How To Demolish All Of Your Excuses | Ashley Norton, Iron Heart Woman #multiplesclerosis

Are you looking to be physically active at the extreme level, but you got a lot of excuses because you got some physical health issues? Well, I want you to meet an incredible woman, Ashley Norton. She has had six heart surgeries, two pacemakers, and will be the first woman with those plus MS to compete at the upcoming Ironman World Championships. You don't want to miss this. Don't go away. Ashley, it's so great to have a conversation with you today. How you doing? Good. Thank you for having me. Great. Thank you. Now, where are you at right now? So we're in Seattle, Washington. Seattle. So you're training right now for the championships for the Ironman competition. It's going to be in Kona, Hawaii, coming up. How's the training going? Yeah. Yeah. This is the first ever Women's Bin Fast World Championship for Ironman, where they separated the women and the men. The men will be in East France. This is the first year they've ever done that. So it'll be a compilation of some of the biggest, baddest women in the world taking over Kona. So it's been going good. We just crossed Salem about, what, 10 days ago? Salem, Oregon, Ironman. We did a half there. I'm doing another half in Maple Valley, Washington, Ironman in September 17th. And then we'll head to Kona after that. So the demand is high. It's a lot of training. But fortunately, my body is holding up pretty well. Well, that's shocking to me because an Ironman competition, if people don't know this, Ironman, I believe, correct me where I'm wrong, 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling, and 26.2 miles of running. All three of those? Yeah. All three of them in under 17 hours will be a full Ironman. I don't know if I could do the swimming in under 17 hours. That's crazy. It sounds like a lot. It does. And I know people, when they hear that, they're just like, they're just like, I'm tired just thinking about it. That's something that I hear a lot. But once you start getting your body trained for the intensity and for the longevity, it just becomes second nature. I just did 50 miles on my bike and 80 miles on Sunday. It's just your body starts acclimating to it. So it's not as bad as people think. Well, yeah, but it's not as easy as you're making it sound too. Because even the marathon, just the 26.2 miles of running, I have several buddies who keep trying to talk me into doing a marathon with them. And I'm like, man, the training that goes in just to do the marathon. My wife and I bought a new house and it's this incredible place. People are typically walking their dogs or whatever. But they had a half marathon just a couple months back. And the route went right down our street. And my wife and I felt like we were so lazy because here we were sitting on our couch, window blinds open, watching these runners go by and critiquing them while we're eating our potato chips. And so it's something that's a lot more difficult than I think most people even realize just doing the running part. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not a normal athlete, obviously, with all the adversities I have against me. So for a normal athlete, it is extraordinarily difficult. You train a long time before you get to that point. But for me, I actually have to train twice as hard. We knew Kona could be a possibility. So we started amping up my training prior to even my half in Salem. So that way we could just overload me like, you know, safely, of course. But yeah, you know, the swimming part's my favorite. It's the easiest on my body. I actually perform very well in that area. The cycling, I didn't really like it at first because not so much that it's very difficult, but like being on a bike for four to eight hours, it's like it's a lot of time. There's no headphones, no cell phones. Like, you know, it's just you and literally God's land and a hundred cyclers next to you. But the running part is where, well, let me go back to cycling. Actually in the beginning of the year, we were riding a two wheel clip in bike and unfortunately like nine miles in, I took a really bad spill and I was down for quite some time. A lot of people don't know that. And I got back up about five more times and kept falling after a certain amount of miles. So we knew that my MS finally showed up in a very prevalent way. So we had to go back to the drawing board and I actually ride a three wheel recumbent bike. And that's how I cross finish lines. And that's because of my stability. And that's where the MS shows up. And with the running, what people don't know as well is that I may continue to go across finish lines, but when I hit about mile 60 on the bike, my feet start to go completely numb. I start to feel a pain in my foot as if I was to walk or run on knives. And what's happening is that my myelin sheath and my nerval system is shutting down and that's part of the MS. And with the heat and the stress, it's just not a good combination for somebody like me. So we've worked really hard and we're still working on that now that we're going for a full. The last 13 miles of running, I wasn't tired, I wasn't exhausted, but it was very difficult because of that, you know, sensation of feeling like it's probably the most horrific pain I've ever felt. So really training my brain to pick