 4 dollars a month!) I

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

How to prioritize your goals, create a system and process to execute your goals, and how to have accountability and ownership of the process using the 12 Week Year.