You are hurting so bad and you stop.The pain's gone in what a couple hours the next day.But if you quit, you're living with that.That part doesn't go away.
Living with this feeling of quitting and that you gave up or too bad and you stopped and then you always have this what if I just would have kept going.A lot of times it turns around and something hurts so bad and then
20 miles later, that pain isn't even there anymore because something else hurts.
A new fire begins somewhere else.It's worse.Always ask why.Why is this the way it is?
The whole goal is to rise the industry, to grow it.
Don't worry about giving us credit, guys.We're not here for that.
If it grows the industry, that's what makes me happy.
When you first said it, I was going to hang up. It's not a race you want to win.Yeah, you're going to lose, because it'll be too cheap.You'll be working for, like, McDonald's money.Otto, Minder, on to our show from L.A.Bana.
Thank you so much, guys, for having me on board.OK, we'll take 20.I can't do math.I'm a beauty professional.Yeah, big fanning.I do teeth whitening.I'm like, OK, there's some point where you got to draw a line.
My biggest concern is longevity and making sure that you've got the best possible mechanical fit. If you're looking for a lash podcast that will challenge how you do lashes, build you up
And to help you create a business that not only thrives but allows you to live a life you're proud of, you've come to the right place.
This is LashCast, your friend in the lash industry.Coming to you from the City of Roses, this is the broadcast by Lash Professionals and for Lash Professionals.Thank you for hanging out with us today.
Today we have a returning guest and this is a follow-up episode.Mindy Lam from Ellie Bond is coming on to talk about running her hundred mile race.
Yes, we did a while back actually a long time ago earlier this year We released the episode where she talked about it and actually maybe or late last year now I think about where she talked about how she just ran a race just before lashcon last year and It was insane.
And well, she's now an addict and And she likes pain.And so she goes into more details about it.She did another one and we wanted to hear more details how she survived the last one.
And then she surprised us and said, Oh, by the way, I just ran another one.So we're supposed to be, we ended up talking about two.And now that she just.
now doing this as part of her life and what inspiration was for her and talks about the importance of the community and all this fun stuff.It's a lot of great life takeaways.
What she's doing is something that can actually, I think, really change not just your business, but this is how you change your life.It's really, really exciting, inspiring stuff.So I can't wait for you to hear that interview.
But before we do that, we have announcements. And we have a bunch of stuff as always, but real quickly guys, we have the clubhouse rolling and we are excited because we've made it easier for all of you to get involved.
Only $37 and there's no deadline.We'd love to see you sign up and you get so much more guys.We're going to be basically changing the way we do the podcast.
We've been a little erratic, but we're gonna basically have one podcast a week that will go publicly and now we're have our private podcast just for our last community for our real fans for our tribe the ones that really love everything that we do this is for you and You're gonna help support us because it's gonna be $37 and we're gonna be adding video to it So you can actually be and then actually really the next level we're hoping at some point it can be a live like studio audience where you can sit there be part of the podcast interact with us and It'll just be our
fun little family time that we record and make these episodes.We can't wait for it.It's coming now or it's already here.And if you want to be part of it, just pay $37 a month and you can be part of it.
Plus, on top of that, you get two Q&A sessions with Tess and I, where you can bring any business stuff, last things and talk to us and meet with us.And we'll
it's a group coaching call, but it's a time for you really pick our brains and help you with your business.We also have a monthly guest speaker, someone in their industry that you love will come and share their information.
And you have over access to, I think it's over 30, 40 hours of content we've created over the last year with the clubhouse.And I'll teach you everything you know how to run your business.So, so much there, so much more coming.
We can't wait to unpack this, so please go show notes and sign up today.We'd love to see you in the clubhouse.Tusk needs retention classes coming up here.
We're gonna be in Salt Lake City at Barboleta, November 16th, 17th, and then Los Angeles at Lashbox LA, November 23rd, 24th.
Use the discount code LONGLASTING and save money where it's only $1,200, guys, to come and basically get taught by Tusk how to change your business and have long-lasting lashes. And yeah, that's it.That's all we have.We have more coming.
Lashcon ticket sales have closed, I think by now.It was overwhelmingly positive.Super happy about it.Can't wait till the next launch, which we'll have, we do this last few years around Christmas.
We'll do a really short little sale just as a little Christmas thing.Cause I know a lot of you out there want to get your, you know, get someone to buy you a ticket, right?So, hey, you love me?You'll buy a ticket for Christmas.
So that's coming up very, very soon here in around Christmas time. All right, that's all I have for announcements now.
Let's sit down with Mindy and let's do a follow-up about her really crazy idea about running this 100-mile race, but actually is, I think, really, really cool and something that, I don't know, I won't commit to it yet, but it's definitely inspirational.
Hey, smart cookies.I am so excited to bring you another episode of the fabulous slash cast podcast today.Fabulous.Wow.Today we are doing a follow up.For those of you who listened to the first one with our amazing guest, Mindy Lam of Ellie Bonner.
She did something absolutely positively remarkable.
Crazy, you crazy girl.Yeah.She ran a 100 mile run and we were following up with that, but when we were just chit chatting right before the show started, she says, well, I have an update.
She just did another 100 mile, which I think is just nuts and crazy.So we're going to get into it with her.I just like to welcome you to the program, Mindy.
Well, thank you.It's so fun to be back with you guys.
Yeah, it's great to have you back and we love the door.You, we love everything at Ellie Bonin.I run the team over there.You guys are a wonderful company, wonderful people, and I think a real light in our industry.
And what's really exciting to have you on this year, something really different and unique that we have not really seen anyone do or talk about.And that is run a hundred miles.
