1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,720 Hello, my name is Leslie. 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,280 I am the host of the Why Not Today podcast. 3 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:10,840 This is a podcast to celebrate people who have been courageous and said, why not today? 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:15,640 I started this podcast and honored my father, Patrick Cain, who often did say why not today. 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:19,640 I'm based in Reston, Virginia, a planned community right outside of Washington, DC. 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,640 And thanks for joining us today. 7 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:23,720 And I'm excited about my guest today, Chris Howard. 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,800 I don't know really much about her except for what I've seen in the press. 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:35,000 A friend of mine sent me a link to her story that was on a local news station of her adventures. 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,480 And she's like, you need her on the Why Not Today podcast. 11 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:43,040 And so I reached out to her, found out she lives maybe a half a mile from my house. 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:44,920 I think I could walk barefoot to your house. 13 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:45,600 Yeah. 14 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,520 So I'm sure we've run into each other and passed each other and walking. 15 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,440 So I'm excited to have you here and share your journey, your experience. 16 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,000 So before we kind of hear all your courage stories and everything, tell us a little bit about who Chris is 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,000 and a fun fact about you. 18 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,080 Well, a fun fact is I'm a bit of a princess, honestly. 19 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:06,840 Oh, that's for you. 20 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,880 Which is a bit of a juxtaposition to the story that we're just about to talk about. 21 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:11,880 Right. 22 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:17,200 In fact, I just redesigned my home to kind of reflect my personality. 23 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:24,120 And it's designed in pink, crystal and fluffy everywhere. 24 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:25,360 I love that. 25 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:26,880 So the other hat I wear. 26 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:28,720 Unapologetically, yes. 27 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:29,240 That's OK. 28 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:34,040 The other hat I wear is, and I do have a pink shirt on today, is I'm a sales director with Mary Kay. 29 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,720 And so I still, January, my wall behind me was bright pink. 30 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:39,360 But I moved. 31 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:40,400 Oh my gosh. 32 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,280 So yeah, pink. 33 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,800 My niece asked me one time why pink was my favorite color. 34 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,400 I'm like, if really not, it just pays me really well. 35 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,000 But now pink and fluffy is always good. 36 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,800 So I'm excited to hear your story and your adventures. 37 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,280 And so before we kind of hear that, what does courage mean to you, Chris? 38 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:08,320 For me, courage is daring to live your authentic self. 39 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,520 So courage comes from deep inside. 40 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:18,720 And when the heart and your actions are totally aligned, 41 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:23,720 then you know exactly what needs to happen from what may. 42 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:24,480 Yes. 43 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,760 And we're not worried about consequences. 44 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:32,440 We're not worried about what people think we're doing what we need to do in that moment. 45 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:33,640 I would agree. 46 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,280 Got to look at values. 47 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,840 And so many people don't, unfortunately. 48 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:38,520 Yeah. 49 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,720 So you had a really cool adventure. 50 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:42,400 And I was kind of teased about it. 51 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:48,120 But, and, you know, honestly, I read the story, part of the story, not the whole story. 52 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,720 And because I kind of want to be surprised by it. 53 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:55,200 And, and I don't know if I've known anybody that's accomplished this. 54 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,960 So let's talk about what you accomplished, why you did it, the backstory, 55 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,280 and some of the courage steps in between. 56 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,000 So I'll let you spill the beans and share what you did. 57 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,560 Before I, yeah, just jump in and, you know, 58 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:10,920 let me redirect if you need me to. 59 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:12,000 So. 60 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,880 So we'll just start with the it. 61 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:22,080 So the it is the big adventure is I left my job. 62 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:29,800 I was 11 years with lab core drug development and 33 years as an executive 63 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,800 in bio pharmaceutical development, drug development. 64 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:40,120 And, and I just resigned in order to go hike the appellation trail. 65 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,720 And for those who may not know what the appellation trail is, 66 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,440 it's the longest footpath in the world, continuous footpath. 67 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:51,400 I started. 68 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:57,280 Yeah. I started in Springer Mountain, Georgia and walked 69 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:03,240 with whatever I could carry my back and all my supplies, all my food, 70 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:09,200 all my water, my sleeping bag, my tent was 25 pounds in the winter time, 71 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,360 19 pounds in the summertime. 