Ever felt like you're stuck in a rut and yearning for a transformation? Our guest today, Frank Dominik, also known as B-Man Frank and B-Man Frank the Tank, has an extraordinary story of change to share with you. Battling depression and obesity amid the pandemic, Frank found solace and strength in the most unexpected places - beekeeping and trail running. As he opens up about his past struggles with self-harm and his journey towards improved mental and physical health, his story will undeniably move you.
Running is more than just a hobby for Frank - it's a test of endurance, a badge of victory over injuries and a source of immense personal satisfaction. Dig into the grit and determination of Frank's running journey, from overcoming injuries to meticulous race preparations and finally mastering the Rut three years in a row. Frank's commitment to ultra-running, his unique training strategies, and his fondness for longer races are lessons in perseverance, discipline, and the sheer joy of running.
Frank's transformation extends beyond the trail. He speaks candidly about his drastic diet changes, giving up soda and junk food, and their significant impact on his running performance. Furthermore, his resilience in overcoming personal challenges, including fertility issues, with his wife's unwavering support, is truly inspiring. As Frank weaves his future plans for trail running, including his ambitious goal of winning a 100-mile race, you'll get a unique insight into the life and dreams of a dedicated ultra-runner. So buckle up and get ready for a fascinating conversation with B-Man Frank the Tank.
Frank Dominik
Instagram:
@beemanfrankd
https://instagram.com/beemanfrankd?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Linktr.ee
https://linktr.ee/BeemanFrankd?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=545d65b8-697c-42cc-b42b-0303007f1576
Shoutout to:
Frank Dominik
The Dominik Family
Dan the Man
Alter Ego Ambassador: https://alteregorunning.com/
Miles & Mountains Promo Code: MMyr2
Ever felt like you're stuck in a rut and yearning for a transformation? Our guest today, Frank Dominik, also known as B-Man Frank and B-Man Frank the Tank, has an extraordinary story of change to share with you. Battling depression and obesity amid the pandemic, Frank found solace and strength in the most unexpected places - beekeeping and trail running. As he opens up about his past struggles with self-harm and his journey towards improved mental and physical health, his story will undeniably move you.
Running is more than just a hobby for Frank - it's a test of endurance, a badge of victory over injuries and a source of immense personal satisfaction. Dig into the grit and determination of Frank's running journey, from overcoming injuries to meticulous race preparations and finally mastering the Rut three years in a row. Frank's commitment to ultra-running, his unique training strategies, and his fondness for longer races are lessons in perseverance, discipline, and the sheer joy of running.
Frank's transformation extends beyond the trail. He speaks candidly about his drastic diet changes, giving up soda and junk food, and their significant impact on his running performance. Furthermore, his resilience in overcoming personal challenges, including fertility issues, with his wife's unwavering support, is truly inspiring. As Frank weaves his future plans for trail running, including his ambitious goal of winning a 100-mile race, you'll get a unique insight into the life and dreams of a dedicated ultra-runner. So buckle up and get ready for a fascinating conversation with B-Man Frank the Tank.
Frank Dominik
Instagram:
@beemanfrankd
https://instagram.com/beemanfrankd?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Linktr.ee
https://linktr.ee/BeemanFrankd?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=545d65b8-697c-42cc-b42b-0303007f1576
Shoutout to:
Frank Dominik
The Dominik Family
Dan the Man
Alter Ego Ambassador: https://alteregorunning.com/
Miles & Mountains Promo Code: MMyr2
nek Frank Dominic, how are you? I'm doing, good man. How are you, I'm doing, good man, I'm happy that you're here. I'm glad you're here. It's been a while. We've been trying to get an episode going for quite some time now, back in September, back in summer time, everything just you know, life happens.
Speaker 2:Definitely, definitely.
Speaker 1:Life happens, so this was the first time I've known you as Frank. I know you go by. You're also known as B-Man Frank, with a D at the end. And then B-Man Frank the Tank. Yeah, all right, let me know. Why those names? Why do you go by those names?
Speaker 2:Well, b-man kind of just came about maybe three or four years ago. I got into beekeeping my uncle bee keeps professionally, and talking to him and just figured I'd get into it because of the way he described it being very calming and kind of zen and he always seems very happy. So I kind of got into it, I think right in the COVID era. Not a whole lot to do, so I just decided to get some bees. So people just kind of were like, oh, you're kind of a bee man now, and so I just kind of went with that and kind of made it like a bee better thing kind of like, kind of eased it into like, oh, you know just the way bees work, they always work together, they always seem to just get the job done, and so that's kind of from there.
Speaker 2:I got into ultra running at the same time. So it kind of just worked out as part of my message of just kind of like better yourself each and every day and just go from there. So that's kind of where the B comes from. The D on the end of the Frank is just my last name, so it's just B-Man Frank D.
Speaker 1:But it's fitting.
Speaker 2:It's fitting, Frank Frank yeah yeah, yeah, it kind of works every way.
Speaker 1:So you started beehiving and then running at the same time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was obese before 2019 for about 15 years. So once I started losing weight just through finally taking control of my nutrition, I needed a way to kind of hold myself accountable. So I got into. I knew I needed to do something and in my past lives I've done, you know, heavy gym, heavy bike riding, and I kind of wanted to do something new. So I've never been a good runner, I've never pretty much ran ever. So I figured let me give Trail Running a shot. I know a Trail Runner from Oregon and Montana. He's in his 70s now and he's kind of the OG of Trail Running and I've known him since I was 12 and he made a big impression on me. So I was like I'll try Trail Running. And so I got into that, got into the bees kind of the same time, and it really transformed my life. It's really made my mental state a lot better and it's also made my physical body a lot better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've seen them before because you do post on your story. You know, just your story, just a little bit, and I've seen before and then I've seen after and I'm all like, dude, you're stud now, before you needed some work, that's all.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna say and you did that, oh, I did it work.