up my feet with my legs and through a system I've created, a 3-2-1 system, where I literally tell myself like 3-2-1 because I also could trip. And that did happen in Salem, you know, because my body is just like, you're so tired, but my MS, the stability is really starting to get wobbly. So yeah, there's a lot of things we learned at the last one. So now we're like, OK, on the bike, do we need to add more magnesium? I need a cooling towel. I have cooling sleeves. I've got to keep the body down because the humidity and heat and Kona is it's it's insane, like for a normal person, let alone anybody like me. So, yeah. So it's been an interesting journey and it's still a journey. You know, we're still trying to figure out, you know, maybe we need to take my shoes on my bike and have, you know, a normal bike shoe, a clip in shoe has a clip on the top and and that's how you get your power. But I've been thinking, well, why would we put in the middle? So when my feet are completely numb here, now I can use the power here. So there's no road map. So we're just kind of building it as we go for future athletes that we hope to bring along throughout the year. So, yeah. Well, it's it's amazing what you were doing. I want to talk more about some of the things that you just listed as far as some of the challenges along the way. But I want to start out by just asking you, I mean, you have every excuse in the world to not do this. Multiple sclerosis, two pacemakers, six heart surgeries. Why are you so passionate about doing this, which seems to be dangerous for your physical being? Yeah, that's a great question. And I get emotional because I really stand for my people. You know, I've I've faced quite a bit in my short time here on Earth, but there's never been a day. I just I'm hardwired differently. You know, I I see barriers and I just want to bypass them. And when I started this journey, you know, I've been a fitness trainer for I don't know, a good 10, 12 years. I lost 160 pounds when I was about 19 and I was very heavy. And that's what got me into fitness. And then I was into a gym rat. And then the endurance training didn't really start. But like a little over a year ago, this is a very new thing for me. But what I decided was that multiple sclerosis and the awareness of it and what's happening and how the numbers are rising and how people are so being misdiagnosed and they don't know the symptoms and have to come to an end. So I decided that why not take on the biggest platform in the world and start bringing the possibility like people like you see me, you see me doing this like we just did a half when everybody said you can't or you should wait another year. But we know that that is not always the case. So we really here at Ironheart Woman and the Grace Global Foundation, I started a nonprofit that's all for multiple sclerosis, the education, the funding. There's people that need things. I mean, I have a mother that wrote me through this journey and she had a 17 year old daughter and she said, we woke up one morning and Zoe was blind. And we didn't know what was wrong with her. We took her to the ICU and finally it came back as a mask. And could you imagine having your child wake up and just being blind and there was no accident. There was they didn't know. Right. And so now what are they going to do? They need help. They need medication. Mom can't go to work. They need funding. And unfortunately, because the awareness of multiple sclerosis is not as prevalent as it should be. They don't have the resources they need to just survive and take care of their daughter and wrap around their heads that their daughter will never see again. And it could potentially go in a wheelchair or die. That's the you know, that's the reality of having a mask. So when I wake up every single day and I'm able to see my daughter's face and I'm able to get out of bed and I'm able to walk, let alone cycle, swim and run. Why not do an Ironman? Why not show other people that there's something inside of you that you can do. And whoever told you you couldn't was just scared of something inside. So that's that's why I do it. I do it for my people and I do it so people understand that this is a horrific disease and that we need to start waking up. You know, thank God for Selma Blair. Thank God for Eric Thomas. His wife has MS. They're a huge advocate. Thank God for Jamie Lynn Singer. All these women that are coming out. Christina Applegate. Look at her. Right. She's hidden for many years. But if it wasn't for these women using their platforms, we wouldn't even know what MS is. So I just kind of feel that it's my duty while I have it to keep fighting. So, yeah, I love what you're doing. You know, I work with a lot of people down here in Hollywood who everyone wants to be successful. They work with me because they want to be more successful, that they want to have a perspective of how to overcome, you know, some of the challenges. But most of the people don't naturally have your approach, like like your response to to the pain. Most people will kind of wallow in the why me stage of of the issues. But what I'm really impressed about you and one of the reasons why I wanted you to be on our podcast here was you naturally said, I have this pain. I have this problem. And you shifted to say, but it helps me fulfill a greater purpose. And