72 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,640 And I walked through 14 states along the East coast and ended my journey 73 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,640 in Maine, Mount Contaudin, Maine, right smack dab in the middle. 74 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,520 Yeah. So the total mileage is 2,200. 75 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:26,680 So when did you do that? 76 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,440 I started April 10th of this year. 77 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,440 And I started in Contaudin on September 24th of this year. 78 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,600 So it's about five and a half months to me. 79 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,160 Okay. Wow. 80 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:43,200 Wow. So was this something you'd always dreamed of doing? 81 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,520 Is this was it a was it a pandemic? 82 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:51,200 Like, OK, let's relook at our life and what are we doing and putting your 83 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:56,920 thought maybe a lot of people that I've talked to are just like at that point. 84 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:58,840 It's like, OK, what's next? 85 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:00,840 And this is not fulfilling me. 86 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:02,440 Yeah. Yeah. 87 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,400 Well, there's a convergence of three different factors that were all kind of 88 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,880 happening at the same time that kind of was the fine point to me 89 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,600 making the decision to do this. 90 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,800 First of all, my background was an Ironman. 91 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,840 Well, the ultra distance swim bike runs as a total of 112 miles. 92 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:27,360 And I did that for 10 years. 93 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,960 And really, my my identity was formed through Ironman. 94 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:33,280 How many? 95 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,640 12, including the World Championship. 96 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:36,640 Wow. 97 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:41,560 I actually interviewed him on the podcast in March of last year. 98 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,320 He did like Placid and. 99 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:46,320 OK, yeah. 100 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,560 Yeah, yeah, that was my life. 101 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,360 I was even on the board of Ironman and, you know, 102 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,360 end up doors for women to participate in a sport and increase the women participation. 103 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,400 So it was it was everything. 104 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,800 But then I experienced an injury. 105 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,040 I had a tear in my back called the multifidus. 106 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:10,880 And the bottom line is I can no longer run and I can't I can ride a bike. 107 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:17,720 But when I'm used to doing 112 miles at 22 miles an hour and now I can only do 14. 108 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,000 That's just not fun anymore. 109 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:24,400 So so that that part of me and I try to replace it with, you know, 110 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,120 lifting weights in the gym and all this other stuff. 111 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,560 But being outside all day, I really missed that. 112 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:36,040 And then for my company, my job at work, I built a department from scratch. 113 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:41,080 And it was, you know, my job is to work myself out of a job. 114 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,040 The cliche is true. 115 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:48,000 And so I'm working entrepreneur at work and this was reaching steady state grew. 116 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:54,920 This department to 300 people, project managers around the world, 24 countries. 117 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:55,920 Wow. 118 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:01,280 And so so I was I was kind of reaching that kind of culmination. 119 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:06,280 I was looking for something next, another challenge, something to fill that in. 120 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:13,280 And the company was that my division was sold off to start a new division. 121 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:14,560 The time was good. 122 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:15,560 It was a good time. 123 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:16,760 It was not disruptive. 124 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,000 It was it was it was an easy transition out. 125 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:21,000 Right. 126 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,840 And then the third factor is I got diagnosed with melanoma. 127 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:24,840 Oh, wow. 128 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:32,480 And so I took some time off work about five weeks off work to get that treated. 129 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:39,560 And while I was there, I saw a map of the Appalachian Trail on a friend of mine's wall. 130 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,120 And I was obsessed. 131 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:46,200 I was studying it all the little lines, all the little twists and turns. 132 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,800 And it felt like a bolt of lightning hit me from the sky. 133 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,400 And it was that moment that I was like, this is it. 134 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,640 This is this is this is going to scratch the endurance itch. 135 00:07:57,640 --> 00:07:59,280 I need an adventure. 136 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,800 This will bring me back to my core self. 137 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,160 And two months later, I was on trail. 138 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:06,160 Wow. 139 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:07,160 Love that. 140 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,560 And by the way, a little detail. 141 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,040 I've never hiked before. 142 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,240 I've never camped before. 143 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:15,240 Okay. 144 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,640 Before honey, I'm not kidding when I say I'm all princess. 145 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,160 And that's such a why not today story. 146 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,280 It's like jumped it and did it. 147 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,720 And like this podcast, I had never done this. 148 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,080 And literally in my first episode, I reported on a Saturday. 