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Challenge to Grow. 50k Debrief + Vector Project
290 Plays9 months ago
K and Bill sit down to chat about their 50k experience 36 hours earlier. They share why they signed up, what was challenging, and why events like these are so valuable for growth. They also discuss how the VECTOR PROJECT is a great opportunity for people who want to access the same kind of growth experience through an endurance event.
To learn more about the VECTOR PROJECT visit https://btwntheears.com/the-vector-project/
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Transcript
Physical State and Competitive Spirits
00:00:05
billbte
All right. Here we are. Here we are. How are you feeling? Great. Yeah. You're actually feeling pretty good. You feel better than me. How would we know who's feeling better? It's impossible. I think the walk test, see who's walking more. I was definitely walking better this morning. Yeah.
Introducing the Vector Project
00:00:27
billbte
So today, we're going to talk about, we're really talking about an upcoming event and training ah that we're doing called the Vector Project. But because we just did this weekend, this Saturday, today's Monday, a 50K trail run. It was actually 33 point something, slightly more than 50K.
00:00:54
billbte
um And we had that experience. We felt like it was a great opportunity to just talk about doing something challenging, training, or not training for things that are challenging, yeah the value of an event, all that. So it was kind of a perfect time. um The Vector Project is a nine-week training program.
00:01:17
billbte
that culminates in an event, which is a 12-mile ruck into a six-mile run. No weight. No weight on the run. Right. And so that program has a weekly run workout, ruck workout, strength session focused on. Yeah, three workouts a week to prepare you for what most would say is not something you should just show up and do. Yeah.
00:01:46
billbte
Yeah. Which is exactly what we did.
Unprepared 50K Trail Run Experience
00:01:48
billbte
Right. More or less. In terms for the 50K. We did not train for the 50K. Right. But speaking to the Vector Project, that is a nine week training program leading up to an event now. That event for people that are listening and might be like, well, I could never run six miles. It's.
00:02:05
billbte
It is able to be tweaked per individual. There might be some walking. But the point is, it's culminating in an event that like should have a little bit of a, you know, hmm, that could be challenging. That should challenge you. Right. Totally. So that depends on the individual, what weights in the rock. All those details are kind of person dependent. um But in this case, there is a training program. So the 50K. The 50K, yeah. Our event that we just did.
00:02:35
billbte
Well, not our event. but So in May, I like to do endurance events. We know this. Yeah. So I had kind of wanted to do something different that I'd never done before. And I'd never run farther than a marathon. And um I'd never done a trail run. So I signed up and I had plans to train for 16 weeks. Yeah, you did. That's right.
00:03:03
billbte
And I got about a week, maybe two weeks into a training program, which was great. A friend of mine, ah Nast, she wrote it. It was very knowledgeable. But I made a decision at that point that I actually didn't have the capacity to to train at that time in my life or the desire. So I didn't. And then you decided a few weeks ago, along with two other friends, that you would also do this event. What made you just decide at the last minute to do this?
00:03:33
billbte
Because that's not really, you haven't been doing endurance things. I've never done any event that requires registration. Right. Like you've done the military endurance, but not for like recreation. That's right. So why did you- chemo, chemo, a friend of ours chemo asked if I was going to do it, if I was interested in doing it and like why, why wouldn't I or would I? And you know, we were kind of hanging around talking and,
00:04:02
billbte
you know, I didn't really have a good answer so other than, yeah, other than like, yeah, I just don't feel like it. Right. You know, I mean, and not to say that you have to have a direct, clear, concrete answer for everything in life. But I didn't, in that moment, I didn't like that. I did not have a legitimate answer that didn't sound more like I just don't want to be inconvenienced.
Embracing Challenges and Personal Growth
00:04:28
billbte
Sure. And I make a living.
00:04:31
billbte
And my life is sort of dedicated to navigating challenging experiences with people. So I feel like it's my responsibility step to not yeah to step into that.
00:04:47
billbte
And so I said, and fuck it, let's do it. And then we kind of had a ah very challenging August, arguably going into this event. Our fitness was probably ah not at a high point, I'd say. Bottom third. Yeah.