And I actually, I didn't know existed until you popped on the radar and you were sharing, I don't know when you share, I'm doing this thing.And when you share like, Oh my gosh, we have to have her on because this sounds like she might die.
This might be our last conversation with her.
So we first started talking about this last year at premiere at Orlando.It's almost, it was exactly.And you were saying that the Genesis was you were encouraging your team and the people that you're mentoring to do hard things.
to prepare for things and then see them through.And I think it's the run is a huge metaphor for our daily work and how we can improve our daily work by doing hard things.
So I'd love for you to be able to share like what it was like what you did and then the follow-up and then now this new run.
Let's get into the guts and glory.
Yeah, you've got it.Last year we were looking for a way to motivate some of the team and I thought doing something really hard not only helps you in your personal life, but it can help you in your professional life.
And I know we went into it in the last episode a lot, but when you do something really hard and you have a big struggle in it and you wait to see how you come out the other side of that and you'll come out a better person, you'll come out a changed person for sure, because you've just
You've conquered something that seemed impossible and you did it.So the next thing that seems impossible, you're like, well, I did do something else that was really hard.Let's just see where this goes.
And you get a little bit of confidence that you can do it and you can tackle it. We did the hard thing, which was right after I talked to you last time we did the Hennepin 100.And that was here in Illinois, where I'm located in that race.
There were 251 people who started that race.Wow.There's so many people that do these there's races.There's a hundred mile race happening this month that has a lottery system to get in.You have to first.
race a qualifier, another 100 within a certain time frame, then you can put your name into the lottery if you make the qualifier, along with thousands of other people.And then in December, they'll draw the lottery.
And then there's people that have been in there eight years that still haven't gotten their name drawn.So it is a big sport.You just don't hear about it a lot.
Who signs up for this torture?Mindy does.The fact that you just did one, I would on the floor, like a skeleton or something like that.And I'm looking at you and you're radiant.You look rested.You look glowy.Look like you just came from the spa.
Seriously.It's like a superhuman.
So let's get into it.Let's find it.So you, the race was last.It was just before Lashcon actually.Right.It was in October.I think was the weekend before Lashcon or two weekends before.
It was the weekend before, so the race was Saturday into Sunday, because it just takes a long time.Finished Sunday, slept most of Monday, and then Thursday got on a plane to go to Lashkon.And then by Friday, I felt more normal.
I remember you telling me that you had to walk with a walker, and you couldn't use the toilet.You had to have people helping you.
Plus my husband, he got me one of those nursing home toilet things that go over your toilet with the handlebars.And it was amazing because that's the only way I could sit down.
But with this one, I've been fine since after I've been able to walk, I haven't needed a cane or a walker, and this was a much harder race.So it's amazing how our bodies can adapt to things.And the recovery has just been so much better.
So I am feeling really good with this one.And we're only a few days out.
I want to get into the actual race itself.Cause I think that no, we've talked about it in theory, but let's talk about what's the day of, what did you do to get ready?Do you eat a certain way?
Like how long does it take?Like, are you eating while you're going?
Yeah.Displaying the whole experience.
Okay.So the one that I just did is more fresh in my mind now.So let's talk about that.So this one was the Kettle Moraine 100.And so it's up in Wisconsin.It's a hundred miles and it is through the Kettle Moraine forest.So it's all trail.
It had about 8,800 feet elevation.So it was not flat.So it's an incline.
And it was just beautiful.So it takes, the cutoff is 30 hours.So the idea is to do it under 30 hours.So there's no sleeping involved.You get up in the morning.I think we got up at 4.15 in the morning, went over to the course.
It started at 6 AM sharp. And before that, I try to eat as much for breakfast as I can stomach.
So I have a big dinner the night before a big breakfast, like six, 700 calories, if I can, and then another snack, like a banana or something right before we start, just so I have everything full for storage.
And after that, it's about every 30 to 40 minutes. for the next 30 hours trying to eat.
So like, are you doing a hydration vest on electrolytes, constantly slow dripping that in as as much as possible, and then eating constantly.
The number one people, the number one reason that people don't finish these is because of stomach problems, not eating enough.
Really?So not their legs giving out, not it's their stomach to the point where they're cramping.
Like they don't have enough fuel, not eating enough and running out of fuel.And then once you don't eat enough, you start to get nauseous and then you can't eat.
And then if you can't come back from that, and I did have a little bit of that in this one, it was raining for about five hours.
In the kind of the beginning of it a mile, maybe it's somewhere in the thirties and forties.It's fuzzy, but we're in there.It was raining for five hours and the mud was just unreal.So I wasn't concentrating on eating.
I was concentrating on just getting through this mud and just moving forward and just trying to keep running.And so I got behind on my eating and then my stomach was like. Yeah, I don't know what we're doing.Okay, so back from it.
So explain to me, like, do you have like the mega snack vest?We've got like pouches?Are you eating bars along the way?Are you eating apples?Are you eating gel?I've seen them eating that goo.Like, how does this work? You're actually both right.
So I have a vest on with lots of pockets.I stuff it all with snacks.And then also, every so many miles, there's what they call the aid stations, where you can stop and you have a full buffet to choose from.
All salt snacks, sweet snacks, different drinks. different sodas, ginger ale, sports drinks, pickle juice, anything you can think of that's sweet, salty, full of carbs, full of sugar, full of salt, electrolytes.
So you can choose whatever you want from this buffet of volunteers.There's a group of volunteers running each aid station.So you can refill there, or you can see your crew, which is kind of your team out there that's helping you.
They can meet you at those spots and give you like your own food.
So is it like a pit stop where you come in and you sit down and have a feast?Or is it more like is it like a boxer?Like they put the water in your mouth and then they put the grease on your face and go up and fight again.
