1 00:00:01,740 --> 00:00:05,970 Welcome back to Peak Into COS. This episode is brought to you 2 00:00:05,970 --> 00:00:11,520 from the studio 809 Community podcast at the next us a 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,820 professional cooperative environment for small businesses 4 00:00:14,910 --> 00:00:18,900 here in downtown Colorado Springs. Today, we are joined by 5 00:00:18,900 --> 00:00:22,860 an extra special guest. You're extra special. Thank you, 6 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,020 Paralympian and Paris hopeful, Noelle Lambert. Welcome to well. 7 00:00:28,050 --> 00:00:30,180 Hi, thank you so much for having me on. 8 00:00:30,210 --> 00:00:34,530 I wore this shirt for you. I know. I love it. Yeah. Paris 24. 9 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,830 So we will get we'll get into that. But yes, I absolutely 10 00:00:37,830 --> 00:00:42,930 wanted to just give you a little bit more incentive. Yes. More 11 00:00:42,930 --> 00:00:49,440 motivation. So you have been, you really competed on the 12 00:00:49,590 --> 00:00:54,750 highest athletic stage and take but take us back to the 13 00:00:54,750 --> 00:00:58,020 listeners where it all began if you've been an athlete your 14 00:00:58,020 --> 00:00:58,950 entire life. 15 00:00:59,620 --> 00:01:03,160 Yes. So I actually grew up with three older brothers. So from a 16 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,600 very early age, you can tell kind of guess how my childhood 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,990 went? I was never sisters. Just you, and your brothers. Yeah, 18 00:01:11,020 --> 00:01:14,170 three brothers. I was the youngest. You know, I was like 19 00:01:14,170 --> 00:01:17,830 the last, you know, I was my mom. My mom wanted a girl. That 20 00:01:17,830 --> 00:01:21,550 was the biggest thing. And she wanted a girly girl. And that 21 00:01:21,550 --> 00:01:22,270 was not me. 22 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,960 You know, I was never really the type to be playing inside with 23 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:28,330 dolls. I always wanted to be out wrestling with my brothers in 24 00:01:28,330 --> 00:01:31,450 the dirt, showing them who the real boss of the family was. So 25 00:01:31,450 --> 00:01:33,640 that really is what drew me to fall in love with being an 26 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,030 athlete being competitive. And they were all great athletes. So 27 00:01:37,030 --> 00:01:40,330 I always Yeah, and I always went to their sports games I always 28 00:01:40,330 --> 00:01:44,080 wanted to be I tried to get on their teams half the time. And 29 00:01:44,350 --> 00:01:46,480 just from a very early age. I knew that that was something I 30 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:47,530 wanted to do with my life 31 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:48,760 What was your first sport? 32 00:01:49,030 --> 00:01:52,540 My first sport, it was soccer. And I was very passionate about 33 00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:55,480 soccer. I was on all the different types of sports, 34 00:01:55,750 --> 00:01:59,410 travel sports teams, and and then I started playing 35 00:01:59,410 --> 00:02:02,110 basketball and I fell in love with basketball and then 36 00:02:02,110 --> 00:02:05,770 lacrosse came around and lacrosse was just the one sport 37 00:02:05,770 --> 00:02:08,980 that really spoke to me and I was able to pick it up really 38 00:02:08,980 --> 00:02:11,830 quickly being an athlete and kind of playing basketball and 39 00:02:11,830 --> 00:02:14,650 soccer. You know, they're not really that much similar in 40 00:02:14,650 --> 00:02:17,260 sports, but you can take similarities between the other 41 00:02:17,260 --> 00:02:19,960 two sports and bring it to lacrosse, and I knew that that 42 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,810 was probably going to be my best chance to play it in college. 43 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:26,200 And then I earned myself a division one scholarship to play 44 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:27,910 lacrosse at UMass Lowell at 45 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,800 UMass Lowell. So for people who don't know you grew up in the 46 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:37,140 Northeast in the New England and we're lacrosse is really really 47 00:02:37,170 --> 00:02:41,610 a big popular sport. It was Yeah, it is. Yeah. It continues 48 00:02:41,610 --> 00:02:46,950 to be so lacrosse got you a division one scholarship. Yeah. 49 00:02:47,130 --> 00:02:50,280 So that mom of yours must have been just a little proud that 50 00:02:50,550 --> 00:02:55,200 absolutely yeah, the dolls that you did not necessarily grew up 51 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,070 with you it saved your folks some some good money 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,540 it did it did and you know she fell in love with the sport as 53 00:03:02,540 --> 00:03:06,260 well and so did my sort of my dad. My brothers never really 54 00:03:06,260 --> 00:03:08,720 understood it. They were all football players baseball 55 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:12,200 players wrestlers. But you know heading into my freshman year I 56 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,260 was just I was extremely excited because it was a new newly 57 00:03:15,260 --> 00:03:17,510 division one program so I knew right off the bat I'm gonna have 58 00:03:17,510 --> 00:03:22,370 a great chance at starting and kind of get my getting my foot 59 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,420 footing into the into the ground and into the into the sport and 60 00:03:26,450 --> 00:03:28,880 my freshman year I had a stand out rookie season started every 61 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:30,920 single game was one of the leading point scorers on the 62 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:34,700 team. And I was really excited for my for my athletic future at 63 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:37,670 UMass Lowell. And never did I think that that summer, my life 64 00:03:37,670 --> 00:03:39,080 is going to change forever. So 65 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,320 let's talk about it. Let's talk about the accident. Yeah, I 66 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,720 was about a month before returning for my sophomore year 67 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,480 and a couple of my friends and I just decided we wanted to do one 68 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,250 last little vacation. Before we head back for pre season before 69 00:03:53,250 --> 00:03:56,430 we you know, get killed on the lacrosse field. I preseason 70 00:03:56,430 --> 00:04:00,000 training. And so we headed to Martha's Vineyard, which is an 71 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,000 island right off of Cape Cod. It's a beautiful island. And 72 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,100 when we got there, the only thing we wanted to do on a 73 00:04:05,100 --> 00:04:07,830 beautiful Saturday morning was head to the beach. And so we 74 00:04:07,830 --> 00:04:09,960 decided to rent mopeds because we had no form of 75 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,840 transportation. I had never personally been on