I was very fortunate to become a guest on Road Dog Podcast and was asked to discuss mental wellness and ultrarunning. It was a fun time!
If you are unfamiliar with Road Dog Podcast, this is Luis Escobar (from the popular book Born to Run) and Kevin Lyons’ show.
Listen: 243: Shannon Mick Coaches Us Through This Podcast
My episode had a different format, where I was interviewed by Natasha Swartley, who was a previous guest on the show and shared all about her epic career serving in the Navy.
I highly recommend her episode, 237: Natasha Swartley Goes Full Speed Ahead in the Navy.
After she completed her episode with Luis, he asked her for recommendations on who should be the next guest.
Natasha Swartley
Natasha and I follow each other on a few social media platforms, so she was familiar with my content, and wanted to reach out and chat about it.
Here is her Twitter if you want to follow her.
She is an ultramarathon runner, wilderness EMT, outdoor lover, and understands the importance of taking care of her mental health. [Everyone should be taking care of their mental health.] She rocks!
Natasha and I had our first conversation over the phone while I was running on the treadmill, completing miles for Badwater 267 VR.
We talked about many things, mostly running, as ultrarunners do.
We swapped stories of meeting professional ultrarunners and what it was like… because I was very curious about how Natasha met Luis.
She met him while volunteering at his Born to Run event, which you can hear all about if you listen to her exciting episode.
Days before our scheduled podcast recording, we talked again to make sure we knew what we were going to discuss on the show and to help ax jitters.
Natasha was thrilled to get to talk and I always get nervous when it comes to podcast interviews, it was good to have somewhat of a plan.
I could hardly wrap my head around getting to talk to Luis Escobar. How does that ever happen?! It was going to be very cool, and Natasha had great things to say about him.
The episode
On the recording day, everything went very well. I’m going to leave out the specifics because you should listen to the episode!
Natasha was the interviewer and Luis sat and listened to us ladies chatting away.
Like I said earlier, we talked about mental wellness and ultrarunning.
As endurance athletes, we tend to band aid our mental health with running and fitness.
This is okay to an extent, but in the long run, it’s not good to do that to ourselves.
We are not addressing the root of the issue if we’re going through or experiencing something.
Natasha was right on board, and had a lot of good insight to add to the conversation. You can read my article that goes more into the details of this topic.
Athletes, what are you doing to support your mental health besides exercising?
Natasha’s main priority was to highlight my mindset and mental wellness coaching business to get the word out. I’m grateful for her support.
I love what I do and put a lot of work into it. My long-term dream for the business feels far out, but that’s okay for now.
I also talk about that in the episode. It means a lot to me that she wanted to discuss my business and content.
Read (and subscribe to) my mindset and mental wellness content here.
Learn more about my services here.
Discussing Badwater
The topic of Badwater 267 VR and Badwater 135 came up. I have completed the virtual race three times (and the elite version of the VR once), and I have crewed a friend at Badwater 135.
After Natasha and I finished talking, Luis jumped in to talk about Badwater. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about how crazy awesome it was to have the opportunity to share about a few of my Badwater event experiences with him.
I was feeling a little nervous because I’m not a Badwater expert, just super passionate about it.
Badwater 267 VR Elite Race Report (04/2021)
Mental Strategies for Running in the Heat
Badwater 135 Crewing, Pacing and Adventure Photo Gallery (2021)
Athletic Brewing Company
Wrapping up the episode, we chat about Athletic Brewing Company (I am a former ambassador). Athletic Brewing carefully creates each of their non-alcoholic brews.
They are delicious and “tastes like real beer” because it IS real beer. They got their start in Stratford, CT.
After that brewery was highly successful, they opened a second location in San Diego, CA.
My husband and I are what we call “beer snobs.” We came across Athletic Brewing a few years ago, and it has been a wonderful option to turn to when we’re ready to take a break from consuming alcohol.
We take these non-alcoholic beverages with us on many hikes and trips. They’re also a favorite post run option… and something nice to go along with dinner.
There are a few limited availability options, so if you see something that you want to try and it’s a part of their pilot program, snatch it up.
Are you looking for support?
Thanks for listening to our episode, we hope that you took something positive away from it!
If you feel like you need help with your mental health, please reach out to a mental health professional.
How Do I Find Affordable Counseling? (from my counseling website)
Thank you!
I had a great time talking with Natasha and Luis. Thank you so much for the opportunity!! Thank you, Kevin, for setting everything up.
This one is definitely a favorite crazy ultrarunner memory, and it will be one of those stories I’ll be sharing on long runs with others.
243: Shannon Mick Coaches Us Through This Podcast
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Happy running,
Shannon
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