Sydney to Melbourne 1000km Quarantine Run & Ride
Once we get out of our own way which really is the major change which has lead to an entirely new outlook on life. It’s the flow state combined with quieting the voice and completely living from that peak state and energy we all leave up to chance to come and go. I found a way to access it daily and now that I’ve done it for quite sometime it’s become my new lifestyle and programming.
Similar to meditation the times I notice it the most is actually when I don’t do it. Body might be beat up so instead of firing out of bed and hitting that trail early morning before Chase gets up, I hit that snooze on my watch and tell my self just 30 more minutes. We all know how that works out, resistance had one the battle and the rest of the day always seems to follow suit. You must win the little battles right out the gate, for me that alarm is the biggest one to accessing my inner hero/ best self to be the best dad for my son and the other 1000’s of kids, athletes and people around the world that los at me as a beacon for what their capable of and motivation inspiration.
Back to the night before. I’d dread this day for the past month and a half even though i’d been completely present and the time spent with my son was absolutely number 1 everything else I was determined to put together around the time spent with him, sometimes it meant getting up at 4am or working till 1 rolling on 3 hrs of sleep which I did for the first week I was back trying to get up to speed with a 3 yr old. It’s hard work I’ll tell you for those of you that have kids understand completely what I mean those that don’t have kids yet you will understand one day. I’m not talking about being the half ass Dad who’s there when he wants to be or on his phone checking social media or flowing back and forth between work emails then their kids. I’m talking all in I’m here and completely present. At the end for the day that’s all kids and people want. Our presence. Ever caught up with a friend for coffee or sat at a business meeting and had the other person constantly peaking at their phone or mid conversation, saying oh hold on one second as they peak at twitter. WTF man You telling me your time is more valuable than mine. It immediately takes the wind and energy right out of the sails of the conversation. If we feel that way imagine how our kids feel. They may not voice it but they feel it. We then wonder why 10, 15, 20 yrs later why our kids now don’t have the time of day for us or can’t be present in a conversation at the dinner table whilst we’re telling them something that means a lot to us. Well, what have we taught them an instilled in them of whats ok.
I got to a point in my life and I knew I had so much more to give to the world and people around me. I had to come to that understanding myself & decide enough is enough NO MORE. From that moment on if I was going to do something I was going to do it to absolutely the best that I could and if that wasn’t good enough I was going to find someone who was the best in the world in that arena and learn how to do it bigger, better and more impactful. That includes being a dad, being a mentor, being a good friend. The one people call when shits falling apart or just hey wanted to hear your voice. Think about that are you that friend you would call with the world falling apart around you or are you that person that takes the wind out of the sails so centered on yourself and your own life’s drama. No judgement, been there but we must recognize where and who we are to make a real change or shift.
We had an amazing day woke up went to the tide pools down from Laguna Beach, had lunch at the marina then had movie night and pizza whilst watching toy story 3 with Duke kaboom (the dare devil who finally believes in himself and lands the stunt, awesome movie)
Then as we’re getting ready for bed I had the 3 books all picked out waiting in Chase’s tent whilst he walked in and stopped at the gate…Daddy “Why are you going bye bye?” I don’t want you to go daddy” …… WHAM Heart ripped out……
As I had tears rolling down my cheeks I tried to explain to my son that it had nothing to do with him and if I could I would spend all my time with him but Daddy’s got to go back to work and help kids across there world find their courage to chase their dreams. To be BRAVE. Which is something we’d talked about a lot the past month. Being brave means moving forward even when you’re scared and everything’s telling you to stop you still try anyway.
He then walked over to his bed and grabbed one of his fav fluffys (stuffed animal must be 10 in his bed lol) and came back over, here you go Dad take my fluffy with you.
Here was a 3 yr old my own son telling me to be brave in his own way. So proud and hit home pretty well. Lets go Trent!!!
As I walked onto that plane and sat their for 14 hrs in deep thought about not knowing next time I would see my son and what I was about to step into 14 days inside a hotel room I easily could of imploded right there in that seat. Lovely lady flight attended with United stopped and asked excuse me sir can I grab you anything else to eat or a bottle of water. No thank you I’m good thanks for asking. Snapped me right out of it. Pulled back to the moment sitting on that plane in seat 47J was the best thing that could have happened to me as my mind was starting to feel like it was taking control again. Immediately I made a decision I would not only thrive in this 14 days which people had continually told me oh my god poor you , don’t know how you’re going to do it, what a joke blah blah blah. Not only am I going to do it I’m going to come out of that 14 days on an entirely different level on every front!!! Bam like that I’m back.
A close friend and amazing mentor of mine Chris Adams said to me Trent there are Four QuadrantsImportant things (in your control) Not important things (in your control)
Important things (not in your control) Non important things (in your control)
It’s time especially during this 14 days to find the things you can control and the things of upmost important to my soul of who I am and what I want to become create int he world. Chase is very important part of your life but he is out of your control while you’re in quarantine and the travel restrictions are in place so you can’t dwell on what you can’t change.
IO think we can all learn so much form Chris and the graph above. What quadrants to you live in most. Are you worried about shit you can’t control that are soaking up all your energy on small un important things or things that are completely out of your control. Lets make a decision right now to start living and focusing on the important things IN OUR CONTROL.
Screach…….. As the wheels touched down in Sydney, Australia I was excited to be back but also nervous as to what was waiting for me with the quarantine situation.
As we departed the plane we all (15 passages on board) walked to customs as normal only difference you would have noticed was everyone in masks. As we turned the corner there was a Covid screening set up. With police man waiting for you as you enter. After he took my temperature “This will just be a quick covid screening this way please” the police man said. As I walked in the nurse had couple papers she went through with me asked behave I felt sick at all, sore throat, temp and on I went. This time off to customs as normal. Once I collected my bags and moved through customs I was then escorted to two nurse at a table who took my passport wrote noted and highlighted my name on a sheet of paper. I was then escorted by two police officers out to the curb where I was greeted by armoured military officers who then walked me to a coach (same style we used to ride back in the baseball days) where I sat for an hour as everyone else slowly made there way to the bus.