Speaker 1:The transformation is incredible. So why the transformation? Why during COVID? Why during that time?
Speaker 2:It actually. You know, it's kind of hard to say. I mean, my wife wanted to have a child, probably in our late 20s. But before we were gonna have a child, I said, look, you know, my dad was fat my whole life since I was born. He died at 59. So that was 12 years ago, 13 years ago, and I said I'm not going to be a fat parent.
Speaker 2:But before I could kind of focus on that, I had to really focus on my mind. I had a really angry brain, a lot of depression and things and I didn't like the job I was in. So I quit my job and kind of just worked for myself and started my own business, and so that's been the last decade. So it was kind of getting the mind right first. And then, kind of about 2019, I kind of just clicked in my brain saying, okay, I'm ready to like do this and I started losing weight quick just by cutting calories and eating all whole foods and everything, and so I started my first troll run in December 2019.
Speaker 2:So right before COVID hit. And from there, once COVID hit, it just was like well, you know, I can, I'm, I'm, I'm. I was luckily able to keep working for myself, so that in that wasn't disrupted. But I was like, hey, everything shut down, there's nothing to do, now I can really focus on running. So I hit running hard I think my first year in 2020, I did like a 14, 1500 miles and maybe 180,000 feet of gain, so yeah, so I got into shape quick. So that that's kind of that's kind of why that happened during that time. It wasn't on purpose with COVID, but COVID kind of gave me an opportunity to kind of maybe train more with less distraction.
Speaker 1:Angry brain man, angry minds.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Not a lot of people say that man. Not a lot of people are as honest as you or as honest as you know those words, especially when they explain themselves. You know what? What makes you think or say you have an angry brain or had an angry brain, man.
Speaker 2:Well, I definitely, definitely still do, but you know it's it's easier each day, and so I don't think it's anything you could ever fix, but it's something that, once you become aware of, you can kind of gain tools on how to, you know, kind of deal with it. I've always had issues. I've had lots of depression and self harm when I was a teenager and things. So I don't know, it's hard to explain, but you know, just getting very angry for no reason, things like that. There's a lot of concussions due to that. I might have something to do with it, but you know it, I, a lot of people have these issues, I think, where they just kind of lose their patience really quickly and maybe do things they regret, and I think it's important to know that if you fix your nutrition, that helps a lot, at least for me. It helped a lot when I fix my nutrition by just buckling down, eating a lot of protein, eating a lot of whole foods, not eating out at all. I don't think I've had fast food since 2019. So, you know, just doing that for one and then having something like trail running.
Speaker 2:Trail running specifically for me. I do not like pavement running at all. I find it extremely frustrating and not soothing to the mind. So when I go out to the trail it just feels really natural. I'm almost like you know you're designed to be there, so with those types of things this really helped me with this long struggle. I mean, I'm almost 38 now, so this has been a long time dealing with this and it's a slow process for sure, but you know you got to find what works for you. But I just I always tell people, if you've kind of tried a few things, try trail running.
Speaker 1:Right, right, yeah, yeah, exactly. So when you started running, how fast were you dropping weight, man pounds, and since then have you plateaued.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's a good question. So I at my peak as probably 24, 25, so quite a while ago I think I peaked out about 250 and I'm only 5'11", so I'm not that tall. So I had a probably a BMI of like 40. So I was definitely obese. Now I put it on just all in the midsection when I started eating correctly and dropping weight with the diet. It took about six months and I was down to about 195 with just the diet. So I was, you know, not no longer obese, but I was just overweight.
Speaker 2:When I was in high school I used to raise cat one, cat two, cycling, so it was like a semi pro cycling and I was 137 pounds. So it was a much different, you know frank back then. So 195 was still really fat for me. So I started running. I started dropping probably 10 pounds or more a month and I got down to about 155 and with my at that time 35 year old body I felt that was like pretty good. I was fitting into, you know, basically high school clothes, I mean small t-shirts, 30 inch waist, you know shorts. So I was happy with that and I was running. I felt light when I ran. Now I'm back up to about 175, but it's pretty much all muscle. I do bioscans quite often and stuff, so I'm just playing around with certain things. My body likes to grow really quickly with muscle, so my legs just keep getting bigger the more I run, which has kind of been a pain in a way.
Speaker 1:But I'm the club.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's like you know. So you're kind of putting on weight, but as long as I'm not putting on fat, I'm pretty happy and so yeah, so right now I'm about 175. If I lean out for a race, I generally can get down to like 165, but I have to hit that pretty hard for about a month ahead of time. No-transcript.
Speaker 1:Let's say you don't lean out. Let's say you got a race and you don't do your routine, or you're out of off your routine a little bit, just because life happens, things happen. You didn't get a workout in. How does the mind treat you? Or how does the mind go?
Speaker 2:It goes. I definitely am less confident but I can still perform pretty well. I have a lot of racing in my background with cycling, so I know how to be, like game day, ready in my brain, ready to suffer and ready to push Going in. I'm definitely always a little doubtful if I don't feel like I've had the commitment or the time to really dial myself in before a race, or maybe if I got a slight muscle strain injury three or four weeks before. I'm a little doubtful. I generally am okay with trying to kill myself that day. It's hard pushing as hard as I can. You just have to get right that morning, right before the gun goes off. You just got to get right.
Speaker 1:Kill yourself because just to make up for the stuff you probably missed, or because your mind?
Speaker 2:thinks you missed it. No, I like to. I don't know. I say kill myself. I like to. If I'm going to go race and take the effort, the time and the effort to train and the time and the effort to travel to the race I do a lot of out of state races and things If I'm going to do that, I'm going to really just make sure that I give it everything. I don't care if I rupture stuff, I don't care, I'll just give it everything I have. I'm used to pain, so it's fine, it doesn't bother me. It's just not something I want to do every time I go run, but if it's something, if it's race day, I'm going to give it everything I got.
Speaker 1:Got you? Have you suffered an injury since started running?
