Ella Eastin: A Record-Breaking Journey of Resilience & Reinvention

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Whispspeas the voice of Women's Hello and
welcome to the sixth episode of Behind the

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Blocks. I'm your host two time
Olympic swimmer and four times Olympic medalists Haitland

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Sandinoe. Really looking forward to our
show today, but first a word from

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has been a true pleasure to watch
our next guest lawsom mature and leave her

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mark in our sport as she and
I go way back. I first met

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Ella Easton when she was just nine
years old. I'm humbled to say I

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was a very small part of her
massive career and she's not done yet.

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Ella was special in the pool and
out from a very young age. She

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broke numerous national, age group and
high school records and began her record breaking

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college career at Stanford in twenty fifteen. She was a member of three PAC

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twelve and Anti Tway championship teams,
twelve time national champ and I must add

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she was the first woman to win
four Anti Tway titles in the four hundred

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AM. She is a twenty time
All American, twenty eighteen ANTY two,

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a Championship Swimmer of the Meet,
four American and Anty records, and the

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list of accolades go on and on. Needless to say, I'm very proud

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and so excited to be joined today
by Ella Easton. Ella, thank you

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so much for being on behind the
Blox, Thank you for having me.

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This is maybe going to be one
of my favorite podcasts that I've ever done

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interviews to be talking with you specifically, It's been a long time since we've

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been so close, and I'm so
glad that I'm now right down the street.

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So we'll talk about that, I'm
sure, but I'm still looking forward

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to this and I'm really honored to
be a part of this with you,

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so thank you for having me all
my pleasure. So as Ella's show,

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we literally our neighbors were like five
like complexes down from each other. But

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yeah, we go way way back. I mean you went to what was

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at the twenty at twenty sixteen due
in the pool where your mom has like

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maybe one of our first pictures from
yeah, two thousand and five or six.

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Oh yeah, sorry two thousand and
five or six. Yeah, thank

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you for correcting me. Obviously,
somebody's got to keep me in check here.

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I'm just so excited for a show
today. So we are both from

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you know, southern California, Orange
County. Tell everybody how we kind of

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first met and started working together.
So I was lucky enough to have one

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of the best physical therapists when I
was younger. I grew super quickly and

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was having a lot of back and
knee pain and Nick connected us. So

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Caitlin had been working with Nick throughout
her career and afterwards kind of working at

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his office in the back where he
had a pool where you could get stroke

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construction or just have one on one
sessions with Caitlin as a mentorship program,

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and we kind of worked doing that
together for a couple of years. Sometimes

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I'd sit in the pool and I'd
rather just talk to you instead of swim

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that day, and we had no
problem spending the whole time just chatting.

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And other times, I remember my
mom would drop me off at a mall

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and we would sit there and have
a coffee or something and talk, and

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I just remember feeling so lucky that
I had somebody that I looked up to

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in the sport and as a person
so close in my life, and it

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was it was great to have somebody
that I considered one of my heroes be

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there in the flesh with me doing
something that like I didn't think. You

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know, when you look at people
that you admire, you forget that they're

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real sometimes, And as a young
fleet I had aspirations to be as successful

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as you were and to have a
relationship like that is something that really got

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me through a lot of hard times. And also I was just super excited

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about and sometimes brag to some of
my other teammates about too. But you

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know, that was when I was
probably in my young teens, and then

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I went off to high school and
we saw each other intermittently in the swimming

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world, and now we're super close
again, which I'm very very grateful for.

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I know, I love how it
comes so full circle. And thank

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you so much for your kind of
words. I'm over here blushing and like

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tearing up a little bit, but
you touched on this real briefly, and

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this is where I kind of wanted
to start the part of the questions here.

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You had a lot of success at
a really young age, and I

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think what was so refreshing to me
was the interactions that I had with your

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mom and dad when they knew,
Okay, our daughter is special. She

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has, you know, a lot
of talent already, but they're almost like

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nervous that that could go in the
negative direction, and they wanted to prepare

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you or equipped you to handle what
it was like to be successful at a

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young age. And I think that's
just so important and so insightful because basically

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your parents came to me like,
look, she almost has like a target

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on her back because she's so fast
at such a young age, and people

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would just like people would like celebrate
when like you would get second instead of

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first for once, and you were
like ten, you know that Tanina's crazy,

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and it shows you how crazy sports
are and how like gnarly parents can

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get. Yeah, do you feel
that pressure at such a young age.

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I think that I put a lot
of pressure on myself from the very start

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of my swimming career and even in
school. I'm kind of everything that I

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pursued, whether somebody from that outside
was telling me that I needed to do

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X, Y or Z to be
successful, there was already some sort of

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marker in my head that I wanted
to be hitting, and I just did

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the best that I could at a
young age, and I think quickly realized

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that in order to maintain the level
of success that I had achieved, it

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was going to take more and more
work as I got older, and it

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definitely brought me a lot of stress
and anxiety at times, and I was

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super lucky to have parents who recognized
that it was also important for me to

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live a balanced life even though I
was having success in the pool. And

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it was so funny because I when
I came home we for the coronavirus pandemic,

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my mom and I sat and had
some conversations. We were kind of

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reliving some of my younger childhood moments
in the sport because there were a lot

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of questions about, you know,
what was going to be happening over the

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next of the course or the course
of the next year. And she said,

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you know, every Friday, you
and your sister weren't allowed to go

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to practice, and we forced you
to have a social life. And there

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were other parents that were so upset
when you wouldn't come to practice. And

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then the next day at the swim
meet on Saturday, you would, you

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know, beat everybody. And they
would come up and ask, you know,

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what were Ellen Emily doing during that
time, and they said they were

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out there with their friends doing whatever
they felt like. They wanted to to

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have some fun, just like all
the other kids were. And I think

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that was a good reminder that,
you know, I whether I've remembered that

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or not, I mean, it's
been such a long time that I've been

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able to take a Friday off,
but I cherished those days because when I

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did get to go to practice,
it was like, Okay, like I

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only do a couple of these a
week, I'm gonna work really hard.