Nothing more eary than a bus driving with you having no idea where you’re headed to.
I watched closely each turn we made tracking which direction we were headed. As we made our way into the city my nerves began to settle a little knowing we were somewhere central and figured it will be somewhere decent as there’s a bunch of amazing hotels in the city they must have chosen from.
As we passed Hyde park and rolled in we stopped outside the Sheraton Grand Hyde park. I quickly googled hotel to see what it was like (looking back now how stupid as I didn’t have a choice and was going to go off reviews of others previously that I’m sure was a very different experience than the one I was about to endure).
Police officer walked on the bus welcoming us and handing us couple sheets of paper to fill out. Please remain seated once you’re done we will escort two people at a time off the bus into the hotel he said. As I was filling out the form my mind again started to float into the future of what was waiting for me on the inside. “Trent come back to now champion “ I said to myself as I could barely read the questions as I was not present. I got to the food requirement this was a big one for me because I planned to run from Sydney to Melbourne whilst in quarantine 870km for LandonStrong 12 yr old had been diagnosed with cancer recently so I wanted to show him how strong, inspiring and capable to keep on going more than he could imagine in 14 days comes out to about 60k a day. Way outside of my comfort zone or what previously I should have been capable of. Nothing compare to what he was about to go through but great way to shine a light on how many lives Landon has touched already in his short life and how strong he is. Also was going to help me keep focused on my WHY and what I’ve deducted my life to unconsciously the past 20 years showing people, athletes, kids we’re capable of amazing things once we get out of our own way, quiet the voices in our head and let that inner hero finally shine through.
First check in was with the hotel staff, took details passport info, food requirements and then anything else we may need.
I’m an olympic endurance athlete I mentioned to the check in staff I‘d like to stay in training whilst in quarantine and wondered how I’d go about getting a treadmill into the room. People have done it in the past the hotel clerk said once up in your room dial 9999 and the offsite hotel line should be able to lead you in the right direction. What a sigh of relief!!!! This was a big one!! Couldn’t imagine what state I would be in mentally if I couldn’t get in whats been my access to the zone my peak state the past 10 months, running.
Around the corner in single line 6 ft apart we now waited to go up to a police check in. There was four police officers all seated entering our information into their computer whilst an armoire military officer waited to the side to escort us up to our room. In closing they mentioned here’s your room with an envelope of details instructions about the coming 14 days, there is no key inside as you are to remain in your room…… Hold on my mind thought it’s self NO KEY. Holy shit it just got real……
As I walked with the military officer we got to the lift he buzzed a sensor into the elevator and we started to move towards level 2. We left the lift met two security guards looked like they were fresh out of the Star city security team both about 6’5 130kg ok point taken boys. I was then met by another military officer who grabbed my bags pushed a sensor up to the lift and pushed level 9. I tried to make small talk to lighten the situation not thinking this would be the last person I would speak with face to face for the next 14 days. Wow thinking about it now pretty crazy.
He walked me to my room opened my door helped me bring my bags inside and then he left.
Here it is…This is where it’s all about to go down for the next 14 days. Room is nice it has plenty of room, desks to work from and space to move in if I had to.
By the time I got into the room it was 9:30pm exhausted from the day I went to sleep pretty peacefully night one
Quarantine Day 1
Rise and shine. I woke around 5am day 1 excited to make the room my own put away all my clothes, set up nutrition, books everything I could to make the space my own. Then I started running. I simply couldn’t wait to try and figure out the treadmill situation figuring most places wouldn’t open till 10am and at the earliest would deliver later that night. So off I went, I moved the bed into the middle of the room pilled chairs into the bathroom moved couches and everything else I could to give me a path to run. Can’t imagine what the people below and to the side of me must have thought hahaha and to be honest I didn’t care if anything hopefully it would inspire them too get up and get moving.
I ran loop after loop sometimes changing direction going around the bas and down the hall way tot he front door and back to the opposite corner then I would switch. I had water, couple bars and some gels I would smash down during the 2 hr session and before I knew it I was 20k in. I had just ran 20k in a hotel room!!! Was I a mad man or a man on a mission?? I guess you could say I was a bit of both lol. Felt great and that runners high heart rate, peak state came back over me and I was there standing back in that heightened best ME ready to take on whatever the resit of the day through at me but most importantly I ready to stand guard against my own mind. There’s no one in this room but me and two voices, it was up to me to continually decide which one I listen to.
Knock, knock, knock
I locked at my watch and the time was 8:15am I had read in the manual that food would be delivers 3 times a day after 8am, 12 and 5pm. They would know 3 times then I was to wait 10 seconds before coming to the door and collecting my food. As I went to the door there it was my food in a plastic bag wrapped up sitting by itself at my door step. I could hear someone down the hall delivering to the other guests. Thank you “I yelled out” I hear a reply “You’re welcome” Sound of someone else’s voice so close felt very comforting i closed the door and moved towards the food bench to see inside. I had been vegetarian fo rather past 9 months and wanted to continue it especially throughout quarantine, always a crab shoot as I had no idea how the food situation was going to work and fuel was going to be key as I put my body through the stress of 870 km’s
Good was awesome, I’m a pretty simple eater so was excited to open up one plastic container and fine rice, potatos, tomatos, cauliflower and the other had more potato, tofu (stilll haven’t been able to get on board tofu since playing at tree world cup in Taiwan stinky tofu took my number and I still haven’t been able to go near it without the smell of that street stinky tofu coming back). Followed by lunch and dinner right on time.