a moped 76 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,870 before. But you know, I thought my stubborn self I thought How 77 00:04:15,870 --> 00:04:20,460 hard could it be? And I was riding on I was driving one with 78 00:04:20,460 --> 00:04:22,800 my teammate on the back. And you know, one minute we're having an 79 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,800 incredible time and the next minute I see a dump dump truck 80 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,830 heading in the opposite direction as me. And you know, 81 00:04:28,830 --> 00:04:32,580 because of the weight distribution and just being kind 82 00:04:32,580 --> 00:04:36,300 of on a beachy and Sandy road and just not having any 83 00:04:36,300 --> 00:04:39,690 experience driving. I lost control of the moped and I 84 00:04:39,690 --> 00:04:42,930 actually veered left and I sideswiped the dump truck. And 85 00:04:42,930 --> 00:04:46,260 the next thing I remember is I was laying on the pavement and I 86 00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:49,830 lifted up my legs and I saw that my left leg was completely gone. 87 00:04:49,830 --> 00:04:52,800 It was completely severed on the scene. And you know, the first 88 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,680 thing I did think of it was sports, and it was lacrosse 89 00:04:55,710 --> 00:04:59,070 because I didn't know who I was without being an athlete. I was 90 00:04:59,070 --> 00:05:02,190 always active in some sort of way. And I was laying there 91 00:05:02,190 --> 00:05:05,700 thinking that my life was over, you know, my athletic career 92 00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:08,160 everything and I never thought that I would be able to walk 93 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:08,580 again. 94 00:05:09,959 --> 00:05:15,839 You know, identity is something that a lot of people think about 95 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:20,039 and you know, whether you are a musician or you're, you're an 96 00:05:20,039 --> 00:05:28,499 athlete. You are now a Paralympian, you know, and I 97 00:05:28,499 --> 00:05:31,109 don't want to say like, who'd have thunk it, but there's a 98 00:05:31,109 --> 00:05:34,829 whole lot of Paralympians that, who would have thunk that 99 00:05:34,859 --> 00:05:39,059 because of your background in your love of sport from your 100 00:05:39,059 --> 00:05:43,889 brothers and everybody else, that you've been able to 101 00:05:43,889 --> 00:05:46,889 overcome this absolutely in a way that you wouldn't have 102 00:05:46,889 --> 00:05:52,319 dreamt up. So So tell us a little bit about the journey. In 103 00:05:52,319 --> 00:05:53,279 the Paralympics. 104 00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:56,240 Yeah, well, it was crazy. When I was in the hospital. Actually, 105 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:01,610 it was the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, were going on TV. And so 106 00:06:01,610 --> 00:06:04,460 I was in my hospital bed watching and they you know, they 107 00:06:04,460 --> 00:06:06,530 were promoting the Paralympic games that were happening a 108 00:06:06,530 --> 00:06:11,600 month later. And I was thinking to myself, why, why can't I do 109 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,210 the Paralympics? Why wouldn't this be a possibility but you 110 00:06:14,210 --> 00:06:16,070 know, I had in the back of my head that I wanted to play 111 00:06:16,070 --> 00:06:18,650 lacrosse. Again, I want it to be the first above knee amputee to 112 00:06:18,650 --> 00:06:22,370 ever play collegiate lacrosse. And so I kind of wanted to focus 113 00:06:22,370 --> 00:06:25,160 on that at first. And you know, with the incredible support for 114 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,760 my teammates and my coaches, I was actually able to work myself 115 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,540 back on the lacrosse field, my junior season, and then my 116 00:06:32,540 --> 00:06:36,560 senior season was able to have a regular regular season like my 117 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,320 accident never even happened. And it was when I graduated that 118 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,350 I really took it into consideration of Okay, should I 119 00:06:42,350 --> 00:06:45,950 start sprinting Should I start running. But there was a fun 120 00:06:45,950 --> 00:06:48,950 fact about me, I actually hated running, I hated everything to 121 00:06:48,950 --> 00:06:52,160 do with it. I never really understood this sport of track 122 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,700 and field, just because I'd never done it. Growing up, I was 123 00:06:55,700 --> 00:06:58,370 always part of team sports, never an individual sport 124 00:06:58,370 --> 00:07:00,710 before. So mentally, I knew that that was going to be very 125 00:07:00,710 --> 00:07:03,860 difficult and challenging in itself. But I thought this would 126 00:07:03,860 --> 00:07:06,380 be an incredible opportunity to represent my country if it was 127 00:07:06,380 --> 00:07:10,280 something that I could be good at. And I saw the first track 128 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:12,290 meet that I saw was in Arizona, it was called the desert 129 00:07:12,290 --> 00:07:15,350 challenge games. It was a Paralympic track event. Signed 130 00:07:15,350 --> 00:07:19,370 myself up for it. I had one month to train for it. And I had 131 00:07:19,370 --> 00:07:21,080 no idea what I was doing. I bought a pair 132 00:07:21,290 --> 00:07:22,250 Did you have a coach? 133 00:07:22,340 --> 00:07:26,900 No, no, I had a strength coach that I worked with when I lost 134 00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:29,330 my leg. And so we're both kind of transitioning over from 135 00:07:29,330 --> 00:07:35,570 lacrosse, to track learning in itself. And I was just basically 136 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,950 googling videos of amputees running. And that was what I was 137 00:07:39,950 --> 00:07:42,740 using as my inspiration. And I showed up at that first track 138 00:07:42,740 --> 00:07:46,820 meet. You know, I'm decked out in lacrosse gear, I don't look 139 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,090 like I belong whatsoever. I'm looking at all these incredible 140 00:07:50,090 --> 00:07:53,000 other track athletes, I was actually competing against the 141 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,420 reigning national champion. So I was very nervous. And I really 142 00:07:56,420 --> 00:07:59,240 wanted to go home. But it was my mother who's who's there right 143 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,410 by my side, saying, You didn't we didn't travel all this way 144 00:08:03,410 --> 00:08:05,570 for nothing. I don't care. If you crawl across that finish 145 00:08:05,570 --> 00:08:10,040 line, you will cross that finish line. And so I just went into it 146 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,490 just like I did in any other game in any other sport I played 147 00:08:13,490 --> 00:08:16,370 just do the best that I could. And when I crossed the finish 148 00:08:16,370 --> 00:08:19,520 line i i won and beat the reigning national champion. I 149 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,740 also had the qualifying times to be a part of the US Paralympic 150 00:08:21,740 --> 00:08:22,610 track and field team. 151 00:08:22,970 --> 00:08:23,690 What was the event? 