We Are Superman

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Happy New Year!  As we navigate through the holidays, and head into a new year, all under the spectre of another wave of Covid, I thought it would be worthwhile to bring into the Hive one of the foremost experts in dealing with substance dependence, mental health, and compulsive behaviors.  You may already know Coach Blu Robinson, the founder of Addict 2 Athlete, whose stated “mission is to establish and maintain recovery by promoting lifestyle changes through erasing negative behaviors and replacing them with positive ones.”  Addict 2 Athlete team members routinely engage in running and other exercise as a positive replacement, as well as doing terrific service projects in their communities.  It is an incredibly energetic program that helps people to set new goals.  It can provide personal and group coaching, along with inspiration through its web site resources, blogs, and terrific Addict 2 Athlete podcast.  These lessons of recovery I think are relatable to all of us, whether we are in recovery or not.  Coach Blu grew up in a dysfunctional home and struggled with his own substance abuse.  He became sober in 1996 and has been a force in the recovery community since 2001, including partnering with David Clark.  Coach Blu has so much deeply helpful advice to dispense in this discussion.  Note his wisdom about stopping thinking like a victim, but instead thinking about being an agent for positive change.  And his five Champions Challenge principles to win in 2022, which are based on the concept of doing things outside of yourself which will lead to creating the biggest results.  One I like a lot is treating people with respect who you don’t think you need.  I’ve put that into play at every school I’ve worked at spending the time to know the athletic secretaries and janitors.  One athletic secretary was a competitive bodybuilder and I learned from her about how that sport works.  Another was a fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, so I learned about that league, and I always had something to talk with her about.  I’d also bring all of them an occasional simple gift like a grapefruit.  They are truly the people who get things done at schools, not the ivory tower administrators.  Anytime I’ve needed something done, I probably got better response because I treat them like people.  Coach Blu has a lot more of this kind of solid wisdom, so please take a close listen to this episode, I think almost everyone will get a lot out of it.

Coach Blu Robinson and Addict to Athlete:
addicttoathlete.org
[email protected]
Facebook & Instagram @addicttoathlete and @agentsofrecovery
Podcasts: Addict to Athlete, Agents of Recovery
Twitter @AgentsRecovery

Bill Stahl
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Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor

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Season's Greetings!  Gary Stotler and host Bill Stahl again reprise the Sober F*cking Christmas episodes from 2019 (with David) and 2020 where we talked about dealing with the holidays.  Of course, a lot in the world went haywire in 2020 and 2021, but many of the root causes of holiday depression haven't changed, and maybe got even worse during the pandemic.   Gary once weighed 400 pounds and had serious issues with alcohol and depression, but transformed himself into an elite ultra endurance athlete, as well as a motivational coach, speaker, and author.   If you need a great catalyst to achieving your next goals, pickup his latest book, "Success is Spelled Action" on amazon.  Hopefully our discussion lifts your spirits during this holiday season!

Gary Stotler
garystotler.com
Facebook Gary Stotler
Instagram @coachgarystotler
Find his latest book, "Success is Spelled Action" on Amazon

Bill Stahl
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Instagram @stahlor

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Season's Greetings, everyone!  To be honest, the holidays have always frustrated my Type A personality  in that it's hard to get much accomplished.  But you can use this "slow" period to set yourself to be more productive in 2022.  In this short Power Play, I discuss a few thoughts about what you can do now to put yourself in great position to shine in the coming year.

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook @coachstahl
Instagram @stahlor

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There are so many excellent reasons to run, both physical and mental.  Longtime WASP friend Gary Stotler and I talk about many of these reasons and perhaps you'll find some that resonate with you.

Gary Stotler
garystotler.com
Facebook Gary Stotler
Instagram @coachgarystotler
Find his latest book, "Success is Spelled Action" on Amazon

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook @coachstahl
Instagram @stahlor

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As you’ve already heard from me, I was in Ecuador in early- to mid-November on a trip lead by Tyler Andrews, whose many impressive FKTs landed him here on the WASP earlier this year.  There were six of us on this expedition, including my travel sidekick, Jack.  Our other leader was 22-year old Ecuadorian native Beto Dávalos.  I ran with Beto on an early day of the trip while we were getting acclimated to Quito’s 9300-foot elevation, on a beautiful 20 km-long trail that stretches from a place called Cumbaya, yes, that’s its actual name, to another part of the city.  Along the way, we passed farms, modest neighborhoods, mansions, and ran up and down a canyon that included a spectacular waterfall and through three tunnels that were as dark as caves.  Beto also told me about his battle with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, or GBS, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the peripheral nervous system.  You might recall a WASP episode earlier this year with Brad Kelley, who fell victim to the same disease, but who has had a remarkable recovery to complete the Kona Ironman, and recently attempted a quintuple-Ironman, yes, five Ironmans in a row.  As you’ll hear now, Beto has had a strong recovery and has a big challenge planned ahead on Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America.  He also has now gained the perspective of a much older person for someone so young, and hopes to pass that along to others.  We did have one glitch in recording this episode from his home in Ecuador.  My cat Babe, who always sleeps on top of my office TV’s satellite box to take advantage of the warmth coming off of it, decided to slumber on top of my soundboard late in this chat and pushed to button to stop recording.  So I’ve had to fill in a bit of this conversation with Beto where we talked about a short film being made by a Mexican filmmaker about Beto’s inspirational story.  You can view an excellent teaser for it on YouTube under the title Tigrana by Pablo Norza Garay.  I hope you enjoy this uplifting episode.