so immediately, I mean, you're associating yourself as my people and these are people that you care about. And the reason why you're trying to bring awareness is because you're trying to help other people. You're not trying to help yourself. You're trying to help other people. And to me, actually, that's one of the most impressive things about you. I mean, what you're doing physically is extremely impressive. But just your ability to take the things that life has thrown at you and to turn that around for a greater purpose. I hope a lot of people who are watching or listening to this podcast today will take stock of their own life and say, you know, I could have a pity party and say, why me and and just kind of escape back into their cocoon or their cave of whatever is their comfort zone and and not do anything. But I just for you to push even into more pain to bring awareness, it just really says a lot about you. And I'm so impressed with with what you're doing. I want to ask you, because like you said, most people if it if it wasn't for the recent celebrities who are coming out talking about MS, most people wouldn't know what it is, where it comes from. And and so there's still a lot of ignorance out there. You are the founder of Ironheartwoman.com. It's in the description below. Make sure you go there because it also is a place of great information and a resource for people to understand what it is. But what is one of the the greatest things you wish people knew about MS that is kind of a misunderstanding or something that people just don't know? Yeah. Yeah. Ironheartwoman.com is the website to go for education, for funding, for everything. And the one thing I think is the how people see me, you see me pull up to a grocery store. Legally, I'm allowed to have a handicap placard. I get out of my car, I get my daughter out on a good day, mind you. And I look totally normal, like I just got out of the gym. And so what people don't know is that there's good days and bad days. And I think that's what was really important about doing this. And we've been documenting every day, good, bad and ugly, and to see what it looks like. And it can be a little scary for some people. Like one day, I'm jumping out of my car. The next day, I'm shoving a needle in my side because I have to take Copaxone to hopefully stop the lesions from occurring to make me go completely, you know, disabled. And maybe another day where I wake up and I can't feel my feet and I can't drive my daughter to school. And so we have to find somebody else or Uber or things of that nature. Or maybe one day when I can't even or I lose train of thought. Like even in things like this, there was one interview I did and the man asked me a question and I just went blank. And then I'm like, I'm sorry, can you say that again? But it's not me. It's the lesions in my brain. So just because somebody looks like they're able does not mean that they're not going through something that is horrific. And it can be horrific. And I use that word because the pain is probably some of the worst pain that I've ever experienced in my life. And the unknown too. It's very depressing having MS. You know, like, if you could imagine walking around not wondering if you're going to wake up and be blind one day, or it's just over for you, or you're just going to die, you know. So living like that for me is the reason, again, why I do so many things that I do. And I continue to want to break barriers that have never been broken before so that people can really appreciate this disease. They can start educating our children because that's who's going to be most affected. Specifically in the Pacific Northwest, we have the highest rate of MS growing in numbers that we cannot stop. And there is no cure. And so my daughter, your daughters, your grandchildren are all, you know, susceptible to have this condition and not know until, like me, I had many signs that I didn't know. My feet would go numb in the gym, thought I was dehydrated. Got on a bus with my daughter when I was two, didn't know I was on it for multiple hours until I was kicked off and didn't even know where I was at. My lesions were swelling in my brain. So, you know, just things of that nature. So it's really hard because MS looks really differently on everybody. You know, there's a young lady that we talk through social media quite a bit and she's learning how to rewalk. And me and her have, you know, and I'm over here doing Iron Man's, you know, and I think about her when I think about pain, you know, like there's no comparison whatsoever. And so, yeah, just be kind to people. You don't know what they're going through, whether it's not even MS. Everybody has a testimony that we all need in order to face our adversities and break barriers in this world. And what a more impactful world we would have if people would be honest and start being kind to others in that arena, right? You'll never regret being kind. Yeah. You'll regret going off on somebody, but you never regret being kind. So I have a question. How old were you when you finally were diagnosed that you had MS? It was about six years ago. I, again, I had signs prior. We were always focused on the heart things. You know, when I was younger, I had so many heart issues and they finally put the pacemaker in. We thought that was going to be the, you know, because