Speaker 2:as much as you have Nothing major. I've been dealing with some IT ban, some SOAS issues. It's been a struggle. I don't know how deep you want to go, but I got ran over by a car when I was 19. That's messed up a lot of my hips because it ran over my lower back. That's pretty much the reason why I got obese in the first place. From there, the running isn't exactly something that is easy for my body to do, because I'm kind of shifted. My right leg overcompensates for my left because I also broke my femur when I was four when I went on my left leg. I have issues. For the most part I figure it out. I haven't had anything like tear or anything. I've just had a lot of tendon issues where it hurts and knee locks up, or groin issues where the groin locks up, things like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so an IT ban. Have you figured out how to fix it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it seems well, it kind of changes with anything. But I've had it pop up twice. The first time I had no idea what it was, so we had to go through the whole process of trying to figure out what was causing it. Oh yeah, yeah, I'm going downhill, everything's fine, and then I can't walk and it literally hurts really bad. My wife had to come pick me up that day because I told her I'm five miles from the car. I can't even walk. So it does. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:So that ended up kind of being mostly quad, front of hips, tfl and all that the typical stuff. But now this last one's kind of been hamstring behind the knee, causing it in a different way. So I have a really good masseuse, so she's been helping me out and a good chiropractor has been helping me out. So it's always a learning process to try to figure out how to quickly fix it so I can train with it, just not super hard. And then it's almost gone. Now what really kills it is the really steep stuff like doing the rut and stuff every year. Yeah, that kills it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I did all that and had ID ban issue once and I never had it again because a simple stretch dude and I make sure I keep that stretch in my regiment every single time.
Speaker 2:So lots of stretching, lots of stretching.
Speaker 1:It's that one stretch, though. You know you cross your legs, the one in the back right, yep, you face opposite direction. You just turn your head, man, and it's that easy. It's like are you kidding me?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it definitely helps me those types of stretches. But you know I have to just deal with a slightly different issue than most people. So yeah, I just kind of I'm always running, like when I run people think I look fine, but I can kind of feel like my body's kind of crooked while I run. So it's a little strange.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, the more miles you do, especially above you know ultras you'll notice a lot of people don't run correctly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, I've noticed that so you said the rut.
Speaker 1:You've mastered the rut. You've done it twice now.
Speaker 2:Three times in a row on the 50K.
Speaker 1:Okay, three times. So you mastered that. You mentioned game day face. What's your game day face? Do you like? What do you do? I want to know your routine, man. How do you prepare for the rut Three years in a row, like, do you psych yourself up? Are you pumped, dude? Are you like full of adrenaline, or are you with your Bs in Zen?
Speaker 2:As with anything, every time you do it you get a little bit less psyched out. The first time I did it I had only been running a year. So well, a year and a half, so it's definitely. I mean, there's 600 people towing the line with you, so it's a big race. And yeah, and I always set really high goals. So the first year I wanted to do like 8 to 830, I ended up doing a 915, but I wanted to aim high. So I went for it. But I was really super nervous just because I didn't know the course at all. There's a lot of good runners there. I mean, almost all of them are good runners, yeah, professionals man, yeah, there's a lot of them there. So it was definitely. It took me half the race to kind of feel like I was at home. The second year, still kind of nervous, but a lot more comfortable, I ended up knocking off like 30 minutes. And then this last year, definitely real comfortable, not nervous at all. So just kind of, because I mean I can visualize the whole course in my head, like I know where I need to make up time, where I can push harder.
Speaker 2:So yeah, the morning of I generally get up, we stay about 60 minutes away. I don't stay there. It's too expensive to stay there. So I stay in Bozeman and we get up around 2 o'clock in the morning. I got to give myself a couple hours to get going because when I wake up in the morning it's hard for me to walk. I just get really stiff.
Speaker 2:So morning runs are not good for me. So I have to really kind of make it just do a lot of mobility stuff. I generally will eat maybe a four or 500 calories as soon as I get up and then I just do a lot of stretching, a lot of 10s, 10 stuff on my calves and everything and get loosened up and then we head out there and I generally get there at least an hour and a half to two hours before. I like to get there before everybody. I just like to if it makes me feel not rushed, if I kind of get there while everyone's there. I kind of feel like I got to really hurry up and get to the start line.
Speaker 1:OK, man, sounds like myself, but I like to be prepared.
Speaker 2:I like to be prepared.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, the rut. Why the rut, though, man? Because it's it's quite big, it's gotten large and very large quick, and it's a lottery, Correct now.
Speaker 2:No well, I don't believe so, but it does sell out within like normally 20, 30 minutes, so you got to be on it. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that you know there's ways to get in. If you don't, I. So the the, the person I had mentioned that I kind of inspired me to trail run. He actually does the whole website registration part of that run.
Speaker 2:So when I had told him back in 2020 that I was starting to trail run and everything, he was like, oh man, well, maybe someday you can do the rut, because you know he's done it before and and he, he helps run, it helps put it on and everything. And I was like, yeah, that sounds good. And then he was thinking, maybe in a couple of years. And then I just went ahead and signed up for it and I was like I'm just going to do it. So at first he was a little skeptical, but after the first one man he was, he was super proud, and then every year we go back and see him. So it was basically just me knowing him and him speaking so highly of the of the race is saying how hard it is, and that just kind of appealed to me, you know, being one of the toughest 50 K's on, you know, in the in the States.
Speaker 1:So yeah, ultra is. What brought you to ultra is I mean yeah, there's trail races, right, you can do a five. Now here, they're in between, you can do 10. You can do a half, but why? Why 30?
Speaker 2:Uh, I, 50. Yeah, I've never done anything, I've never done a race less than 50 K. So I, as a teenager, I was really into long distance cycling. So, um, centuries, double centuries, triple centuries, quadruple centuries. So I actually held a record for the youngest fastest, 400 mile. Um, you know, completion in under 24 hours. So I, uh, it was into that.