00:05:03
billbte
so You know, we wanted to talk a little bit about like, what's the value though, of challenging yourself. And of course there are life challenges that present themselves to people. And typically those are like, hopefully unexpected and unfortunate. But these are events and things that you can step into and and purposefully say like, I'm going to take on this challenge. And what's interesting about them is they, while they're a physical exercise,
00:05:35
billbte
It's, in my opinion, like 99% mental. The challenge becomes mental. Of course, there's the physical that opens that door. um So, you know, I mean, obviously you're saying you felt like you wanted to challenge yourself and do that because that's important to you with what you do for your work.
00:05:58
billbte
um but anything else on like what you think the value of like when you had the, when you did the event, what was challenging for you this weekend? What would you classify as like, were you challenged by the 50 K? yeah What was that? And like, what did you feel like you got from it?
00:06:20
billbte
It was definitely challenging physically. I started feeling pain very early on inside two hours of a seven hour event, a little over seven hours. Um, so physically it was very challenging. It hurt. There was a lot of pain. Um, I was challenged mentally by
Mindset and Mental Challenges
00:06:50
billbte
having to be honest with myself and factor in the fact that I did not train. Like I've put myself in the hospital by being dumb when it comes to like pushing myself beyond what my beyond what my body can tolerate. People say, oh, your mind, your body, can there's a physical limit to it. And I've done that.
00:07:11
billbte
um and and And those were very difficult to... They were challenging. and and you know And part of the challenging thing, I think, for me to offer like a framing, I don't feel challenging necessarily as this like overly heavy thing. Challenge is simply not knowing how it's gonna go. yeah and And that's kinda how it is. So I challenged myself more so from a place of curiosity in the intention, which was the primary intention was, can I do this? Right. Not really having data to prove or, well, I've done this, I've done that. It was sort of like, I don't know what's going to hurt, what's going to come up, how it's going to go. And yeah here I go. Challenge is a question. That's all it is. So go into that with curiosity and and be honest through that process. That is challenging. And I use this 50K also as an opportunity to validate
00:08:11
billbte
some of the mindset work we've been yeah formalizing more. And that's probably a separate podcast, but that project, which is really, really cool and really exciting, worked wonders. Yeah, yeah you need a you need an experience for those yeah to test them. Yeah. So you know in that regard, I was like,
00:08:35
billbte
Afterwards, I thought, i like I said to you, I was like, man, I thought I was actually moving faster. um So that's a challenge to me in terms of how I view myself and my capability and you know all of that. And you know I was challenged by um really having, on the fourth or fifth full lap, having to walk a lot of it more than I had any other lap.
00:08:59
billbte
And be humble and be, and be honest with that because my intention also was to finish strong, always finish strong and run as much as, unless it was a, unless it was an uphill run every bit of that final 10 K. And, um, so yeah, so that, that was good. But how about, you know, you said you you struggled.
00:09:17
billbte
Yeah. When you say like challenging doesn't always have to be heavy. Like for me, I had like a heavy challenge and I think what's weird or strange about this event is there was never a question about like walking and finishing in the time. So then the next question is like, okay, so if like you could walk, like what, then what was so hard about that moment of doubt. And it does come down to wanting to continue to push yourself. And for me, I think not knowing, am I going to be able to push myself further? Or am I just going to... So not knowing if you could perform? Yeah. In that moment,
00:09:57
billbte
Like there was no quite, it's like a weird thing. It's like, well, I know I could have walked and finished, but then was, is that my best? Is it the best I could do? So it's this is like question of like, when it's really hard, like what is my best? Like being honest about that. And then there's like pressure with that in for me. yeah But yeah, for me, I had actually done the loop a couple of times, like not a couple in a row, but like I did the loop. Came back another day, did the loop. Yeah.
