Podcasting Gig... Team RWB... Epic5

So in late January, my friend Ben Greenfield came to me with a job offer: Be the new host of the Endurance Planet podcast. The old host, Kevin, was stepping down for various reasons, and Ben thought it'd be cool to get a girl who's "in the know" at the mic. Well, you know me... more work that's endurance sports related? Sign me up!

The problem: I have NO broadcast/radio/podcast experience, and although I've been interviewing people for years for journalism and my articles, this was a whole new world to me. I thought, "How hard could it be?" Ugh. Talk about a rude awakening. Frankly, I've been struggling to find my groove... and it probably shows in the podcasts! It's not easy to develop a "radio personality" in a matter of days, especially when the previous host was a bad-ass veteran of the biz and did it so well (aka Kevin Patrick). I still think people hate me as the new host (yes I've had some hater comments), but whatever. It is what it is, and as someone in the public eye, you have to expect to get hated on every now and then. I can see past that. I refuse to give up... it's become one of those tasks in my life where I could easily quit because it's "hard," but I don't crumble under that sort of pressure, I rise to the challenge. Trust me, there were a few moments where I was ready to say "I'm done!" But I didn't. I'm the same way with racing... my mind will say "stop, this hurts too badly," but hell no, I ain't stopping!

Anyways, I'm getting more comfortable with the podcast gig, thus I'm starting to enjoy it more and more every day. Not to mention, I get to talk with some AMAZING people all the time and the info we're putting out is SO great. Our usual shows include "Sports Nutrition" with Ben Greenfield, "Ask the Doctor" with Dr. Mark Klion, a sports medicine specialist and triathlete, and "This Week in Multisport" with LAVA Magazine's Brad Culp. It's great to chat with these guys regularly, and I am learning so much as a result about all the topics at hand! Bonus! Plus with the nutrition and sports med shows, the listeners submit questions for the experts to answer, thus we have a lot of involvement with the audience, which is rad.

Team RWB
We are also doing special interviews in which we highlight people doing incredible things in endurance sports. The first of these interviews for me was with Army Major Mike Erwin, who started Team Red White and Blue (Team RWB), a group of endurance athletes who raise money for wounded veterans. You can find out more about Team RWB here. Once I starting talking with Mike, who is just an amazingly wonderful guy by the way, I was immediately drawn to the organization, so I decided to join myself and do some fundraising. Why not use triathlon as a platform to help others? Why didn't I start this earlier?! Hence, you might notice a little fund-raising widget at the top right corner of my blog... please don't hesitate to donate :) If you want to hear my interview with Mike on Team RWB and his life, click here.

Epic5 Challenge
I also recently interviewed Christian Isakson, who was hand-picked by Jason Lester to do this year's Epic5 Challenge, five Iron-distance triathlons in five days on five Hawaiian islands taking place May 5-9. The event obviously requires a special person, and Chrsitian is just that. He's a prime example of a hard-working American who has a kind heart, morals and dedication--we should all strive to be more like Christian, because, heck, he's fun too! We had a great time chatting before, during and after the interview (as was the case with Mike Erwin lol). Click here to listen to my interview with Christian.

Anyways, so point is: Yes, I am struggling with this job, but at the same time I'm helping to expose some great things to the listeners and am helping to get the word out on some good people and good organizations. That is pretty darn cool.

PS - Answers to compression questions coming soon and blog contest with giveaways coming soon too!

Training Stimulation

I tried something new on my long run and bike this weekend -- podcasts. I usually have my iPod shuffle on while I work out; the music motivates me and pumps me up. (I keep it on a low volume, though, b/c I still like to be aware of my surroundings, especially on the bike; in fact, I turn it off in high traffic areas.) Lately, though, I've left the iPod behind to enjoy the sounds of Mother Nature, a riding partner I'm with or even just my own breathing.

But Saturday, I found a new addiction. I downloaded a bunch of free podcasts on iTunes of the Competitor Radio Show, as well as some podcasts from Triathlete Magazine and others. (Search "triathlon" on iTunes.) I've only listened to Competitor Radio so far, and man is it entertaining to hear Bob Babbit -- who I love and admire so much -- and Paul Huddle talk to some amazing athletes: Craig Alexander fresh off his win in Kona; Dean Karnazes, whose interview was done while he was literally running during his 700-mile "mission to mission" run (he ran from Sonoma County to San Diego, stopping at all the CA missions on the way); Norman Stadler, Mark Allen and many more. The best part is, there are endless podcasts, which means hours of pure triathlon and endurance sports entertainment!

Some people I've talked to can't imagine concentrating on a radio show while working out. My dad is definitely one of those people, but then again, he spends hours just trying to get music onto an iPod. It's a valid point -- I mean, I don't know how people read books and magazines on cardio machines at the gym, are you kidding me? -- but to be honest, having a podcast fill my brain made me faster! It diverts the focus away from looking at the watch, you forget about any tiredness, fatigue or even boredom, and you just go while hearing amazing stories.

In my opinion, it's a great way to spice up training. I can learn the stories and personalities of all the athletes I admire so much. I mean, I didn't know Faris Al-Sultan covers up his power meter cause he just doesn't want to know, I didn't know the story behind Mark Allen's sixth Kona win (and holy shit is it a story!), I didn't know Andy Potts' wife battled cancer or that Ryan Hall adds GUs into his water bottles.... I could go on for a while from all I learned in just two workouts!

With all those hours spent working out, why not learn something while you're at it?