my heart rate, I never, my heart never stopped. I want to make that very clear, but I would go down to like a 15 on a good day. So I'd fall down into the ground like a noodle. And so had the pacemaker, then had my daughter. I had three SVT, which are central ventricular tachycardia, which is below heart attack. And I gave natural birth to her. And then I had an ablation after that, because then I started experiencing SVT. And then after that, when she was about two, it was Mother's Day, I woke up one morning and from head to toe, I was completely not, I could not move at all. All I could do was scream. And I will never forget that I screamed so loud because she was still so little and her little, she was in her little sleeper that they came, the fire department came and broke the door down and took me to Harborview. I stayed there for quite some weeks. And they, when you have a special person like me that has dual disabilities, not just one, they don't like to scan pacemakers because it, and mine was very old at the time to try and preserve it. So they only scanned me for the waist down. They did some spinal taps to make sure it wasn't cancerous, things of that nature, and called it autoimmune and eventually sent me home. And the next day, again, I had the same episode completely from head to toe with re-ambulance, but this time to University of Washington, which is an extraordinary hospital. And it was then they did the full scan of my brain and they said, we're sorry, you know, they came in, you have, we missed seven lesions on your brain and this is multiple sclerosis. And, you know, for me, like my mom, it was the most devastating moment of her life. She kind of already knew this could have been a possibility and me being the Ashley Grace that I am, I'm like, all right, great. Like, how do we beat this? And that's how, you know, naive I was like, you know, they had to say, I'm sorry, but there's no cure for this. Like you, you just manage it if you can, you know? So, so yeah, it's been a while now and I've, and I've been very blessed. I will say that I've had some flare ups. That's what they call it. When you go into these episodes of like, not feeling your feet, not being able to walk. I have a couple of fingers on my left hand that I can't grip at all whatsoever. So, but usually I do pretty well. If I have those, I go get steroids, but yeah, it's really important. This too, I wanted to say is because there's a lot of doctors and ambulances that are very uneducated as well. And I've experienced that in the last six years where I'll get in an ambulance and they won't even know what to do with me with that mass, you know? So that was a huge drive for me too. When I started the Grace Global Foundation and the nonprofit was not just for the people, you know, which is an obvious, it was for education for these hospital, you know, emergency room doctors, because unless you get a neurologist to come down and help you, they could just totally miss you. And I mean, look at what Selma Blair, she was talking about in her book about how many times she was misdiagnosed and just pushed out of hospitals and doctors. So yeah, it's pretty bad out there. So hopefully this will help. Yeah. We kind of have a joke down here in Hollywood that the only people that perform medicine down here are the actors, the real doctors only practice medicine. And so, you know, it's helping everyone to be able to learn even some of the issues. And like you mentioned, MS and other conditions are on the rise. And so there's a lot of misdiagnoses and a lot of new diagnoses that need to be figured out that medical professionals are trying to even catch up, you know, with what's happening in the world that's not the same. I have a big question for you, you know, because most people, if they had a heart condition, putting their body to the extreme level of doing an Ironman, doing the 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on a bicycle and a full marathon, 26.2 miles of running, many people would be too afraid to push their body to that limit just simply because of the heart condition. What do you do to overcome that fear? Because I imagine there's at least some concern on your part with your heart since you've had issues with your heart, you know, since you were very young. Yeah. Honestly, if I'm being 100% authentic and transparent, I'm not scared of very many things. When you've been through what I've been through in life, outside of just medical conditions, I have a big story behind me. You have faced so many adversities and you broke through them. The training part is difficult in that part. But like for me, this is not a big deal, you know, finding out I had MS was the big deal, finding out how to live with it, finding out how to manage it, you know, things of that, that was a little bit more scary for me. But yeah, I'm not really scared, if I'm being honest with you. It gets nerve-wracking when you get there, like in Salem, you know, it's just the unknown, you know, you're in the water, the buildup, the people. But yeah, I don't really, like I said, I'm a little hardwired, I think a little differently. You know, I know that with God, anything is possible. And there's no way that I have survived everything I survived. I'm still here. I'm training for an Ironman. So I mean, what else is there to be scared