After calling place after place trying to figure out a treadmill. Every company either was completely sold out or simply stated commercial size treadmill I would need would not fit through the door. Starting to get frustrated and second guess how I was going to pull this off. I called close friend and fellow olympian Gavin Fingleson, Nav owns o2 gyms out in Vaucluse and always finding a way to pull off the unthinkable so I gave it a shot “Gav, I need a treadmill I stated” What a treadmill he said Yep treadmill I’m in quarantine and need to run to Melbourne 870km. Treeeent are you kidding me dude that many Km’s you’re going to need a commercial size treadmill measure the door I don’t know if we’re going to pull this off he said. I downloaded an app on my phone measured the door and called him straight back 80 cm I said. Mate 86cm is my smallest one and thats not to mention it’s 120kg’s why don’t you get bike. No I have to run I said. Trent relax a second I know you want to run but whats your entire message to athletes, kids and people? Your message is not about running it’s about helping kids find their inner hero. The kids don’t care if you run or bike the fact of what you’re trying to do and how you’re flipping this shitty situation on it’s head is incredible. I’ll be there at 2pm with the bike tell the front desk I’m coming. WOW, you’re right why am I so adamant on running I shoal be grateful once again for there people around me as i took a second to catch myself as we hung up the phone.
I decided to take a quick 1 hr nap at 4pm (which I know is the ultimate no no when you’re traveling goal is to get on the time line where you’re at as soon a possible. Woke up checked my watch 10pm F…… Well now what the heck do I do. I work up my food was at the door so I ate and tried to force myself back to sleep. After wrestling and rolling around and laying there with my mind starting to wander enough was enough 2:15am lets do this!!!
Quarantine Day 2
2:15am sick of listening to my mind start muster up conversation in my head time to shine I said lets do this!!
Laced em up, rolled out and ventured over to my spot for the next 2 hours the Concept 2 Bike ERG.
I get asked a lot aren’t you tired or beat up in the morning how do you get the consistency. I don’t wait for my body to feel good or to be motivated to work out as I know those days are very far and few between. If I waited to feel good and motivated first thing in the morning that alarm clock would beat me over and over again.
What drives me and is the kicker to my discipline and consistency is the feeling I have when I don’t get in that work out or hit that alarm clock for another 30 mins or hr of sleep now I’m in catch up mode all day and totally off center. I don’t allow myself to take the day off or oh I’ll get to it later as small as that sounds I know it’s resistance trying to find it’s way back in. Start with oner day this week or maybe the weekend. Then Monday morning hits or Thursday as you’re getting further into the week and you find it harder and harder to keep up the core of what drives the rest of your day. Again it’s the little decisions we make consistently that will decide our life. It also ties back to our WHY yet again. If it’s my absolute mission to be the best version of myself for my son, myself and everyone around me then that’s enough to get me up out of bed and do the uncomfortable or keep pushing finding that 6th gear when it’s 11pm at night after an entire day on the field at a showcase event and get back to these recruiters or write notes on every coach I spoke with through out the day what they’re looking for and who they asked about. This is the mission helping change peoples lives for the better and finding that hero that lays within all of us, we just need to uncover it.
Like Michelangelo when he was asked how did you come up with the idea of the David statue. He said David was always in there I just had to chip away all the parts that weren’t part of it. Hell yeah Michelangelo, we all have that David out the perfect you inside of us, just get rid of the shit!! The garbage we fill our heads our bodies and our souls with daily.
Don’t wait to feel motivated or good to get up and start living your best life today make a commitment, draw that line in the sand and cross that bad boy with 2 feet. Make a decision starting today!! NO MORE. Once you do this, you’re simply not ok with putting off something of importance to your mission or saying i’ll do it tomorrow or later today.
When I was playing baseball, oh man. There was quite a few moving parts to the machine I was continuing to build and refine throughout the off seasons. I had former Navy Seal trainer John who would work on my rotational and overall strength, Paul was my seed trainer, Laya was my acupuncturist who would put me back together after seasons and gruelling offseason training, Peter Crone the mind architect would work on the overall pure being of everything I was trying to accomplish. If I wasn’t in control of my mind at where I was going then I would be like a ship lost at sea with no driver and useless all the time, blood, sweat and tear I was putting into turning my body into a Baseball hitting fielding & running machine. Now that is a lot to get in sometimes it would be in person other times I would have workouts or exercises I had to get it on my own thats not including daily hitting and throwing I would do. I knew I had to get these workouts done early because the later it got into the day and different things popped into my day the percentages of me getting everything in would drastically go down with every hour and so would my patients and presence as I began to get more and more frustrated with myself and missing a day was not good enough. I’m a professional athlete my body is my tool there was no excuse to not stick to the plan I had set and deliver day in day out. Thats what got me to the top and now even hardest part was to stay there!! As I look back now it’s so unconscious what was happening it’s what we all feel now. We get to the end of the day and as we lay down in bed or sit on that couch as we reflect on the day we either take a breathe and are proud of accomplishing what we set out for the day or we look back and can locate those spots throughout the day maybe we lost focus on being present or social media got he best of us, I ran out of energy at this point. This is great, don’t judge yourself or beat yourself up lets learn from it. Ok I ran out of energy, what was the energy drainers that stood out? What was my food intake like? Water, hydration. If you’re going to take your life to the next level in all areas which why NOT you need to treat yourself like a professional athlete or that sports car you’ve always dreamed of. They can do some remarkable things but if you’re not fueling it correctly or giving it ample time to cool off or put the best drover inside then we’re not running at capacity.
To much time on social media???? I’m with you it’s a constant battle. Honestly i’d love to delete it and to have it at all as it’s designed to suck you in. Obviously with businesses and mentoring people all over the world it is an amazing form of communication and keeping up to speed with what people are up to in their lives. You just need to be conscious of it. I’ll tell you whats crazy in the new phones apple and Samsung have brought out a screen time tracker of how much time you spend on your phone or social media, now that shit is SCARY!! Wow 2,3,6 hrs a day WTF imagine if we could focus that time on learning a new skill, being with our kids, training, learning a language you name it the amount of things you could do with 6 hrs a day 36 hrs a week is incredible!!