152 00:08:23,690 --> 00:08:25,370 No, well, it was the 100 meter 100 meter dash. 153 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,830 And I always credit that to you know, the two years prior to 154 00:08:28,830 --> 00:08:33,180 that when I was playing against my teammates, in practice, and 155 00:08:33,180 --> 00:08:36,000 when we had to do run tests, if I came in last place, I had to 156 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,480 do 10 burpees Yeah, sure. You know, I'm a very competitive 157 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,730 person. And if someone tells me I can't do something that 158 00:08:42,150 --> 00:08:45,240 typically triggers something inside me Where I will die. So 159 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,000 it's like a brother. Yes, I will die trying to prove you wrong. 160 00:08:48,780 --> 00:08:51,450 And so once I won that race, that's when I really started 161 00:08:51,450 --> 00:08:54,570 taking it seriously. And I found a coach in Boston. And we just 162 00:08:54,570 --> 00:08:56,040 went from there. Wow. 163 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:02,310 Love that story. And your mom was at your side? Oh, 164 00:09:02,310 --> 00:09:05,940 yes, my was my mom and actually my prosthetic prosthetic guy 165 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:10,290 who's also a Paralympian Jason Lala in the Winter Paralympics. 166 00:09:11,250 --> 00:09:16,050 And so he was just amazed at the fact that I showed up. And I did 167 00:09:16,050 --> 00:09:18,930 one warm up lap, and I still won. Like I didn't really 168 00:09:18,930 --> 00:09:22,050 understood what I understand what attract warmup was, so I 169 00:09:22,050 --> 00:09:25,410 just did a lap and I was like, I'm good to go more warm. So it 170 00:09:25,410 --> 00:09:29,430 was it was Arizona. Exactly, exactly. So it was really great 171 00:09:29,430 --> 00:09:33,390 to have them by my side. It was you know, it wasn't really 172 00:09:33,390 --> 00:09:36,480 shocking to everybody, like everybody who supported me all 173 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,900 my friends, teammates, coaches. My coaches were actually very 174 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:42,390 surprised because they know I hate running. And every 175 00:09:42,390 --> 00:09:45,720 opportunity I got I tried to get out of any single run tests. But 176 00:09:46,140 --> 00:09:49,140 you know, I'm a competitor. I've always been a competitor and so 177 00:09:49,350 --> 00:09:50,760 it's always always been in my blood. 178 00:09:50,940 --> 00:09:54,180 Tell us about the role your mom has played in this journey for 179 00:09:54,180 --> 00:09:54,390 you. 180 00:09:54,420 --> 00:09:58,620 Yeah, absolutely. My mom is my best friend. She's, you know, 181 00:09:58,620 --> 00:10:02,460 the reason why I do A lot of what I do and the reason why I 182 00:10:02,460 --> 00:10:07,650 can do it. She's just been the type of person that I can lean 183 00:10:07,650 --> 00:10:11,910 on for support and get that tough love when I need it. And, 184 00:10:11,940 --> 00:10:14,730 you know, we have that type of relationship where we'll, we'll 185 00:10:14,730 --> 00:10:16,920 bicker back and forth just because we're so comfortable 186 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,790 with one another. And I can honestly say that like, I 187 00:10:20,790 --> 00:10:23,640 wouldn't be where I am today without her just because, I 188 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,160 mean, my both of my parents were extremely strong after my 189 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:30,090 accident, but, you know, seeing the strength that she had, and 190 00:10:30,090 --> 00:10:33,330 was able to just take everything on. And she told me from the 191 00:10:33,330 --> 00:10:35,760 beginning that I'd be able to play lacrosse again, I'd be able 192 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:37,920 to do whatever I wanted to, I thought that was always 193 00:10:38,460 --> 00:10:41,040 incredible support. And she was kind of the first person that I 194 00:10:41,250 --> 00:10:44,160 am first and only person that I opened up to in the beginning, I 195 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,070 never really let people in on if I was going through a difficult 196 00:10:47,070 --> 00:10:51,510 day or a difficult time, she was kind of the only person and she 197 00:10:51,510 --> 00:10:55,380 just gave me the love that I needed. And and I'm just always 198 00:10:55,380 --> 00:10:56,340 so grateful for that. 199 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,810 I love that. That's for all you moms out there. Oh, yeah. 200 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:01,160 I mean, it's, I call 201 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,980 my mom seven times a day. So yeah, just update her on what 202 00:11:03,980 --> 00:11:05,480 happened in the last hour of my life. 203 00:11:06,740 --> 00:11:11,120 That's great. The power of family and getting you through 204 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:17,720 all this. So let's talk about your foundation. Born to Run. I 205 00:11:17,810 --> 00:11:20,120 when I first heard the name, I thought, well, she must be a 206 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:20,840 Springsteen fan. 207 00:11:22,190 --> 00:11:25,070 Funny story about that. I didn't even pick the name. No, no, it 208 00:11:25,070 --> 00:11:29,360 was my uncle. Yeah, I mean, so during it was during my college 209 00:11:29,660 --> 00:11:33,500 juniors, I was junior year of college and I had received two 210 00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:35,630 different specialized prosthetics from two different 211 00:11:36,020 --> 00:11:38,330 wonderful foundations because what a lot of people don't 212 00:11:38,330 --> 00:11:42,350 realize is, if you're born an amputee or you become an amputee 213 00:11:42,350 --> 00:11:45,350 insurance will only cover your everyday walking prosthetic, if 214 00:11:45,350 --> 00:11:48,200 you want a running blade or any other type of specialized 215 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,260 prosthetic insurance will not cover it. In these types of 216 00:11:51,260 --> 00:11:54,470 prosthetic legs can range anywhere from 10 to $30,000, 217 00:11:54,500 --> 00:11:57,650 depending on what type of leg you want. And you know me as a 218 00:11:57,650 --> 00:12:00,440 junior in college, I don't have that type of money. I didn't 219 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,080 want to bankrupt my parents every single time I wanted, you 220 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,660 know, different leg. And so that's when I learned about all 221 00:12:05,660 --> 00:12:08,780 these incredible foundations and seeing the work that those 222 00:12:08,780 --> 00:12:12,530 foundations do for other amputees. It really inspired me 223 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:15,560 and it motivated me and it made me realize that this is 224 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:18,200 something I needed to do. I needed to give back especially 225 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,780 after I returned to the lacrosse field, I wanted to give back all 226 00:12:20,780 --> 00:12:23,870 the support that I received, and turn it into something really, 227 00:12:23,900 --> 00:12:27,140 really great. And with the help of my incredible family. I mean, 228 00:12:27,140 --> 00:12:30,200 we were just talking about my mom, she is the heart and soul 229 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,960 of the Foundation. She does all the hard work. I am just the 230 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,710 face. I don't I can't take credit for any of it. Sure. And 231 00:12:36,710 --> 00:12:41,360 my uncle and my aunt were also a huge part of starting it. And so 232 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:46,580 we started the Born to Run foundation in 2019, I believe or 233 00:12:46,610 --> 00:12:50,750 2018 officially and it is called the born. Yeah, the born run 234 00:12:50,750 --> 00:12:53,630 foundation focused on donating specialized prosthetics to 235 00:12:53,900 --> 00:12:56,300 amputees that just want to live a fun and fulfilling life and 236 00:12:56,300 --> 00:12:59,870 don't have to worry about paying for a specialized prosthetic 237 00:12:59,900 --> 00:13:01,940 with anything they want to do in their lives. 