of? I mean, I've already been through it, you know. So I think that's kind of the mentality I keep. I'm more scared of those big hills I have to climb on my bike than anything else. Or the energy lab I get to run through that I keep hearing about is like brutal. So I'm more, you know, but I'm not really scared. I'm not scared. I'm very, I'm at peace with everything. And how lucky of a girl I am to be able to have these conditions. I consider them gifts when people ask me, oh, I'm so sorry. I'm like, no, it's okay. It's great because I see life differently. I wake up every day in gratitude. I live a different life. Things are not so black and white for me. Like it's very colorful. And possibilities are limitless with me. So yeah. I love that. Because so many people, you know, that I work with, all of the things that didn't go right in their life, all of the things that they saw or things that they missed out or their body isn't such that they could do the things that they wish that they could do. What we ultimately come back to is this conversation about their life calling, their life purpose. And every single one of them has to do exactly what you did, is look at what are the challenges that have come into my life? What are the things I missed out on? I was working with a psychologist of all people last year, who is very adamant disagreeing with me that because I told him, you know, he has this huge life purpose and he has something to fulfill in his life. He goes, I'm almost 80 years old. I couldn't tell you what my life purpose was. And so as I'm talking with him about what he's passionate about, because that's how you discover what your purpose is. I said, what are you passionate about? He goes, I'm really passionate about my students because he's a teaching professor still in his 80s. He says, I'm really passionate about the students that don't really have active parents, maybe kids that are orphans. And I said, well, why are you so passionate about that? He says, well, I grew up not knowing who my parents were. I immediately was adopted and never met my parents. And I've always been really frustrated and I couldn't understand why God allowed me to have to go through this very painful experience of not knowing who my parents are. And I just stopped him and I was like, do you even hear yourself? The thing that you're most passionate about, which is being empathetic and caring for these students that don't have active parents, the very experience you went through, you wouldn't be empathetic. You wouldn't be there inviting them to your home to have dinner and making sure that they have a place to go for holidays. If you hadn't gone through that experience, it was prepping you to actually care about a group of people you probably wouldn't in any way be sympathetic, much less empathetic of. And so I see what you're doing as well as you're very empathetic to the plight of everyone with MS. And as a courageous woman that you are, you're fearlessly saying, I'm going to connect this experience, which, you know, it sucks. It's not a good experience to go through, and yet you're connecting it with your life purpose. And I hope the people that are watching or listening to this podcast definitely take a note out of what Ashley's doing here. Take a look at all the challenges that you're going through and realize this is setting you up so that you are effective and that you're actually powerful to reach a group of people that you're now empathetic to. That was your training to be in the midst of your calling, to be a voice that people would even want to listen to. Because if you're not going through it, people are like, yeah, you don't understand what I'm going through. But Ashley, when you speak, especially to women with MS and people who are going through that, I mean, your credibility is through the roof with them because you're going through it right now. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, it's really, I believe everybody has a testimony. You know, there's no reason why I was, you know, prodigy golfer, LPGA bound, and then shifted, lost 160 pounds, became a fitness trainer, had heart problems, pacemakers. And then, oh, by the way, let's have MS too. I mean, right? Like, so, so many things that I always were like, you know, I used to be like, why, like, why do I get like all this stuff, you know, but now I know what it's for. I know God was building something inside of me and instilling something inside of me because, you know, I'm one of the strongest warriors. He knew I could go through it. So that way we could get to this point. If you would have told me, I would, I didn't even know what Ironman was up to 12, 13 months ago. Had never heard of it in my entire life. Never thought about it, saw it, nothing. And when I got, when my last, my pacemaker went out and I was in the middle of a store at a Ross, I fell to the ground again because my heart was so slow. I was in a recovery room and I saw an Ironman. And for me, it was the Holy Spirit. It was my moment. It was, this is what we're doing. A week later with a patch over my chest and a sling in my arm, I found out it happened to be down by my house. Ironically wasn't by irony or accident went down there. And when I sat on, stepped on that platform, I knew this was it. I knew this is where God was going to use me in a way that I