Like, you know, yeah, the idea is like a NASCAR pit stop, like it's every second because the more time you waste at these stops, The closer that finishes getting for the time cutoffs.
So you really want to make those stops as fast and efficient as possible.I'm nowhere near like elite on this.I'm like mid back to the backer, the really fast ones at these races that are.
breaking course records, they come in and within one minute, two minutes, they're fully refilled, everything's restocked and they're on their way out.
Now, do you have to use the bathroom or are you sweating out and excreting everything that you're taking in?
Well, actually, that's an important thing to keep an eye on because if you've gone like 30 miles and you haven't gone to the bathroom yet, that's probably a problem.
So as much as you're taking in, you do want to be able to, you know, go to the bathroom too.And they do have some porta potties at some of these stops, but you're surrounded by woods and wilderness.So that's usually the faster option.Oh, wow.
That's like roughing it, man.That's like camping.That's crazy.Like, do they have, are you worried that people are going to see you?Are you by yourself?Are you with a crowd of people?
Sometimes you're with a crowd of people and sometimes you're by yourself, but you go far enough into the woods that like, no one can see you now.
Got it down to a science.You get in there, you do your thing and you come back out and you start running again.And everyone knows the drill that's out there.So they don't even look twice.
Yeah, it's just part of this.It's like when you're in theater, everyone just undresses and dresses in front of each other.It's just it's just part of the culture.You just understand.
Now, I'm so fascinated because I never realized, of course, you have to maintain a certain amount of fluids and energy for the body to keep going.I just thought like legs would give out or people would, I don't know, pass out.
But the fact that you're right, it's not enough energy is coming in and you're spending all that.How many calories do you end up burning over that time?Do you guys know what the average is?
So my watch, I actually had to charge my watch about halfway through the race.So it was a couple of hours where it wasn't recording like my heart rate and my calories.But from what it did record, it said I burned around 10,000.Okay.
And I probably didn't take in probably only took in like 6000 or something that was a little behind during that section of the rain.So I definitely did not eat enough.But it's always a struggle.And you don't you can train for it.
I trained for it every long run on the weekends, I'm bringing food, eating while I'm running, you not only have to train yourself to actually
get the food into your mouth and chew while you're running, but you have to train your gut to process it while you're running.Yeah.Oh, it is a practice.And so every weekend you practice this, right?
But you're rarely unless you're in a race, put in this situation where you're already tapped out on everything else that's going on and you're in the middle of the night or you've been running for 15 hours and
Then what does that look like still trying to get food in?So it's just, you know, you can only do so much in training, but when you're put in this type of situation, it really tests you really trying to get that food and don't think about it.
Just get it in.Just don't, don't even taste it.Just try to get it down.Yep.So electrolyte calorie mix that you can put like a powder into your. water and you can drink that, which helps.
And then there's the gels, like Tess, you were just mentioning the gel.Those you can usually get down pretty easy, but then there's a point that those aren't going in anymore.And sometimes you just want solid food.
When the sun came up, I knew there was a need station that had pancakes.I was really looking forward to those.So since it was an out and back on that section, we had passed it the first time and I was like, I'm not taking a pancake yet.
I'm going to get it on the way back in.So on the way back past that aid station, I said, I'm here for the pancakes.So they handed me some pancakes.They put a little syrup in between them.
And I said, Can I actually get like a cup full of syrup so that I can dip the pancakes into the cup and like scoop the syrup into my mouth.And we have pictures of that that are on Facebook.But it was those pancakes were delightful.They saved me.
Oh, wow.So are you eating the pancake and the syrup while you're running?
OK, so then, like, do you have a sack where you put like all the wrappers and stuff?
So I had like you can roll up the cup then and shove it in a pocket.Everything is sticky by that point.Yeah, really matter.Yeah.
So are you, how much liquid are you, that's in your vest that you're running with?
Mine is like a 1.6 liter.Wow.No, but then as we're stopping, I'm having like ginger ale or plain water or whatever they have, Coca-Cola or whatever looks good in the moment.
How many stations are there?How many, how far are the stations?
Uh, some of them are like two, three miles apart.It might be like a small one.And then some of them are maybe five miles.So, and every race is different.
The more mountain races, which we do not have in Illinois, you might have much longer stretches before you have an aid station or crew.So.
what is going on your mind for thirty at first did you do it within thirty hours you both of them did you get done the time for us.
I did i did the first one in twenty eight hours fifty three minutes and twelve seconds and i. 28 hours, 47 minutes and 38 seconds.
I just have to, I just have to like ask this because like sometimes I'm like, I didn't finish my question.Really?Yeah.
Ask her what she goes through in her mind and she's running for 28 hours.
Let's finish that one.Let's get that done.So that's a long time to be alone in your thoughts, especially when you're probably in pain and not feeling terribly comfortable.So what happens?How do you keep going?What do you play music?Do you talk?
Well, I actually rarely will use my headphones even in training because I feel like they're reserved for emergencies only.Okay, so I will rarely listen to music.I'll put on a podcast or a book sometimes like if I'm doing like a
five, six hour long run, something like that.I might do podcasts and that sort of thing.But I will usually only reserve music for emergencies, because it's such a pick me up.
And it will work if you're in a real low, but I don't want to waste that if I do.So I just save it.So for this one, I actually didn't even bring my headphones.But that's when you make trail friends.If someone's
kind of struggling alongside you or there's a lot of people running.So you're bound to see someone.There were many miles I spent by myself and those were the lowest miles of the race for where I really struggled the hardest.It was just pouring.