149 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,800 I launched on a Saturday, I recorded it Friday at three o'clock because I was scared. 150 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:34,960 I'm like, okay, I just got to do it. 151 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,760 If you don't, if you think about it too much, then you'll talk yourself out. 152 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:39,760 Yeah. 153 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,200 And you know, and so that's part of the podcast is I don't edit it. 154 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,760 It's because it's just it is as it is. 155 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:46,760 And it's real. 156 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:47,760 Yeah. 157 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:48,760 And I love that you've never been camping. 158 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:53,200 And yeah, my idea of, I always say my idea of rooms of camping is when the room surface 159 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:54,680 cuts off at midnight. 160 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:57,280 So I couldn't imagine the camping part. 161 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,360 Oh, that's great. 162 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,200 Did you go by yourself? 163 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:03,600 Yeah, I did. 164 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,360 I did the entire trek by myself, but I was never alone. 165 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:13,080 So there was lots of other people who, who, who also are on the trail. 166 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:22,320 So in fact, the first time I, the first campsite, I logged in and there was this ring of these 167 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,560 very experienced hikers and they were, you know, very rough. 168 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:32,440 They had their beards and their skin was weathered and their hair was like long and unkept and 169 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:37,520 their clothes look like they slept in it for a month, probably more honestly. 170 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,520 And they were having the fire and they're cooking their food over the fire. 171 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,440 I mean, these people were legit. 172 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:47,600 And this one guy had a tie dye shirt and the shirt said, I have weed for sale. 173 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:48,600 Right. 174 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:49,600 So this is, this is the kind of people. 175 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:50,600 Right. 176 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,320 And I'm not people that I would normally hang out with. 177 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,040 And I walked up and I had my little pearl earrings on. 178 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,600 And I was about to ask how pretty were you dressed during this thing? 179 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:07,280 You know, all my clothes are brand new, you know, and I walk in and I'm like, catch a 180 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,280 tent. 181 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:16,080 And the guy who was wearing this, that shirt I've got weed for sale. 182 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:17,080 His name was Woodstock. 183 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:18,080 We all have trail names. 184 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,520 His name was Woodstock, which was quite appropriate. 185 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:28,680 And he had a deep, deep Southern accents, so deep it almost required a translator. 186 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:31,600 And he says, well, shit. 187 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:37,960 He said, I've been out here all my life and I still don't know what I'm doing out here. 188 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:44,400 And all the other people just laughed and all, and the whole gang got up and they walked 189 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:50,480 me around and they showed me the ropes and they taught me how to look for a campsite 190 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:55,800 and make sure the tree is not going to fall a branch on your head and look out for snakes 191 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,320 and make sure you look for this kind of flat land. 192 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,960 And they adopted me. 193 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:09,640 And so that story, you know, I think we need to be risk being vulnerable to people who 194 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,240 are quite intimidating, right? 195 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:17,680 Because they were purely experts and just be willing to laugh at yourself and be messy 196 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:19,200 and look like a fool. 197 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,360 And it opens up new doors. 198 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:22,360 It's certainly dead. 199 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:27,160 Yeah, that's really the message I'm trying to get across is we need to live our life 200 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,440 and just do the things and not be afraid. 201 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:34,320 And I was talking to somebody yesterday about doing events and things for women. 202 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,280 And she's like, you know, we were talking about people who just say they're going to 203 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:38,840 do something and then don't follow through. 204 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,160 And there's, you know, if you don't have to pay, there's not a lot of skin in the game 205 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:43,160 I found. 206 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,360 And what she was saying that, you know, a lot of people, they say they want to do it, 207 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,960 but they're scared to walk out of their house or scared to walk in a new situation or scared 208 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:50,960 to meet new people. 209 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:51,960 Yeah. 210 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:52,960 Which is so true. 211 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,040 So, well, I guess you have amazing stories. 212 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:57,040 So I love that story. 213 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:02,640 So what was your, what would you call it, your trail name? 214 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:03,800 My trail name. 215 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,280 My trail name is Phoenix Rising. 216 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:07,280 Okay. 217 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:08,280 Love that. 218 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,560 And everybody called me Phoenix for short. 