could never comprehend. So when people ask me like, or doctors or anybody, they're just like, no, you can't do it. It's impossible. I don't serve a, um, a human person that tells me what I can and cannot do. I just stay diligent to what I know and what he's telling me. And if it's meant to be, it is, if it's not, it's not. And so that's, that's for everybody. I mean, I obviously stand for MS, but like, I want people when they see me, like whether you're dealing with the loss of a child or even you can't get out of bed because COVID was such a hard time, right? Like we came out of an era of just like, don't come near each other. Hope Valley, like everything was stripped from us. So I'm just like, man, like, you know, I get to be that person because I've always been that person, but we get to use this as I want people to see me and be like, you know, I can get out of bed. I can do this. And I don't want empathy. And I don't want people to feel bad for me. I just want them to find their true testimony because their impact in this world could change so many people's lives. And that's what we're all called to do, you know, in our very short time here on this place called Earth. So. No, that's absolutely true. You know, people ask me, how do you discover your life purpose? And it all has to do with how do you share the most love and joy to a specific group of people that you're divinely passionate for? Most people think my purpose is to build this or to make this or to, you know, have a legacy in this way. And ultimately, your purpose for everyone is always wrapped around how can you find a group of people and show them care, concern and love in a way that really impacts their life. That's your purpose. And how you discover it is like you have and like I have and many other people have is it's actually through the painful experience that you actually are able to see what your purpose is, because there are other people who are in pain that are hurting that need to know that somebody cares. And your purpose is to be the one that cares for them. Yeah. Yeah. That's really what I try to embody. Like when, you know, for me, when people are like, oh, you're such an inspiration. I truly, honestly, I don't see myself that way. I just lead my life and in a way of generosity and authenticity. And I'm brave and I'm healed. And I tell myself that every day. And so whatever, you know, avenue I'm going to take next, so be it. I don't dwell over it. I'm not scared. I'm actually probably the most peace I've ever been at in my life. And that's probably because I'm serving the people that mean so much to me at this point in my life. And never, like I said, I never could have told you I'd ever be so not on the vision board or anything. It is now, but no. Yeah. Real life is not predictable at all, at all. So I want to go back. You had mentioned toward the beginning about the experience of doing this Ironman and about, you said it at mile 60, I believe it was on the bicycle, which is halfway, that it feels like someone's stabbing your feet. Walk me through the pain of the Ironman. Yeah. So any Ironman is brutal in itself. My experience in Salem was, especially when I got to that run, is when it really starts to sink in is what people, you're starting to pass people. And I don't know if you've ever watched it before. If you haven't, it's extraordinary. But it's just like they're like, oh, they're like trying to keep, you know, and you're like running past these people. And it's a little disturbing at first. But yeah, for someone like me, I think that really started showing up when we started adding so much volume to my load, when we were like, okay, if we're, you know, gonna do, even consider Kona, we got to start amping it up a little bit. So the first time I was at mile 40, I think I was, mind you, it's when it's really hot. That really, that's why it starts to get really difficult for I can't explain it more than feeling like it's a cramp that happens where like, you're just your feels like your foot is completely stuck. And then it feels like you're running, like you're just having someone shove a knife in your foot back and forth. And there's been times where I've cried, I just cry, I just cry it out. And I'm just, you know, I got to get used to the pain, it's gonna be there. Like, there's nothing we can do. Like, like I said, we've, there was no roadmaps, we're like, okay, let's look into how we cool you down, you know, towels, cooling sleeves, more magnesium. We've even gone to the extreme of taking lidocaine spray and spraying my feet with lidocaine before we shove it in. You know, I carry a little lidocaine in one of my little pouches, you know, anything and everything we could think of more nutrition, like I eat a little bit more carbohydrates, probably than most athletes. Because we know that the body will perform better when it's not fully dehydrated and or malnourished, which nobody really can. But someone like me, that's when we start going into like, no, not a good zone. So yeah, it's horrific pain. But pain is temporary. It's a mindset that people have, your body can do so much more than you could ever imagine. And so I tell myself that. And again, I, I envision the goal that's bigger when I'm out there. And that's, you know, we do this and we make history for multiple sclerosis, what an epic thing we