It’s especially blatant in quarantine because each day there really isn’t many distractions, I’ve been very diligent to make the absolute most of these 14 days of quarantine and honestly have a lot I want to get done. Which does include giving myself the space to meditate, create, write like I’m doing now. If you don’t plan to give yourself this time life will continually pull you left or right. Turn those notifications off!! Trust me I’ve been there I wanted to get right back to every email every facebook messenger but what it was doing was taking a way from allowing me to be my absolute best for other people in the long run. I wasn’t getting done what I had to get done and was constantly getting pulled out of that flow state all day long. I allocate couple times a day now to when I fire away at emails or jump on phone calls or reply to messages. Then back to the big building blocks of life that fill my cup and create the life I’m designing. It’s not being selfish if anything it’s the complete opposite once you understand I can be a better Dad a better mentor a better friend a better business partner if I allocate time for myself throughout the day. Now I’m not saying middle of the day during your sons soccer or baseball game or heart of the work day you disappear for a med sash or you time. You need to take a step back stand on the balcony of your life and look at the parts of it that mean the most to you and others that maybe you don’t need to be spending quite that much time on or could potentially remove them all together. Now around those things we can start to add ok I’m going to get in 2 x 45 minute workouts a day one outside. Tall order when you have a 3 yr old running businesses and training for the 6 stars world marathons. This is where the discipline and the magic comes into play. You have to find the times in the day or when to wake up or go to sleep to make it happen!! You quickly notice, ok I need to be more diligent with my time. Time is space it will get filled with something. It’s amazing how this phenomenon works. What ever size house, car, garage storage unit you get you will find ways to fill it with stuff. I’m sure at first it’s necessities and things of importance but then it gets to that point you look at it one day and say to yourself where did all this junk come from we don’t need or use half of this.
I’m convinced we are the same internally as well. What junk are we carting along with us everywhere we go in our mind, our bodies our souls that we haven’t completely let go of? From child hood, or our parents, or a trauma or being cut form a team or a falling out with a friend and still holding resentment for some reason or another or corona virus which has turned your life upside down . Once again I get in I’m sitting in a hotel room looking through window with shutters on it at the sky outside. If dwelling on this and focusing on it was the key to a kick ass life then I’d say have at it but it actually blocks us from all the good that’s trying to come in but can’t fit because all the other garbage you’ve ben programmed with your entire life are blocking it. Let’s do some internal house keeping and let go of all that baggage you’ve bene carrying with you for so long and projecting it into the future. Clear it all out to a completely blank canvas in the present here and now then form a place of space and complete presence, peaked state we can now start to prepare for a completely unlimited, amazing kick ass future which is awaiting you.
Banged out 50.1k on the bike by about 5am and now it was time to own the day!!
I’d been training past couple months and preparing g to run the Tahoe Rim trail with close friend and fellow MLB player MLB analysis Eric Byrnes. Byrnes is on an entirely different level when you talk about raising the bar and taking on incredible challenges. The guys ran a triathlon across America, I mean are you kidding me. After I completed my first Ultra early 2020 Brynes reached out and said Dude so proud of you man lets top something epic together when you get back to the States. As you could imagine this was very exciting but also quite daunting when a guy like this says lets do something epic you can guarantee it’s not going to be a sneaky 5k run up the road and back. It started with conversations about running Everest which maybe one day but that takes years of preparation and there’s a little more outside of our control than I would like when it comes to the elements and the beast of what Everest really is to take on. So we settled on the Tahoe Rim trail 170 mi in 4 days. Holy shit was this gong to be a test. Rim trail I thought it was the trails down near the water, I found out later on that top Eric was preparing us to run the sierras surrounding the most beautiful lake in the world. Trails were going to be breathtaking but so was the elevation. Eric has an extremely busy schedule as do I and logistics of trying to line all this up was going to be a mission. We settled on a time in September which was exciting because I was back in the states and the Sept/October School holiday NxtGen events wouldn’t begin to late September.
Once again here’s a nice curve ball for you Trent. Australia passes 2 week compulsory quarantine for all incoming international passengers. F…… I texted Byrnes and said hey man Australia has just passed this I’m going to have to leave on the 9th to enable enough time to quarantine and be out in time for the camps all over Sydney. Dude I’m in AZ until the 8th so earliest we could run would be the 9th. Months of preparation shattered. Once again if anything this time has shown all of us we must constantly be prepare to pivot and keep on charging forward!!
Thats honestly been one of my biggest take aways from this period and shown me my endless power to continually pivot reinvent myself and situation to not only survive but thrive. If i’m going to get knocked down I’m not going to rebuild what I had before I’m gong to take all of this and bounce upward and forward. I’m learning that is the biggest difference between myself and a lot of other athletes and people. I’m not special or talented I simply keep on going, keep getting back up over and over again. again. again . again. I mean even writing this as I look back and what I continue to do it’s creates a sense of damn dude even inside of myself.
To put the icing on the top I had one of our families form Northern California reach out that I had gotten to know and become very close with back in 2015 whilst living up there in my mother in laws loft. Yep, I’ll say it I haven’t told anyone this. I went from the absolute top playing in the big leagues all over the world to back to the U.S renting out our house in San Diego on the bay and moving up to Brentwood California as I found myself right back to ground 0…… Now what…. Which is what so many professional athletes are faced with. Their complete identity and life has been dedicated to their sport and profession when all of a sudden the day comes and you go from the top to bottom within a day. There’s no pay out or severance like normal jobs it’s simply hey thank you for everything you’ve done for the organization and team, we’re going to go in a different direction there’s a young stud coming up the ranks who is a quarter of what we’re paying you and we’ve already invested 5 million in him through the draft so all the best. Boom book closed.
So yes my life has been a constant pivot and flex even coming into each season you have no idea what the next 7 months is going to hold, where you’re going to live, where you’re going to play or how everything is gong to unfold. If you don’t learn the concept of embracing the unknown and rolling with what ever’s in front of you it’s a tireless up hill journey for most.