00:10:25
billbte
One loop, turned out, it's not that hard. It was the multiple. But yeah, I think what I mean by like the mental challenge is like the pain is pain is paint is pain. It's what, for me, what started to happen and what that story was in my mind, what that was telling me. The pain was starting to like, now I was creating a story and a narrative around it that I'm old, I'm i'm less than, i'm What am I doing? like I'm never good at things. And that was like pulling me down. And then the overwhelm of how much further there was. So similarly, I also employed the one of our mindsets, um you know Be Here Now. And I think one of the things that was so beautiful about that is it is like a mantra that really worked for me. yeah Because it wasn't just say it once and i like, oh, yeah, be present. It was kind of like, OK, just coming back to it, coming back to it. and um
00:11:24
billbte
So yeah, it was the value of that challenge for me. In every endurance event I've done, I've had yeah a challenge. Arguably, if you finish and there was never a challenge, it's like kind of like, eh, maybe I didn't like go hard enough. like could think that That's the nugget. you know um So I think the value of like why try something that's challenging is because it might sound cliche, but if you don't experience growth from that, like you you missed it. So i don't I definitely don't think you might have a challenge and not choose to grow from it, but you're definitely not going to grow without a challenge. so No. yeah I think too, it gives, we talked about this yesterday, but it gives,
Endurance Events as Emotional Amplifiers
00:12:10
billbte
Um, just material to digest yeah and lessons to learn. And, you know, I think endurance events, and I say this now, I can say this as an endurance athlete, having done one, having done a lot of long distance, solo movements. movements
00:12:34
billbte
Endurance type events like that are similar to like lowercase P psychedelic like experiences in the framing that psychedelics are often called non-specific amplifiers. right Whatever's happening within you is going to be amplified and come out. Because almost like the body is breaking down and those the the b yeah mechanisms are sort of Yeah, the body's breaking down. I think there's also the thing of physical movement. who There's the bilateral stimulation, which has an effect on neural networks. Yeah. And there's the, there's the time with yourself. Sure. You know, we were talking to my little brother, Tommy, and he was like, yeah, he asked me like, you know, what playlist and I said, you know, like, I didn't listen to a second of
00:13:27
billbte
music. And he was like, Oh, you know, like raw dog. in it And now I've driven across the country looking through the windshield without ever turning the radio on. And maybe be that's psychopathic, but like, it does but the point is, is, you know, you have an opportunity to be with yourself sure for a long time, yeah which is challenging for a lot of people. So that is one of the reasons why I think these events are You know, our friend Stacy just finished at fucking midnight this morning, Iron Man, Wisconsin. Like why, you know, it's amazing the growth, the transformation, the breakdown and the build up. That's all, man, you can go super spiritual with that if you wanted, but it's... And I think the duration, one of the things was like, why this? why
00:14:17
billbte
these types of events, even vector project, there's a reason why it's longer. Because while there might be an uncomfortable workout you do 15, 20 minutes, you're just not accessing the range of emotions and those different highs and lows that you go through. So um yeah, so basically, these events, I think just inherent in them have an ability to challenge yourself mentally, physically,
Training Philosophy vs. Exercise
00:14:45
billbte
um And that's kind of why we, you know, one of the reasons we created the vector project, something too, that's accessible. yes I don't, yes, anyone, a lot of people could walk a 50 K, but this is like the duration, the rucking, it's all very accessible to people. And that is also something we wanted to have as an event. um So that's kind of why we also,
00:15:09
billbte
did it that way. um Not everybody wants to go run or bike a hundred miles. So now we didn't train for this. However, I think we've been training the way we train. It was kind of and a great way to validate kind of how we do things on a day to day, but for this particular project,
00:15:30
billbte
There is specific training for the vector project. right so And yeah we think that's valuable for several reasons. Most people would say we would generally tell people you should train for things. um So yeah we talk a lot about training, the difference between training and exercise. How do you basically you have a pretty black and white line for that. What do you say? I can tell the extent to your of your training based upon the extent of what you're sacrificing.
00:16:00
billbte
And if you're not sacrificing anything, we'll we'll talk about physical, we'll talk about the gym, we'll talk about movement. If you're not sacrificing modalities, types of workouts, et cetera, you're not training. Training is not a process of adding more. Training is a process of taking more away. Right. And I think people can get confused by that as well because I think often people think of training as like, oh, doing more or like the the things I really like. Sometimes training is like,
00:16:30
billbte
taking it, taking a step back, doing some of the things that might be productive for the training, but they're not exactly what you prefer to do. So sacrifice doesn't just mean sacrificing time more, you know, I think people can get wrapped up in that where it's like, Oh, yeah, I'm training, I'm doing all this stuff.