238 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,720 Would you give the URL address for listeners who want more 239 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:05,990 about it? 240 00:13:05,990 --> 00:13:11,210 Absolutely, it's www dot the born to run foundation.org Okay. 241 00:13:11,870 --> 00:13:14,870 But yeah, when we're choosing the name, I wanted to call to 242 00:13:14,870 --> 00:13:20,000 Noelle Lambert Foundation. And my uncle just he convinced me 243 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,250 that this would be a great opportunity even if you don't 244 00:13:22,250 --> 00:13:24,650 want to run because we don't just do running prosthetics. We 245 00:13:24,650 --> 00:13:27,560 do any type of specialized prosthetic which is you know, 246 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:32,360 waterproof leg if you want, you know snowboarding leg, basically 247 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:37,220 anything that will help you live an active lifestyle. And he said 248 00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:40,130 just because it's called Born to Run doesn't mean it has to do 249 00:13:40,130 --> 00:13:43,610 with running. It's just born to do whatever you believe in. And 250 00:13:43,610 --> 00:13:46,820 I thought that was great. But yeah, I would love if Bruce 251 00:13:46,820 --> 00:13:49,340 Springsteen wants to shout out the foundation, that'd be 252 00:13:49,340 --> 00:13:52,700 wonderful. You know, he wrote that song for us. I'm just 253 00:13:52,700 --> 00:13:56,600 kidding. But no, it's been it's been really great because every 254 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:01,130 single time we make a donation it's a full circle moment for me 255 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,360 because I was that one MPG just sitting in my prosthetic office 256 00:14:05,660 --> 00:14:09,530 waiting to receive a leg and once I did it was like okay, I 257 00:14:09,530 --> 00:14:12,230 can I believe that I can do whatever I want to do and be 258 00:14:12,230 --> 00:14:15,290 able to achieve so it's it's really special getting to meet 259 00:14:15,740 --> 00:14:19,040 all of the new amputees we get to meet and kind of creating a 260 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,680 community with each other so that we can all kind of rely on 261 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:22,250 each other. 262 00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:24,650 You push boundaries, don't you? 263 00:14:24,890 --> 00:14:27,110 I love to you know, I love to say yes to a different 264 00:14:27,110 --> 00:14:27,890 challenge. Yeah, 265 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:28,550 yeah, so 266 00:14:28,550 --> 00:14:29,300 satisfying. 267 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:36,110 You're not only known as a Paralympian, but people 268 00:14:36,110 --> 00:14:39,200 certainly would know your name from just a little TV show 269 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:44,300 called survivor. tell people how that came about. Yeah, 270 00:14:44,390 --> 00:14:48,950 it's crazy. It fell into my lap. If I'm being honest with you, so 271 00:14:49,430 --> 00:14:52,310 growing up my mother is the biggest diehard survivor fan she 272 00:14:52,310 --> 00:14:55,610 has never missed a season never missed an episode. So I've been 273 00:14:55,610 --> 00:14:59,240 watching from a very young age just because it's been around my 274 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,600 entire life. And, you know, she would always tell me like you 275 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,820 have to apply, you have to apply to the show, even when I had two 276 00:15:04,820 --> 00:15:07,790 legs. And then she would say, you know, actually, when you're, 277 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,100 when you're hungry and you're tired, you're a nightmare to be 278 00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:12,710 around. So maybe you shouldn't do this. 279 00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:15,350 Just what you wanted to hear. 280 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,860 And then when I lost my leg, and we would watch, she would be 281 00:15:19,860 --> 00:15:22,530 like you need to apply. And I had never seen an above knee 282 00:15:22,530 --> 00:15:26,250 amputee on that show before. So I would tell myself, why would I 283 00:15:26,250 --> 00:15:30,120 even try if I'm not going to get the chance. I mean, they've had 284 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,240 two below knee amputees on but me being an above knee amputee, 285 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,370 it's an entirely different thing. I need multiple different 286 00:15:35,370 --> 00:15:38,490 legs, just even do the show. Because I need a running blade. 287 00:15:38,490 --> 00:15:42,240 I can't run in my everyday leg. So when I was actually at the 288 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,600 Tokyo Paralympic Games, I received a direct message on 289 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,080 Instagram from the head casting director. And I think he reached 290 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,090 out to a couple of us Paralympians, and I was kind of 291 00:15:51,090 --> 00:15:53,340 the only one that took it seriously. But he asked if I've 292 00:15:53,340 --> 00:15:58,140 ever thought about applying. And I thought, this has to be fake. 293 00:15:58,290 --> 00:16:01,200 Just because you thought okay, you thought you were has to be a 294 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,320 scam, just with the connection of you know, me being a fan. And 295 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:06,840 like my mom being a diehard fan, I took a screenshot I sent it to 296 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:11,940 my mom. And I won't say what she said, Because I won't swear, but 297 00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:16,140 she was ecstatic. And so I, I FaceTime this guy. 298 00:16:16,860 --> 00:16:18,210 And it was in Tokyo? 