Speaker 2:I was into that thing where you got to really just pace and go and pace and go and hold the pace and pick a pace and train a certain way. Um, I like the lower heart rate stuff. So I like being able to do um, a decent pace of 140, 150 heart rate and just hold that all day. I don't like sprinting. Um, uh, it's my, I'm not a sprinter as far as running goes, that's not. I have torque, but I just don't have the form or the or the. You know any of that type of stuff, right? So, um, doing a five K fast and something I have no interest in doing, I would rather go out there. I feel like I can do better against other people if I uh, do longer. You know longer miles.
Speaker 1:So sounds like some of the professionals I've put on here. Yeah, they're not fast, but, man, they can outdo anybody if it's over a hundred miles plus. So it's. It's crazy, man, that that heart rate it works, doesn't it, geez?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, keeping the heart rate at a certain point and just training there, man, and you can just go all day, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's crazy. Who would have thought, man Geez?
Speaker 2:Because every every like.
Speaker 1:you know, when you're younger people are like you got to go fast, you got to go fast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it's not the case, dude. It's not the case, not all yeah.
Speaker 1:So you have pretty much your own brand, but you your ultra marathon runner, promoting happiness through self-discipline and hard work. But you, you, you have your own brand and you sell stuff with B, with B's on there, Be better athletics.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, a few people a few people just wanted.
Speaker 2:They were just asking like, oh, do you have stickers, do you have t-shirts, things like that? Um, I kind of, uh, since my daughter was born in January, I've kind of just put things on hold because I've just been joined her and getting used to you know different schedules and stuff. But, um, yeah, I mean it again. Like I get written, you know five, 10 times a month about someone you know, saying hey, I. I like when you put up you know your befores and afters. I like when you tell, tell about your races.
Speaker 2:It's really inspiring to see where you've come from and and you know I'm not 25. I am pushing 40. So it's not like I'm some young, you know person. Um, where you know it's a little easier when you're younger sometimes to do these things. So, um, so, so that. So you know a 40 year old write me and they're out of shape and they're like you know what, what, what do you recommend? Eating, these types of things. So I try to help people. Um, I enjoy, um, I enjoy helping people if they're interested in trying to better themselves with the pride things that just hasn't worked. I mean, we've all tried things that haven't worked and, um, you know, when they kind of see me, they're kind of like, uh, you know, I uh a little bit, a little bit more um outside the box thinking and stuff and so, um, I've helped people lose weight. Uh, just helped my brother in law lose 75 pounds in seven months.
Speaker 1:So um, that's all right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:No, I, he was, he's, he's, he's did really well. He was super disciplined about it, so it worked really well and all he did was change his diet. Um, so it's uh, it's fascinating to me. I do a lot of, you know, researching with podcasts and, and you know, nutritional books and things like that and and, um, you know, if I can help someone, I will.
Speaker 2:So that the brand thing is just kind of people liked it. They were just like, yeah, it's cute and it's clever and you know, I may I may do more with it, I may not. It's kind of one of those things. It's like I have I have my toes dipped in a lot of things and I'm just kind of seeing where I want to take it. Um, so, yeah, so it's nothing big or anything, and and I don't, I don't try to make money off of it, that's never any of that type of stuff. It was just something like hey, you know you guys want a shirt, there's a shirt. If you guys want to, I have some jerseys that some local runners wear and stuff. You know, stuff like that Nice.
Speaker 1:Nice, yeah, no, it's catchy man, it's catchy. Yeah, I like it, dude. Okay. So bees, though bees. You started because, all right, when I think of bees, yes, you have to be in complete Zen, calm. But, dude, when I see a bee, a wasp, a yellow jacket, you know they're a holes of the bunch, but bees, it's like oh, dude, you got to get it out of there. If you're not prepared, you know. So they bring you Zen.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:When did you know it brought you Zen?
Speaker 2:Um, probably, after a couple of times of working with them, the first time, even if you have a full suit on or anything, you're still kind of scared. Just if you're doing it by yourself especially, you know that's. I normally teach myself everything, so I normally just I just go for it. So, um, I did, did a little research, talked to my uncle and I just, you know, picked up a hive. Well, I picked up a package which is basically like 3000 bees it's a little little box of bees, and then they have their queen in there and then you implant them into a real hive and then hopefully they grow and flourish. Um, hopefully, that's, that's if everything goes well. Um, that's a good way to start because, uh, then you're only starting with 3000 bees, which is a lot easier to manage than 20,000 bees or 40,000 bees in a hive.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the numbers sound ridiculous, but you know it's their, their little little creatures. So, um, but, um, yeah, once, once you get comfortable with them, um, and you understand them, uh, they are the vibration of them and the way they work, and just watching them, um, it's really, it's really calming. Yeah, it's just really really calming. Um, so, uh, that's kind of, at least. I mean, maybe not for everybody, but for me it's been that way. I mean, look, when I was little, I was scared of bees too. I didn't understand them, you know, I just thought they stung you, um, but they really don't ever want to sting you. So they're the actual honey bees, I mean bumblebees, honey bees, those those nice, pleasant bees Um, lots are more aggressive, for sure, but you know, everything deserves respect, and if you respect them they'll leave you alone, you know so yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, the benefits of, there are so many benefits of having bees, you know, pollination, everything else. What got you and to owning your own hives? And why, why?
Speaker 2:Um, I think I think, like I said, talking to my uncle, um for a couple of hours and then kind of, he kind of just implanted a little seed and then from there I just kind of researched them, started looking through online stuff and just really kind of was like, yeah, they seem more interesting than I knew. Like you know, most people don't understand exactly how, um, how complex they are. Um, I mean the, you know, they don't even know how far they fly. They don't know how the Queens mate. They don't know that you can make Queens, they, you know there's so many aspects to them that, um, the 99.9% of the people don't even know.