I guess I’ve always been wired a little different and every time I continue to find away through just prepares me for the next challenge or obstacle we’re gong to have thrown at us next.
There must be friction for growth and it’s in the uncomfortable times that we really find out what we’re made of. My greatest moments and accomplishments have been from laying flat on my face and after taking what seems like haymaker after haymaker I get back to my feet. David Goggins calls it taking Souls you may call it resilience it’s that moment in life where you’ve told yourself I’m at the absolute end of my rope I couldn’t possibly take another hit and boom there it is. And you no what somehow you find a way to keep moving get back up you know why. Because you don’t have a choice!!! No one is coming to save you, there’s no calvary, yes you may have amazing people around you but end of the day it’s on you. Do you get back up and keep moving or do you let it keep you on that canvas.
I think that’s why I love the Rocky movies so much!! I can relate and have felty it in every arena i’ve stepped into with both feet. You have to know the knocks are coming and when you’re ready for it or they blindside you, the n and only then you’ll know you’re on the right path and this is the test of how bad do you want it. This is the moment 98% of people turn around and head back. What are you going to do????
But what is it internally that gets us back up or keeps us going. We just told ourselves I’m at 100 and 10% of what I can possibly take but then we’re thrown another challenge and surprise surprise we handle it.
Hold on a second…….We’re breaking through ……
Yes, there’s an entirely other level on that other side of the wall, the unknown, the pain, that gas fastball. It’s here where life is!!!!
YES!!!!!
Now you don’t want to wish those times on anyone or voluntarily go back into them but thats where the difference is!! It’s the ability to overcome the odds, get back up keep charging. That Rocky type hero that we all love that keeps coming back and eventually wins and is the Champion of the World.
Now you create or design that champion of the world. Rocky was boxing, mine is in the athletic and mentoring world yours may be in the parenting, or professional world but we have to have that mission that destination we’re all hinting striving for.
Recently I met with Nico Marceleno down in San Diego. You talk about energy Nico is off the charts holy shit this guy incredible. He’s a former marine and founder of the operation rebound foundation which helps injured marines and military officers access state of the art prosthetics, enter the olympic games, dec see dive, run marathons all sorts of amazing things.
Interestingly enough when I asked him whats the difference between the soldiers that return and thrive vs the ones that come back and seem to be completely lost and have a hard time finding their way again. He answered “They need a mission” “We’re so engrained through our training to follow orders and that’s what we know here’s our task now go complete the mission” Wow!!! I found myself on the other side of the breakfast table just jaw dropped of how we’re all programmed very similar. As athletes I know my way back was through setting goals well beyond what I’m currently capable of then figuring out a mission and daily training on how I was going to slowly day by day get there. It’s having that purpose !!!
He told me of a Navy diver that had returned and lost his eye site, he called Nico and said I need a new wetsuit. Nico said whats wrong with the one I just got you? I need a XXXL. Nico said they don’t make them that big sounds like what you need is to get back in shape. Tough love but the truth. Mission accepted. Guy called Nico month later and thanked him, he had dropped 25 pounds and was now able to fit back in his wetsuit and felt better than he’d felt in months as he had a daily work out regimen and was diligent on what he was now putting inside his body.
So powerful!!! Lets mission up people!!
Back to NorCal. I woke up to a message which read Trent thanks for asking how the boys are doing couple weeks ago. Wanted to let you know Landon has been diagnosed with Cancer and will start 9 months of cancer in the coming weeks…..
Holy shit what do I say to a 12 yr old who’s just been given news like this but also someone who is such an inspiration and role model of pure strength and resilience to step up and prepare to fight this. What do you say to your hero?
I planned on dedicating the Tahoe Rim trail to Landon #LandonStrong and with Tahoe only being 3 hrs away was going to organize Landon to meet us at the finish line would have been amazing and great way to shine a light on how many lives around the world Landon has touch and inspired. This now wasn’t going to happen so it was back the drawing board. Weirdly enough over the past 6 months about 5 people had sent me this article on a farmer who numerous times ran form Sydney to Melbourne they even named a the cliffy shuffle after him. This guy would beat professional runners half his age with all the running gear whilst he would run in work boots and overalls. Cliffy would not stop he wouldn’t sleep he was slower but whilst everyone else slept he continued closing the gap and pulling away. 870km without sleeping or stopping is hard to comprehend what an amazing example of what we all have deep within us he also sounds a little loppy hahahaha.
You know what I’ll run from Sydney to Melbourne whilst in quarantine for Landon. 14 days broken down would be about 60k a day for 14 days holy shit no idea how I was going to pull this off but you know what it’s nothing compared to a 12 yr old standing up to and fighting cancer. Lets do it!!! You got this Lando
So I sent it out and the love and messages that came rolling in were absolutely incredible. During times like these it’s amazing to see people read something like this and all of a sudden have things put back into perspective for them.
Once we can change the lens we see a situation or even our entire lives everything shifts!! This has been one of my newly found super powers and way I’m able to do what I am in seemingly turbulent times.
A Nurse called today and asked how I was feeling?? I replied I’m great, Ok a bit thrown back by my energized answer well keep us posted if anything changes, we’re also checking on your mental health as well, how are you feeling mentally. Ok here is where it got very interesting. A nurse from the outside doing her job bless her soul and probably calling all 15-20 people in the hotel from the outside calling in with a coffee in hand sitting at here desk next colleagues asked me how I’m feeling mentally. I’ve done a lot of work on the mental side of my life through sports the mind along side some of the best in the world at what they do. There is something unconsciously that you immediately feel a disconnect as that person just hasn’t been in my current shoes and doesn’t understand. It was the same throughout my baseball career how was I suppose to explain what I was going through to my parents or closest friends when it was very tough for them to relate. Running, if you haven’t been at that point 40k in with your body and legs shutting down staring at that next flight of stairs as your legs are cramping up with 60k to go then we can only relate so much in this particular instance. I think this what kids feel so much these days that we as parents, friends or sometimes even mentors don’t understand….. This was one of the biggest drivers to turn my life completely upside down. I no longer wanted to stand in front of these kids hanging of my every word on how they were going to achieve their dreams, telling them what I used to do when I was at the top when I was no longer growing, stretching pushing limits myself. I didn’t want to be that ex Major Leaguer living off his success form the past. I wanted to earn the right to be a mentor.
