In My Ear – Q2 2019 – The Healthy Giraffe

Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion with Positive Mental Attitude! Ok, I’m not telling anyone to do that, but that sentence captures parts of two book titles I just read and they were quite good. In today’s blog I’ll share what I’ve been listening to in the second quarter of 2019 you may find useful or tuck away for future reference. Since I started this out with a combination of book titles let’s start there.

Books (Audio)

The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion is a book about dealing with a variety of mental and physical challenges one faces in training, racing and more. I found the chapter facing injury very helpful as I’m coming back from one that shut me down. It’s not only the injury we deal with but it affects so many aspects of our lives.
The book description includes – What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don’t want? What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? You can. Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson will help you take control of your brain so you can train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport.

I got turned on to this book from an athlete sharing how it helped them on the Rich Roll Podcast so I did a couple searches to find more. What I found was hilarious and stimulated me to learn more. Dr. Simon Marshall is a Sports Psychologist and Lesley Paterson is a World Champion Triathlete and it was them coming together (scientist and athlete) when real results happened. When I say they came together, they certainly did. First, they married and second, they pushed each other’s beliefs beyond what any text book and research told him. Here are a couple very short clips that sold me to try the book…you will laugh for sure!

Promo One – The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion
Promo Two – It’s Time to Win the Brain Fight
Promo Three – Why You Should Have a Triathlon Alter Ego
The PMA Effect by John Joseph is one book I didn’t have to find. I LOVE everything about John Joseph. I was waiting for the release of his latest book. If you don’t know who John Joseph is I wrote a previous blog sharing who he is, Why You Should Know John Joseph. I’ve only written two blogs featuring, “Why You Should Know ….” so that will tell you how much I think of John Joseph. Teaser alert – there is a third coming soon….epic!
Read more about John in my previous blog but a quick glimpse – this gentleman had a horrific childhood and early adulthood. The stories of what he endured as a child are heartbreaking leading to serious issues and consequences he faced. This man turned his life around and then some. He is the lead singer of punk rock band, Cro-Mags, and is all about serving people. It’s really extraordinary what he has done with his life to give to those in need.

In The PMA Effect, John shares how he serves people and the system that worked for him. He is a no-nonsense individual from the hard streets of New York. Anytime you hear John speak you will hear several “F Bombs” – warning if you have your speaker on or kids around think twice. This book reinforces self accountability for anything in our lives. Make things happen for yourself. Don’t blame others, own the situations you are faced with and deal with it.

Quick video (2:20) – John Joseph on The PMA Effect
Service Fosters Happiness clip (6:48) from the Rich Roll Podcast

Podcasts

The Rich Roll Podcast: Optimizing Spring Training: Chris Hauth Returns. Combine my favorite podcast and host Rich Roll with Endurance and Ultra Endurance Coach and former pro triathlete, Chris Hauth, and magic happens. I learn so much from these two it’s nuts. I could listen to them all day long…I never care about the length and sometimes a single podcast can carry me through a couple workouts or car rides.
Topics covered in this episode (pulled from Rich Roll’s podcast notes) include:
- optimizing fitness as we transition from winter to spring;
- scheduling training in balance with real-life pressures and expectations;
- when to hold back & how to avoid doing too much;
- experimenting with race nutrition during training;
- tips to develop the nuances of swimming technique; and
- finding joy in the training process
The Exam Room Podcast: Your Chicken is Covered in Poop! I’m not going to share too much here as I will be blogging about chicken and the many myths in a future blog. It is pretty crazy how chickens are processed for consumption. Their feces/poop penetrates the chicken meat itself. So it’s not like you can simply clean it off, it’s inside the chicken. Think about that the next time you take a bite of chicken…woah.
That and other fun facts are revealed in this episode from the The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine with Dr. Neal Barnard. The podcast description includes – Neal Barnard, M.D., joins “The Weight Loss Champion” Chuck Carroll to discuss the disgusting truth about the chicken products in grocery stores. It
doesn’t matter if it’s white or dark meat—odds are that it’s covered in feces.
This is a link to my Favorite Rich Roll Podcasts by guest and topic.

YouTube

I rewatched the TED Talk – All it Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes by Andy Puddicombe. When feeling some anxiety I’ve found it so helpful in the past to meditate. I’ve been out of a consistent practice so I was hoping this would kick start me again into Headspace, the guided meditation app.
I’ve found myself rockin’ to these tunes this quarter:
- Larkin Poe – Stubborn Love
- Larkin Poe – Honey Honey
- Larkin Poe – Blue Ridge Mountains
- Little Hurricane – Bad Business
- Little Hurricane – Dream Machine
- The Regretts – Hey Now
- Cat Clyde – Sheets of Green
- Pseudo Echo – Living in a Dream – Blast from my past….Aussie rock 80s
- Tears for Fears – Break it Down Again
- Larkin Poe – The Principle of Silver Lining – Not rockin’ here but gotta find a silver lining in most situations