299 00:16:18,750 --> 00:16:21,720 Yes, yeah, it was Tokyo. I got him in touch. First, I got him 300 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,870 in touch with my agent. And then she said, he seems legit. Here's 301 00:16:24,870 --> 00:16:28,740 his number, let's call them. And he just said, listen, just 302 00:16:28,740 --> 00:16:30,570 because I'm reaching out to you doesn't automatically mean 303 00:16:30,570 --> 00:16:32,250 you're on the show, you start to go through the application 304 00:16:32,250 --> 00:16:35,760 process. So let's just let's do that. And he said, also, are you 305 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,610 a fan of the show? And I said, Yes, I've, I've seen every 306 00:16:38,610 --> 00:16:41,790 single season never miss an episode. Because of my mother. 307 00:16:41,790 --> 00:16:46,680 And he loved it. Yes. The casting process was pretty long 308 00:16:46,710 --> 00:16:51,210 and grueling. I had to do 10 to 15 different interviews, I had 309 00:16:51,210 --> 00:16:53,070 to go through a psych round, we had to go through a medical 310 00:16:53,070 --> 00:16:58,650 round. And I didn't find out I was going on until maybe, you 311 00:16:58,650 --> 00:17:03,420 know, six, seven months after he reached out to me. And yeah, I 312 00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:07,140 mean, but you're not doing things like you can do an 313 00:17:07,140 --> 00:17:09,540 interview and you won't hear from them from for a month, just 314 00:17:09,540 --> 00:17:11,610 because they kind of drag it out. But they choose the cast 315 00:17:11,610 --> 00:17:16,410 between February and March. So I remember I was you know, at 316 00:17:16,410 --> 00:17:20,010 home, it was a blizzard outside. It was about March of 2022. 317 00:17:21,869 --> 00:17:24,269 Yeah, COVID. So we're all surviving. I 318 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:29,340 I was next to my fiance and head casting director texted me he's 319 00:17:29,340 --> 00:17:30,720 like, Hey, can you give me a quick call and I'm like, 320 00:17:30,750 --> 00:17:33,120 alright, because the whole time I was thinking, I'm gonna go 321 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:35,610 through this casting process, and they're gonna realize how 322 00:17:35,610 --> 00:17:38,490 difficult it's going to be to actually bring me on with you 323 00:17:38,490 --> 00:17:42,000 know, being an amputee. They're gonna give me a call, like last 324 00:17:42,030 --> 00:17:45,720 minute last second be like, we decided to go with someone else. 325 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,370 So I was like, Alright, this is the moment that they're going to 326 00:17:47,370 --> 00:17:49,590 do it. Because I feel like if I'm getting casted for Survivor, 327 00:17:49,590 --> 00:17:51,780 it'd be a bigger deal. It'd be like Jeff Probst calling me say 328 00:17:51,780 --> 00:17:57,330 you're on survivor. Like, I feel like yeah, to do nonchalant. And 329 00:17:57,330 --> 00:17:59,010 so he calls me and he's like, Oh, what are you up to? And I'm 330 00:17:59,010 --> 00:18:02,040 like, Oh, nothing just locked in my house. There's a blizzard 331 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:06,270 outside. And you said, Well, do you want to leave the blizzard 332 00:18:06,270 --> 00:18:09,750 and go to Fiji? Because you're on season 43 of survivor? And I 333 00:18:09,750 --> 00:18:13,230 was like, I have to call you back. Yeah, right. I looked over 334 00:18:13,230 --> 00:18:16,380 at my fiance. And I told him I was like, I don't know if I want 335 00:18:16,380 --> 00:18:19,800 to do this. I don't think I can do this. You know, I instantly 336 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,590 started to doubt myself. But I won't. 337 00:18:22,590 --> 00:18:23,490 Why did you doubt yourself? 338 00:18:23,490 --> 00:18:26,340 You know, I tend to do that. With every single new adventure 339 00:18:26,340 --> 00:18:29,460 that I try. There's always a little bit of doubt. Okay, but I 340 00:18:29,460 --> 00:18:31,950 think that just gives me more motivation as to why I need to 341 00:18:31,950 --> 00:18:35,580 do it. And I was also telling myself, you know, if I don't do 342 00:18:35,580 --> 00:18:38,670 this, then who is going to who is going to show the positive 343 00:18:38,670 --> 00:18:42,030 representation for the amputee community? Now this is my chance 344 00:18:42,030 --> 00:18:47,040 to show the world how incredible amputees are and that try to get 345 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,020 rid of that stigma of just because we look different, or 346 00:18:49,020 --> 00:18:51,420 just because we're disabled doesn't mean we're broken. Sure. 347 00:18:51,750 --> 00:18:54,930 Does that mean I was excited? Absolutely not. I was scared to 348 00:18:54,930 --> 00:18:56,670 death leading up to it, but 349 00:18:56,670 --> 00:18:58,080 How did you break the news to your mom? 350 00:18:59,950 --> 00:19:02,710 we tried to face that so I FaceTime but I tried to video 351 00:19:02,710 --> 00:19:06,250 it. But you know, she believed from the beginning, right when a 352 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,300 guy DMd the head casting director she knew so when I 353 00:19:10,300 --> 00:19:13,060 officially that was her plan starting to plan my game 354 00:19:13,060 --> 00:19:15,730 strategy for the whole game. She was like, alright, you can't 355 00:19:15,730 --> 00:19:17,560 tell anyone. Your Paralympian can't tell anyone. Your 356 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,770 motivational speaker can't tell anyone about the foundation. I 357 00:19:20,770 --> 00:19:23,530 ended up saying that I had my own foundation because they let 358 00:19:23,530 --> 00:19:26,350 me wear a Born to Run foundation sweatshirt. And I was like, 359 00:19:26,380 --> 00:19:30,760 Alright, great free marketing. But she was ecstatic. But she 360 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,250 was calling me every single day. It was getting to the point 361 00:19:33,250 --> 00:19:37,390 where I was like, Alright, these calls aren't helping. Mom, it's 362 00:19:37,390 --> 00:19:41,620 Fiji. It's her and my fiance both were just like, just don't 363 00:19:41,620 --> 00:19:43,990 get voted off first and you'll be good to go. But my mom was 364 00:19:43,990 --> 00:19:46,690 like, I don't care if you win. I just want you to make the jury 365 00:19:46,750 --> 00:19:49,810 use. Nobody remembers the people that don't make the jury and I'm 366 00:19:49,810 --> 00:19:52,480 like that's not true. She's like, No, it's true. Like and 367 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,080 she was like and I want to see you like covered and felt dirty. 368 00:19:56,170 --> 00:19:58,780 And then when you're on the jury just look beautiful and like 369 00:19:58,780 --> 00:20:00,910 you're glowing and I was just like All right, great, the 370 00:20:00,910 --> 00:20:04,540 important things, but it was all in all the greatest experience 371 00:20:04,540 --> 00:20:07,090 of my entire life. I mean, you go out there and you don't 372 00:20:07,090 --> 00:20:09,490 realize that you're going to kind of come home with a family, 373 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:13,210 I didn't realize that I was going to be friend, all these 374 00:20:13,210 --> 00:20:15,700 incredible people that I probably would have never met in 375 00:20:15,700 --> 00:20:21,640 my life. And I really did come back with you know, 17 great new 376 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,910 friends. And I always look back on the experience, and I'm 377 00:20:24,910 --> 00:20:27,370 grateful for those friendships. That was kind of the best part 378 00:20:27,370 --> 00:20:31,690 about the whole experience. But another great part was just, I 379 00:20:31,690 --> 00:20:36,610 didn't go out there. And people like the show how the show 380 00:20:36,610 --> 00:20:39,640 edited me was incredible. You know, they showed my competitive 381 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,010 side, but they also didn't edit me as somebody with a 382 00:20:42,010 --> 00:20:45,880 disability. They edited me with somebody. Yeah, this is I have 383 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,790 this disability, but we're not going to focus on this. We're 384 00:20:48,790 --> 00:20:52,450 going to focus on the game of Survivor. Yeah. And your person. 