A good mentor can change a game
A great mentor can change a life
After really sitting with my thoughts on how the phone call made me feel. I decided to call every room on my floor of the people staying in quarantine at the same hotel. I’ve never met these people but we’re bonded as we’re experiencing something that no one else understands unless you’re actually going through it. The simple mundane things we all take for granted like a fellow smile being able to talk with someone face to face see their emotions, go for a walk breathe fresh air. Your family, friends, loved ones simply won’t understand unless they’re also sitting in this room with no room key.
This is similar to obsession and everything we’ve covered thus far in this book. If you haven’t been through it you simply don’t understand the power of obsession or the feeling once it takes over. It can be shone on as negative and thrown into the category of addiction and pain. But it’s really not once you feel it and it’s positive pull there’s nothing better in life.
Some people we spoke for 2 minutes others 30 minutes. As uncomfortable as it was for me to pick up the phone and dial someone I had no idea who they were what they looked like where they were from it was absolutely incredible the energy and the feeling we created of togetherness through that phone line.
Once we get beyond ourselves and find that higher purpose to help others all of a sudden all our barriers and issues we may have been battling with seem to fall away. There’s nothing better in life than helping another see through a different lens or shine light on a situation which could so easily be shone on as an incredibly difficult time. I wanted to let them know it’s ok and instead of wasting this time feeling sorry for ourselves how can we make the most of it and come out of here enhanced awesome versions of ourselves.
Amen !!!
3 o’clock I heard a knock at the door. This wasn’t meal time, so pondered if I was hearing things already hahahaha. They knocked again so this time I walked to the door and opened it to see two nurses with gloves and masks on Covid testing they said.
I’d heard horror stories form friends about this process so built it up in my head that this was going to be the test from hell. I HATE needles also similar to this test isn’t it interesting how the build up, fear, anticipation in our minds is WAY worse than the actual test or injection itself which may be uncomfortable for a second or couple second then completely disappears and a sense of peace comes over us after beating ourselves up worrying about it all day, week or sometimes even months.
Wow, this was so similar to everything we all feel when we try to predict into the future. I remember whilst playing in L.A with the Dodgers some days I dreaded going to the field about that at bat I might get that night and potentially striking out. What the heck dude, you waited your entire life to get here and now you’re driving in you Jaguar sports car along the free way from Manhattan Beach into DODGER STADIUM!!! Are you kidding me this is what you always dreamt of!!! Wow, looking back on that time is amazing to now see through the eyes I now have on performance and flow state. Now wonder I wasn’t performing the way I want to I had a 600 pound Gorilla riding shot gun with me every day jumping on my back as I stepped into that batters box every night. I should have played 10 years in the big leagues, I’m at peace and very grateful the way my career turned out cause it made me who I am today plus to bad if you’re not cause that’s the way it did hahahaha there’s no other reality you can choose. But it allows us to reflect and learn/pivot use what we’ve been through to enhance the next phase of our lives.
Think about those things in your life that your holding yourself back because of FEAR….. similar to that injection or Covid test is it that conversation with your partner or speaking up at work with a new idea that you’ve been to scared to propose to your boss or having the heart to heart with your kids and simply asking them how are you doing and LISTENING!! They are going through a million things in their lives that we didn’t have to. It’s different times with social media and technology then you over lay the current situation of Covid on top of it holy shit these kids need us more than ever and there’s no outlet for them with sports shut down and everything they knew now being turned upside down as we adapt to the new normal.
Back against the door the male nurse said. As I backed up to the door propping it open he said ok throat swab first and stuck a swab deep down the back of my throat rolling it around ensuring he got bunch of saliva. He then grabbed a long cue stick and said head against the door. As I backed my head to the door I awaited the one I’d been dreading for days. He stuck it up my nostril ok not to bad I said to myself, then continued to double down what felt like into my eye socket “oh yeah there it is I said to myself he counted to 5 and removed the swab. Phew glad thats over I said to myself. Ok next nostril…… Damn it I said… Up he went again 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5, ok done you’ll have results in 2 days. and off they went. I felt like saying listen guys I’m rolling out 60k, 100 push ups, dip, sit-ups every day I’m fit as a fiddle no nee rot come back here champions but in a flash they were on to the next room.
Another knock at the door. Mum’s bag of goodies. I think Mum must have thought I was in here for 11 months not another 11 days hahaha. Gotta love Mums.
