Death and dying can be difficult to talk about. Meghan and John talk with Maureen Collins. Maureen has dedicated her life to supporting patients and their families through a career as a Hospice nurse. She recounts her experience starting off as a nurse and transitioning to a leadership role in her Hospice organization. Maureen also talks about why dying can be so hard to talk about and the things that can help you prepare for the fate we all inevitably will face. 

Meghan and John welcome ZenduranceNow Coach Sean Meehan. Sean is also Meghan’s former Co-Host of The Comfortably Uncomfortable Podcast. Sean back for a lively, wide-ranging conversation about music, and unforgettable concert memories. Sean also reminisces about Gen X Middle School Dance Songs. As usual, the discussion takes a few unexpected turns—touching on drug use, sobriety, Sean’s current favorite artists, and both the best and worst shows he’s experienced. It’s an authentic, unscripted chat full of real-world moments, nostalgia, and plenty of randomness along the way.

In this compelling podcast episode, Meghan and John welcome friend and fellow ZenduranceNow coach Sam Farnsworth who shares his transformative life journey, transitioning from a high-powered environmental consulting career where he managed multiple offices and felt professionally successful, to a profound personal reckoning. The discussion explores the challenges he faced, including intense work pressure, corporate politics, and a difficult period with his teenage daughters. Sam candidly discusses how he navigated these challenges, including his daughter's intervention through a wilderness therapeutic program, and ultimately began to reassess his definition of success and happiness beyond traditional corporate metrics.

https://www.samfarnsworthlmt.com/

https://linktr.ee/zendurancenow

In this episode of The Break Down Meghan recounts a deeply personal and stressful period when her husband was in the ICU, leading to extreme emotional and physical strain culminating in a road rage incident that served as a pivotal wake-up call for her to seek help and prioritize self-care. John expands on this, introducing the phrase "burning the pasta" to explain how minor stressors can trigger disproportionate reactions when underlying issues and repressed emotions are present, and goes on to tie it to the context of increased isolation and mental health challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion emphasizes the importance of compassion, understanding the triggers for extreme reactions, and finding healthy coping mechanisms, to navigate life's difficulties and maintain mental well-being."

Welcome to the Break Down. Join John and Meghan as they discuss the new podcast and what it's about. And it’s about STORIES! The happy, sad, tragic, and amazing. During this first episode Meghan talks about a random encounter with a stranger and the importance of knowing how to “hold space” for someone in a time of distress. 

www.ZenduranceNow.com

Meghan and Sean talk about trends in the endurance sports world and life as whole. Some are exciting, some are bothersome. There are some rants and there may be some careless whispers you’ll have to listen to hear. The trends we discuss during this podcast are: 1) Outdoor Apparel as fashion 2) Training women as women 3) Is the hundred mile distance the new marathon? 4) Speakerphone phone talkers 5) The death of the album 6) Technology and social media in sport. Of course there will be many side bars and digressions, per the usual Meghan and Sean.

Music is LIFE!

Meghan and Sean talk about their top 6 current songs. Use this link for ZenduranceNow Apple Music Playlist: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/zendurancenow-comfortably-uncomfortable/pl.u-KVXByaWTZzbpLo

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rRJastdmFuAyCndrEDmNS?si=7vQClUOHSNKMLvNq28BJBw

Sean’s corrections:

• Linkin Park singer is Chester Bennington 

Meghan has no corrections because Sean does the editing and Meghan doesn’t remember that far back. If she said anything in error, let us know and we’ll fix it.

Talking about life and shootin’ the sh*t. Meghan catches us up on the status of her recovery from her most recent surgery, how she’s doing, and her feelings about PT and recovery. The discussions dissolve into conversations about recent concerts and Covid. They talk about Meghan’s injury, Sean’s allergies, bomb threats, shooter drills, and the helplessness of it all. They also chat about whale sounds, Chewbacca, and Civil War re-enactments. Conversations wrap up with discussions about biking, bikes, and the irony of Meghan being forced to bike because of the very thing that caused her injury in the first place.

Meghan and Sean explore the ins and outs of the consistency required to train for endurance events. There is no magic pill to training, training sometimes requires an athlete to grind it out. Making excuses and turning into a weekend warrior only leads to disappointment and injury. The social mediaziation of endurance athletics isn’t the real story. The real story is the grit involved in the training. The tears and blood shed on the trails are the truths that Meghan and Sean address. Being disciplined  is important for the results one is looking for. At times the priorities need to be adjusted to suit life’s requirements. Sometimes short term adjustments need to be made and we’d rather see a something done than an all or nothing approach to training. Finally, if you’re unsure if you want that commitment, go check out an event, see if it’s a community you want to be a part of. Just know nothing is free and it all takes grit.