Speaker 2:They just see a bee and they think they need to swat it away or run away. And they are not only crucial for for um, humans, just like every other pollinators, like moths and, you know, butterflies and everything else, but, um, they're just pretty amazing. I mean, when you get into that hive and you understand the different stages of their life cycle and how, um, uh, you know they're all females except for the drones, and the drones are just there to mate. And, um, once you kind of understand how everything works, it just for me it was really interesting. I just never knew how fascinating they were. I guess you could say I just yeah.
Speaker 1:The coolest thing you would you haven't mentioned is how they can keep the temperature at a certain all year round, man it's nuts dude, it's like yeah.
Speaker 2:So we have out I live in the desert and we have, uh, you know, days that are 110 degrees and we have, you know, nights that are seven degrees. Uh, we get snow and all everything in between, um, and yeah, that that is pretty amazing. So I mean, when you have the hive in the winter, um, they do a, uh, a circle formation that's like a vibrating circle, and the queen is in the middle of that circle to keep her warm, because that's their, you know, they have to do that, and all the bees on the end of that circle will freeze to death and die for her, and so the spiral keeps going and the circle, yeah, and they just keep dropping off, dying, and they can. Also, they don't defecate in their hive, so they actually have to hold it until they can leave in the morning and it's warm enough to go fly and defecate too. So they don't, they, they're very clean creatures.
Speaker 2:If, if their bee dies, they kick the bee, they, they, they kick the bee out of the hive and and take it away from the hive. And it's a very, um, it's a very interesting thing. I mean, during the, during the summer, um, you can get next to my hives and you can hear it, it sounds like a fan's going because, um, they're keeping everything cool. So the, the, the wax doesn't melt, because in the 110 degree weather the wax will actually melt. Their whole hive will be destroyed. So they have to go over time and every, every, everyone's on deck and they're just flapping and and creating a breeze. I'll pop the top and there's a breeze coming out.
Speaker 1:That's amazing, man, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:It's crazy yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean the bee movie. Is some truth to it Huh?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, every everyone that was kind of their introduction to bees, I think. I never actually saw most of it. I saw some pieces of it, but, um, it was, it was I. Yeah, there's a lot of uh, there's a lot of silly things and they're obviously, but yeah, I mean, there's some things that they're that are true, yeah, okay, yeah, it is, everybody has their own job, man. Yes, yeah, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:You have a newborn. Yes, Congrats man. I have three girls. They change the world.
Speaker 2:I just want you to know that I'm just going to tell you that dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure she has you wrapped already. Oh yeah, she's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's amazing, she's. She's almost 10 months now, so Well, congrats, man, congrats. Thank you, mom and dad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with that said the bees what you do, train coach. How do you do what you do, man?
Speaker 2:How do I do it? Yeah, like, how do I manage the load, or do I?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:How do you manage?
Speaker 1:to continue to compete at a high level, man.
Speaker 2:Um, I don't know, my wife definitely helps a lot. I gotta say that, Um, yeah, she's, we're definitely a team and she's all on board because, um, I mean she runs a little bit and stuff and less right now, but she, she did, she's done like some 30 Ks and stuff, but, um, she's just on board because, um, because of of everything I've told her to do, I mean, I helped her. We were both fat, so I helped her get thin as well, and then she was also infertile and I helped, uh, figure that out, um, and get her fertile so we could have a kid. So she kind of is on board and she believes in me. Um, and we've been together now 20 years. So, um, yeah, so we, we just um, she's, she's.
Speaker 2:I'm going to give her most of that credit. Um, I work for her and she works for me. You know, like I, I do what I do, um, to better our family, to make sure I'm tip top shaped, to make sure I'm here in the for the long haul, if I can have any say about it and um, you know she's, and then she supports me the same way. So I would say that's probably my secret and I think most people that are married will understand, if you have a good partner, that you can accomplish a lot. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You say she kind of believes in you. I mean dude just hearing you help her be fertile. Yeah, yeah, and I'm a believer, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know it was you get it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Exactly.
Speaker 2:I mean, no, it was. It was a quite interesting thing and and, uh, I had to learn that it took me a year to figure out that whole human you know biology, part of of the female body uh, trying to figure out hormone balances and running blood tests at home and and seeing seeing the changes I was making with diet and supplementation. Um, but yeah, we, I mean she, she has, she had, she was fertile but, um, her body wasn't working correctly to allow, um, you know, fertilization. So, um, I had to figure out what was going on and I, uh, I kind of figured out she had a symptom called PCOS, which is basically a hormone imbalance, and so it was.
Speaker 2:It was difficult to figure out, but you know, you got to pay a lot of money to go to fertility. You know fertility experts and we just didn't have that type of money, you know. So I, we were, luckily, you know, we, um that I just have a job, that I do a lot of labor and I can put my earbuds in and listen to a lot of things. You know, get, educate myself, yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, what's number one podcast you listen to Not mine, I know that, but there's no one there's, so there's so many.
Speaker 2:I will say I will say man, um, it kind of depends on my mood, um, because literally some days I have zero interest in in my top podcast and other days I have all the interests. You know, I have like kind of like a mood ship. But I would say, as far as learning things, it's going to be Andrew Huberman for sure.
Speaker 1:Okay, huberman, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:With music you listen to man Kind of music, oh man.
Speaker 2:So I'm a. I'm a musician. I've been playing the piano since I was four. My dad was a classically trained pianist from USC, so I didn't have a choice in the matter. So I also played guitar, played clarinet, I played all those things I played in bands, all self taught, um, kind of my dad.
Speaker 2:My dad taught me as much as he could have the patience and me have the patience to teach me and talk about 10. From there I just kind of done everything else on my own. Um, I was in like symphonic bands and things like that and I kind of just taught myself to clarinet and the guitar and everything. So, yeah, mostly self taught. So I like everything. If you were to look at my spot spotify playlist, my my like songs, I think Spotify told me last year I listened to 80 different genres and I think I had 900 different artists. So I, uh, I definitely like a lot. I would say my go to those, especially if I want to get like I'm going to have like a race race soundtrack. It's going to be mostly metal, for sure.