00:16:47
billbte
But it's really like dialing in and having it be very effective, which can sometimes mean less and different than maybe what you want to do. Yeah, for sure. And you have to focus on it. And when you focus on a specific pursuit, however... Other things have to fall away. Yeah, other things have to fall away.
00:17:10
billbte
to include maybe secondary and tertiary effects body composition how you're feeling your your your health like Joked about it, but like my god if I don't get a cavity or diabetes by the end of this 50k It's gonna be a minor miracle, but like yeah, you know, so if you're training for something Show me what you're sacrificing and I'll show you if you're training and we can Sign that so for us
00:17:40
billbte
how we quote unquote train, how we prepare, how we exercise is not training in the sense that we're not really sacrificing. We're doing a little bit of everything. sure And more so than a CrossFit thing where we're generalists, we do a little bit of everything. No, we push that out further right and include different things.
00:18:05
billbte
So for us, for me, I wanted this 50K to be, you know, in the summer and a few months back, we did the whole litmus thing. We had a couple sessions of that and we'll bring it back at some point, but for me, it was a personal litmus. Yeah. Let me see. Let me dip this litmus paper into my fitness that, and that is a 50K. Will I pass? Will I fail? It's going to be very, it's going to be one or the other.
00:18:34
billbte
Different from, if you had said, I'm going to train for this, the sacrifice would have been, you would have had to probably, when you talk about even body comp, like you would have to be running more.
00:18:45
billbte
there would be some sacrifices there. So on all fronts, but yeah as it relates to the vector project, one of the things I like about it is well, yes, there is this there's commitment, there's consistency, because it's a rock and a run and the distances we've chosen woven in there are actually some really good things for overall strength like it's kind of sneaky in that of course there's sacrifice and there's more about like preferences like you might not prefer like ah I don't really feel like rocking today and it's like but this week like you need to get this in right but I like it in that you're it's a
00:19:22
billbte
It is an event that prepares you in a way that's healthy and promotes longevity because you're working strength, working, you know, rucking is like a good tool if you do if you do it correctly.
Healthy Training through the Vector Project
00:19:35
billbte
There's not a ton of running, um you know, for some people they're going to be walking. So while it is training and it has some of those valuable pieces, it's also a really good event that promotes some of the stuff we think are really important.
00:19:52
billbte
And that's on the physical side. Right. The physical. There's also a complimentary mental perspective, mental mindset element to the vector project because the vector, why we said, well, what is the, what's the deal with the name vector is about direction. It's about where you're headed and you know, you vector towards something or it's a direction of travel pilots will have their own definition for it, but basically it's a direction.
00:20:22
billbte
And we have throughout the nine weeks different, we vector internally for folks to look at the non-physical and guide them along that because that is so much of the work that you take into a challenging event. Again, it's a nonspecific amplifier.
00:20:50
billbte
So clean up what's inside, at least be aware of what's inside, because when it's, you know, hour six or whatever it might be, hour four, it doesn't matter. That's going to come up. yeah It is going to come up. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about these events. You know, we just, you and I both just did a sub 20 minute workout today. It was freaking hard. Done. Like, it's kind of like, okay, onto to the next. 48 hours ago, we were on the, on the trail and it's still with us. yeah Um, so the sort of mindset component, the exercises, the concepts, listening, like we assigned some, you know, listening to some things and some projects for people to, you know, kind of go through, raise their awareness and then take into the final event. Cause that 12 plus six or whatever the distances are for that person is the sort of the culminating event is the celebration. And is where you get to then have some.
00:21:50
billbte
you get to then see. Yeah. Yeah. And I think sometimes people can miss, you know, I heard someone, we we talk about this and I actually heard someone on the trail going into, maybe it was my final lap, say to his wife or the person he was with, like, let's just get this over with.
00:22:10
billbte
And we talk about this a lot, like skipping past the thing to get to the thing, to get it done. And it's like, well, what was the point? So I think the mindsets and the vector project and that homework really is beautiful because it keeps people in the process and grounded to like, why am I doing this? And what am I learning? Not just check the box. Oh, I did the thing, did the thing. What's next? You know, it makes it.
00:22:37
billbte
and helps people treat it like a process not just totally yeah um so
Community and Accountability in Events
00:22:46
billbte
What's interesting about this event, the one we did, we could have when when we're it wasn't a closed loop, it wasn't a closed trail. So as you're hobbling along, there's like people you know just usually walking with their kids, with their animals, like you know not part of the event. So we could have like shown up on any day.