I was by myself.I didn't see another soul out there.I didn't hear anybody's voices.I thought the race packed up and went home and I was the last one out there.Oh my gosh.And so it was just awful.But then I came out of
that section and met this guy, Tom, who was running it for the fourth time, I think.And we chatted all through the rain and the mud for the next.Gosh, 20 miles or something.
It was a long time, but we stuck by each other and really helped each other get through it.He said he wouldn't have gone as fast if he didn't have me there right behind him.And I certainly wouldn't have gone that fast if I wasn't following his heels.
You just, you find friends out there and you, you do have to That's where the mental toughness comes in, right?
It's like you try to practice it, but it's such a hard thing unless you're put in that position, but it's like just trying to repeat some of the things I've heard others doing.What's the story I want to write when this is over?
Do I want to say that I quit?Do I want to say that I dropped out?Do I want to say it got too hard?Or do I want to say, yeah, it was really hard and yeah, I was struggling and I wanted to lay down and cry, but I kept going.I just try to think of
that story at the end, how does it look?How do I want to feel?What story I want to write and try to use that to keep going.
That's a wonderful idea just in life, right?Because we all hit those hard times, right?We all hit those struggles.We all have those down moments.And what if you could think the bigger picture, right?
The longer game, like, okay, but a year from now, this will be over. What do I want to be able to tell people that I threw in the towel and I gave up, which sometimes is the right thing to do.
It's not always the right thing not to do that, but, or do you want to talk about overcoming and how you fought and how you had grit and how you, you're stuck in there even when you didn't want to.So that's, I love that.
And not even the story that you're going to tell others too, but the story you're going to tell yourself, because when you.Give up because it hurts.I mean, it hurts.You are hurting so bad and you stop.
The pain's gone in what, a couple hours the next day?But if you quit, you're living with that.That part doesn't go away.
Living with this feeling of quitting and that you gave up or too bad and you stopped.And then you always have this, what if I just would have kept going?A lot of times it turns around and something hurts so bad and then
20 miles later, that pain isn't even there anymore because something else hurts.
So it's just a new fire against somewhere else.It's worse.
So it's like, okay, first ailment wasn't so bad.Well, what I was going to say was that something hard for me is like, I'm a late packer, so I don't pack into the last minute and usually 5 a.m.I'm literally up 5 a.m.and packing and I'm like,
to the point where I'm so tired and I'm practically crying as I'm putting my stuff.It's of my own creation, but I'm thinking, you do this grueling thing in the mud, in the rain, uphill, like, so fatigued.Like, are you bleary-eyed?
Are you just stumbling through?Or is that when you have to say, what story do I want to tell myself?I'm saying like, how do you get through that?
The first one that I did in October, the night section was awful.It was long.October nights are long anyways, compared to June nights.A lot of darkness for a lot longer and it was cold.So that night section, I remember just death marching.
It was hours of just, it wasn't even running, I was walking.And it was just step by step, just keep moving. It was a death march until the sun came up and then we got some more energy.But in this one, the night went super fast.
It was, the course keeps changing.Like, yeah, you're in the woods the whole time, but it, There's different sections that look different.There's more scenery than there was in the last one.So it kept it interesting.
Also with these races, you're not alone the whole time.You can choose to have pacers come and help you a certain point in the race.So with the first one in October, it was mile 50.
You could pick up a pacer, which is someone on your team that puts on a pacer bib and they can stay with you through the night section until the finish.
In this one, it was up about, um, at the 100 K or a little before, depending on what time you got through that part, you could start picking up a pacer.So that means that you can have someone running with you.
Maybe just aid station to aid station, and then they'll swap out with another person and then they'll stay with you through the next seven, eight miles.And then they'll swap out with someone else.
So you can get fresh blood into, like, you were telling dad jokes.They were like, Hey. singing all these different things to try to help you keep you going.So it keeps it fresh and it keeps you going.
And then I had a such a great experience at the first one in October, mile 37.I met a girl who was going about the same pace I was.Her name is Liz. And we just started talking and it was her first hundred, it was my first hundred.
We started bonding and we committed to finishing the race together.So we did mile 37 to a hundred together that day. We stayed in touch after that, and she flew out from Colorado to help me with this one.So she signed up to be a fun runner.
So you can sign up to do the fun run, which is 38 miles.
Doesn't sound fun, but OK.
You can basically start any time, I think, after 5 p.m., but it's set up so that you can run with a 100 miler whenever they come through.So you can wait for your 100 miler to come through and then just run the rest of the race with them.
So that's what she did.She signed up for the fun run and she ran from real really the last 38 miles with me.So her plus we had a third person as our pacer. So it's like a party in the woods, right?
We got people, we had different playlists, different music, different jokes, different voices.So like, I didn't even get sleepy in this one.
I didn't have, my death march in this one was through the meadows with the rain and the mud, like the longest, toughest section.
The night, of course, hurt the most because it was the most hilly and the most technical and my feet were trashed by then, but it wasn't the death march. And I had cakes, so that helps.
Yeah.So it really sounds like it's like a fellowship and the fellowship, it's the change that keeps it going.
Community, right?It's again, community helps you get through that because if you had to work, if you did 28 hours solo by yourself, do you think you'd make it through or that it'd just be too tough?
I don't think I would, but people do that.Like there was people there that had no crew, no pacers.They have drop bags so they can leave bags for themselves and different stuff with their stuff in it and rely on the aid stations.
But there's people that go out and do it all by themselves.That's not me.
So I had a crew, my husband runs the crew, so he's meeting us at certain spots, getting me everything I need quickly, cheering us on and getting me back out there before I have the chance to like really relax.