Quarantine Day 5
Decided to raise the bar and ride 100k this morning. It’s been sort of nice riding because it’s an entirely new endeavour for me. I have no idea whats considered solid distance or good pace so I’m really setting may own standard. Las couple days I had blasted out 50/60k’s towards the end fatigue was setting in but most of all the uncomfortable feeling in my butt was the worst. I don’t know if you’ve ver rides a bike for an extended amount of time before…Holy moly at times when I move positions between the handle bars or sit up the feeling can be excruciating. This was my main concern about doubling down and taking on the triple digit marker of 100k. About hour 45 in that mind started kicking in come on dude just stop at 2 hrs like you have the past couple days and bang out another 30/50 this afternoon. Hmmmm we’ve all heard this voice before just do it later or I’ll do it tomorrow. Well 9.9 times out of 10 that tomorrow or afternoon sash never comes as the business of the day pulls you left or right especially if you’re a parent or business owner it never ends. Lets get it I said to myself pushing through. I wanted to send Landon who I’m riding for to show him my accomplishment for the morning sash. 99998, 99999 the it clicked over to 0 hold on a second what just happened. I’d rode so far the machine no longer went up any higher no one in their right mind is going to continuously ride 100 000 meters in one sitting. Well they did today. That felt pretty cool I rode further thn the machine allocated for but also just as interesting that feeling came back over me of complete control. and victory over the mind creating an ultimate presence and peacefulness almost like I had a new found sense of space (what an oxymoron as I’m currently sitting in a hotel room)
It’s the constant battle every single day of over coming that mind or ego thats sitting on our shoulder telling us do it later or no you can’t possibly do that stay here in your comfort zone where it’s safe. Thats what the mind, ego or voice in your head is designed to do, keep you safe. But in playing safe you’re missing the magic of life. Think of it in a baseball sense if you wanted to play it safe and avoid the uncomfortable you’d never step up to the plate. But only when we step up and potentially allow ourselves to fall down or make an out do we have the potential for the absolute blissful feeling that not much on this earth can match when that ball meets the middle of the bat and flys into the outfield grass or over that fence. Allowing fear to overcome us and never stepping up we’d never allow ourselves to access that feeling. Well it’s the same in all walks of life Gretsky the greatest hockey player of all time said “you miss al the shots you don’t take”
Think about how many times we have a great idea or say to ourselves I’m going to do this or would love to do that.
Time to step up and start taking those shots my friend.
Fredie Rosevelt said it best when he said
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”Amen!!!
In this day and age these people are also known as trolls they are the people that cruise social media ripping on people who are in the arena giving it their all prepared to be knocked down knowing you will keep on going until you get the result you want. Kids these days have to deal with this constantly as their entire life revolves around this and what their peers or school mates think or say about them. There’s another way around this as well. And that’s to dive in so intensely obsessed about accomplishing your target with blinders up where you don’t even see or hear the bullshit around you. Surround yourself with those that are also driven and either working towards or already accomplished the very thing you’re after. This is POWER power is your ability to get shit done!!!
I get it….. I know the world is very different what these kids have to deal with nowadays. I was on the phone just yesterday with a kid who was getting bullied at school and I could tell was beginning to really get bothered by it, to the point it was affecting his training, concentration and even ability to get out of bed as they didn’t want to face another day of what may be waiting for him. I tried to explain to him the only reason these kids are doing this is 1. They’re jealous, they know you’re accomplishing amazing things on the field well beyond anything they could imagine themselves doing. 2. If they sense it’s getting to you they’re just going to keep going to get a reaction out of you. Ice cold brother hold that chin and chest up high a much as it hurts you need to be bullet proof around them if you’ve tried talking to them and they continue they are just trying to get attention from their friends. You’re almost to school holidays after 2 weeks of not seeing each other and something else grabbing their attention and the current circumstances will be a distant thought well in your rear view mirror.
As Teddy mentioned these fellow kids are the cowards sitting in the grand stands pointing out how one in the arena may have stumbled but at the end of the day is displaying the ultimate test of BRAVERY.
Quarantine Day 6
Yesterday was the toughest day so far. As I woke up this morning and was able to take a step back little bit slow down it was amazing the realization which yesterday gave me.
I’m in a hotel room. There’s no one in here but ME. So why was I in such unrest yesterday?? Certain things came up on a black box with a glass screen (my phone) and conversations which again any unrest is always an opportunity to uncover areas where you need more work. Anything and everything that happens or people say is completely outside of your control, it’s exactly the same as this current situation we’re in with Covid. It’s simply a circumstance thats IT. It’s a circumstance now the constant video or programming inside each of us will determine our reaction to it. But the reaction is entirely made up. 100 people will all have a different reaction to align with the STORY they’re telling themselves internally. Yes, thats right STORY, completely made up. If someone says something to you and it rustles your feathers again it’s bringing to the surface some internal programming that needs so more work to freely lead the kick ass FREE from restraints life we all desire.
In the world completely present but not attached to it. Things will come up as they always do. We simply “handle it” without getting our panties in a twist and keep on moving. It’s the energy burned making up the entire story about why’s someone is doing or said this or that that is the killer and completely not needed or real. It’s completely made up inside of our heads!! Which is the craziest discovery of all. It’s all an assumption. We don’t know whats going on inside others heads or their intentions our story we’re telling ourselves simply reacts to it. Could be spot on or totally off but they’re both a guess and made up which is dangerous.
Waking up and staring at the bike which has become my new found friend for some time and what awaits me after another 2:15 minutes and 60km I also have learnt to completely trust that once I get going everything will fall into place. There’s a sense of faith and connection that arises when we tap into the flow state. To take it to an entirely new level this morning I also put on the laptop playing in front of me the legend himself Peter Crone, the mind architect.
P.C and I have worked closely for years now and his work is amazing. Because it’s primarily about showing you that the perfect you is already inside once we dig deep enough to take out all the bs or limiting beliefs that is constantly driving our lives.
It’s not about get out and grid work harder, harder, harder. Yes, there ha to be action for results bu there has to be harmony and the output, energy expelled must match the language, should and being internally otherwise it’s a never ending battle of push and pull. You’ll get a bit of momentum then slip right back to square one as you’ll be burned the hell out. Plus it just doesn’t sound like a very uplifting inspiring way to live. Working our guts out front he minute we wake up till we go down to sleep with no energy or capacity for anything else.
We are exactly where we are supposed to be. If you don’t like it then you’re only fighting what is. You have to be where you are and at peace with it to move forward. It’s not about obtainment of physical things or status or money. You must be ok with where you are and what you have because it’s constantly evolving and changing just like everything else in life. The attachment to these things or once I get here or there is actually the very reason keeping us trapped, because it’s an illusion we have everything we’re after at our very finger tips NOW. Thats the entire game We all know plenty of people with all the money in the world who are completely miserable and the family in Africa from the small village with what seems like absolutely nothing but are completely happy!!