Speaker 1:Gotcha Okay, and you're sticking to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean now when I say metal, that can be anything from, you know, european black metal all the way to you know, symphonic any, any type of metal, the more complex the better. But yeah, when I'm, when I'm running, I mean sometimes I like to you know groove, uh, when I run, but if I'm really trying to push, it's going to always be metal. It definitely gives me an edge.
Speaker 1:Okay, number one album that you run with. They are go. You're go to train and run. Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:Well, instead of album, I'll say band. That's going to be double driver for sure, okay.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, Just I don't know I they have a couple albums I really like, but I don't know man, that just can get me like a 30% boost of speed for free man.
Speaker 1:All right, I got to ask you, man, like some of the stuff that you, that you you're explaining, you either have ADHD or you're on the spectrum, or both dude. So what is it man? Adhd, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean if, if, if you want to label it, that's going to be it. I'm also dyslexic. Um, I'm. I'm a special type of dyslexic. I have no idea what you'd call it, but it's a. I mix up everything, including whole sentences and math number problems. I mix everything up, so it's. It's always been a challenge for me. In school they wanted to put me in RSP, of course, and everything, because they didn't understand what was going on. So I kind of gave up on school early and just started teaching myself everything. So that's. That comes back to why I just do everything myself because it makes sense in my brain.
Speaker 1:Incredible man, Incredible Like a cottage here, dude. Oh my God man All right.
Speaker 2:Geez.
Speaker 1:Who. What was the toughest food to quit when you started your diet? No-transcript.
Speaker 2:Oh, man see, I mean, I was definitely a food addict. We, me and my wife, would eat out, you know, every meal of every day. We didn't cook anything for years. I was a food addict, for sure. I mean the typical, the typical person that struggles with their weight, you know they'll say they're, you know they like the sugar, they like the stuff.
Speaker 2:As far as, as far as probably the hardest thing was quitting soda. I did that quite a while ago, but that was really the first step, because I in order to believe in myself with this, because I think I did it in my late twenties after my dad died. So my dad was a lifetime soda drinker of he would drink a gallon a day most of the time. And yeah, it was. I mean I, I did the same thing in my twenties. He gave me, I found out from my mom. He gave me soda when I was three months old. So I'm sure that that started me down that path. But on top of the soda, I was also doing two or three monsters a day. You know, I was just, I mean, I felt like garbage and the only thing that was keeping me going was that garbage as well, like kind of a vicious cycle. So once I got rid of that, I still was eating junk.
Speaker 2:I would say the hardest food to stop at the time was just, you know, probably french fries and stuff like that Crispy, salty, sweet stuff. You know, just the deep fried stuff. That was definitely tough for food. I mean. I love, I love food, but you have to change your palate. You have to get your palate to like better foods and once, once you do, now I don't. If I taste anything that's, that's not well cooked, I don't like it at all. So all the stuff I used to eat, I just don't like it.
Speaker 1:What's the one thing you got used to eating and you love it like you didn't eat before what you love now, what's that one food?
Speaker 2:Oh, probably, man. My diet is pretty basic, but probably like red potatoes yeah, Like skin on. Red potatoes are really good for you. The skin of the red potatoes is really good for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like those before.
Speaker 2:No, because I just literally never cooked them. Now I eat them almost every night, so I guess I like, I guess that's probably like the thing I like the most. I mean, I love everything I eat, but yeah, I would say, I really like those. I just butter, you know butter, poach them in a pan, that's all I do.
Speaker 1:So here? I thought you were going to say asparagus, or nut squash or or brussel sprouts, but here you are red potatoes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I mostly mean potato type guy. I run, I run pretty low, I pretty. I run pretty high protein and pretty low carbs.
Speaker 1:So Okay, all right. Are you going to go for higher mileage, like run 50 to 100, get into the 200, the multiple days? What?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's, that's been the goal since the beginning. Honestly, I just didn't realize how hard running would be on my body, so I I've been trying to figure out how to train for those without hurting myself, and I'm getting there. It's a slow progress, but stuff progress it is. So it's been a learning process. My goal for sure is to do multi-day events, because that just is something that my brain is made for. I do have I'm not, I won't it's, it's in there very, very early stages of planning, but I do want to do a solo. Well, not solo, but like solo, supported by my wife 135 mile FKT out here in the desert next year.
Speaker 1:Don't say it, because somebody will take it.
Speaker 2:Exactly. So I'm not going to Don't say it, but it will be, it will be a good. I think that's going to, that's going to pop my cherry for that one, I think, for the 100 plus. So my goal is I had already have done a hundred, but this year, just this year, has been, you know, every, every spare moment I get right now I like to spend with my daughter, so it's just been one of those. You know, I'll just stay in maintenance shape right now, so yeah, yeah, how long did it take you to figure that out?
Speaker 1:Because sometimes, man, like it took me forever, like I would have to go do something every day, and if I missed a day I'd be like, oh my God, I need some miles. You know, was it easy on you or did you have to really, really work on? Hey, it's okay to miss a day.
Speaker 2:So when I first started running, I I was very, very arbitrary in my goals because I had nothing to go off of. I was just like setting ridiculous goals. So I was like I'm going to run this this far. I mean, there was, there was weeks where I was doing like three twenties in a week, you know, and stuff like this. So I was just doing that and I was like, oh, my body hurts, but it's going to, it's going to figure it out, it's going to figure it out. So it's been a journey.
Speaker 2:I would say this, I would say what happens with me is, if I start running every day, then I do feel that way. I do feel like, oh man, I need to run every day or I'm going to get behind. If I stop doing it, then I'm also okay with not running every day. So it's kind of whatever your mindset gets into. Like if you're in the habit of running any every day and you don't run one of the days, yes, you do feel bad about that. But if you kind of take a month or two and you kind of just run three or four days a week, then you're okay with that. You don't miss running every day. So at least for me. So for me my body kind of likes the breaks. I've done it both ways. I've done 50, 60 days on and I felt good, but it's definitely felt broken down too much and I ended up having some issues. So for me the meat kind of happy mediums, like four or five days a week.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. How many races do you have, or do you do a year?
