Start With A Win - Maintaining a Champion Mindset with Ashley Twichell

Episode Date: May 20, 2020

On this episode of the Start With A Win podcast, Adam talks with Ashley Twichell, 2020 Olympic qualifier in open water swimming. Ashley has been involved with swimming and athletics as long as she can remember, getting involved with year-round swimming when she was about 7 and committing to swimming being her only extracurricular activity when she was 13. She swam at Duke University and then moved to California to pursue a swimming career after graduation. In the 9 years since then, she has become more and more prolific, competing on the national team, competing in the World Championships and World Cup, appearing in Sports Illustrated, and qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games. Having previously competed in 5k, 10k, and 25k open water races, Ashley is well-versed in the mental and physical endurance that is required for this sport and she finds that these experiences have helped her hone her mindset in facing all of life’s challenges. She has had to learn to expect the unexpected, be aware of her surroundings while remaining focused on her goal, and adapt when things don’t go as planned.For instance, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Olympic Committee to make the decision to postpone the 2020 Olympic Games until 2021, Ashley and the other qualifying athletes were disappointed of course, but they have found ways to remain mentally and physically fit in spite of the circumstances. Without access to a pool to continue their training, Ashley and some of her teammates have taken to virtual crosstraining workouts like Peloton in order to remain connected and strong. Ashley sees this postponement as an opportunity to be flexible and not be conquered by the circumstances that are outside of her control.Connect with Ashley:https://www.teamusa.org/usa-swimming/athletes/Ashley-Twichellhttps://www.instagram.com/atwall616/https://twitter.com/atwich616Connect with Adam:https://www.startwithawin.com/ https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContoshttps://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ Leave us a voicemail:888-581-4430

Every day is filled with choices. You're here because you're choosing to start with a win. Get ready to be inspired, learn something new, and connect with the win nation. And coming to you live from all over the place, we're no longer in our studios because of the whole COVID situation. It's Adam Canto, CEO of Remax on Start With A Win in the virtual studio. We've got producer Mark. How you doing, buddy? I'm doing so good. Cool. So you're keeping yourself busy? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Here in the Brand Viva bunker, we're keeping things moving forward,

always staying positive and making the best of every situation. So I love it. So, you know, we, we look at all these high performers in life and this is a really a time when, when you kind of reflect on, okay, how do I create high performance in my life? Because a lot of people who weren't habitually creating that performance or having the kind of perseverance to keep going with it, take their foot off the gas. But a lot of the people that we have on the show, start with a win, are big time winners. And they have these different ways of creating those successes. So we have a special guest with us today, don't we, Mark? Yes, I am super excited about this. This is awesome. So two of the hard words in my life are endurance and swimming. And we haven't

have somebody that encompasses both of those. Our guest today, Ashley Twitchell, is an American competition swimmer, and she specializes in long distance freestyle and open water events. So basically, she can swim a lot farther and a lot faster than I could ever dream of. And for over a decade, I mean, I think probably her whole life, she's been working at, you know, becoming the best in the world. And it's kind of, it's kind of hard to fathom that where you're the best on the planet at something, right? And how do we know you're best on the planet? You qualify for the Olympics for crying out loud. So in 2019, in July, 2019, at the world championships in South Korea, Ashley qualified for the 2020 Olympics. Now at age 30,

she's slated to become the oldest U S Olympic rookie swimmer since James Green in 1908. I mean, this is like a huge accomplishment. So today we have the pleasure of having Ashley on the podcast. Welcome to the show, Ashley. How are you doing? Thank you. Good, thanks. Thanks for having me on. It's our pleasure. So this has kind of been a lifelong pursuit for you, hasn't it? Yeah, absolutely. I started swimming when I was really young. So like you mentioned, I'm 30 years old. And I grew up, I'm the youngest of four kids, and my three older siblings all swam. And so I just kind of followed in their footsteps. And really, initially, my parents just wanted us all to be water safe. So that was the initial goal was just to make us safe in the water as early of an age as possible. And so I could