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And then it got to the point
where I really wanted to be there and

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my parents were like, Okay,
yeah, that's fine, you can go,

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because it was almost punishment for me
not to be able to go to

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practice once I really started to love
it, but I definitely started feeling that

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stress. But I think a lot
of it came from my internal drive to

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continue to get better. But the
outside pressure obviously does not help. And

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I think that you can relate to
that as well, and as you continue,

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it only gets stronger and stronger.
And now with the Internet and social

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media and all of this, you
know, pressure put on people from people

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behind computer screen saying things that they
have no right to say, it's like

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that doesn't help either. And I
think it's been an experience managing all of

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that and then trying to get back
to the reason that I'm continuing to swim

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in the first place. And so
this period of time has been really good

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for that reflection. Yeah. Absolutely, And you mentioned Emily briefly Emily,

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your Irish twin. Really, you
guys are so close in age, but

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how many months are you? Guys? Are just months, aren't you?

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Eleven months? Eleven months? Incredible
and a phenomenal swimmer in herself within herself,

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going to University of Michigan and swimming
there. But you guys come from

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genes of athletes. It's your dad, wasn't your grandpa, your grandmother?

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What was it about swimming that you
think sucked in you? And Emily,

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let's we get that question all the
time. And I actually learned to swim

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about the same time that I learned
to walk. My parents, Wow,

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I met in southern California and they
decided they were going to stay there,

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and we were. We had a
lot of our family here, and so

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this is where they settled down,
and they knew, you know, there's

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a pool on every corner. You
have to have your kids know how to

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swim, so you know that they're
safe in case they're with a friend and

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they go to a pool. You
want them to be water safe in case

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someone's not looking. And so we
were water babies from the start, and

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we played basketball and volleyball. My
sister played soccer for a tiny bit of

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time. But swimming was what captivated
me from the very beginning, and I

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enjoyed the culture a lot. And
I have memories of, you know,

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being on the pool deck at a
really young age and just sitting by the

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pool with my friends, playing card
games, you know, eating slushies before

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my perform my races in Summer League, and it just seemed to be the

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most fun environment. You would go
and you would race, and then you

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know, five minutes later, you'd
be back sitting in the tent hanging out

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with your friends. And I think
that as you get older, you don't

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love sitting on the pool deck for
as long. But as a kid,

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like that's the time that you looked
forward to all week for the weekend to

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be out there just enjoying the sun
and playing around at the pool, and

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that just was what I loved about
the sport. When you're in such a

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competitive sport, and obviously you had
a lot of success, and Emily was

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really strong as well. Obviously I
personally you guys are very very close.

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But what was that like growing up
basically having to race and compete against each

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other so often as well? I
mean, did that I mean, was

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there that sister rivalry or how did
you guys kind of manage that, because

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I think that could be kind of
tricky when you're that close in age.

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It absolutely was difficult to navigate.
Emily and I spent all of our time

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together from when she was born until
I left for college. We had a

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lot of the same friends, we
took some of the same classes. Because

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we were so close an age,
We did things at the same time,

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and she was even more advanced than
I was. It was like we would

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start to do something as a family, and my sister would start at the

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same age as me, and so
she was, you know, eleven months

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behind, but still able to do
everything like I was. And she is

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a lot more naturally talented than I
was. And she ended up not you

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know, finishing her career in college
for some mental health reasons. And she's

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a lot happier now and is healthier, and but she is, you know,

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ten times better of an athlete than
I am. And she had personal

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stuff that affected her, and she
talked openly about now and just different battles

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that she fought. And she was
always so supportive of me, and I

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was always so supportive of her,
and we had different strength, so I

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think it by the time we were
in high school, it was pretty obvious

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that I was doing a little bit
better at middle distance events and she was

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stronger at sprints, and so she
kind of stuck to that and we complimented

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each other more so, and during
high school we had an opportunity to be

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on relays together and enjoy that and
not be so competitive. And I guess

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I say that from my perspective,
but I know that she's expressed to me

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that it always has been kind of
hard because swimming I was always one hundred

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and ten percent in minus a couple
of times where you know, I was

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having challenges with the sport. But
when I was invested, I was totally

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invested in. I was never going
to apologize for the success that I had,

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and she would. She never expected
me too. But I think that

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people didn't give her enough credit for
what she did because I was a little

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bit more well known. And I
am so appreciative of her because she was

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so sportive of me no matter what, and she still is, and she

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wants me to finish my career in
a way that I'm happy with and kind

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of finish it in a positive way
for both of us because it's been such

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a huge part of our life.
How old do you think you are when

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you first really realized how talented you
were? Like, when was there a

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light bulb moment where you're like,
oh, dang, I'm good. I

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think I remember a couple of instances
where in different environ in different arenas,

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I was a little bit ahead of
my competitors. And in the Irvine Swim

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League when I was seven, it
got to a point where my coach was

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like, if you really want to
do this, you should probably go to

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some club practices and some club swim
meets, you know, see how you

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fare against kids that are training more
often instead of just the summer. And

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I remember my very first meet at
Seal Beach. I swam one hundred.

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I am for the first time,
and I was seven, and I swam

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my race, got out and I
was so far ahead that the announcer actually

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announced that the second place girl finished
first because she was actually in the race.

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So I had already gotten out and
walked away. And then I was

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like, mom, they didn't give
me the credit for it. I was

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so upset, and she just laughed
and she was like it's fine, the

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stay in the pool next time,
like it's okay, honey, and she

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just laughed about it. But I
think during my years as an eleven and

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twelve year old, I grew super
fast and I matured pretty quickly, and

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I was a good amount ahead of
my competition. And at that point it

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was definitely who was bigger, who
was stronger for that age group, you

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know, and I happened to be
in that category. And it was at

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that point, though, that I
decided that I wanted to continue to do

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this and pursue this and try to
swim really well in high school and eventually

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go to college. I would stay
probably in my early teens, your early

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chains where you're like, this is
this could take me pretty far along,

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and I could swim in college and
let's see what I can do. Did

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you feel like you had to have
a moment with your parents or with their

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coaches where you said like, I'm
all in, I want this or do

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you think it was just kind of
like a natural, like everybody just kind

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of was already on the same page
without having to have that real serious conversation.