00:23:09
billbte
They've done that. Like no one was going to steal our Skittles from the parking bench, like the picnic table. But we didn't. We signed up for that day. We paid money for a registration and had friends and had other people we didn't know started on the start line together. yeah And so I think while, sure, there's many things you can do and why not just do it on your own? um I think having like a day, a date,
00:23:38
billbte
an actual event, like it does present some accountability. um Doing it with other people is super valuable. So the vector project, there is nine weeks and then the 10th week, the expectation is you're doing the event. That's right. Now, some people might have to do it on their own. Yeah.
00:23:59
billbte
However, we encourage people, you have a month until the training starts. Like maybe you get some people to sign up together. Maybe you're not in the same place in the world, but you say you're going to do it on the same date. yeah There's many different ways to to really make the most out of this event.
00:24:14
billbte
um We are hosting it here in Gladstone, New Jersey, in the park. There are hotels here. One could potentially travel here and do it on that date, November 30th. We've had someone travel internationally to do an event with us. yeah And that is what I think is amazing about why events matter. Because you open yourself up to being inspired by others' efforts. Yeah.
00:24:43
billbte
And that was something that I was like moved by. I've been moved by it when I seen you do your races and I was moved by it. Obviously when we did our four by four by 48, you know, Mel coming out and I was, in and I was moved by it, uh, two days ago yeah where I'm like, yeah, it means something. Yeah. It means something. And you know, you just see the rawness of human effort. That's the human spirit. And there's a lot of you go on Instagram or social media and you see how we suck all the time, all the fucking time, how we suck.
00:25:15
billbte
You come together in physical hardship with a bunch of people and you see how we're awesome. Yeah. And just having other people there at the finish or you know waiting for someone and seeing them across the finish. or yeah like I have done a couple of events by myself. yeah um I think only one, the four by four by 48 that I do by myself. And it was fine, but like I finished my last four mile and was like in the park. It's like Forrest Gump. I guess I'll go home now. you know was like yeah I mean, sure, is there value to that? OK.
00:25:54
billbte
We would encourage people, it's a beautiful program because you don't have to travel across the country. yeah And you can do it in the comfort of whatever your setup is. And also if you have a friend, two friends, the ability to travel an hour, yeah other doing it virtually with someone, just making that extra little effort, I think would go a long way. So if you are going to do it, we encourage people that the end is actually Thanksgiving weekend. Um, obviously if you have, you know, Hey, get the family out Thanksgiving. yeah You want to work off that Turkey? I have something for you. We won't pay for therapy, but you know, go for it. right Force them into um pain. So, you know, take some time. Again, the training for this starts, it opens up October 1st.
00:26:45
billbte
So you have the rest of September to kind of figure out the logistics, maybe work with people to get them to sign up if if they're on the fence, asking questions, sending us messages, whatever we can do to help facilitate you know people making the decision to do this or not. um But you know speaking from our weekend experience of challenge and movement, you know I would be shocked for someone to do this and be feel like they got nothing out of it or were disappointed.
00:27:16
billbte
Yeah.
Self-Discovery through Physical Challenges
00:27:17
billbte
And I think that's the, you know, that's the value of doing stuff that you don't know how it's going to go. And learning and all of that sounds really good, but the truth of the matter is it's hard. yeah And there is something about challenging yourself physically, sharing it with others, and then seeing what comes up. Like that was such a, that was ah that was an intent for me to see what would come up because I have a vision of myself. I have a view of myself that, you know, I kind of buy into unintentionally, unconsciously. And there's this arduous experience that challenges you in many, many ways.
00:28:14
billbte
That is like a mirror. It's like a mirror and a window, a mirror that reflects back and a window through which you look into yourself. And for us to you know create that, share that for others, facilitate it, and watch people go through that and transform,
00:28:33
billbte
um
00:28:36
billbte
like that's super cool. Yeah. and So if you're interested in the vector project, you can find it on our website. You can find it on our Instagram. You can send us a message. The registration is open. Training starts October 1. The culmination event is in the end of November. So hope to see you there. Cool.