like really save myself in the water before I could actually walk. And so that was really the only goal. But I from as young as I can remember, I just absolutely love the water. And I joined my first summer league team when I was three years old. I mean, I probably didn't even know at that point that I was racing the person next to me for me, it was just fun and swimming up and down the pool. And I started year round swimming when I was seven or eight, but always at other sports as well. And then when I was 13, really decided to just focus on swimming alone. And that was really all I kind of had the time for. It's a pretty time intensive sport. And then I went to Duke University and swam all four years there and had an amazing time. And then when I was done with my collegiate career, I just didn't feel like I was done.

I felt like I had more left to give. And I felt like I still just absolutely loved the sport. And so I moved out to California, kind of took a leap of faith. I grew up in New York and then went to school in North Carolina at Duke. So, you know, moved across the entire country and moved out to California and trained in Orange County with the team out there. And that's when I made my first international team, my first world championships and won my first international medals at world championships that summer in 2011. And definitely never thought I would still be swimming in 2019. But this is kind

of where my journey has taken me. What does that feel like to be a world champion at something, to go to the world championships? And you look around and you go, whoa, these are all these people that you read about in like Sports Illustrated and stuff like that. I mean, what is that like from your perspective as one of the competitors? Yeah. I mean, so I was always good growing up, but I was never like the best of the best. I had made junior nationals coming out of high school. I think I made senior nationals my senior year of high school. But I was never on a junior national team or a national team. And then really, even when I moved out to California after college, it wasn't like I

was an Olympic hopeful or, you know, on the brink of making an Olympic team. And it kind of happened really fast for me. Like I qualified for Worlds in 2011. And that nation of happened really fast for me. Like I qualified for worlds in 2011. And that nationals was was my first real open water race. And then two months later, I went to world championships and won those medals. And it just Yeah, it happened really fast. And so now, you know, obviously, I have a little bit more perspective, and I can, I can look back on it. And I had some rough years in there too. And so now, you know, going to world championships and winning those medals, I realized what an honor it is and how

cool it is. And actually, it's funny, you mentioned Sports Illustrated, I was actually just in the most recent copy, which for me was really cool. And like, for my dad and brothers, that was like, I think for them, that was like the coolest thing I've done. So that was really cool to see their reaction. And it's just been fun. It's's fun to experience it with my family for sure. I love that. So you talk about open water racing, how far do you go in that? So the Olympic distance to the 10 K. So that's what I, what I qualified in and what I'll compete in, in the Tokyo Olympics at world championships, they have a 5k, a 10 K and they do have a 25k. And so I actually competed in the 25k in 2015 at world championships, which was definitely the toughest thing probably mentally I've done.

Just so you know, be in the water for it was almost six hours, I think, and not much simulation. And that was obviously really hard physically, but also mentally, but the Olympic distance is a 10k, which typically takes the female swimmers about two hours. Wow. So you're in the water. It's not like you can swim over to the side and find a park bench and take a break or something like that. How do you keep yourself going for that extended period of time? And there's got to be a lot that goes through your head. What do you think about? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think about all sorts of things. So I think it depends on the race. I try for the most part, as much as possible to, you know, remain focused on the race. And even though it is a long race, it's two hours, a lot can happen really fast and a lot can change really fast. And so you definitely do have to be aware of kind of what's going on around you. And if

people are making moves or in open water races, there is feeding. So you kind of have to be aware of whether people are feeding and whatnot. So I definitely do try to stay focused just to make sure that nothing slips by and that, you know, I lose lead pack or something like that. But for example, in like the 25K, there were definitely times where I tried to zone out because mentally I just, I needed to have a little bit of a break. So you said feeding, what is that? Yeah. So, um, for any distance, the 10 K and over, so for the five K there's no feeding, but 10 K and up the swimmers feed. So essentially every summer has basically a feeder