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I think that coaches understood how invested
I was because of how hard I

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worked every single day and how much
of a racer I was when I got

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up behind the blocks. No matter
what type of meat I was at,

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it didn't matter if it was the
Irvine swim Ley got a neighborhood pool,

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or if it was Junior Nationals.
I was there to race and compete,

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and that's what I loved doing.
And I don't think I needed to have

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that conversation until high school and I
decided to switch coaches at that point,

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and it was because I felt like
my desires for the progress that I wanted

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to make at that point weren't necessarily
being recognized and met with the same level

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of passion in terms of my coaching
and my training as an athlete. And

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I eventually moved to SoCal, where
the first conversation that I had with Steve

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Pickelly, he was like, you
know what, I'm going to admit,

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I'm not the smartest guy in the
room, I'm not the best coach,

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but I am going to do whatever
it takes to make you as successful as

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I can while you're here with me
training. And that, to me was

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what I wanted in a coach with
somebody that was as invested as I was,

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and honestly, it was a little
hard to find, and sometimes I

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struggled with being around different like kids
and groups who were there, you know,

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to hang out with their friends,
which was fine, but to me,

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it was more of something that I
was pursuing, Like there was a

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very clear goal of always getting better
and improving. And so that's something that

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I've always struggled with, is like
finding that those groups, the group of

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people that kind of matched my level
of investment. And I think I eventually

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found my place everywhere I went and
found those people, and I think that's

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eventually why I ended up at Stanford, and that I felt so immediately at

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home there with everybody. And you
know, being around type A motivated people

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is really great for your own success, but it also brings its own challenges

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to so but you know, I
craved that that sense of urgency and everything

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that I did, and so being
around people that also felt the same was

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really encouraging for me. I love
what you shared about your coach, Steve

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Keel, because I feel like,
you know, coaches sometimes have massive egos,

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right, and a lot of times
that's why they're good. But for

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Steve just to be so upfront.
And that's something that I've always really appreciated

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about Steve is that he just legitimately
cares so much, and I just it's

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so inspiring and refreshing to hear,
and I just can't really find the right

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words how I feel like he's just
a perfect match for you and your success

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and your your You know that that
summer coach relationship, because you want to

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have something that that's been there before, right see has a very impressive background,

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Yeah, but also that care level
and he's so invested and that he

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you guys just did you worked so
well together, your your high school days

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together and like you said, set
you up so nicely for Stanford. But

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before we get to Stanford, you
know, one of the things that we

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also have in common is are the
first time we were on an international stage,

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our first international competition. We are
really sixteen years old, and kind

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of going back to Steve a little
bit more, how did Steve help you

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get ready for that? Because that's
a lot to take on at a young

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age, and how was that first
international experience for you? He was a

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great mentor for that. He would
often compare his experiences to mine and make

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jokes about how much more mature I
already was compared to him at that age

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in terms of my decisions and stuff. And he would always make light of

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all all of him is you know, past behaviors, as a as a

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as a crazy teenager as he described
himself. But he was so positive and

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he was so confident in me,
and that's all I needed. It was

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like I needed somebody to watch me
every single day and even if it wasn't

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my best practice, like I got
out of the pool and he was,

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you know, proud of something that
I had done. It was like,

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you worked really really hard today,
or like this looked really great today.

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I'm excited to see what you're going
to do tomorrow when you feel better.

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And that just adds up. You
know, you get to the end of

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the season and you it's five minutes
before your race that you've tapered for,

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and I don't even need to say
anything to him, Like we look at

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each other and have the mutual understanding
that we've together prepared for this moment and

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not much has to be said anymore
because every single day he's given me that

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positive affirmation that I'm moving in the
right direction, which I really really chare

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in high school, and Bruce Furness, who also coached me at SoCal,

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was always there willing to offer me
advice, and Steve would often joke because

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it was like some days I didn't
even need to practice, like I needed

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to just sit on the side of
the pool deck and have Bruce give me

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like an inspirational, inspirational speech,
and that's what I needed that day,

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And they bounced each other out perfectly, and which is exactly part of the

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reason why I decided to come home, which I know that we were gonna

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talk about, and I feel like
this is a good transition, and I

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decided to come back and swim with
my club team here at SoCal and be

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with the people that I know love
and care about me in ways where my

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swimming is the least of their priorities. It's like they want to help me

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succeed in the pool because that's what
I'm passionate about and that's where I have

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my goal set right now. But
they want me to be healthy and happy

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and successful person in and out of
the pool, and coming home to people

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like you two who I have a
long relationship with and can look up to

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and kind of use your experiences and
compare them to mine, and just be

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surrounded by my family more often than
I was up in Palo Alto. Has

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been a good change. And I
had an amazing experience up north, but

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you know, everybody needs to change
a scenery sometimes, and I had my

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five years there, and this coronavirus
pandemic I think was a little bit of

306
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,480
a catalyst to bring me home and
I can focus on getting healthy and try

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to, you know, pursue this
next year with as much energy as I

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can, but really make sure it's
focused on what I need to be doing.

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And I think, you know,
having a little bit of headspace has

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given me the perfect opportunity to kind
of make a plan that I feel like

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is right for me at this point
in my life. Oh my gosh,

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I know it's the roller coaster that
you and our past guests have been on,

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and just all the athletes. I
mean, the highs are so highs

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and the lows are so lows,
and you have everything in between. I

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mean, when did you know that
this is the change that you needed.

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I know we talked about it,
but you know, I know a lot

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of athletes are kind of, you
know, struggling and you do hear people

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00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,440
that are switching programs and now you
have to lock in for another year.

319
00:23:22,559 --> 00:23:26,640
What was it? Ultimately, because
I know you were very torn? What

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00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:33,960
was it? Yeah, at the
very beginning of this year, I started

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to recognize that I was really unhealthy
and essentially overtrained and underfueling, and my

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mental health was not in the best
place. And you know, I tried

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my very best to get back,
but I was trying to get back on

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a timeline that wasn't reasonable for what
I was dealing with. And with the

325
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Olympics, it's like you you don't
think you have time, which at the

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time I didn't. If if everything
had gone according to plan and Olympic trials

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had been over already, like I
can stay with confidence that I would not

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have been ready to perform at my
best, which would have been a darn

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00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:18,319
shame after putting so many years of
my life and kind of pouring it into

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this one sort of outcome, which
unfortunately that's kind of what sports does sometimes.