So it sounds like it takes a village.So it takes a lot of organization, a lot of planning.I would imagine that the cost for these things must be pretty high, like the entry fee, that kind of thing.
because of all the logistics in terms of the support and the volunteers and the aid stations and things.Can you talk about that?
I would imagine they're all a little different, but the ones that I have done, they've been close to home, but they're about, I think somewhere around 400, 450, something like that for the entry fee.
But that's just your entry fee because of then, of course, you're renting a house for the crew to go back and forth to and all the supplies you need, the food that you're going to need.And then you want to help your crew out with their support.
Yeah, because they're dedicating their entire weekend to help you with this silly goal.
So I'm actually really surprised.I was thinking it was going to be in the. thousands, almost tens of thousands.That's what I was thinking.Something to run tens of thousands of dollars for that.That's crazy.
I just thought this was like a super elite sport.
Like, yeah, for yeah.Okay.Millionaire run.That's what I thought.Ellie Bond is paying Mindy very well.She's like, you know what?I can now pay $10,000 for a run.
I'm really surprised.$400, $500, that's doable.I guess there's expense with travel and the food and all that stuff, but I just thought it was going to be something that was like minimum five grand.
So I think it is a couple thousand for like if you're doing a $200.
Wow.Actually the Tahoe 200.So you run around Lake Tahoe and my coach is actually going there to help someone that she met at her 200 last year.But I think those are much more of like the low thousands, maybe 1,500, 2000.
I haven't actually looked into it yet.
So the more pain, the more you pay.That's great.
And there's actually signs along the course.Remember, you paid for this.
Now, is it marked off?So you're just always signed the whole way?Or is this could you get lost?They give you a map and you you got to find them follow the map and I get lost.Oh, my gosh.
About 65 miles of it was on the Ice Age Trail, which goes through Wisconsin.And they mark it with these little pink flags.So like if you're doing the 100 mile, you just know, follow the pink flags and then their signs.
So if there's like if the trail goes in different directions, it'll have a sign this way.And then if you were to go the other way, there's a big Like wrong way.Fine.
Pancakes this way.Certain death this way.
Exactly.It's been very easy, especially with this particular race organization that put this on ornery mule racing there.It marks the courses super well.There's no chance.I can't say no chance, but slim chance of getting lost with these.
And is this something that is a like a track where you see your same space more than once or is it one unique trail the whole way?Like you never repeat or run in circles in any way, right?
They're all different.So the one I did in October was the shape of an upside-down T. So you started at the top, you came down south, and then you went east, and then you backtracked west, and then ended up further west.
So it was a little bit of a mountain back, but other than that, like a point-to-point. This one, you started in the middle of the course, middle-south, and then you went north and came back.
So you did an out-and-back north, and then you went and did an out-and-back south.So the start and finish were the same, but it was like two different out-and-backs.
Oh, so you're going to be passing people going both ways at times where it's not just... Yes.I see sometimes you see the bike things, they start here and they end up way out here.
Like it's a hundred miles away, another location, you have to have a drop off and pick up and all that stuff.
Yeah, so some of them are like that.They're a point to point where you start in one city or state and you end up somewhere else.They have 100 milers on tracks actually too, which I can't imagine the mental.
I think that would be really, yeah.To see the same thing over and over?I don't know.No, I think the beauty, at least one of the things is you're discovering new land, right?Your environment is different.Yeah, I can imagine.Oh my gosh, that's crazy.
Now, is there any first, did you want to quit?I'm sure you did.But did that hit you a lot?Often not as much between the two races.
So I definitely with both of them got into pretty low lows with just like, how did I think I could do this?Not one of these people that can do it.This is beyond my training.This is beyond what I'm capable of.
I don't know if I can finish, but never in either one.Did I think, Oh, I'm going to drop out.I'm going to quit.I didn't have that feeling, but I feeling of why, why I'm not good enough to do this.
Just those thoughts, imposter syndrome, let it get to you.You're soaking wet.And my gosh, that rainy section, my crew had given me food in each hand.Cause they knew if it was in my hands, I'd eat it.But it's like,
soggy and wet and it's pouring down rain and my food's soaked and I'm just like trying to eat and running through the rain and not seeing anyone and I was just like, oh my gosh, what am I doing out here?This sucks.
That's the part that I was thinking would be so hard is because when your shoes get wet, that's always the place where I think
disaster begins where you can have get blisters, you can get all sorts of problems or the feet are so soggy, it's hard to run and how does that work?Does do you dry out as you do use alpaca socks?Yeah.
I use these socks. The brand is in ginger and they're like the toe socks so that you don't get blisters between your toes Yeah, so after the rain stopped I did do a sock change I figured there'd still be mud.
So I saved my shoe change till a little bit later I'm ended up sock change then too.So I tried to get them dry as soon as I could but I at the same time I didn't want to
do a full sock and shoe change and then have to go right back out into the mud again, because the mud was like ankle deep in some spots.So just so that my feet did get the brunt of it.
My ankles are still a little swollen, my right foot's a little swollen.And I've got three bandages on my right foot right now.And I'm definitely losing two toenails.
Okay, so explain to me how the I lost a toenail once because it got stuck in my spoke when I was being chased by a dog. Anyway, yeah, I was nine years old and that took months for it to grow back.So how do you lose a toe when you're running?
Mostly for me anyway, it's when you're doing like the downhills and your foot is hitting the end of your shoe when you're going downhill.But I also think a lot of it was like that suction from the mud.
Oh, it was just like pulling my foot weird and it was giving me weird blisters.And then I was getting blisters like under my toenails.So Oh, my god.50 miler on this same course in May to prepare for this and I lost a toenail during that and then
Now I'm losing two more on that same foot.So I should look great.