385 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:56,260 Exactly. Yeah. And, you know, obviously, I didn't have the I 386 00:20:56,260 --> 00:20:58,930 didn't have a perfect game. I mean, I got blindsided. But it 387 00:20:58,930 --> 00:21:02,920 was just, I could have never imagined doing anything more 388 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,500 than that. It was it was so great. I tell people, you know, 389 00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:07,060 I didn't get the million dollars, but I got the million 390 00:21:07,060 --> 00:21:10,660 dollar experience, which was awesome. That's great. But yeah, 391 00:21:10,690 --> 00:21:13,690 it was the I say also best and worst experience of my life 392 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:17,590 because you push yourself to the limits. Everything is real. I 393 00:21:17,590 --> 00:21:21,010 swear to God, a lot of people like ask me if it was staged, 394 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,000 but you don't get a toothbrush. You don't get a bed. You don't 395 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,510 get a toilet. You have no communication with the outside 396 00:21:28,510 --> 00:21:31,390 world. I mean, I remember when the Boston Celtics I'm a huge 397 00:21:31,390 --> 00:21:34,720 Celtics fan I'm a huge Boston anything fan. Sure Celtics were 398 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,020 in the playoffs and nobody would tell me if they were if they 399 00:21:38,020 --> 00:21:41,110 would. were eliminated. I kept asking production and nobody 400 00:21:41,110 --> 00:21:43,930 would answer me. Right. They're very strict out there. So they 401 00:21:43,930 --> 00:21:48,010 want it. They want you to see it. It's you're stranded on an 402 00:21:48,010 --> 00:21:51,460 island. Yeah. And they want it to be as real as possible, like, 403 00:21:51,460 --> 00:21:53,710 and they just want to have be like, yeah, we're filming you. 404 00:21:53,710 --> 00:21:56,170 But we're not going to help you do anything. And so 405 00:21:56,350 --> 00:21:59,500 So as we're sitting here today, you're just relishing the fact 406 00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:01,510 that the Celtics are in game three. Yeah. 407 00:22:03,190 --> 00:22:07,990 It's awesome. So what I did get home, it was game seven of the 408 00:22:07,990 --> 00:22:10,840 Eastern Conference Finals in 2022. So I was able to watch 409 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,690 game seven. And I remember when I landed in LA, and I finally 410 00:22:13,690 --> 00:22:17,650 got my phone back. I like I was running up to a guy with a 411 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,020 Golden State Warriors t shirt. And I screamed in his face 412 00:22:20,020 --> 00:22:22,450 asking if the Celtics were still in the playoffs, and he had no 413 00:22:22,450 --> 00:22:27,370 idea what I was. But I got my phone and it was crazy. Like 414 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,460 both my mom and fiance were texting me like daily updates 415 00:22:30,460 --> 00:22:33,760 every day. And my mom was just sending highlights of each game. 416 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:35,380 I'm like, I'm not actually going to go back and watch. 417 00:22:37,090 --> 00:22:40,810 Yeah, it's about the scores. Yeah. Well, we are doing this 418 00:22:40,810 --> 00:22:45,910 podcast from downtown. Olympic city, USA. Yes, Colorado 419 00:22:45,910 --> 00:22:50,380 Springs. And you know, you and mark and Ollie have been in town 420 00:22:50,380 --> 00:22:54,850 for all of a day. Yeah. All right. So I know you you've 421 00:22:54,850 --> 00:22:59,020 packed a lot in but what are some of the first impressions 422 00:22:59,020 --> 00:23:01,540 that you have of Olympic city, USA? Oh, I 423 00:23:01,540 --> 00:23:06,100 think it's gorgeous. Both me and my fiance Are you know, talking 424 00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:08,920 about potentially getting a home here because it's just it's, 425 00:23:09,220 --> 00:23:11,950 it's amazing downtown area, there's so many different things 426 00:23:11,950 --> 00:23:16,060 that you can do. If you're a fan of you know, just seeing 427 00:23:16,060 --> 00:23:19,420 beautiful things. 24/7 This is the place to be I mean, we went 428 00:23:19,420 --> 00:23:22,150 to a Garden of the Gods last night just getting out of the 429 00:23:22,150 --> 00:23:25,210 car we love to see just incredible views and everywhere 430 00:23:25,210 --> 00:23:28,540 you turn and use continue to walk 10 feet and there was the 431 00:23:28,540 --> 00:23:32,050 turn the corner or something else that was incredible. And so 432 00:23:32,050 --> 00:23:35,980 I just think it's it's it's only been 24 hours and no I don't 433 00:23:35,980 --> 00:23:38,200 want to leave just because there's still so many things 434 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,650 that we can we can get done here. But I mean, it's just it's 435 00:23:41,650 --> 00:23:44,230 a beautiful it's a beautiful town. Keep in 436 00:23:44,230 --> 00:23:47,830 the guard of the gods. Yeah. And then tell listeners what you got 437 00:23:47,830 --> 00:23:50,800 to do at the training center. Yeah, Olympic Training Center. 438 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:50,920 So you 439 00:23:51,060 --> 00:23:53,520 know, me being in the in the middle of my season, I you know, 440 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,610 I couldn't miss a workout. So Colorado College actually, let 441 00:23:56,610 --> 00:24:00,600 me use their beautiful track facility this morning. So I we 442 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,120 got there at 8am I did a nice track workout. And then we 443 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:06,870 headed to the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. And 444 00:24:06,870 --> 00:24:10,380 that was incredible in itself. I mean, just getting to meet I did 445 00:24:10,380 --> 00:24:14,910 get to tour the facility after I trained in it, but just having 446 00:24:14,910 --> 00:24:19,500 access to that and everything was was amazing. And you know, 447 00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:23,400 gives you real motivation, just being around all that type of 448 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,700 greatness and just motivates you and kind of lights a fire. It's 449 00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:29,700 like how can you not want to crush a workout when you're in 450 00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:32,970 this type of facility. And so that was incredible. And then 451 00:24:32,970 --> 00:24:36,510 after the fact we got to tour the rest of it. And you know, me 452 00:24:36,510 --> 00:24:39,990 being an elite athlete, I see all the resources that all these 453 00:24:39,990 --> 00:24:42,420 other athletes are getting on site here and I'm like, Alright, 454 00:24:42,450 --> 00:24:45,000 I want to move here. I know, you know, I'm in a great training 455 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,600 facility in Chula Vista. But you know, this is on another level 456 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,710 and it's it's it's really amazing and I definitely advise 457 00:24:52,710 --> 00:24:55,260 all the listeners to take a tour of it because you get to see 458 00:24:55,260 --> 00:24:59,670 some incredible things and you will even run into you know a 459 00:24:59,670 --> 00:25:03,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes training in their kind of 460 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,450 environment and getting to kind of see how that how that works. 