Miscellaneous
The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-446 – Running the World with Nick Butter (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4446.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Intro: Hello and welcome to episode 4-446 of the RunRunLive podcast. Here we are at the start of a new year! How about that? 2021. Happy new year. Today we have a chat with Nick Butter that I recorded a couple weeks ago. Nick has recently run a marathon in every country in the world, so you may hear him making the rounds of the podcasts. I’m always a little hesitant to interview folks that come off on the surface as a bit self-promotional. But, as you’ll hear in the interview, Nick is a thoughtful, honest runner. It’s another one of these stories that’s good for the new year. Another, chuck everything and do something big, story. I’m looking out the window of my home office as I write this and it is just about freezing. There is a covering of icy snow on the ground. Yesterday we got one of those slush storms where it’s warmish and snowing and raining at the same time. I went out with Ollie for a couple hours in the slush in the trails which was fun. I told you about how Ollie likes to ambush me. He’ll come running directly at me, hit the brakes, snap and growl and take off growling with a stick. I have managed to avoid getting bitten since we last talked. (Although, he did spear me from behind with a pine tree one day this week.) So, yesterday we’re out running in the slush and he comes tearing down the trail straight at me, throws on the brakes, but because there’s two inches of slush, he can’t get any traction and slides straight through me like a ball through a bowling pin. I went down on top of him and got nice an slushy. I know sounds funny now, but I was pretty mad at the time. Now all the slush is frozen. It’s going to be dicey out in the trails today. My shoes are wet from yesterday so I’ll have to switch to an old pair. I’ve started training a bit. My plan is to be in 50 mile shape for the end of April. Today will cap a pretty big week for me. Ran a ½ marathon on the roads with the club on Sunday, 7ish in the trails Tuesday, 8ish in the trails Wednesday, a 10 X 60 second hill repeat set on Friday, 10ish slush miles yesterday and I’ll get another 7ish trail mile in today – so mid 40 miles for the 7 days and over 50 for 8 days. In section one we’ll talk about how to build a spring training plan. In section two I’ll give you one of the finished episodes of my new apocalypse podcast – so you can hear what I’ve been putting my energy into over the last couple weeks. I’m not going to talk about New Year’s resolutions. But I will talk a little bit about attitude in the outro. I thin 2021 is going to be a interesting year. After all of use being artificially tamped down for 2020, 2021 should be a barn-burner! I would counsel you to be prepared. To take these slow times around the holidays to plan and reflect. Because every thing that happens is an opportunity. The failures as well as the successes teach us something – if we’re willing to learn. I’ve often quoted Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech. You’ve heard it. It’s famous. Teddy Roosevelt was a real character. He’s on Mount Rushmore with Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson. Which is a bit strange if you think about it. What’s this dude from the early 1900’s doing up on the mountain with the founders and the great emancipator? This little squirrelly guy with the squeaky voice. We know he had a squeaky voice because this was around the time that audio recordings started to be made. You know how Teddy got to be president? He was such a pain in the ass they made him Vice President to get him out of the way. Basically, they buried him in a do-nothing job so he couldn’t cause any trouble. Then an anarchist put a bullet in McKinley and the rest is history. You have to be ready for your moments. 2021 could be your moment. On with the show! About Zero ZERO — The End of Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer. ZERO advances research, improves the lives of men and families, and inspires action. Link to my ZERO page: (for Donations) … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported. What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to. I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway. “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit. So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills. … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported. … Section one – 2021 training plans - http://runrunlive.com/spring-2021-training-plans-start-your-engines Voices of reason – the conversation Nick Butter – Every Country in the World Yasmin Li Manager to Nick Butter Contact number: +44 7772 870069 Sponsorships and Partnerships email: Speaking Events email: -- Nick Butter British Endurance Athlete | Motivational Speaker | Adventurer Contact number: +44 7745 291591 | | Twitter and Instagram: @nickbutterrun Expedition Highlight Reel: PRE-ORDER NICK'S BOOK - Running The World: My World-Record Breaking Adventure to Run a Marathon in Every Country on Earth Waterstones - Amazon - Section two – after the Apocalypse - Outro Ok my friends we have run a marathon in every country, on every grain of sand in the world, through the end of Episode 4-445 of the RunRunLive Podcast. You think we’ll live long enough to see some folks run marathons on other worlds? So that’s my new apocalypse podcast. Go find by searching for after the apocalypse on iTunes or whatever your favorite podcast app is. This one cost me real money to make so I need to drive the download numbers. Even if you hate it and want to have nothing to do with it, go out a subscribe to it and download it. If you want to help, like it, write a review send it to a couple friends. I’m enjoying the creative process. Thoughts on 2020 Many people are saying 2020 was a ‘bad’ year. I’m not sure there is such a thing as a bad year. Labeling anything good or bad is just way to justify our own response to it. And that’s the interesting thing about it – because our response is the only thing we can really control. When we say 2020 was a bad year what we’re really saying is 2020 was a year in which our response to external events was bad. What would change if instead of labeling ‘good’ or ‘bad’ we just took things for what they were? 2020 wasn’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’ it just was. 2020 was certainly different. It caused an abrupt cessation or change to many of our longstanding routines and habits. I would wager that with every routine lost, the seed of a new routine was planted. People stopped driving to work. That routine was lost. Maybe it was replaced with going for a walk before work in the morning, with the dog or the spouse. Was that a good or a bad change? Surely, we lost people with the virus. Surely, we lost jobs. But are we not the type of animals that respond to challenges and change? Doesn’t this type of abrupt, structural change cause us to look deeply inwards and ask better questions? One thing became clear to me in 2020. There are an infinite number of things that are out of my control. And if I let those things bother me or control me or chew up my valuable time then I’m a chump. There are things that are squarely in my control. Where I spend my precious energy and time is under my control. Somewhat, I’m still boxed in on many fronts by the decisions I’ve made along the way. But that doesn’t mean I have to acquiesce. That just means I choose to. Call it sunk cost or pain avoidance but there are certain things I’m locked into, and I chose to be locked into. A big, big, big thing that is under my control is how I show up. Everything in life rewards you disproportionately for how you show up. To quote a famous fantasy novel, “We reap what we sow.” This is typically applied to the actions of individuals, but I think it applies better to how we show up. If we show p with hate and anger, then we are going to reap hate and anger. If we show up with fear and hesitancy, then we are going to reap suspicion and distrust. If we show up with disinterest and torpor, we are going to be shown the door. But, my friends, it is totally under your control. If we show up with energy and positivity and a belief in the future and a story about a better place, then we are going to reap the enthusiasm and trust of everyone we meet. And with that we bid goodbye to 2020. 2020 was a game-changing year. 2020 enabled me to spend time at home with my new dog and my old wife. 2020 gave me space to explore the trails. 2020 allowed me to inject some new creativity into my life. 2020 brought perspective to where I am and where I’m going. 2020 reminded me of the things I’m grateful for. 2020 started with me taking on the challenge of a new job. I feel quite blessed looking back that I was able to be part of an organization and help navigate these unchartered waters. That, I think, was a serendipitous use of my experience and mindset. In 2021 I vow to set new goals in all the important areas of my life. To plan and execute to the best of my abilities. But, most of all to show up. To bring my best self to every day. And I will see you out there! MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->