could do to really change the game. So I think about all those that I converse with social media wise that reach out to me. And then they can't walk and they can't talk. I mean, they have it a lot worse than I do. You know, I'm grateful for where I'm at. So that's how I get through the pain is I think of them, I think of Pete, the people that are suffering, and the future people that will be saved, because the awareness will be spread to, you know, I think it's an art argument that has been made a few times, but no disrespect to the Olympics, no disrespect to Tour de France, but like, this is truly the hardest day in sports, because it's a compilation of three sports in one, like you're putting your body to the ultimate test, right? Like, and you have to learn how to transition and how much to eat and or else you're just, you're just done. It won't your body won't go. So yeah, we we try a lot of different things with the pain, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, it's gonna happen. So either you can cry through it, and that's fine. And just keep on going. I just love that, because you know, it's gonna be painful. And you're like, all right, here it comes. And, and you just deal with it. It is interesting. They have done scientific studies that showed your mindset going into a painful experience. If it's positive, like yours is, it actually minimizes the experience of pain, like literally the neuro receptors that would be firing in a normal situation, actually are not as active, because you're going in positive saying, yep, it's going to be there, but I'm not going to let it stop me. It is amazing the power of the mind to be able to endure things that some people think you just you can't endure at all. So it's, it is amazing, your mind is is really helping you to even be a pain reliever. During this experience. Now, it sounds to me like you have quite a team that's that's helping you who, what type of team do you have? And, and what are they doing? So the beautiful thing about all of this is that this is a lot of people don't know this, never talked about this. My team was co created, I took a leadership program a few years ago, and my team is all volunteers. They were all came out of the same group that we were in. I was a torchbearer for that, that specific leadership group. And I came out and when I did this, you know, I was still in touch with a lot of them. This was like, about like a six or nine month like span of when we did this. And I told everybody, I was like, Hey, I'm gonna do we're gonna transform the world. I'm all about transformation and hope and value. And so when Bailey came up, and she's just like, Okay, I don't know how to build a website, but I'll help you. It can't be that hard. So we built Ironheart woman. And then, and then Leonard came along. And he's like, we call him chief of staff, because he's just running the show. And he's just incredible. And then we have Heather, our media girl. And then we have Fabiola, who does a lot of our outreach, you know, I mean, the truth is, is that iron, I'm a single mom, like, I'm out here, just like everybody else running a small business. And if you don't know, Ironman is not cheap. Being an Ironman is not because now you're convolating three sports. So I think it is the most expensive sport technically in the world. So you know, we have to bring a lot of people in and ask for people to donate and to take care of things. So these group of people at Ironheart woman, all are volunteers. All are people that believe in the mission. They believe in being a catalyst of a transform world. They're in full generosity. I mean, they've been with me since day one. And I'm very, very grateful because without them, you know, I'm only one little lady on a huge mission, right? So I, and the training can be up to five hours a day, you know, and I still have to be a mom. So um, so they help relieve me a lot. So yeah, I'm very grateful for, for my Ironheart woman team. They're my, we're family. Yeah. That's, it's necessary for anybody. I mean, I couldn't do what I do without an incredible team. I got Theo over here. I got Jeannie. Yeah. You can't see her on right now. They make everything happen. They do. They do to allow us to do what we do and, and to be able to have transformational conversations with people and, and to get the word out about things that are definitely important, like, like what you're doing. Well, your spirit, I, I can tell you've had to go through and decide at key moments of your life, just decide, am I going to allow this to own me or am I going to own it? And I can just tell that there have been key moments in your life that have built you into a, a person who is looking at all the challenges of life that it's thrown at you. And you've just decided, you know what, I'm not going to be a victim. I'm going to be victorious. And I always say there's two, there's basically two different types of people in the world. There are victors and there are victims and you've decided not to be a victim. Was there any key moment in your life that you really felt as a young person that that was just kind of the moment, or have you always felt like, I just don't want people to pity me. I, I don't want to be a victim. What was your experience like in basically cementing into your, your personality and your approach to life right