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But but I was given the opportunity
to come home and was forced to

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stay out of the pool and after
a couple weeks of being here. Usually

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in college, I would come home
for a little while, and i'd be

334
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:44,240
itching to go back, and I
recognize that I was at home and this

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00:24:44,319 --> 00:24:48,599
is kind of where I needed to
be to heal and to become my best

336
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self again. And things aren't moving
super quickly in society getting back to normal

337
00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,599
at any normal rate. So I
feel less rough, and I feel like

338
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:08,200
living here gives me a little bit
a better sense of relief too. I

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00:25:08,279 --> 00:25:14,720
love being by the beach, like
I have a generally like really healthy lifestyle

340
00:25:14,759 --> 00:25:19,000
living here, being able to walk
around and bike everywhere, and just being

341
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close to my mom and my dad
and people that I've spent a long time

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00:25:22,799 --> 00:25:30,519
away from in college. And I
didn't I don't think I recognized how blessed

343
00:25:30,559 --> 00:25:33,759
I was until, you know,
I came home and a lot of my

344
00:25:33,759 --> 00:25:36,920
friends were like, you know,
I came home for quarantine, but I

345
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:38,799
was only there for three weeks because
I, you know, wanted to be

346
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by myself and not with my family. And I was like, I could

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00:25:41,559 --> 00:25:44,920
live with my mom for the rest
of my life and I'll be fine,

348
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,519
and you know, like not many
people can say that, and I feel

349
00:25:48,559 --> 00:25:52,880
so so lucky and like taking the
opportunity to do this at this point,

350
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:57,279
I think I recognize that if I'm
going to do this at any time,

351
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it's it's gonna be now, and
I'm I may as well take the opportunity.

352
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And I haven't looked back since,
and so I'm just gonna try to

353
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keep moving forward as I always do. I love Oh yeah, I mean

354
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,759
you've had oh my gosh, I
allow you had the most impressive. When

355
00:26:11,759 --> 00:26:15,079
I look back at your college career, I'm blown away. I mean,

356
00:26:15,319 --> 00:26:18,680
you name it, you accomplishment,
accomplished it, and you kicked butt from

357
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:25,960
like the first you were there,
and your college career is just just downright

358
00:26:26,079 --> 00:26:30,160
impressive. And then you look at
like your internationals, like your summers almost

359
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,640
I swear, like every summer,
and you've had to overcome like a huge

360
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obstacle or a setback or an illness. Talk us through the highs of doing

361
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so well during the college year and
then having your illnesses and the setbacks that

362
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you've had. Kind of like it's
almost like every summer, right, I

363
00:26:48,599 --> 00:26:49,599
feel like I don't want to put
words, and I was like, yeah,

364
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,000
how do you handle that? And
kind of talk us through. Some

365
00:26:53,039 --> 00:26:57,480
people might not be as familiar with
your highs and your lows and kind of

366
00:26:57,519 --> 00:27:02,759
how you would advise other swimmers or
athletes that might be going through this to

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00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:07,799
have such this strong positive outlet that
I truly feel like you possess. Well,

368
00:27:07,839 --> 00:27:11,440
thank you. I appreciate that.
But it was like clockwork every summer

369
00:27:11,519 --> 00:27:17,559
and made it made it hard because
I think that there was almost an anticipation

370
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of something happening, which I don't
think helped and I and I always had

371
00:27:22,039 --> 00:27:26,480
the willpower to kind of dig myself
out of the hole for whatever reason,

372
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and sometimes it was a lot slower
than other times, you know. I

373
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after my freshman year was Olympic trials
and that didn't go well. And that

374
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,279
wasn't because I was sick or anything. It was like I was not emotionally

375
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:45,559
mature enough to handle that as an
athlete, and some of my behaviors like

376
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:52,279
didn't necessarily bode well for me with
you know, preparing mentally or just all

377
00:27:52,319 --> 00:27:56,319
the preparation that it takes to be
ready to make an Olympic team. I

378
00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:03,559
just I physically was training enough and
I was doing what it took um but

379
00:28:03,599 --> 00:28:07,480
they were they're just slight nuances to
I think maturity as an athlete, and

380
00:28:07,519 --> 00:28:11,680
I wasn't there, and it was
really really hard to cope with right afterwards,

381
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,559
but I think I quickly recognized that, you know, I was,

382
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,920
I wasn't ready yet, and luckily
the Olympics happens relatively frequently and I was

383
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:26,799
going to have another opportunity to shoot
for it. So after you know,

384
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:30,000
a month off after Olympic trials,
I went at it again, and my

385
00:28:30,039 --> 00:28:33,000
sophomore year was pretty successful at Stanford
and I was in really great shape going

386
00:28:33,039 --> 00:28:37,880
into the summer, and then I
got just qualified at World Championships for the

387
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,599
Locksy World the founder I am,
and that was a really hard pill to

388
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,160
swallow because I felt like I had, you know, done everything that I

389
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:49,559
could to prepare and then I also
followed through with my performance and then it

390
00:28:49,599 --> 00:28:55,000
was taken away from me. I
you know, actually decided after that meet

391
00:28:55,039 --> 00:28:56,920
that I was gonna be done and
that was going to be it. And

392
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,000
a couple of weeks later, I
found out that I made it to the

393
00:29:00,039 --> 00:29:04,160
World University Games, and my coaches
were like, you know, you don't

394
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,039
have to make a decision long term, but like it's a really great opportunity

395
00:29:07,039 --> 00:29:10,799
to represent your country, and I
was like, you're right, I'll come

396
00:29:10,839 --> 00:29:14,839
back and start training for it.
Had an awesome experience traveling. I went

397
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,920
to three different meets all around the
world that summer, and my love for

398
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,079
the sport came back. It was
like it didn't matter that I wasn't at

399
00:29:22,279 --> 00:29:27,359
World Championships. It mattered that I
was out like in a foreign country,

400
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:33,440
enjoying this time with other people that
also loved what they were doing. And

401
00:29:33,559 --> 00:29:37,200
when we got back a week later, like Stanford, swimming was starting again

402
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,319
and I didn't even have much time
to think about it. I was just

403
00:29:40,359 --> 00:29:42,640
like, okay, like it's another
year. And Junior year ended up being

404
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:51,400
probably objectively my most successful year in
the pool, and after NC double as

405
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:56,079
I was just stoked for the summer. I was swimming faster than I ever

406
00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,319
had, I was feeling better than
I ever had in the pool. Granted,

407
00:30:00,319 --> 00:30:04,359
I was dealing with a lot of
personal stuff that year, which ended

408
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:11,240
up being really really heavy and weighed
on me and affected my immune system.