219 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:14,040 So whenever I'm on the trail, nobody knew what my real name is. 220 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,200 They only knew me as Phoenix. 221 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:17,200 Oh, wow. 222 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:18,200 That's really cool. 223 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:19,200 Yeah. 224 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:20,200 All right. 225 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:25,040 So what were the hardest parts that really took courage or once you started, you're 226 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,440 like, okay, I'm good or were you ready to quit or? 227 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:28,440 No. 228 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:30,240 No, it was so hard. 229 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:31,240 It was so hard. 230 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:36,840 And, you know, I need to stop saying it was so hard because we need to define hard, right? 231 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:38,080 And put words to it. 232 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,360 And wait, I think that I've got a friend that says I can do hard things. 233 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:42,360 Yes. 234 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:43,360 Yes, for sure. 235 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,400 But this, this made an Ironman look like a walk in the park. 236 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:48,400 Oh, wow. 237 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:52,400 And the, I, the, I'll just give a couple of stats. 238 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:59,040 Um, total, there's 550,000 feet of elevation gain, which is the equivalent of climbing 239 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,200 Mount Everest 18 times. 240 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:03,080 Oh my goodness. 241 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:11,640 And the trail, the train is best described as the longest obstacle course in the world. 242 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:18,160 So if you're not dealing with mosquitoes, you're dealing with heat and then all of the 243 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:27,080 heat rash and the, um, your heat crystals, the salt crystals burrow into your skin and 244 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,720 create a lot of swelling, especially on your back where your backpack is. 245 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,600 Um, if it's not that, then it's mud and rain. 246 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:40,720 In fact, there was over 60% of the days were rainy and even those non rain days were wet 247 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:43,480 and soggy and mucky. 248 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:50,080 And there were, I'm not even exaggerating states miles and miles and miles of nothing 249 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:51,080 but mud. 250 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:56,320 And if you can think about what that is, it's basically paid vegetation. 251 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:02,000 So if you take a bag of spinach that's rotten and then hail, that's what I stopped like. 252 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,360 Oh, that's the mud. 253 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,640 And so I'm slipping and sliding in that mud. 254 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:12,600 And literally there was one day where I was just trying, I mean, I slipped three times 255 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:13,600 in quick succession. 256 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,360 I just could not go in a straight line. 257 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,160 And I took my, my stick pole, am I allowed to cuss? 258 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:21,160 Sure. 259 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:22,160 I was fine. 260 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:26,200 I was in my pole and I'm sitting in this mud and I'm literally dripped all over because 261 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,560 this is the third time I fell that day. 262 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,520 And I took my stick and I go, you fucking beat you. 263 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:42,520 I screamed just because it was, it was, it just could not walk in a straight line. 264 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,040 It was so hard. 265 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:49,200 And then if that's not finished, then you have technical climbing. 266 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,920 So literally you're climbing up rock faces and I've never climbed before and I've got 267 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,120 this big pack and my balance is off. 268 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,080 You did like practice or train or you just did it. 269 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:05,320 You know what, all what I was doing sounds like something silly or I'm gonna say stupid 270 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:06,840 that I would do. 271 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,520 Let's just do it. 272 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:17,080 The success rate is only 20%, 20, 25% depending on who you talk to. 273 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:18,080 Wow. 274 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:23,080 I would not be surprised if it's less than 20% this year because twice we had states 275 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:27,240 of emergency, we had the fires, the Canadian fires. 276 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:28,240 First thing. 277 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:35,240 Yeah, that really caused me an adverse atubation, which required me to get some medical attention. 278 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,840 ASAP, I was, I couldn't even say the words, I can't breathe. 279 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:39,840 Oh, wow. 280 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,120 That was too hard for me. 281 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:49,240 And there was a hurricane, two days after the hurricane, there was another flood that 282 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,800 came, it was two days of bolting rain. 283 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,760 So when I went through the 100 mile wilderness, which is right before you reach Katahata in 284 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:04,640 Maine, really rugged area, the river crossings were up to your waist and it was so strong. 285 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,880 We did have one guy who died, we had another guy who got trapped under the water and had 286 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,060 to get popped out of a stick. 287 00:16:11,060 --> 00:16:16,960 So they did have some workarounds, I took the workarounds, but that added like 15 miles 288 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:18,680 to the trail. 289 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,440 So it was just dangerous at every turn. 290 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:32,480 But in that process, you know, you type 12 hours a day, you have to collect your water, 291 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:39,440 you have to filter your water, you have to certify and boil your water before you can 292 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:40,440 drink anything. 