Beto Dávalos
Facebook beto.davalos.1
Instagram @betodavalos9
YouTube film "Tigrana" by Pablo Norza Garay

Bill Stahl
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Instagram @stahlor

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A lot of scientific research, that I fully support, backs the concept of periodization, which means alternating your training between hard and easy - whether it's day-to-day, season-to-season, or even year-to-year.  I've also anecdotally seen the value of taking advantage of your personal situation to up your training or tackle a race.  When is it worthwhile to do this?

It has been a year since I resurrected David's We Are Superman Podcast.  Over the past 70 episodes, I have enjoyed bringing you David's brand of stories of transformation and overcoming adversities to achieve epic goals.  In addition, I hope you have been entertained and motivated by hearing from elite athletes, runners fighting for a cause, athletes tackling unique challenges, and learned from expert guests.  Thank you very much for listening and your incredible support!  I look forward to continuing to bring you these types of motivational stories and more.  Always Be Positive!

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As we get into this season of hope, here is a story that should give you plenty of it.  I met Gary Cahill while he was running the American Heroes Run 100-miler in September.  He lives not far away in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado, the gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park.  While chatting and running with Gary, a very warm, affable, and cheerful man, I learned that Gary is a stage four survivor of cancer in three organs.  For those who are not familiar with the terminology, stage four cancer in just one organ is practically a death sentence.  He was diagnosed 14 years ago, and as you’ll hear, he took a unique and very proactive approach to his treatment.  He even requested, and received, his oncologist’s personal cellphone number.  Along the way, you will hear someone who has rebounded to enjoy his life to the fullest, is eternally optimistic, and even though he didn’t finish all 100 miles, which the 99 degrees temperatures the day of the AHR didn’t help, he’s determined to earn his belt buckle next year.  We like to feature great comeback stories on the WASP, and I hope you’ll enjoy this one of the greatest kind.

Gary Cahill
Facebook @gary.s.cahill

Bill Stahl
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Instagram @stahlor

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Join me on a little recap of my trip to fascinating Ecuador, including running up and down volcanoes, running in the cloud jungle, and around beautiful Quito.

Bill Stahl
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David’s second-to-last podcast was with Dean Karnazes, a household name to most serious runners who know that he won seven of the tough Western States 100s.  While the average American might not know him by name, a large percentage know him when I mention that he ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.  Dean has a ton of other accolades, including winning the Badwater 135, an ESPY, and being named Competitor magazine’s endurance athlete of the year three times.  His best-selling book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner convinced legions of people to become runners and/or to greater challenge themselves.  He has written several other great books like Run: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss.  In this episode, Dean and I have a great chat about his latest book, A Runner’s High, My Life in Motion, in which he describes in vivid detail as a now-aging runner, his adventures competing in the Bishop (CA) High Sierra Ultramarathon, returning to Western States, being a running State Department ambassador in the Borat-like world of three former Soviet republics in Central Asia, and getting pulled into the White House as an unexpected guest on one of the most momentous days in U.S. history.  His family has supported him throughout his adulthood of pushing himself to his limits, and he describes now wrestling with his relationship with them in ways both real and imagined in his own headspace.  I have no doubt this endorphin-fueled book will fire you up to go lace up your shoes and set the bar higher on your goals.  I liked one observation in particular when he said, “I didn’t run to live longer, I ran to live fuller.”  I think we are all missing out on the deeper meaning to why we run if we strike out on this key point, just as he said, “Reaching the finish is not the ultimate prize, it’s the story that’s lived along the way.”  Whether you are a hardcore or casual runner, or not an athlete at all, I think you will enjoy this chat with the Ultramarathon man himself.

Dean Karnazes
ultramarathonman.com
[email protected]
Facebook @DeanKarnazes
Instagram @ultramarathon 

Bill Stahl
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I am fascinated by how nutrition can affect our health and the role it plays in many chronic and lifestyle diseases that plague our world, and so when I heard about Kristen Bowen and Living the Good Life Naturally, I didn’t hesitate to reach out.  She sent me a bottle of magnesium soak and I tried it with an open mind.  I don’t have health issues other than my ever-present orthopedic and running problems, so I wasn’t looking to cure any particular malady.  However, I am a notoriously poor sleeper, and I did discover after using it that my sleeping has markedly improved.  Obviously, sleeping is a major determinant in our recovery rates and other areas like alertness and productivity, so this is a welcome life enhancement.  One of the athletes I coach has told me that she uses magnesium soaks to successfully lessen the frequency and severity of her migraines.  This is a really good chat, and Kristen does a great job here of explaining the science behind magnesium in our bodies, what makes it an essential mineral, the issues that can arise when we don’t get enough of it, and the best ways to add to our intake and absorption of it whether through foods or transdermal methods like soaks.  Kristen lives in a really beautiful part of the California coast, so I think that also contributes to her upbeat demeanor when discussing magnesium.  You can explore many useful ways to get more magnesium into your body at livingthegoodlifenaturally.com

Kristen Bowen
[email protected]
livingthegoodlifenaturally.com
435-213-9048
Facebook @LivingTheGoodLifeNaturally
Instagram @ltgln.health 

Bill Stahl
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Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor