The Evolving Adventure

Did Not Finish (DNF) a race doesn’t define who you are. Today I'm reading an article I wrote about my DNF experience at the Coldwater Rumble by Aravaipa Running in Estrella Regional Park on January 20.

Today I delve into some of the questions and meanings we can consider when more desert animals cross our path. I'd forgotten about javelina and coyote as I recorded the previous episode, so decided to add them in here.

Javelina showed up for me last week in southern Arizona while I was driving at night: a family of four curiously investigating part of the desert. In a curious twist of fate, the day I recorded the episode, coyotes showed up multiple times both before and after. One place was in the book I finished that morning, about a tree in Haida Gwaii entitled The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant (highly recommend). One telling of that tree can be found here on the Haida Tourism site.

Thank you for listening! You can connect with me at [email protected] or @cactusmoose on Instagram with questions, comments and guest suggestions. Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the time you spend in nature.

Thank you for listening, friends! Today's run surprised me with three different lizard or gecko sightings. I thought that since they were spaced throughout my 7.5 mile run that there was likely a message for me in the guise of their wisdom. To my trusty Medicine Cards deck I went, and discovered lizard/gecko medicine is about dreaming.

We discuss dreaming the future into your perceived reality, and some steps to take to bring those far-off goals into your lived experience.

As always, you can contact me on Instagram or at [email protected] with questions, comments and guest suggestions. Until next week, enjoy the weather and opt outside whenever you can.

Thanks for listening today, friends! It's a solo episode discussing the wisdom of some of my favorite desert beings: the saguaro cactus, roadrunner, owl and desert tortoise.

Inspiration for the episode comes from

Symbols of the Southwest

National Parks Service

Jamie Sams & David Carson

Happy 2024, friends! We're starting the year off with Realist Idealist for another discussion... this time about the importance of rest.

Realist Idealist has made a point over the past 8 months to incorporate scheduled rest into her schedule... turns out, it ain't so easy.

We chat about her motivation to schedule rest, what's out of balance, the history of a sabbath day or full day of rest, the importance of recharging both psychologically and spiritually, and how her rest days change as her life ebbs and flows. Other topics that pop up are challenging the 9-5/8-4 Monday to Friday concept of work, questioning the control-based work schedules, and asking yourself if your life is full and is the schedule of your job working for you. It is important to note that rest looks different for everyone.

It's a challenge to separate oneself from the constant dings and addictive nature of technology, but ultimately it helps us reset and rejuvenate. Additionally, taking a day of inactivity can be a huge challenge for many.

Rest allows for a reset to happen, and can be incorporated into weekly, fortnightly or monthly schedules. It's something I'm actively focusing on, as it's a challenge for me to stop moving and just sit or lie still.

Realist Idealist read the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer before beginning her journey to rest more.

Thank you for listening, friends! I would greatly appreciate it if you shared this episode and gave it a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact me at [email protected] on Instagram or on my website gregveregin.com with questions, comments and guest suggestions.

I hope you get a chance to be outside and take some deep breaths in a beautiful spot in nature. Until next week...

Thank you for listening today, friends! We've got a great episode with Heidi Jorgenson, an inspiring ultrarunner, obstacle course racer (OCR), and sponsored Speedland athlete in Arizona. Connect with her on Instagram or TikTok.

We cover a number of topics including mindset, bringing dreams to reality, the challenges of ultramarathons, how she became an OCR athlete, how she became a contestant on 3 seasons of American Ninja Warrior, and some of her bucket list items and long term goals. It was fun to record out at Tempe Town Lake on a gorgeous sunny winter day.

We originally met at at mile 76 of Mak Regan's Javelina Jundred experience in October 2022. The story of our roles in Mak's race can be heard on this Gremlin Talk podcast.

Heidi's positive energy and inner light shine through during our conversation, and there are nuggets of wisdom hidden throughout. It'll be fun following her progress toward goals this year, and watching Ninja Warrior to see how she fares.

Below are links for some of the references from our wide-ranging chat:

Matt Fitzgerald - How Bad Do You Want It and The Champion's Mind

American Ninja Warrior

Spartan Race

Savage Race

As always, I hope you enjoy this episode, and that you get a chance to day to appreciate something beautiful in nature. You can connect with me on Instagram or by email [email protected]

Flow state... the feeling of being so connected and having such energized focus in an activity as to lose track of time. It's what athletes and performers speak of... and it can also relate to our lives. Specifically, how well we are flowing with life, taking the path of least resistance. Or not.

In today's episode I share different ways I've found to connect to flow state, and how being in flow state has led me to new connections, opportunities and directions when I am open and receptive.

As always, connect with me on Instagram or at [email protected] with questions, comments and guest suggestions. Until next week, here's to enjoying some quiet moments outside today!