Speaker 2:Um, so the first two years I did, I was trying to do one every like two months. So I think, well, I did like five of the first first year, maybe six, a second year, something like that. Um, yeah, so I was trying to do like one every two. When I when I sign up for a race, though, I want to make sure that I'm going to do well at it, so I always try to place in, like, you know, the, the top third or the top quarter or something like that. So, so I'm not just doing it, just to do it. Um, so you're going out of town.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, I mean I'm going to Utah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly Like I'm, like I'm not going to, just like I could. I can show up and probably do almost anything if I want to, but I, just I, I want to do well at it. So, um, I figure, you know, every two months is about my limit for me, um, cause it's hard on me. After I do a real fast 50 K or if I do a 50 miler or something, I mean I'm, I have a couple of weeks where it's hard afterwards. I have a lot of, you know, my body's out, everything's unhappy, so it takes me a while to kind of get back into training, um and uh, and it's hard to build off that too for me. So this last year I just did, well, I did three.
Speaker 2:I DNF my first on a 50 miler during mother's day, just because I was having, I was having some bad. I was having some bad kidney issues with the, you know, peeing blood and stuff. So I was like it's not, it's not going good. So, um, so I just I just quit at 25. I had a way out, cause my wife was crewing me at 25. So I was like you know what, I don't want to wreck the weekend. You know it's her first mother's day, I was like right now, if I quit, I'll be good. If I, if I finish, I'm not going to be good. So it's like let me just quit. So so I quit that. Um. But I did two races and, um, I set my fastest 50 K time in January at a local race that had about 5,000 feet of gain. So it was a pretty good, pretty good gain and I did a 455. Um, so that was a. That was a good day, yeah.
Speaker 1:People don't run that in marathons, man. So I'm just saying yeah, just saying geez, what's your next big one, man? What's your next big race? Not the rut.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not the rut.
Speaker 1:Not the rut. So which one is the big one for next year, man?
Speaker 2:So I've been eyeing this one, um, it's a hundred mile one in um, uh, utah, on the salt lake, the great salt lake, um, I forgot what it's called, but I've been eyeing it for a couple of years and it's uh, you run, you run, the whole length of the salt lake, so it's like 15 miles, and then you go up and do another like 85 up and around and create a big long loop and I really think I can do well at it, just because the kind of the terrain, um, and the amount of climbing is not too crazy and stuff, um, and so I've been eyeing that's a lot of planning to do with the hundred mile or four. So, um, I got to see if I have the time. Um, other than that I haven't actually Poached anything yet besides the rut. I mean, the rut's just going to be a yearly thing from now on. So that's, that's a given.
Speaker 2:But yeah, but it's uh, so I don't yet have anything in stone. Um, I'm just still kind of kind of figuring things out and just, I don't, I don't like to. If I'm going to sign up for it, I got to commit, you know. So it's not like, uh, I don't want to back out. I don't want to, you know, have second thoughts, so I got to make sure it feels right when I do it.
Speaker 1:Right, so Adventures. You have any adventures coming up Event?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, we always travel. Since I work for myself, I generally work seven days a week and then I'll take like two weeks off, you know, every couple months. So, um, I'll, uh, I just set my schedule, we set our vacations. Um, yeah, uh, we have property up in Oregon so we're going to go up there. We didn't go up there this year because, since our daughter was born and everything, it was a week we're, we're homesteading up there. So it's, you know, it's kind of hard with a new baby. So, um, we're going to go in there next year. Um, we, we, we only do road trips, we don't fly anywhere, so we just drive everywhere. So we always go to Michigan every year and then we normally stop in Colorado and and you know all the states and everything. So, oh, we'll, we'll be every couple months. We travel, for sure, yeah.
Speaker 1:What month is that? Salt Lake race in man I think.
Speaker 2:I think it's May. I think it's April or May, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's a little hot? Yeah, it's, it's right at the border, but you know I live in a desert so I can. I can train for it. Yeah, All right.
Speaker 1:Ultimate goal man running wise.
Speaker 2:Ultimate goal, Um, I think, to win a hundred miler. Um, wouldn't matter what one it is, I wouldn't, I wouldn't care which one it is. Um, the fact that I've the fact that I've gotten, you know, seventh on a 50 miler, I'm like, okay, you know it's, it's not impossible, Like it's definitely, uh, something that I think I can do. It's just a matter of me figuring out how to do it. Um, so I don't I, you know, I do set realistic goals in my head. I do have, I don't have, uh, you know, a complex thinking. I'm better than I am. So I do honestly think, if I pick the right race and I have the right day, I think I can. So that would be the ultimate goal is to win a hundred. I think that'd be be a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, that's huge man, that's huge. So yeah, going from fast 50 Ks to slow, you know, manageable 100 milers. What's the one thing that is difficult for, uh, for adjustment man. Well, what's the most difficult part of of that?
Speaker 2:Um, for me it's getting my ego out of the way to like slow down when I need to slow down. Um, you know yeah like.
Speaker 2:I've been, I've been working on it a lot. I've been working on it, um, but you know, um I'm, I like to go fast and I like to push hard and and I and I can, um, but it always it's going to have issues, my body's going to have issues. So, um, I'm going to go fast, but it always it's going to have issues, my body's going to have issues. So it's a matter of of figuring out how to push, but, um, how to also go slower, especially where I need to go slower. So, um, yeah, and that for me, that may sound easy for some people, but for me, mentally, that's extremely hard for me to do, because I just want to be able to push the whole time.
Speaker 1:I'm right there with you, man. I'm right there with you. That's why I asked the question.