409
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:15,720
My sleep wasn't great. I had
lots of anxiety that I battled that year,

410
00:30:15,839 --> 00:30:22,119
and I eventually got mono U a
couple of weeks before that Nationals and

411
00:30:22,279 --> 00:30:27,200
I can say like with great certainty
that it was because I was so stressed

412
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:32,079
and so overwhelmed with so many things
going on in my life that I just

413
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,839
my body couldn't handle it anymore and
it just got sick. And I had

414
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,920
been training super well and I was
lucky enough that that training kind of carried

415
00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:44,440
me through and I didn't. I
didn't exercise for like three straight weeks before

416
00:30:45,079 --> 00:30:47,759
before that meet, and I got
up and I was like, you know

417
00:30:47,839 --> 00:30:49,680
what, like I'm not giving up. I'm not going to throw in the

418
00:30:49,799 --> 00:30:52,279
towel. I might as well see
what I can do at this meet.

419
00:30:52,319 --> 00:31:00,319
And I was more tapered than I
ever had been and swam great, wasn't

420
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:06,480
It wasn't pain free. It hurt
more than I can like even describe that

421
00:31:06,559 --> 00:31:11,559
race. So painful. Yeah,
but I touched just in time to be

422
00:31:11,599 --> 00:31:15,680
able to make the Pan Pac team. And I really struggled deciding whether I

423
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:19,480
even wanted to go because I felt
so horrible for so long with UM with

424
00:31:19,559 --> 00:31:25,279
Mono, and it was such a
hard decision, and I said, you

425
00:31:25,279 --> 00:31:26,200
know what, if I don't do
this, I'm going to look back and

426
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,680
regret it. And that's kind of
always how I moved through. And I

427
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,119
think that's what I advise people when
they ask, you know, how do

428
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,759
you how do you get through these
tough times? And it's like, I

429
00:31:37,839 --> 00:31:42,240
think about what my future self is
going to think of past me, and

430
00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:48,759
I have always based my decision decisions
on what's going to make me most fulfilled

431
00:31:48,759 --> 00:31:53,599
in the future. If I decide
to do this now, does that mean

432
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:59,400
that later I might regret not getting
an opportunity or does later that me and

433
00:31:59,559 --> 00:32:04,960
I am going to regret not trying. And I never ever want to have

434
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,680
those types of regrets. When you
can control control your actions and control when

435
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,960
you show up, where you show
up, and how you show up,

436
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,759
I think, um, I think
it's so important to listen to yourself and

437
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:20,039
really look like be honest and look
at yourself in the mirror and know that

438
00:32:20,079 --> 00:32:24,640
you made the choice that is the
best version of you. And for me

439
00:32:24,759 --> 00:32:28,480
that was always like you know what, I can give it another shot,

440
00:32:28,559 --> 00:32:30,680
Like this isn't the end of the
world. Yes, swimming is important to

441
00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:36,559
me, but it's not the end
all, be all of my life,

442
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,279
and I am going to make the
best of it. Even though there have

443
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:45,960
been times where I have been really
really challenged and have considered, you know,

444
00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:51,920
stopping. I'm so proud listening to
you right now. I'm just over

445
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:53,920
here, be mean, like,
this is my girl, and I just

446
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,960
I truly am and I think it's
so inspiring and I feel like it's it's

447
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:02,920
so such strong val points that you
bring up and it's relatable. You know

448
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,480
that the sport, obviously, I
mean, has so many great things that

449
00:33:07,519 --> 00:33:10,039
we pull from it, but it
doesn't come without a price. You know,

450
00:33:10,079 --> 00:33:13,079
we get kicked down a lot,
we get beat up a lot,

451
00:33:13,119 --> 00:33:20,279
we get worn down a lot,
but that mental side that really keeps us

452
00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:25,200
going and kind of separate. It's
the good between the great and you,

453
00:33:25,279 --> 00:33:29,319
my dear, You're great and I'm
just so proud of you. And something

454
00:33:29,319 --> 00:33:32,720
else I'm just so proud of you
is obviously you shine in the pool,

455
00:33:34,119 --> 00:33:37,480
but you're one smart cookie out of
the pool as well. To us.

456
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:45,400
I mean, obviously Stanford, I
mean, my goodness, the academics with

457
00:33:45,599 --> 00:33:49,960
the mix of balancing athletics, I
mean, what was that like for you

458
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,640
in college and how did you maintain
that? Well? Thank you for saying

459
00:33:53,640 --> 00:34:00,119
that. I have always taken pride
in my work, and that means I

460
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:07,079
work in every area and from a
very young age, I felt personally pressured

461
00:34:07,159 --> 00:34:13,800
to do the best that I could. And I always talk about this um

462
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,480
but my fourth grade teacher, you
know, one day we showed up to

463
00:34:17,559 --> 00:34:22,239
class and I think people had turned
in assignments that were subpar for her,

464
00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:28,079
for her standards, and she was
telling some of these kids that they weren't

465
00:34:28,079 --> 00:34:32,159
going to get into college. And
I was just so in fear that I

466
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:37,079
was going to fail and not get
into college. And from that day it

467
00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,719
was like I had I swear I
had such bad anxiety about my performance in

468
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:45,639
school because of this teacher. But
it also pushed me, and I,

469
00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:50,119
you know, worked really really hard
in high school to try to take the

470
00:34:50,119 --> 00:34:53,039
classes that I would need to take
to get into any university that I wanted