It’s the ability to completely content where we are with the belief that what we’re working on and evolving into will come into fruition at jus the right time. Life’s working for us not against us.
Lets get it today TEAM
Once we really get this there’s a complete sense of freedom and limitless that comes over us.
Quarantine Day 14
It’s been a while since I checked in.
Isn’t it amazing as we get busier all of a sudden different things take our energy and consume our time. The key message here is you have to stay connected to your “WHY” key core components to what drive you and get you up at “currently 3 oclock in the morning” as I had a surge of energy restlessness that it’s been a couple days since I sat down and really wrote.
Mate you were just part of history that only a certain amount of people across the globe have experienced. It also puts things into perspective when you think about Ann Frank, who I’ve been lucky enough to see the home and room she hid away from the Nazis for 2 years without leaving and definitely without the amenities and 3 meals a day I was privileged to receive.
As you allow things to consume your day generally those things that actually mean the most to you generally seem to be the fist to disappear.
As I reflect the first week I was writing like an absolute machine and noticing that it I was thoroughly enjoying it, I hadn’t had time the past couple months between the early running before Chase awoke and then wanting spend all the time I could with him when he was awake.
Then came to the second Friday and I had enrolled in an energy course that went 12 hours a day sometimes longer whilst having to get in my 3.5 hr 60/100k bike ride depending how I was going time wise each morning. Talk about exhausted, some nights I would fall asleep in my chair at the desk and wake up with the course still going. It was a live event with 1000’s of people but we all had our cameras on so I’m sure someone behind the scenes was having a good laugh hahaha.
I had consciously swapped those 4 days for my writing and the hours of business emails/calls I usually take on daily. As I said it was conscious and it was 4 days. But moving forward it has taught me to just be careful to not allow to much slip in to our daily routine in which it takes us away both capacity wise and energy wise to do what actually has the biggest impact and fits closest with our mission.
The course was amazing and i’m very glad I immersed myself in the 48 hours of classes as it’s always quite life changing. It also shows me yet again that repetition is the mother of mastery & what better way to expedite the entire process than to put yourself in state and completely immerse yourself.
As I woke on the final day it was honestly an interesting feeling as I’d become comfortable with the uncomfortable. what ones seemed like it was going to be an ultimate test now had me contemplating how long potentially I could stay lol. Just like everything we chat about it really is quite amazing how quickly we can adapt to those uncomfortable situations we’re usually dreading and fighting to find hey hold on a second this really isn’t to bad & ask what is the lesson in this.
I’d been tested for Covid day 2 and day 10 both came back the following day negative. Then last night I had my final screening which entailed a knock and me opening the door to find one military officer, two policeman, a nurse and a doctor all standing at my doorstep to the room. Holy moly talk about quite the site after not seeing another human in the flesh for the past 13 days.
They gave me final screening, exit paper work, a certificate saying congratulations Trent Oeltjen room 934, a wristband which the nurse said don’t get wet. In the back of mind was I have another 50k to ride tonight and 110k tomorrow morning I’m about to get this thing not only wet but drenched in sweat. And like that they all moved onto the next room.
As I walked my room one last time for the fourth time making sure didn’t forget anything, which of course I did and possibly the most important thing in there, my photo frames of Chase and I running on the beach together at his 3rd birthday party. Luckily when I called they had located the frame and I could swing by the following morning to pick them up.
As I took a final look at the room, I had this deep feeling of thankfulness for what was originally an uncomfortable situation turn into quite a self awakening journey. You usually here of people disappearing into the jungle for a month or on walk about in the outback. Mine was right here at the Sheraton Hotel of Hyde Park in room 934.
As time hit off I went out into the hall way to find couple of the other guests also eager to leave as their 14 days was now up as well. I wondered how different all of our stays must have been. Would anyone possibly even believe that I just run/rode the equivalent of Sydney to Melbourne 1000km in my room, burned 44,000 calories, 105L of water, 45 hours of riding time, 53 hours of online classes and 3 books.
Right as I smiled underneath my mask whilst waiting in line fo the lift I could hear a lady couple people back from me go on complaining about the food and how she was loosing her mind, no window, was jealous others had balconies. You name it she was all over it. I felt like turning around explaining to her theres a 14 year old San Francisco undergoing chemo therapy and blood transfusions in the fight of his life who would gladly trade places with you to be healthy in a 5 star hotel room eating 3 meals a day which are delivered to your door step.
No judgment, whoever you were but I wish now I had of engaged in the conversation explaining to her my experience. When the student is ready the teacher will appear, guess she wasn’t ready yet lol.
After a quick chit chat with the security guards at the lift. Down I went there next check point with the police, paperwork, passport and wristband please. Here you go sir and off I went around the next corner.
Final check out was with who I guess was hotel staff she said your good to go. “Is there a bill or will you mail something to me” I asked. She walked over to the computer tapped away for couple minutes only to return with “no, it seems there’s no charge the government has take care of it for you” “Did you book before quarantine went into place” she asked. It was like once of those cartoons where you look one way then look back and the cartoon character had mysteriously disappeared into a cloud of smoke haha. That was me. Poof he gone. $3,500 still in my pocket, thank you government.
As hotel staff helped with my bags up the stairs and placed my bags out on the curb I waked through those doors and took what felt like the absolute deafest breath of fresh air I’ve ever felt rush into my lungs. Waked out into the gutter so I could see the sky and over to my l left I could see the centre point tower just glowing as the sun shined off it. Ahhhh freedom I sighed to myself as I waited for my Uber. But not freedom in a physical sense of being outside it was a deeper sense of freedom internally from the story we are all telling ourselves. I finally felt truly at peace, completely centered but now came the real test how do you keep this going whilst 99.99% of the world hasn’t just had 14 days of isolation to find themselves.
To be continued……
Thank you to everyone who dropped off food & gifts. I really did feel special with so many people reaching out to check in on me.
Thank you!!!
Trent Oeltjen