293 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:45,360 So you do all of those things and you just wake up and you do it again. 294 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,240 You are exhausted and you are at your core. 295 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:56,320 And what I found in all of that, besides we can do hard things, but it stripped you away 296 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:58,040 of all of the things, right? 297 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,400 We surround ourselves with pink and fluffy and crystal like I'm doing here. 298 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,920 You know, you surround yourself with I drive a fancy car, that makes me cool, you know, 299 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:12,600 before you have these friends or you had this makeup to hide, you know, the wrinkles, you 300 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:13,880 know, all the things. 301 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:15,200 I was raw. 302 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:16,760 I was vulnerable. 303 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:21,640 I was at my, my most vulnerable moments. 304 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,280 And what I found was I'm enough. 305 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:26,600 I'm enough as I am. 306 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,320 I can do this. 307 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,400 I will do this. 308 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:35,800 And so I emerge with this kind of sense of power that's inside of me of knowing that I 309 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,640 don't need all the things. 310 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:42,200 I'm unstoppable as I am without all the props. 311 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:43,200 So that was, 312 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:45,200 You were pretty unstoppable before. 313 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:50,760 All your Ironman and success and stuff in your business. 314 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:51,760 Yeah. 315 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:52,760 Yeah. 316 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:59,800 Well, I've always had that, you know, kind of innate drive to do tough things, but this, 317 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:05,040 this doesn't lie to candle to anything because it's such a, such a paradox to who I am, 318 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:06,040 right? 319 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:07,040 Yeah. 320 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,600 You know, even doing an Ironman, you know, at the end of the day, you go back home to 321 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:16,040 a shower and fresh clothes and a bed, you know, when you're done. 322 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:17,040 Yeah. 323 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:25,360 Here you go to bed with those wet, soggy, muddy clothes that smells like decayed spinach 324 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:28,280 and you wear those clothes day in and day out. 325 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:33,760 I was going to say, are there, there stops places that you. 326 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,280 Yeah, but there's places to stop. 327 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,920 There's places to do hostels, do laundry, people there. 328 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:40,920 Yeah. 329 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:41,920 Yeah. 330 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,520 About every five days or so on average depends on where you are. 331 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:51,840 So at the beginning and at the end, you're more out wilderness and it's more rugged and 332 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:57,520 there might be, you know, five to seven days before getting to a town and a hostel that 333 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,960 will take you in and do laundry and you have a bed to sleep in. 334 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:01,960 Right. 335 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:07,520 So the middle states from Virginia to about New York, it's a lot more populated. 336 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,440 And so if you want to, you can go into town every day. 337 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:11,600 Not everybody does that. 338 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:13,800 So you have a lot more choices in those times. 339 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:18,560 So did you have people come and hike with you that you knew and join you? 340 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:19,560 Yeah. 341 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:20,560 Yeah. 342 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:21,560 Yeah, that was really cool. 343 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:28,760 So I blogged and I just kind of like the Piper, the further along I went, the more people 344 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,400 I accumulated, which was really fun. 345 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:32,400 So I'm sorry. 346 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,920 I said, that's fun that people are joining you. 347 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:36,920 Yeah. 348 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:43,040 And like my old professor from business school, he came out and I had another friend who actually 349 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:44,040 he's a friend now. 350 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,960 I actually never met him, but he's in the industry. 351 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:47,960 He's a medical device. 352 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:49,960 He's got like 16 patents in his name. 353 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,280 He's completely obsessed with the story and he came out on trail and gave me some new 354 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:55,280 shoes. 355 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:56,280 Wow. 356 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:01,360 And then I went to lunch, that was really special and then there's like random strangers 357 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,400 who would also come out and they would set up hamburgers. 358 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,360 They would grill hamburgers for you. 359 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:11,880 They would take your trash that you've been accumulating. 360 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,800 You have to hike out your trash. 361 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,680 They would give you a chair to sit in. 362 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,600 That was glorious, a chair. 363 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,680 And then they would, various snacks or whatever. 364 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,200 And that was called trail magic and you get a lot of trail magic, but he's random people 365 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:30,800 for random acts of kindness. 