471
00:34:53,079 --> 00:34:57,480
to Once I decided, you know
where where I wanted to be for school

472
00:34:57,519 --> 00:35:01,800
and for swimming, and I got
there. And you can prepare as much

473
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:07,519
as you think you can in high
school, but nothing truly prepares you for

474
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:15,400
life as a college student athlete.
There are so many things behind the scenes

475
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:21,719
that are really really hard, from
you know, relationships on your team,

476
00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:27,159
to living away from home to not
being in a place where you're surrounded by

477
00:35:27,199 --> 00:35:30,880
people that you know from having to
manage your own eating schedule, doing your

478
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:36,960
laundry, going to class, finding
class, you know, having a car

479
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,280
or a bike and having a break
and having to fix it, and then

480
00:35:39,639 --> 00:35:45,280
trying to be at your tiptop shape
all the time to be able to perform

481
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,159
for your college. It's like,
and then at the same time, you

482
00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:51,519
need to do well in school,
so you got to study hours every single

483
00:35:51,599 --> 00:35:53,840
day. And I look back and
I'm so that's one of the most things

484
00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:57,239
I'm most proud of, and I'm
not even afraid to say it anymore.

485
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:02,440
Is like everything that I did in
college, I am just astounded. And

486
00:36:02,559 --> 00:36:07,920
you really just put your head down
and just like work really hard, and

487
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:12,320
you can't if you knew what it
was going to take to you know,

488
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,639
follow through and succeed. It's like
many people probably wouldn't even dare to try

489
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:22,719
after experiencing it. And you have
to know that it's going to be tough,

490
00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:27,039
but also be willing to embrace the
really really hard parts because you're gonna

491
00:36:27,039 --> 00:36:32,159
walk away like seeing yourself as a
completely new, changed, grown person.

492
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:36,719
And I feel like I'm ready to
take on so many things in my life

493
00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:40,559
because of what I experienced as a
college student athlete, and I couldn't like

494
00:36:40,639 --> 00:36:46,400
think Stanford more. Greg and Tracy
really helped me grow and they you know,

495
00:36:46,519 --> 00:36:51,119
I talked to them and saw them
more than my parents even when I

496
00:36:51,159 --> 00:36:54,599
was in high school, and so
they really shaped me into the person I

497
00:36:54,639 --> 00:37:00,480
am too. And growing up with
girls that are going through the same things

498
00:37:00,519 --> 00:37:06,000
as you and experiencing that with your
best friends, it makes it easier and

499
00:37:06,119 --> 00:37:10,800
worth it, but it doesn't make
it like flawless. And no student athletes

500
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:15,039
will say that their experience was perfect
or that it was easy. It's just

501
00:37:15,199 --> 00:37:20,679
that everybody has a smile on their
face because it really is some of the

502
00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:23,920
best years of your life, and
you are recognizing that, yeah, life

503
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,880
is freaking hard, but it's also
super fun if you can just set aside

504
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:31,159
the tough part some days to just
enjoy the moment that you're living in.

505
00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:37,639
I'm so proud, yes, yes, yes, I mean and I love

506
00:37:37,679 --> 00:37:39,079
that you are not ashamed to say, like, I'm really proud of what

507
00:37:39,159 --> 00:37:44,480
I what I got done during that
time. You know, I get asked

508
00:37:44,599 --> 00:37:47,000
like waiting was proud of like actually
getting a degree while I was like training

509
00:37:47,079 --> 00:37:51,679
so hard and then because there's life
after swimming, and I think your parents

510
00:37:51,679 --> 00:37:55,239
have just so equipped you mentally,
physically, emotionally that there's more to life

511
00:37:55,360 --> 00:38:00,400
then swimming. So so ill what
where does life take you after or swimming?

512
00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:06,079
Where do you foresee that next chapter
when this journey in the pool ends?

513
00:38:06,199 --> 00:38:10,719
So I've actually started to open some
of my nursing school applications, which

514
00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:16,000
has been very exciting but also a
little nerve wracking. It's been a while

515
00:38:16,039 --> 00:38:21,599
since I've had to apply for anything, so I have to start to,

516
00:38:22,039 --> 00:38:25,360
you know, write essays about myself
and that's always really challenging, but a

517
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:34,039
really good reflective experience. But I'm
going to be applying to They're called Accelerated

518
00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:38,599
Masters and Nursing programs or accelerated Bachelor's
and Nursing programs, so they they enroll

519
00:38:38,719 --> 00:38:44,519
students that have undergraduate degrees and something
other than nursing. So a lot of

520
00:38:44,559 --> 00:38:49,800
students, I would say, are
have health science background or not. So

521
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:54,119
they have a huge mix of different
students who come from different backgrounds and want

522
00:38:54,280 --> 00:39:00,719
to pursue a nursing career, and
eventually I'll come out of it with a

523
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:05,840
masters and then I plan to also
pursue a Doctorate of Nursing Practice or a

524
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,840
PhD, and I have it.
I haven't decided yet, but I really

525
00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:12,960
do love school and I'm a total
nerd, and I'm not even ashamed.

526
00:39:14,639 --> 00:39:20,760
I appreciate the structure of it,
and I love having tasks and being able

527
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,519
to accomplish them and learning from really, really bright people. And I'm looking

528
00:39:24,559 --> 00:39:29,000
forward to doing some really good in
the world. And I hope that some

529
00:39:29,079 --> 00:39:34,159
of my experiences too as an athlete
are going to help me in my professional

530
00:39:34,199 --> 00:39:37,599
career. And I know that they
will in terms of being able to work

531
00:39:37,639 --> 00:39:40,559
with other people and manage really stressful
times in my life. But I also

532
00:39:40,599 --> 00:39:45,360
hope that some of my personal experiences
with my health and other things, I'll

533
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:52,239
be able to help young women and
you know, maybe even young athletes as

534
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,679
a healthcare provider. So there's lots
to look forward to. And I know

535
00:39:54,719 --> 00:39:59,880
that swimming will always be a huge
part of me, and maybe I'll have,

536
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:04,079
you know, one of my hands
in the swimming buckets at some point