So no open toed heels, right?Oh yeah.I don't know what you do.Do you like paint the skin?Bumpy.The skin is all like bumpy and gnarled.I'm currently waiting for those two to fall off.Oh my God.
It's part of your body refusing to do this.Like the hell with this.I'm out of here.And the toenails taking a hike.It's protesting.It's protesting.Yeah.
But hey, if that's the worst that can happen, like if that's all that I have learned about from the race, other than that, great.Like I didn't fall and twist my ankle.I didn't break anything.So I'm thankful for that.
Now, that's the thing I was wondering, too, is as you're running and you're seeing other people in their journey. What type of stuff do you see other people do?Do you see people crying?Are your people like mad?Like, I'm done.Why did I sign up?
Or do you see people falling up hurting themselves?Like what are some of the obviously you've now done this twice.You're a pro.But I'm sure that you're seeing some other things that could be very disheartening along the way.
That'd be like, Oh, my gosh.
If you start talking to people, sometimes they'll tell you that they're going to drop at the next one, and you're like, just get to the next aid station.The volunteers at these things are so great.
They will be so encouraging, and they will get you back out there.That's their job.Get you moving, get you out the door, onto the trail, and at least then you have that time to think about it till the next one.
You'll hear people saying that they want to drop and you just try to be encouraging.Just get to the next one.Just let's go.Let's go together.Let's get to the next stop.
A lot of people throwing up, like they just stopped eating or their stomach, they went out too fast.So they're not processing food anymore.So they're just throwing up a lot of death marching.But the great thing is if you keep going.
It does turn around, like it does get better.If you're in a really low or just everything hurts and you just start walking super slow, you do come out of it.And I never believed that before it actually happened.
because I was like, well, if it's that bad, I don't think you can turn around from that.But every time I've been able to, and it's multiple times in a race sometimes, but you just one foot in front of the other, and eventually that will pass.
Try to eat, try to drink a little bit, and eventually you will feel better.
I love that.It's a great metaphor for life.It's just, you can quit later, but let's just keep putting one foot in front of the other.Let's just keep going.
Just all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other and know that it's going to get better.
It's still progress, no matter how slow you're going. And with life too, just as long as you're making progress, moving forward, even if it's slow, you can make up the time later.
And I also love the idea about the community where you have people at the pit stops there to help build you up, encourage you.That's what we want for Lashcon or some of these other events.
These are places that are like your pit stops every year you go to, and you can get there and you get encouraged, you get that fire relitten, you get that support, you see some friends and you share your war stories.
And then you decide, okay, I'm not going to quit.Like, I'm going to keep going because now I know I'm not alone.I'm not in this.
And I think that's where the struggle happens is when you get Iceland, you get cut off from people, like you said, running by yourself.Also, it really makes it difficult, but it's when you're that you have a fun run buddy or whatever.So it's like,
That's good marketing by the way, because that's not what it is.
What is a marathon?What is that?Marathon is 29 miles, right?Yeah.
So a fun run is like more than a marathon.
I've only ever done a 5K, which is like laughable.Don't say only, it's still a run.
Or I walked a lot of that thing.
Yeah, Tess ran more than I did. So for you, what percentage do you think you ran and what percentage was walking?I'm assuming you walked something.I don't know if you ran straight 28 hours.
I would be, I cannot do that now.
I think so.Even the elites with a course, that's really hilly.The general role for myself and what my coach was telling me is run what you can.If it's a runnable section, run it. If it's a hill, hike it.So I hiked up all the hills.
I wouldn't try to run up any hills.That's just waste too much energy.
If I was like grabbing a bunch of food and eating it instead of sitting at the aid station and eating it, I would just walk until I finished it or at least got almost finished and then start running again.So the hills are a great place to
And when I say run, but we're not running faster, I'm not running.It's slow, but it's like, you got to have enough in the tank to still finish.So it's a pretty slow pace for me.
I'm by no means like a pro or elite with this, but it's, we were joking through the middle of the night and we called it our slog, our slow jog.Like, are we ready to slog?
Okay, let's go. I like the thought that it's not just a full run, like there's a change of terrain.There's a hiking section.You really can't be running up a hill.
It's like you're still using, it's still strenuous, but it's different kind of engagement, like with your body and your mind.What parts are your favorite?
Well, I mean, the food generally is pretty good.That's a really great part of it.But the night section in this one, I was particularly looking forward to.I knew the night would be a lot quicker than the last one.
I knew it would be warmer than the last one.And so I was trying to turn that night negative
image that I had from the last one into like, this is going to be so great for the next one, because we'll have like the summer bugs that we could like here, maybe some owls.It's going to be warm enough to not be completely layered up.
We'll have friends with.I knew that part of the course because I had done it before several times.So I knew what I was running into. And I knew that it was just going to be so pretty out there.So I loved the night section.
I knew I'd have my friends with at that section.So I was really looking forward to that.It did hurt the most, but that was probably the best part.
You probably didn't notice it as much because of the friendship, the camaraderie, the scenery, all that good stuff.
Yeah.They put up with my like swearing and yelling when I was hurting. And then they'd make jokes about it and they might be like, I can't run right now.And they're like, you can't run.Okay, let's just start running right now until like that tree.
They definitely kept me going.And then I'd say, okay, and then I'd start running.So the community is everything out there.I think the people you're with the other runners, if somebody's on the side of the trail and not doing well, everybody stops.
Are you okay?What do you need?Do you need food?Do you need what can I share something that I have with you so you can get going again?
And the volunteers, there's what hundreds of volunteers, they wouldn't be out there unless they loved what they were doing.That's the whole weekend.