366 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:31,800 Yeah. 367 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:32,800 It was really cool. 368 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:33,800 Oh, that's really cool. 369 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:34,800 You still have a motivator. 370 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:35,800 You want to do it. 371 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:36,800 So fun. 372 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:37,800 Did you hike? 373 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:38,800 You didn't say it was fun. 374 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:47,400 Do you hike with people the whole time or are there parts where you're by yourself? 375 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,600 So you're with a bubble. 376 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:55,080 So I was by myself, but I was never alone. 377 00:20:55,080 --> 00:21:00,560 So you could sit at a shelter, which is a three-sided structure to help you get out of 378 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:01,800 the rain. 379 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,640 And those are about every eight miles or so. 380 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,320 And so you could sit in one of those shelters and sit there for an hour and you'll have 381 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,400 maybe three people who will pass you. 382 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:15,880 Two of them you might already know and it will be this long lost reunion. 383 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:17,800 And then one person you just met that day. 384 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:24,120 So you end up, if you've ever run a race or a marathon or something, you know, it's always 385 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,960 crowded at the beginning, but then towards the end, you end up kind of leapfrogging 386 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,400 with the same people who are your pace. 387 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,400 And that's about what it's like. 388 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:34,400 Yeah. 389 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,240 Were there people that go the other direction or does everybody go north? 390 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:42,720 About 80% of the trail goes from south to north and then the rest of them goes from 391 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:48,280 north to south, they have to start around July because of the snow and the rain and 392 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:49,920 all that. 393 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,040 And then other people do flip-flops. 394 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:59,440 So they'll do kind of sections of the trail and flip around to get theirs done. 395 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:03,440 But significant majority goes from south to north. 396 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:08,360 To hike the whole trail, is it you do it all in one time or do some people do a little 397 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:10,680 bit here and a little bit there? 398 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:16,960 Also what your goal is to be called a through hiker and to be recognized by ATC, which is 399 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:25,440 the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, you need to do all 2,200 miles within the same calendar 400 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:26,440 year. 401 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,800 So most people don't have luxury of an entire year to do this. 402 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,440 So they might split it up a little bit and have some more rest. 403 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,000 Other people, they are not interested in the title through hiker. 404 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:45,760 And they just do a weekend and 3 weeks at a time and it will take them 20 years to do 405 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:47,480 the whole trail. 406 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,560 And then other people not even interested in doing the whole trail, they'll just do section 407 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,040 hikers and they'll do a sections at a time. 408 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,040 So we're all mixed together. 409 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:57,040 Yeah. 410 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,600 So how many people did it like you, start to finish? 411 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,680 About, I think the number is 3,000 each year. 412 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:04,680 Wow. 413 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:05,680 Why? 414 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:10,960 Maybe 20% or so, maybe a little bit more, maybe a little bit less, actually finish. 415 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:11,960 Wow. 416 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:16,480 So many cool, I'm sure you have so many lessons and stories and. 417 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:21,080 Yes, yes, I've been doing a lot of talks, which is really fun. 418 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,440 So I do give a talk about setting big audacious goals and sticking with it and all that other 419 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:27,440 stuff. 420 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,200 So I've been quick to my alma mater and a couple of universities and whatnot. 421 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:32,200 So it's really fun. 422 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,160 I'm really happy to, if anybody's listening, that he's looking for a speaker, I love it. 423 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:37,760 I can talk about it all day. 424 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:42,360 I've actually thought about taking this podcast and making it into more of a membership that 425 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:46,840 people can join and they get more access to whoever the speaker is. 426 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,920 I have a couple of things to do book clubs with. 427 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:50,920 I don't know. 428 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:51,920 We'll talk about that. 429 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:53,720 These other fun ideas. 430 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:54,720 Yeah. 431 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:55,720 Yeah. 432 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,280 So did you go back to work? 433 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,080 Well, it was a piece of cake. 434 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,720 With the company, my division was sold off. 435 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:10,400 And so, and honestly, it's time for a new chapter. 436 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:11,840 And so I am interested. 437 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,920 So I'm just now starting my interview process. 438 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:14,920 I took a month off. 439 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,680 So the month of October, I just really slept. 