537
00:40:04,119 --> 00:40:07,960
again. But I'm also looking forward
to some new challenge too, and I'm

538
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:13,239
I'm excited that I can see the
light. But I also am recognizing like

539
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:19,119
that I get to enjoy the next
year or so fully fully invested in what

540
00:40:19,159 --> 00:40:22,559
I'm doing as a swimmer. So
I love that. I obviously already knew

541
00:40:22,679 --> 00:40:24,800
that, So you know, this
is the direction you want to go to,

542
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,719
but I wanted to queue it up
because I think it's a route that

543
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,719
I don't hear about too often,
you know, I don't. I think

544
00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:34,639
I maybe have one friend that did
that. And and just the other night

545
00:40:34,679 --> 00:40:37,480
when we were together, you're just
already so educated in that world. It's

546
00:40:37,519 --> 00:40:42,519
just so impressive and m I'm just
so proud of that about you. But

547
00:40:42,599 --> 00:40:45,159
like, yes you, like you
said, we still have another year to

548
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:47,880
press forward. And um, we
got to talk a little quarantine here before

549
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:52,800
we wrap up, because again,
personally, I know that you have really

550
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:58,239
made the best out of this situation. Share a little bit how you've you've

551
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:02,840
handled this corn teen and how you're
still able to get all your fitness and

552
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,840
you know, I'm so impressed with
how you've really made the best out of

553
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:12,360
this and how you really push yourself
and kind of thought outside the box.

554
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:15,519
Share a little bit with your quarantine
training, how that's been going, and

555
00:41:15,519 --> 00:41:20,000
what you've been doing. Yes,
well, thank you. I appreciate that.

556
00:41:20,079 --> 00:41:23,039
I my mom and I quickly realized
that, you know, sitting on

557
00:41:23,079 --> 00:41:28,199
the couch and working from home just
wasn't sustainable for our physical or our mental

558
00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:32,360
health. It was like I came
home and was almost so paralyzed by the

559
00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:37,519
uncertainty. I love a good checklist
and I love my calendar, and that

560
00:41:37,639 --> 00:41:43,320
was thrown out the window the minute
that this pandemic happened. And the first

561
00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,320
week I sat on the couch and
I was like, what is going to

562
00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:50,119
happen with my life? What is
happening now? I couldn't get myself to

563
00:41:50,119 --> 00:41:52,760
really do anything. And then I
realized I was like, Okay, sitting

564
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:55,760
here cesstering and thinking about all the
possibilities is just not going to help.

565
00:41:55,800 --> 00:42:00,280
And so I wrote a little schedule
down and I was like, Okay,

566
00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:02,760
today I'm gonna go and do a
little I'm gonna do a really long walk

567
00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:06,159
with my mom in the morning on
the beach, and then I'm gonna come

568
00:42:06,199 --> 00:42:09,239
back. I'm gonna try to do
some work because I'm currently doing some research

569
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:13,880
now, and then later I'm going
to do a tiny hit circuit. And

570
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:20,039
then I eventually started doing some workouts
with your wonderful husband Pete in our little

571
00:42:20,039 --> 00:42:22,480
back alley in a backyard. I
know, it was so fun, but

572
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:25,199
it was great to put something on
the calendar, you know, and have

573
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:29,079
something to look forward to. And
it seems so simple, but it also

574
00:42:29,519 --> 00:42:34,760
completely changed my mood and my attitude. I think people don't give exercise enough

575
00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:39,119
credit for the way that it affects
us and our mental health. And I

576
00:42:39,159 --> 00:42:44,119
made sure to implement that every single
day into my schedule. Once I realized

577
00:42:44,159 --> 00:42:45,159
I was feeling a little bit down, and I was like, it's because

578
00:42:45,159 --> 00:42:49,159
I had an exercise and it doesn't
even take much. It's like you need

579
00:42:49,199 --> 00:42:52,119
to go walk around the block a
couple times or something and get some fresh

580
00:42:52,159 --> 00:42:57,039
air and reset your mind. And
we ended up buying a peloton, which

581
00:42:57,119 --> 00:43:01,400
was amazing to get some good cardio
in, and my mom and I have

582
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:07,079
been we did pilates in the morning
with our pilates instructor over Zoom three days

583
00:43:07,079 --> 00:43:10,599
a week and we've been you know, good positive influences over each other and

584
00:43:10,639 --> 00:43:15,559
have had fun kind of cooking new
things. And we did burn out in

585
00:43:15,599 --> 00:43:19,480
the kitchen a little bit, just
because making every single meal and having to

586
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:22,960
clean up from every single meal is
a little bit more tiring than I would

587
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:29,639
have expected. But we're getting back
into that routine, and now that you

588
00:43:29,679 --> 00:43:32,239
know pools are starting to open again, it's like, Okay, maybe there's

589
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:36,480
going to be a little bit more
structure there and slowly adding things back in.

590
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,119
I think it's also been beneficial to
not try and overdo it, because

591
00:43:40,119 --> 00:43:45,280
I think going from having really no
resources to everything open at once is also

592
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,079
hard for athletes because people tend to
be like, oh my god, I

593
00:43:47,079 --> 00:43:51,119
have to make up for lost time. But you really have to make sure

594
00:43:51,159 --> 00:43:53,599
that you're not overdoing it because you
can set yourself back, which I'm absolutely

595
00:43:53,599 --> 00:43:57,960
guilty of in the past. So
it's a really good point. And I

596
00:43:58,039 --> 00:44:00,679
love too that you've been doing some
open water so too, like going to

597
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:02,039
I mean, what do we live, like seven eight minutes from the ocean

598
00:44:02,039 --> 00:44:06,440
and just going and jumping in and
getting some swims out there. Does that

599
00:44:06,519 --> 00:44:10,960
help you? Like? Is that
therapeutical for you? Absolutely? I think

600
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:16,239
getting to swim with some people that
I don't train with because they're they're not

601
00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:24,840
swimmers. They are surfers or body
surfers or they're just generally active people getting

602
00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:29,000
to go out there and feeling like
safer around them. Because I'm not a

603
00:44:29,119 --> 00:44:32,840
huge fan of the open ocean.
I don't know why. I grew up