And they've probably ran it themselves, or they know someone running it, or they just love the sport and can't run at all.But they're out there because they want to be.And they're preparing all this food for these runners and just being encouraging.
They're playing music.They're getting you through.It's not like, oh yeah, please come sit down, eat.It's like, yep, get this, grab it, get in your hand, go.What can we get you?Let's fill up your waps.Let's get you going.
Just super encouraging, super high energy.You can hear the music from mile away.
That's great.Party lights.It's pretty, pretty cool.
What's the fastest time when you did these races?You did, you said 28 hours.What were the fast people doing?
I think someone finished this one in like 15 hours and something.
Oh my gosh.So they actually had to run almost the whole thing, I'm assuming.
That's not walking partway.
Maybe some of it up a hill or something, but the time is unreal.Like I can't even fathom a few hours faster than what I did more or less like under 20 hours or crazy.
That's amazing. Now for you personally, now that you've gone through two, and right now you're obviously still recovering from this one, what kind of impact has this had on you guys?I'm sure this has got to be life-changing, going and doing this.
It's got to be changing your perspective, I would think very empowering in some ways, or helping you see through things differently.What are some of your takeaways?
Done it now, I finished and felt like it's a big, kind of like a life reset. It's almost like going and doing some kind of big cleanse or big like. monk retreat in the mountains or something.You just feel like everything is resetting.
You just have this big journey, big adventure out in the woods.You've been in nature for 30 hours and it just does something to you.Like you can go and do something inside for that long and it's just different when you're outside.
And I feel like that doing something hard, I've Ever since the first one, I've been trying to keep bringing that back up into my life.Let's find something hard to do.If that's the more challenging route to go, let's go that way.
So I think that it's just... It does empower you for other decisions that you're making.If you.Have a choice to make between two options and it's like, well, this is the easy route.
Let's we could do it this way and get done pretty fast, but how much better would it be if we went that way, created our own path and yeah, it might take longer and it's going to be a lot harder and we might have to be up all night, but that's going to be the best way.
And like knowing that you can get through hard things.Um, and in the back of your mind, you're like, yeah, that's hard, but we've already done hard things.We can do this.
Yeah.And this is a, you got this under your belt.This is all good.I think empower you for work and life challenges that you have to be able to save.I guys, I've been in pain like pain.I can't believe I've done this.
So now I know you did a lot of this for your team.What's it been like coming back and talking to your team?I don't know if it's what type of takeaways you thought maybe there would be there for your team.
So I have heard our team, some of our team say throughout the year, they've messaged me just on messenger or something.And they've said, I was thinking about you because I was going to do this.
And I told myself I wasn't going to do it, or I couldn't do it.And then I remembered what you did.And if she can do that, I can do this.And they went.
So that's been super cool, just to have people reach out and say that they were able to do something because they knew someone else was doing other hard things.They thought, why not give it a shot and then did it.
So that's like my favorite message to get.And I've gotten a few of those, which has been really cool.
That's awesome.No, I think obviously I think that was your inspiration in the beginning was that hoping that this would be inspiring to your team and then be able to see that actually have impact is really cool.It's a leader.That's what you are.
You're a leader in your business and you have people who look up to you and you have this opportunity to be a blessing or you could be a bad leader and you've chosen the better. And I think that's super cool that you're doing that.
Well, I can't believe we've done 46 minutes on this already.This has been an amazing follow up.And hopefully for a lot of people, when we decided to do this, it was like, OK, why are you going to put a person coming on and talk about running?
That's like, OK, it doesn't seem like about lashing, but it is because this is about the bigger picture. It is a metaphor, and it is about the bigger game that we're all playing.We're all in business.We are in this race.We all are in a race.
And I like to think of it more of a marathon, not a sprint, because I think it's about those who endure, those who run the long race, those who are playing for five, ten years, not the ones who are just like, I'm going to sprint really hard, make some quick cash and get out and more likely burn out during that process.
Right.So I think it's really interesting what you said earlier that for me was like this idea you had to stay on top of your eating.You had to keep consuming food, probably even when you didn't feel like it.
Because if you didn't, you get to that point where your body was so deficient that you couldn't eat anymore.And you just burn out and you crash and burn.I think that's again, wonderful metaphor.
For work life and all that stuff that you had to be feeding yourself, taking care of yourself, giving you good things and putting good things where it's knowledge, training, classes, podcasts, books, friendships, connections, relationships, pouring that into you because you keep that so many of us work solo in this industry.
So many of us work alone in this industry. And we think we can do it alone.And we think there's noble acts because we're alone, but it's not.It's actually the exact opposite.We need to be together.We need to support each other.
We need to be supporting each other and supporting each other.So I think what you're doing, I hope people listen.
and see what can I do differently in my life, where I could be part of a community, where I could be playing the longer game, thinking about the bigger picture and pouring into my life.
Make sure you keep those tanks full, because otherwise you're gonna be in our last tragedy, which there are.
I've been in this industry 19 years, and there have been plenty of people that I love and respected who burnt out, who quit, who just couldn't finish because of life circumstances or bad things that happened.
But, you know, I hope that people see this and can make those connections.
Yeah.If there's people in your business that are, or your training doesn't have to be running.It could be anything, but if there's people willing to help you take the help, there's always someone that's been doing it longer than you.
Maybe they're doing it better than you. And if they're willing to help you and give you their time and their knowledge, accept it.
Yeah.Don't be too proud.Right?
Yeah, exactly.You never know what you're going to learn from somebody.If you spend some time with them, it could be something off the wall that you'd never think you'd learn that could help you in ways that you haven't even imagined.