461 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:06,690 Now, 462 00:25:06,690 --> 00:25:09,630 while you're here, are you going to have a chance to go over to 463 00:25:09,630 --> 00:25:11,280 the Olympic and Paralympic museum? 464 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,230 I am sure we have that on our schedule tomorrow, which I'm 465 00:25:15,230 --> 00:25:19,670 very excited for. Yeah, I think that'll be extremely. I've never 466 00:25:19,670 --> 00:25:24,320 been to Colorado Springs either. So when this idea and this 467 00:25:24,350 --> 00:25:27,890 opportunity came about, I was really excited, because I've 468 00:25:27,890 --> 00:25:31,790 heard so many incredible things I have, you know, some former 469 00:25:31,790 --> 00:25:35,840 teammates and on the snowboard side, they train here every day. 470 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,050 So I get to see pictures and videos of it all the time. I've 471 00:25:39,050 --> 00:25:43,490 been to Colorado and you know, in the mountains and Vail to 472 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,640 snowboard, but I've never been here. And so this has been 473 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,460 really, really great. And I'm just you know, I'm excited. We 474 00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:56,150 also have the, the cog railway that we are gonna do that 475 00:25:56,150 --> 00:25:57,110 tomorrow. Very, 476 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,290 I'm just gonna warn you about that we have a little phrase 477 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:06,200 here that says, today's tourist is tomorrow's talent, okay. And 478 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,360 what that really does mean is that people come here on 479 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:11,960 vacation and they look around. And I wonder if there's jobs 480 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:16,730 here. There's a lot of people who first come now they might 481 00:26:16,730 --> 00:26:21,800 have gotten stationed here, you know, but it is a place where a 482 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,730 lot of people come and they just fall. Yeah, I mean, so I'm here 483 00:26:25,730 --> 00:26:27,740 for 24 hours, and we love it so 484 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:33,350 well, um, one of the things that I want to just take a little bit 485 00:26:33,350 --> 00:26:38,180 of a break and talk about some very, very exciting things are 486 00:26:38,180 --> 00:26:42,410 coming up for Olympic city USA this summer. The Paris Games are 487 00:26:42,410 --> 00:26:45,560 rapidly approaching, you can feel the Olympic and Paralympic 488 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:50,030 spirit in the air. To kick it off, Sports Corp and the US 489 00:26:50,030 --> 00:26:53,900 Olympic and Paralympic museum are hosting the downtown 490 00:26:53,900 --> 00:26:58,970 Summerfest on Saturday, July 27. This free community event 491 00:26:58,970 --> 00:27:03,620 celebration includes an official torch relay, lots of athlete 492 00:27:03,620 --> 00:27:07,520 meet and greets and demonstrations, live music and 493 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:11,360 coverage of the game. So maybe you'll come back but actually we 494 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:16,790 know where you want to be. Yeah. The let's tell listeners a 495 00:27:16,790 --> 00:27:21,680 little bit now I know that you are you are in training for both 496 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:26,000 the 100 meter dash as well as what the long jump. Yes. Okay. 497 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:31,370 So the trials are coming up what in July? Yeah. And then if you 498 00:27:31,370 --> 00:27:35,030 make it when you make when I make when you make it your dates 499 00:27:35,060 --> 00:27:38,450 to be over in Paris will be when will you compete? So 500 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,700 as of right now, you know, obviously the schedule can 501 00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:46,520 change but long jump competition is September 5, and the 100 502 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:51,200 meter is September 7 in the morning and at night. Paris 503 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,120 times. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, a little fast forward. 504 00:27:53,630 --> 00:27:56,930 Just just a little teaser for those of you who are listening 505 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,730 to, to be sure and tune in So, alright, we're gonna, I'm gonna 506 00:28:01,730 --> 00:28:05,060 have some fun. Okay, I love that. Just a few questions to 507 00:28:05,060 --> 00:28:13,160 ask. And I read that you were asked once to describe yourself 508 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,790 in three words. And the three words that you used were 509 00:28:16,790 --> 00:28:23,240 tenacious, outgoing, and determined. Okay. So now, I'm 510 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:28,160 going to ask you just 24 hours, but in three words, how would 511 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,180 you describe Colorado Springs in just Oh, wow. Three words. 512 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:38,810 I would say. I want to say like, like winning, because you have 513 00:28:38,810 --> 00:28:44,660 that presence. So word for like, beautiful scenery. Like that's 514 00:28:44,660 --> 00:28:48,560 two words. Mmm hmm. Majestic, 515 00:28:48,590 --> 00:28:50,330 majestic purple mountain 516 00:28:50,390 --> 00:28:56,120 and friendly. Everyone is very friendly. Very welcoming. And 517 00:28:56,540 --> 00:28:58,760 very beautiful. Yeah. Not great with that. 518 00:28:59,730 --> 00:29:02,520 Because I do want you to know when you take the cog tomorrow 519 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:03,810 to the top of Pikes Peak. Yeah. 520 00:29:04,710 --> 00:29:07,950 Do you know what song was inspired from the top of Pikes 521 00:29:07,950 --> 00:29:12,450 Peak now? America the Beautiful, really when you use the word 522 00:29:12,450 --> 00:29:16,020 majestic? Yeah, talk about purple mountain. Yeah, you've 523 00:29:16,050 --> 00:29:19,140 you've already seen incredibly scenery. But tomorrow, you'll 524 00:29:19,140 --> 00:29:22,830 get to you'll get to go up. Amazing. So this morning, tell 525 00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:27,990 us one thing about your tour of the training center that really 526 00:29:27,990 --> 00:29:31,080 stood out for you that you'll just tell people about 527 00:29:31,470 --> 00:29:35,460 Yeah, I think you know, one of the rooms in the Sports 528 00:29:35,730 --> 00:29:40,560 Performance Training Center it you can determine altitudes and 529 00:29:40,590 --> 00:29:45,030 the temperature. I think that's incredible, especially you know, 530 00:29:45,030 --> 00:29:48,570 for athletes training for the different competitions and all 531 00:29:48,570 --> 00:29:51,450 these different altitudes. I mean, having access to that must 532 00:29:51,450 --> 00:29:54,990 be incredible. You know, I'm going to be having trials in 533 00:29:55,020 --> 00:29:59,070 Miramar, Florida in the dead of July. So the humidity and it's 534 00:29:59,070 --> 00:30:03,150 going to be like 100 20 degrees. So I'd be doing all my workouts 535 00:30:03,150 --> 00:30:05,700 in that room just to get ready. 