and every race is different, but typically the feeders will be standing on like some type of dock. Um, if it's out in the ocean, they'll be like on a boat or a floating dock. And they'll have like a feeding pole, which is, you know, several meters long. And then it's a basically like a cup holder on the end of it. And you'll have like a Gatorade bottle or a solo cup or whatever it is in that with whatever you're drinking during the race. And so all the feeders, it's really like the feeds are really chaotic because if you can imagine, it's like 50 swimmers coming in at once and they're all trying to grab their drink and there's people swimming over each other and it can be a mess sometimes,

but it's part of the sport. Wow. That's kind of cool. I mean, it's something you don't normally see. Yeah, definitely. You go to a swim team event or something like that, or you're watching somebody swimming in a pool. There's nobody fighting for lunch. I mean, that's crazy. Yeah, it definitely took me some getting used to because it's, I mean, I still compete in pool and open water, but there are a lot of differences with open water, which for me has been fun. It's kept it interesting to kind of switch back and forth between the two. How do you deal with the environmental concerns like waves or, you know, like currents, things like that? Is that something that happens a lot during those races?

Yeah. So every race is definitely different. And, you know, we try to plan as best we can. So for like, you know, leading into our Open International or leading into, you know, world championships or a world cup, we typically have an idea of what the venue will likely look like or should look like. But a lot of times just, you know, the nature of the sport is that a lot of it, you kind of just have to expect the unexpected. So for example, like this past summer in South Korea, we were kind of expecting the water to be pretty warm and to be pretty flat. And when we got to the venue, the day we got there, the water was really cold. It was really wavy. So definitely not what we had prepared for, but, you know, just kind of have to kind of go with the flow in the sport and kind of be ready for anything. But yeah, there's, you know, the water can range from like 62 degrees all the way up to 88. There can be waves, it can be flat, there can be a current

occurrence. So there's definitely a lot of variables in the sport. Wow. You think of an Olympic swimmer and they're like, okay, jump in the pool, swim back and forth. You're out there battling mother nature at the same time, as well as competing with your peers. That is incredible to stay focused, to be thinking about what you need to be thinking about. Because ultimately, I mean, this is kind of a, in that circumstance, a life and death situation. Yeah. Does that ever cross your mind? Oh, I can go die doing this. I could drown, whatever it might be, because it's not like they can just reach in and grab you and pull you out of the pool.

Yeah. I mean, not really, but I do try to be aware, you know, obviously, you know, it can be a dangerous sport, I guess. And especially the bigger open water races, you know, there can be drownings, which is definitely scary. Open water directors are doing a lot to make sure races are safer. And during events like World Championships, there's boats with, you know, spotters and kayakers. So I do feel like, you know, we are pretty safe, it's, it can be a bit of a dangerous sport. Interesting. Not only do you, you face hardship with, with the swimming, I mean, the incredible endurance and, and mind control, you also face, you know, other types of challenges. Like obviously there's a challenge

with getting the Olympics done now. I mean, that had to be just, you know, other types of challenges. Like obviously there's a challenge with getting the Olympics done now. I mean, that had to be just, you know, uh, just a very big weight on your shoulders to go, Oh my gosh, I've worked my whole life. And then this COVID thing comes in and now I've got to, I've got to figure that out. I mean, what's, what's going on in your head right now? How are you dealing with this? Yeah. So it's definitely been, you know, pretty crazy seven weeks and definitely not what I expected to be doing right now, you know, in May and what would have been like three months out from, from the Olympics. So I, I really narrowly missed making the Olympic team in 2012 for London. And so, um, you know, that was eight

years ago. Now I had a shoulder surgery in 2014 and then missed making the 2016 team as well for Rio. So it's definitely been a long journey and obviously was so excited to have qualified this past summer. And really since the season started in September, I've had a great season and training has been going really well. And I was really looking forward to July and August and Tokyo and the Olympics. And all this kind of happened so fast. So I was really looking forward to July and August and, and, uh, Tokyo and the Olympics. Um, and all this kind of, you know, happened so fast. So I was actually out in Colorado at the Olympic training center in March. I went out there March 8th and I was supposed to be out there three weeks