And the long game, like you're seeing last year, Lashcon, it's, it could be anything.It's business fill in the blank.It could be anything, but it's the work you're putting in.
Even before the event, like when you're putting on Lashcon, I can't imagine you and you're, you guys are planning that from what the week after Lashcon ends the year before all year, you're putting in just like the running that one ended in October.
By December, I was training again.And it's not just the work you're putting in on that day.It's everything that's building up to that.All the knowledge you can gain from other people in between there.Are you eating the right foods in between there?
Are you putting in the miles?Are you doing the work?You have to do the work, whether it's business, life, training for something like an athletic event, anything.
The work that you're doing before the event is more important than the event because the event's not going to go the way it's supposed to if you don't put in the work ahead of time.
You go to run a hundred miles, but nobody talks about the 1500 that you put in to get there.So same with Lashcon, like everybody, you get a ticket and you show up and you go to these
see the speakers and buy from the vendors, but it's like every single business that's there, all the speakers that are there, your whole team, the volunteers, all the meetings that had to happen before that could happen, someone picking out what color the volunteers were going to wear that year, who's going to be stationed where,
Is the app working like where what's the schedule going to be like?What's our theme going to be like?That stuff starts so long ago before the event happens.And it's all the work that has to be put in beforehand.
And the work, the struggle, that's the hard part.That's the part where people quit.
Chopping the wood and carrying it's not sexy.
It's not fun, but you got to do it if you want to get the job done.
Yep.And for you to keep going where other people would stop, that's where the magic comes.
Yeah, it is.And then the, then that's the story you get to share to yourself, which I didn't even think about that.It's not just sharing with the others.What do you tell yourself?How do I want this to end?Yeah, that's very cool.That's very cool.
It's keeping the end in sight.Well, that's it.Are you, I'm going to, well, you should probably wrap up, but before, are you doing another one?Is there one on the horizon?Are you doing a 200 now?Are you aiming higher?
There's everything you could think of I'm sure is out there, but I'm I have not signed up for anything yet But I am helping two friends with their hundreds this year one in October and one in August So I want to pace for them and help crew them on their adventures, which will be super fun And then I'm still working on
whatever my plans might be for next year.But I like to first see what work events we're going to have going and get that scheduled so that I can just work around it.
I have a question.You said there's a fun run and pacers and stuff like if anybody who's of course they'd have to train and stuff like that.But is there any opportunity to do like maybe five miles with you or 10 miles with you as a pacer?
Are there opportunities for that?
Yeah, so usually these groups, these events will have like a Facebook group, like a training group, or I guess a textbook where you can post questions about the course or pictures or whatever.And there's always people looking for pacers.
So if people will go on those all the time and say, can someone, I'm looking for a pacer, can someone come and do five miles or 10 miles or seven miles?
And then anyone can just volunteer and then to meet with that person and see if they're a good fit.So it's just a it's another way to volunteer.It's another volunteer position.
Other than being at an aid station, you can volunteer to help pay somebody and get them to their goal.
So that's good.That's awesome. Well, thanks so much, Mindy.This is a great bookend to have both of these, especially that you've done too.I think it's really cool to see.You're an animal.I'm so proud of you.
And hopefully people, if you're interested, probably could DM her and she'd be more than glad to at least point you in the direction if you want to do a fun run.
Oh, absolutely.Absolutely.I'm happy to answer any questions about it and I'll do it.
Yeah.Where can they find you?I know on Instagram where, yeah.
I'm on Instagram.Hello, Mindy Lamb.And on Facebook, Mindy Lamb.
And of course, on either of the Alibaba pages, if you DM those, you can find me there, too.And I'll be at Vegas Booth 1107 for Alibaba.Yes, the sign.
Very.Yep.Yeah.On the quiet side, not the library side of our conversations.It's the library versus the party over at IBS.So and then obviously you guys will be back this year at Lashcon.
And we will be a last con for sure.
Which is so cool.We auto is going to be there too, which I am always happy to have.And we've said there's going to be a boy band this year at the last con.
So I heard a little bit about that.
Yeah.Auto just, I think I've told people, so it's not a secret, but he's going to be part of that.We'll just say he's part of the.
because he's actually made a lot of people don't know when we had him on the show we talked about at least once that he's in a rock band guys he's in a band called bowser so a little preview of some fun stuff we're going to be doing at lashcon with ellie bonnet and they always have a great booth and a lot of just very generous people really support our community and we really appreciate everything you guys we love you guys yeah you guys are the best so
The love goes back at you.We love Last Con event.It's if you're in the last industry, you got to be there.It's you always come away learning something you make new friends.It's not to be missed for sure.We can't wait.
And I will say Mindy is one of the best people giving me feedback.She always actually your feedback is so good.She does.She gives me like a report, almost like someone said, I need you to give me a report off how the event went.
And then Mindy lovingly shares lots of good stuff with me and helps out.And it's always really encouraging because That's how Lashcon gets better.I can't do it by myself.So it's all the people that come alongside and encourage in a fun run.
You come alongside us and run with us for a little bit and tell us, okay, here's what you can do better.So it's always cool.So awesome.Well, thank you so much, Mindy.
It's a blessing as always to see you and have you on and we'll have, we'll see you in Vegas and later in the year.
Nice to see you guys again.Thanks for having me on.
All right, guys, that's a wrap.We are done.We are out of here.Thank you so much for hanging out with us today.Please follow us on Instagram at LashCast and at The Lash Conference.And remember to subscribe, share, and review.
On behalf of my Lash Jogger, Tushnee, as well as our special guest, Mindy, I want to thank you for taking some time to listen.Keep on lashing.And remember, you have a friend in the Lash Industry.
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