536 00:30:05,730 --> 00:30:09,420 That's what cyclists do. There's a lot of people that come for 537 00:30:09,420 --> 00:30:10,800 just that reason. Yeah, 538 00:30:10,830 --> 00:30:13,500 I would say that room and then another room that I just didn't 539 00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:16,770 expect. It was the shooting room. I don't know the 540 00:30:16,770 --> 00:30:21,000 terminology, I already forget it. But it was, it was it was 541 00:30:21,180 --> 00:30:24,600 one of the and they had like, three or four athletes in there. 542 00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:30,300 And the targets, it was like a period. That's how small that's 543 00:30:30,300 --> 00:30:32,910 how was the target, and they hit it every single time. They're 544 00:30:32,910 --> 00:30:36,360 like, that was really cool. That was something I didn't expect to 545 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:37,650 kind of see. And that was great. 546 00:30:37,710 --> 00:30:43,440 That's, that's awesome. I guess the thing I would maybe ask you 547 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,940 to share in the with with listeners, is you've just 548 00:30:47,940 --> 00:30:53,400 described what it's going to be like in Miramar, Florida. To to 549 00:30:53,460 --> 00:30:58,620 let's just use the 100 meter dash, okay. When you get into 550 00:30:58,620 --> 00:31:02,100 the blocks, what is your mind go? 551 00:31:03,500 --> 00:31:06,110 My mind for the 100 meter, you know, changes, it's been 552 00:31:06,110 --> 00:31:11,750 changing. Prior to this year, I, when I would get into the box, 553 00:31:11,750 --> 00:31:15,410 I'd be scared. And I would kind of have that moment of like, why 554 00:31:15,410 --> 00:31:18,230 am I doing this to myself, but then the gun would go off and 555 00:31:18,230 --> 00:31:21,620 I'd get my competitive. Now just you know, being in a different 556 00:31:21,890 --> 00:31:24,230 environment in California being in a different training group 557 00:31:24,230 --> 00:31:26,600 having a different coach. It's like I'm hungrier. And so like 558 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,840 I'm in the blocks, and I know what I need to work on and 559 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,170 accomplish in that one race. So it's almost like I'm ready to 560 00:31:33,170 --> 00:31:37,250 go. And it's just lighting a fire within me. And that's just 561 00:31:37,250 --> 00:31:42,380 kind of what I think about. You know, I just competed at the 562 00:31:42,380 --> 00:31:47,000 Prefontaine classic in Eugene, Oregon. And I think that one I 563 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,700 was getting a little too excited, but a stadium that that 564 00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:53,330 was the first my first experience competing. and not 565 00:31:53,330 --> 00:31:56,660 and not only in that stadium, but that many people in the 566 00:31:56,660 --> 00:32:00,590 stands, you know, Tokyo, we had nobody because of COVID. And you 567 00:32:00,590 --> 00:32:03,260 know, we don't I typically compete at college meets all 568 00:32:03,260 --> 00:32:06,890 season and open trackmeets so we don't have tons of fans. There 569 00:32:06,890 --> 00:32:08,690 were 1000s of people in the stands. So I was getting a 570 00:32:08,690 --> 00:32:11,450 little jittery, a little too excited. That's some holy grail. 571 00:32:12,380 --> 00:32:16,610 All started Yeah. But then once the gun I mean, I had to kind of 572 00:32:16,610 --> 00:32:19,610 bring it in. And it was great. I'm glad I was able to kind of 573 00:32:19,610 --> 00:32:21,920 experience that before Paris because it's going to be sold 574 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:26,030 out in Paris. And so that'll be really exciting. But just kind 575 00:32:26,030 --> 00:32:30,740 of having that adrenaline I just I hadn't had it. Yeah, at least 576 00:32:30,950 --> 00:32:36,410 in a while. Just because Tokyo was just Tokyo was just a weird 577 00:32:36,410 --> 00:32:38,630 environment to begin with. It was because you're at the 578 00:32:38,630 --> 00:32:41,960 highest stage the highest level the be at, but I don't have my 579 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:42,410 family 580 00:32:42,410 --> 00:32:44,030 But yeah, you can hear a pin drop. 581 00:32:44,060 --> 00:32:49,070 Yeah, it was crazy. Luckily, the stands in that stadium. They 582 00:32:49,070 --> 00:32:51,140 were different colors. So it kind of messed with your 583 00:32:51,140 --> 00:32:53,210 eyesight a little bit. So it looked like they were okay. 584 00:32:53,570 --> 00:32:56,210 Okay, so it wasn't too bad. But yeah. 585 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:01,010 Well, Noel, thank you for being with us. Tell listeners, let's 586 00:33:01,010 --> 00:33:04,310 give the URL again for the foundation on how they can 587 00:33:04,310 --> 00:33:07,460 follow you and everything else. Because absolutely, 588 00:33:07,460 --> 00:33:10,700 yeah, thank you. Ah, it's www dot the born to run 589 00:33:10,730 --> 00:33:14,330 foundation.org And you can follow any of us, you know, 590 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,930 Paralympians. We would love all the support with watching I'm 591 00:33:17,930 --> 00:33:22,610 sure it'll be on NBC XFINITY or peacock I think is promoting it. 592 00:33:22,610 --> 00:33:26,840 So please, please, please tune in. It's August 28 to September 593 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,990 8, if you want to leave being inspired, watch the Paralympic 594 00:33:29,990 --> 00:33:32,660 games because you see incredible athletes do incredible things, 595 00:33:32,660 --> 00:33:36,200 not just with disabilities, but as just a whole of being a 596 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,110 person. But yeah, you can follow along there. You can follow me 597 00:33:39,110 --> 00:33:43,250 on my social media at Noelle Lambert, and any of you survivor 598 00:33:43,250 --> 00:33:45,320 fans out there. Thanks for supporting. 599 00:33:46,260 --> 00:33:47,850 Well, thanks for being a guest. Yes, 600 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,730 thank you so much for having me and very excited for the next 601 00:33:50,730 --> 00:33:52,410 couple of days in Colorado Springs. 602 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:53,940 Enjoy yourself. Thank you