with the, with the national team for national team training camp. Um, and that's about when, when all of this kind of started to escalate. Um, and that, that first week we were out there is when the NBA season got canceled. And really, as soon as that happened, it kind of seemed like, you know, maybe the handwriting was on the wall for the Olympics, but there were, it was a couple of weeks of uncertainty, which was, which was definitely tough. And so, you know, I ended up flying home early, the Olympic Training Center got closed down due to due to the governor orders in Colorado. And it was about a week after that, that the announcement was, you know, officially made that the Olympics would be postponed. So

I definitely understand the decision. I'm definitely in support of it. You know, obviously, our global communities, health and safety is paramount and sports are not everything. And this is obviously something that's a lot more important. But at the same time, I obviously was was really disappointed and still am. I was really looking forward to this August. I was going to retire after this summer and kind of move on to the next chapter. So definitely took a little bit of time to kind of wrap my head around. But just kind of looking at it now, trying to see it as an extra year of swimming that

I didn't know I was going to get. And I still absolutely love the sport. And so trying to view it kind of as a gift. And as of right now, obviously the pools are closed. So just trying to take it day by day and using the time to do things I don't normally get to do. I've been doing a lot of cross training on the bike and I've been doing a lot of dry land, some like virtual workouts with my mom and my family, which is fun and things I don't normally get to do. So I'm just trying to make the most of it

every single day. Wow. Mind of a champion right there, folks. So what are champions like yourself saying to other people right now? Because there are a lot of people dealing with a lot of challenging times in their heads, things like that, in their business, other athletes. You've got high school, college athletes, things like that, trying to figure out, how should I think about this? Do they look at this from a perspective of this is an opportunity or my sports career is over because of this situation? What would, what advice would you give to them as being one of the best of the best in the world? Yeah. I mean, I don't want to, you know, pretend like I can put myself in anyone else's shoes because obviously everyone is experiencing

very different things. But I think something that is really important is that to acknowledge that everyone is experiencing different hardships and different disappointments and, you know, some may be worse than others in some people's eyes, but everyone, no matter how you're feeling, it should be validated. And I think for me, what's, what's been really helpful is just really trying to focus only on what I can control and not worry about what I can't because there's, there's so much uncertainty right now. And there's so much out of my control. And especially, you know, before the decision was made with the Olympics, like I said, there was, we just didn't know. And so that was really tough. And there's, tendency to want to be able to kind of like fix things, but really,

there was nothing I could fix. And so doing the best kind of with with what I could control, which for me, that was maintaining a routine and going to bed within a certain timeframe and waking up and having a routine for the day, even though it looks different than it usually does. For me, that's been really helpful. And yeah, I think just controlling what you can control and taking it day by day and giving yourself a little bit of grace. You know, I've had bad days for sure. I think every day is different. And it's a little bit of a roller coaster. And we're all experiencing this really for the this, you know, pandemic for the first time. And so really just giving yourself grace and acknowledging how you're feeling each day and doing the best you can.

Amazing advice. Do you think that you get the mind of a champion? You're looking for opportunities here. You even talked about doing with the bike and some dry land and things like that. Do you see more opportunity coming out of you having this reflective time? Sounds like you're not wasting any time personally. I mean, I look at, you know, you're the, you're the kind of person that goes, okay, I got this many minutes. I'm going to get the most out of these. Is that something that's common in high performing athletes right now? Or are people kind of, you know, is it more of a, let's wait and see what happens? Yeah, I think, you know, obviously, you know, the ones at least that I am in contact with, and a lot of members, you know, on the national team was something I think, you know, like I said, we're all doing the best we can, and everyone has different equipment