440 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,960 I mean, consistently slept and recovered. 441 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:27,000 My knees still are really jacked up and all my tendons are messed up. 442 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,960 And so November is when I really have just started the networking and looking for a job. 443 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:32,960 So it'll be a while. 444 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,960 Looking for something totally different. 445 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:40,120 No, I'm going to stay in the same industry by a pharmaceutical and because I'm looking 446 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:45,280 for a leadership position, those are those are a little bit harder to come by. 447 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,920 So the right moment will show up when it's ready. 448 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,080 You never know who might listen to podcasts. 449 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:52,080 Who knows? 450 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:53,080 Yeah. 451 00:24:53,080 --> 00:25:00,600 So what was the biggest thing you missed about the luxuries of home? 452 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:01,600 Flumming. 453 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:02,600 Flumming. 454 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:03,600 Yeah. 455 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:04,600 Yeah. 456 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:11,760 There's one blog that I wrote right about and that's Pooping in the Woods. 457 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,120 It is a whole other experience. 458 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:19,760 Like normally our business, what I call it, normally we just don't even think about it, 459 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:20,760 right? 460 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:21,760 Right. 461 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:23,600 But you have to move about your business. 462 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,360 Out in wilderness. 463 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:28,040 It is kind of take a hole. 464 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,560 You have to make sure you're not going to fall down into that hole. 465 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:32,840 You got to hold onto a tree. 466 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:38,120 Hopefully you're not, you know, you're on this big slant and, you know, God help you 467 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:40,320 if there's snakes and prism. 468 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:46,340 And bears and it's like just to do the one thing that we all have to do. 469 00:25:46,340 --> 00:25:47,880 It's much more complicated. 470 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:48,880 Oh wow. 471 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:50,880 Did you see bears and snakes? 472 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:51,880 20. 473 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:52,880 Yeah. 474 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:53,880 20 bears. 475 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:58,720 One of them, most of them, they're very, there's nothing to be afraid of. 476 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:04,320 And but there was one that was a little bit more curious and hung around more than that 477 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:05,320 I would like him to. 478 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:10,400 So we tried to scoot him off and he was just too hungry and too curious to know what was 479 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:11,400 going on. 480 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:12,400 Snakes. 481 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:13,400 Oh my gosh. 482 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,080 Let's just say I'm not afraid of snakes before I was afraid of snakes, but now I guess 483 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,840 through repeat exposure, I am no longer afraid of snakes. 484 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:21,840 There's tons of them. 485 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:26,600 Rattlers, black snakes, red snakes, spiders and everything in between. 486 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:27,600 All the bugs. 487 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:28,600 Yeah. 488 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:33,040 So what's your next adventure? 489 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,720 You know, I don't know. 490 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:36,720 I don't know. 491 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:44,080 So I think my first goal is to get a new job and to, you know, got to replace the coffers, 492 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:50,800 you know, living a year without income and really without health insurance to speak of. 493 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:52,440 That's a consideration. 494 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,640 So I've got to be responsible again. 495 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:58,400 But you know, who knows, like I'm volunteering out on the trail. 496 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,360 I just got certified as a hike leader by the Potomac Appalachian Trail. 497 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:06,000 I plan to volunteer and do some trail maintenance. 498 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:11,040 I want to go out there and do some trail magic and give a bunch of happiness and love to 499 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:12,040 random strangers. 500 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,280 I think that's, I can't wait to do that. 501 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:20,120 And then I started, you know, now that I know that I can walk like a chimp. 502 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:25,320 I'm starting to race walk, which is a whole other thing. 503 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:30,000 So I, I, I'm just, my goal is to race walk a marathon. 504 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:36,560 So that's, so it's not running anymore, but by golly, I can walk the thing. 505 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,200 I can walk, but I'm not going to race walk, but I'll walk around Lake Ann with you anytime. 506 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,000 I will do that anytime. 507 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,160 In fact, we're doing a turkey trot for Thanksgiving. 508 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:53,240 We do walking around Lake Ann, which for those person that aren't local, it's a whole mile 509 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:54,440 and a half around. 510 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,440 And we're so strenuous that we literally, at the first time I did it, I said it was 511 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,240 a 10K and my brother's like, it is not a 10K. 512 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,240 Well my last name is Kane. 513 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,520 I'm like, there are at least 10 of us there. 