604
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,440
by the beach and I love being
in the water, but I don't love

605
00:44:36,519 --> 00:44:39,400
going out there and swimming. But
in a group of people, I have

606
00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:43,800
no problem doing it. But I
still close my eyes sometimes when I'm looking

607
00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:50,920
down. But being able being able
to swim in any form of water has

608
00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:53,719
been great, And so Caitlin and
I have these really small pools in front

609
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:58,039
of our apartments, which it was
funny because my friends found out that I

610
00:44:58,079 --> 00:44:59,800
have them and they're like, why
don't you swim in there? And I

611
00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:02,719
was like, it's literally five like
five yards, Like I can't really do

612
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:05,920
anything in it. But it got
to the point that I missed it so

613
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:08,760
much that I was in there just
strolling back and forth to feel the water,

614
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:15,320
because just being in the water's therapeutic
itself, and so having that opportunity

615
00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:20,599
was has been really really nice.
It was a blast for me to we

616
00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:23,440
literally were in the back alley and
my husband would be like running us through

617
00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:27,360
these workouts, but it'd be so
funny because like, Okay, now we're

618
00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,199
like we're getting Ella like in shape, like let's get her ready, and

619
00:45:30,239 --> 00:45:31,920
we're doing these workouts. I'm like, dang, this is hard, and

620
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:35,679
I'm like, oh man, what
am I doing. I'm a retired athlete.

621
00:45:35,679 --> 00:45:37,159
I don't need to do that many
rods. I'm like, hell,

622
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:39,880
you keep going. You got this
girl. I'm gonna take a little water

623
00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:45,280
break real quick. But like,
it was helpful for me to have you

624
00:45:45,519 --> 00:45:47,800
because otherwise I'd be like to my
husband, don't tell me what to do.

625
00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:50,159
I got this, you know.
But with you, I'm like,

626
00:45:50,159 --> 00:45:52,599
okay, try to hang in there, just you know, don't be a

627
00:45:52,679 --> 00:45:57,440
terrible training partner. It was it
was so much fun. I think like

628
00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:00,440
that was what I looked forward to
most during the week. And so for

629
00:46:00,519 --> 00:46:01,960
us to be able to be there
for each other, I think was really

630
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:05,599
really great. Oh yeah, and
that's the thing. You know, it

631
00:46:05,639 --> 00:46:07,559
takes a village, right, and
that's how we're gonna get through this all.

632
00:46:07,599 --> 00:46:09,639
And you know, we're all in
the same boat, but we're all

633
00:46:09,639 --> 00:46:13,679
affected in different ways. And if
we can just support each other and love

634
00:46:13,719 --> 00:46:17,840
on each other and just try to
like just be really accepting right, Like,

635
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:22,840
I feel like everybody just needs to
take a deep breath and just just

636
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,079
learn to love on each other a
little bit more. And that's how we're

637
00:46:24,079 --> 00:46:29,000
going to get through this this challenging
time. And I mean, like I've

638
00:46:29,039 --> 00:46:30,119
already said like a million times,
they're just so proud of you, and

639
00:46:30,119 --> 00:46:34,159
it's just so great to you know, have you that that's like my biggest

640
00:46:34,159 --> 00:46:37,039
blessing in quarantine is that you move
back home and now you're my neighbor,

641
00:46:37,559 --> 00:46:40,199
and that one drops off like little
like care packages at my door and like

642
00:46:40,239 --> 00:46:44,360
little like like cookies, and oh
my gosh, I just totally scored of

643
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,800
the best neighbor ever. But before
laways say our goodbyes, we have a

644
00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:53,119
tradition on behind the blocks, what
are you like? Behind the blocks?

645
00:46:54,920 --> 00:47:00,320
When I step up to the blocks
and I'm going to swim, I'm a

646
00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:07,639
race and I want to be my
very best self. I am confident,

647
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:14,400
I am smiling, I am powerful, and I'm strong. I love that.

648
00:47:14,599 --> 00:47:19,800
I love that. Are Are you
chatty? Are you quiet? I

649
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:24,159
sometimes talk and I sometimes feel like
words don't need to be said because I

650
00:47:24,159 --> 00:47:28,119
try to just leave it all in
the pool. Oh I love that,

651
00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:30,239
yeah, absolutely, because I mean, we all know you're not sure for

652
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:35,280
words, you know, but when
it's time to go, it's time to

653
00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:37,679
go, and you're like, I'll
let my actions speak. I love that,

654
00:47:37,119 --> 00:47:39,960
such a leader, such a captain. Well, obviously, Ella,

655
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:43,400
I'm very biased, but I know
I love you like a little sister,

656
00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:45,880
and I'm so proud of you,
and you know, obviously celebrating your highs,

657
00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:50,519
but really I'm proud of how you've
handled some of you know, you

658
00:47:50,519 --> 00:47:53,320
you're more challenging times, and a
lot of the times when I look at

659
00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:57,039
you and I look at your career
or reminds me a lot of my own,

660
00:47:57,159 --> 00:47:59,519
you know, going We went to
the same physical therapist, and I

661
00:47:59,559 --> 00:48:05,440
feel like we both have to overcome
very similar things. But I'm just proud

662
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:07,159
of you and I'm proud to know
you, and I just really want to

663
00:48:07,159 --> 00:48:12,239
thank you for being on our show
today and I'm rooting for you always,

664
00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:15,280
always and forever. Thank you,
Thank you. I'm so grateful. This

665
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:20,199
was so fun and i feel like
long overdue that we got the chance to

666
00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:24,320
do this, so I'm very appreciative. Absolutely well, that is our show

667
00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:29,119
this week. Thank you again to
the fabulous Ella Easton for being my special

668
00:48:29,119 --> 00:48:32,920
guest and to our sponsor Highlands Earache
Drops. Make sure to visit them at

669
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:37,119
Highlands dot Com back slash year,
don't forget to follow and share on social

670
00:48:37,119 --> 00:48:42,679
media at Pete Owen Fandonoe and at
Whisk Sports. Thanks for listening and helping

671
00:48:42,760 --> 00:49:00,719
us turn up the volume on women's
sports se