at home and all that kind of stuff. But there are actually a bunch of us on the national team, who do have Pelotons at home and so you can you can kind of like work out virtually with one another and do classes at the same time so we've actually been when been doing that which is fun and and pushing each other outside of the water which like I said is obviously something different but it's it's fun and I've always been someone who you know in a practice in this one practice if I'm going to be there and it's going to take up two hours of my time I'm going to make the most and it's going to take up two hours of my time, I'm going to make the most of it. And so that's how I've kind of tried to look at this too. And

so when I get on the bike, or when I'm doing dry land, I'm, I'm going to make the most of it. And I feel like, obviously, my my fitness in the water will, you know, I'll have to see when I when I get back to training what it'll be like, but I feel like I have been able to, to stay really fit. And I'm kind of excited to see what happens when I get in the water and, you know, all of us are in the same boat, you know, none of us really have tools right now. And so now we have, you know, 16 months to the Olympics. So there's plenty of time. So yeah, just trying to, to kind of take advantage and enjoy being able to do things that I don't usually really have time to do. So do we see like triathlete or Ironman or something like that growing in your future?

I don't know. It's always kind of, Ironman's always kind of intrigued me. I do enjoy running and I never done much biking, but I've been using the Peloton a lot. I would kind of have to like relearn how to ride a bike outside, I think, but we'll see. I mean, I think I've always loved just like pushing myself to my limits. I love racing, but like, I really love training. And so yeah, sometime in the future I could, I wouldn't rule it out, I guess I'll say. I love it. I, uh, I have to confess when this whole COVID situation started and our gym closed down and my wife and I are fitness fanatics. She came downstairs. She goes, Hey, I'm going to buy a Peloton. And I go, okay. Yeah, go for it. We used

to, we'd go to spin class every now and then, but I gotta tell you, I fall in love with that thing. And that is one of the hardest workouts I've ever had. I agree a hundred percent. I just like, it sounds like it's like raining beneath me. I'm like sweating so much. And I, yeah, I feel like I get such a good workout and it's a fun community too. So it's definitely been a lot of fun. Oh, totally. The people you interact with on the bike are unbelievable and you just, you never know who you're going to run across. It's, it's so cool. So kudos to you for really, uh, finding a universal way to, to continue to make yourself better. And that's just And that's the mind of a

champion there, folks. So think about that next time you have a major challenge, because ultimately, you were building out for this huge challenge to compete in the Olympics, and now you have an extended period of time to train for it, so you had to make some adjustments. So that's my heart and mind go out to you, as well as my motivation, because for crying out loud, that is what you call adapting to the circumstances. So good for you, Ashley. Thank you. Ashley, I got a question for you. This program is called Start With a Win, and all of our listeners really like to gain little tidbits of information. I already got a whole bunch out of this, by the way. So thank you for that. But one of the questions we ask everybody, especially world-class athletes

like yourself, is how do you start with a win? So I think I try to start every single day with a win by, you know, I wake up, I have my cup of coffee, which I didn't used to need a cup of coffee. But now I do for better or for worse. I have that I take my dog for a walk, he's always in the best mood in the morning. So that kind of automatically puts me in a good mood. And then the night before I kind of, you know, when I'm in bed, I write down what I want to accomplish the next day. And I think that really sets me up to have a good day. It, it allows me to, you know, kind of check off what I wanted, what I want to accomplish that day. And it leaves me feeling, um, accomplished at the end of the day at the night. So, um, that's, that's how I start

with a win. Great advice from an Olympic athlete. Thank you so much for being with us today, Ashley Twitchell. We really appreciate you sharing your insight and thoughts with us. Thanks for being on the program. Thanks so much. Thank you so much for listening to Start With A Win. If you'd like to ask Adam a question or potentially be on our next episode, give us a call and leave us a message at 888-581-4430. Don't forget to go into iTunes and subscribe, write a review and rate the show. It helps us get the word out and reach more people.

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