514 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:11,000 But we walk around half the lake and you know, when you have your water stop, we have mimosas 515 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:12,000 stop. 516 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,560 So we have to walk around the lake for mimosas. 517 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:15,560 Cause you know, 518 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:20,440 We're going to get along this fine. 519 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:21,600 Yes, exactly. 520 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:27,440 So how I always ask people, how would you empower somebody else to do the courageous thing 521 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:28,800 to say why not today? 522 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:34,000 Not necessarily have to do an Ironman or a Appalachian trail hunt, but how would you 523 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,880 refer somebody else? 524 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,240 This is a little bit extreme and I don't think the message is to do this. 525 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,280 But I think, you know, we, we need to go back to our core. 526 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:49,760 We need to remember who we are and the things that we love and dare to be that person. 527 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:55,360 If it's, you've always wanted to be an artist and really good when you were a kid, you know, 528 00:28:55,360 --> 00:29:00,960 drawing and it took you away and you lost time, do that, you know, or if you like to 529 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:06,240 cook, you know, take some cooking classes, but don't be afraid to live and it just takes 530 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:07,240 small steps. 531 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,840 It doesn't have to be quit your job and do nothing for five months. 532 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:16,160 You know, it's, you know, you can just do it spread into your existing day, but give 533 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,120 back to yourself and remember that core person. 534 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:25,120 And when you give back to yourself and you remember who you are, then you're just so 535 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,840 much better at giving to others because you have that full tank. 536 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:29,840 So great. 537 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:34,640 And that's one of the reasons I do this is really to encourage people and it doesn't 538 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,160 have to be the big, it could be the little like, you know, some days it's just getting 539 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:39,160 out of bed. 540 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,680 And what are the things you enjoy and you want to do? 541 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:46,040 And yeah, we got to live our life and not be so tied down. 542 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:50,200 I did interview somebody off to go back and listen to the episode with Charlene Willis 543 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,960 and she wrote a book about, I think it's called I am enough, which tied into what you're 544 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:58,880 talking about, but she went to the ranks, the high ranks of corporate America and got 545 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,120 cancer twice and finally is like done. 546 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,160 Like I need to live my life. 547 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,440 And you know, we were talking about the whole health insurance thing when I quit my job, 548 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,440 people like, what are you going to do about insurance? 549 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:10,440 I'm like, I'm going to pay for it. 550 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:15,480 She's like, I had amazing insurance and my job that paid me, they gave me the main amazing 551 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,480 insurance made me sick with all the stress. 552 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,960 So you know, there's definitely trade off. 553 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,680 So yeah, you got to live your life. 554 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,680 So I love stories and can't wait to read some of your blogs and follow. 555 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,560 So I always try to connect back to my dad. 556 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:35,360 And I think, you know, he had definitely a similar mentality. 557 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:36,360 Just do it. 558 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:37,600 Figure it out. 559 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:42,080 Just take the leap and he did some crazy things in his life. 560 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:43,080 And he was still active. 561 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:49,760 He had had strokes and he still did things like went skiing and body surfing and couldn't 562 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:54,240 use half his body because of the stroke and he only had one eye most of his life, but 563 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,160 he still did all the things and lived his life. 564 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:02,400 And you know, I think also the connection you live in Reston and I mentioned you, we 565 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:08,960 have mutual friends who you know from Reston Runners, which was a good friend of my dad's. 566 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,320 So it's a small world. 567 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:15,320 So I'm going to share all the ways to get in touch with Chris. 568 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,560 Is there any particular way that you like people to find you? 569 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:23,560 I'll just cut it in your blog details and we'll share that. 570 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:30,160 So you know, if you like the podcast, share it with somebody like it, pass it on, review 571 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:31,160 it. 572 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:32,440 I'm really trying to grow the brand. 573 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:37,520 So I do have for those watching or listening, I have why not today T-shirts and for people 574 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,040 to say why not today? 575 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:41,200 And why not? 576 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:48,400 Why not today cups and all the fun things to really encourage people just to be brave. 577 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,160 So thank you Chris for your story. 578 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:54,160 I'm excited to give you to know you better and thanks for everybody that listened. 579 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,160 And remember, just say why not today? 580 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:59,760 You never know. 581 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:01,640 That's great.