Speaker 2:I keep going. Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's just, that's just kind of how it is, and and so then you want you understand, um, that it's not. It's easier said than done, for for you know some people so.
Speaker 1:Right, right, some people. But man, I'll, I'll, I'll let you in on my secret. It took me a season to figure it out to be a steady pace.
Speaker 2:Uh huh.
Speaker 1:I'm if, if, if I'm running, you know, and then I'm walking, if I'm walking I can go 13s, you know, if I'm just walking it's tough, it's, it hurts to an extent, but you get used to it. But, man, it took me a season just to be like all right, I got this down and now I can't go fast Like I can, but not as fast as I was and what I used to do. I still kick it up a notch. But now it's like all right, man, I, if I'm running, all right, I'm good with eight minute miles, you know. And then, yeah, and if I'm going the distance, if I go four, five miles an hour, I'm, I'm good there, man. And it took me forever, it took me a whole season to figure out like, all right, I'm good, I'm good, it's tough, yeah, it's tough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I've been kind of trying to do this year. I'm just really getting used to like kind of shuffle run in and stuff like that. You know a 12, 13 minute mile running on you know nothing, not not too hard to rain, just you know kind of ups and downs, rolling hills type stuff, and so, yeah, it definitely it's getting there. So yeah, that's kind of why I, you know, I can kind of see the horizon coming for like a hundred mile learn. So that's why I'm just like let me just keep progressing and going towards it.
Speaker 1:Your best bet, man, as a starter 12 hour races, 24 hour races do that man. Just do those loop races that are out man. They're making huge traction, but that's your best bet, man, to get the whole start. It's like a starter kick man, a starter kit. You just find out what the body can do, be as comfortable as you can in a two, three mile. You know loop and figure out life, every loop man, and let me tell you, you figure it out real quick and if you don't take care of them, feet, done, done.
Speaker 2:But luckily my feet, my feet, are doing my feet don't have any problems anymore. Luckily I used to, but so far, like the fifties, I've done no blisters.
Speaker 1:nothing's been good so yeah, but when you start getting up a little more, your feet start filling it, man. And I tell you what. I figure that one out when it comes to the later rounds.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got it.
Speaker 1:For sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But man, dude, yeah, it's crazy what the body can do Like it's. You're at mile 70 and all of a sudden you're like man, where's this running coming from? What happened?
Speaker 2:Well, 50, you know it's just nuts, man.
Speaker 1:It's nuts what the mind can do over the body, the body over the mind, dude, it's just a whole another level. But, dude, we can talk forever, man, and I really appreciate your time, I really do Before we go. Do you want to add anything? Did I forget anything?
Speaker 2:Um, no, I mean, uh, just just everyone out there, man, just always. Um, you can always be better tomorrow than you were today. Um, I mean, everyone can be. It doesn't matter how perfect you think you are. Um, and if you drop the ego, you can do great things. That's all I gotta say.
Speaker 1:That is true man, that ego. I think that gets in a lot of people's way. Man, oh it does.
Speaker 2:It does Uh, especially uh, especially in today's. You know society with the, you know the, all the attention you can get online, um, you know good and bad, so it definitely uh makes people very opinionated and and you fall into a trap. So, um, yeah, my, my, my suggestion is just, uh, learn on putting that ego down and and you know, there's nothing better than uh, uh, you know to be humbleized by, uh, you know, hard trail run, hard trail run will humble you pretty quickly when you've got to go run up a nice tall mountain or something like that. And so you know, every time you kind of feel like you're doing good, just try to run faster and see what happens, right.
Speaker 1:Go do a mountain. Yep, Well, not by saying location, but what's your favorite mountain man? What's your favorite?
Speaker 2:mountain to to conquer. It's? Uh, well, it's not. It's not even a conquer anymore. I've done it up probably a hundred times. I I first liked it when I was five with my dad. Uh, so it's Mount Baden Powell, up here, it's about 30 minutes from my house. Uh, it tops out about 9,500 feet. It's a 3.8 mile climb. So it's a nice steady, like 14% average grade, 12% average grade somewhere in there, and it is. It's part of the Pacific crust trail actually. Um, and so that's where I do most of our running specific crystal. But, um, it's uh, yeah, it's my favorite. I, I will do, uh, I will do it as many times as I can every year. I normally try to do it 25 times a year or so.
Speaker 1:Where can people find you man on the gram?
Speaker 2:Um, it's a B man. Uh, frank D, um and uh, that's pretty much it as far as you know. My personal stuff, um, I haven't been. I haven't been posting that much. This year I'll post more. Next year I'll do more motivational posting and stuff. I know I do get messages, uh, asking for that, so I will try to do that more. Um, but I've just been enjoying being a parent, so yeah.
Speaker 1:Until then, dude baby girl has everything to do with it. So yeah, Girl fans baby girl right here, and so yeah. Well dude, I appreciate your time, I really appreciate you. I appreciate you. You know just what you do, how you do it and you know if you get back to it. You know the be better stuff inspiring others. You get to it, dude. Until then, man, enjoy being a dad, enjoy being a husband, enjoy doing what you're doing because, dude, what you did in 2019 till now, dude, you're a whole different person.
Speaker 2:Yes, and no, I am You're like three persons smaller man.
Speaker 1:It's crazy, it's crazy. So, keep doing what you're doing. And and uh, yeah, dude, if you can, if you can coach me, man, that's good. I'm finally getting out carbs. You know, I really am. And so, dude, I'm eating more greens and everything else, but you know, I'm 42 in December and it's just like all right, things don't work as well as they used to. So I was like let's, let's deal with carbs. You know, let's take out the carbs and it's turned up so good yeah.
Speaker 1:So, we'll be in touch, man. We'll be in touch for sure, and thank you for telling us your story. Thank you so much, man. Till next time.
Speaker 2:You're welcome, yep, thank you. All right, so at number six. Hey, I'm going to cover this and I'm looking forward to this title.