now? Yeah, I think, I think with everything that's been thrown at me as a young person, that has instilled a strength in me. Again, I, I'm hardwired a little differently. God created me differently. He knew his plan the whole time. He knew that this was going to happen. I was going to have heart problems and MS and single mom and everything. And it was tough. There was a lot of very tough days and I haven't given up. I don't really see barriers. So I think also what instilled that in me too, is that when I was younger, as we were bred to be golfers, it was a very strict regiment. It was very, you know, we weren't like normal kids. We were at the golf courts after school. So I think that kind of helped build something inside of me. And then I had to be, I've had to be resilient in some aspects, you know, like losing 160 pounds as a whole person. I had to learn how to be a new person, right? Like I've had to face adversities where I had to figure it out then, you know, and, or times where I've fallen over and I can't use my legs. I'm like, okay, I got to use my arms now to like get me and my child somewhere where I can call somebody to help me. So yeah, I don't know. I don't know where it came from. My mom, she's, she's so used to it at this point, you know, but I just think it's just from always never, never giving up and always getting back up and then finally falling into the right place. Yeah. Well, I think, I think that's the thing. I mean, you've, you've fallen more times than you could probably count, but it just seems like you've always fallen forward, not falling back. And that really is because of a mindset. And it really is a choice that if you're going to fall, we'll fall forward and understand. Yeah. It, it sucks. It's not what you ever would have written for your life, but it is the best thing for you, your life, all of the pain, all of the problems, all the issues are the best thing for you so that you can be the best thing for others. And, uh, it's, it's just really inspiring to me. And I know it's, it's inspiring to the people that get to see you on media or watch you compete, um, to just understand, we all have an opportunity to assess our life to say, um, so how does this help me? Cause life, I always say life doesn't happen to you. It happens for you. And this is happening for you to help other people. And so I just, I wish more people would, uh, would have that approach to life. Yeah. Well, hopefully when, you know, they see me and they see the other athletes that, you know, like when people come in and they donate to our foundation too, like this is, this vision was always way bigger than me. Like people don't even know the plans that I've had, like we were going to use me obviously to do the first, but we've already had a lineup of people that have been on a list of like, Hey, they see the possibilities. They're like, yeah, I have this autoimmune or MS or whatever's going on. Maybe I can do an Ironman and it opens the door. So we're hoping, you know, next year, this time after we've accomplished so many things that we can be that outlet for people that want to exceed the, what people say they can't. And, that's what, you know, Ironheart woman really represents is, is bringing a fresh, like, I imagine just a busload of people at every Ironman we possibly can coming out, you know, like all the underdogs, all the people that say, you know, cause I get a lot of looks. That's the truth. You know, this is a very, um, this is a sport that is very, um, self-driven, I guess you could say. So when you see somebody like me come into the mix, I'm coming with a three wheel bike, you know, and all this different things, you know, how many looks I've gotten where they're just like, what is this girl doing here? Like, what is, what is she writing? What is this a spaceship? And then we're at mile 30 and I see these same people walking their bikes up and here I come with my little walrus bike climbing up next to him. So, so hopefully people will start to, um, start to accept that just because we're neurodivergent doesn't make us different. In fact, this is the first year Ironman's had a neurodivergent category. They opened it up. This is huge. They see the possibilities. Now these people are coming out the woodwork, right? So, so it's a big year. It's a big year for Ironman and for people. That's, that's huge. I love it. Now you mentioned your foundation, uh, for people that want to support your foundation, do they go to your website, uh, ironheartwoman.com and is there a place there for them to support that? Yes. Yes. So, so getting to Kona is a, is a, it's a big goal. Um, not only am I putting in the work, but financially, and we need a lot of help to get there. So, um, on ironheartwoman.com, there is a button at top that says, um, pledge or support or donate to get Ashley to Kona and everything that's driven in there and that we're not using just to get me to Kona, we'll go straight into the foundation and then we can start helping people even more. We can start helping Zoe's and their mothers and, um, Alice's and the brands they need and the shower rods they need. I mean, things that you would never think of, or even just the medication they can't afford because I'm a mess medication super expensive. So yeah, we, we, I really appreciate everybody who can come and support us because, uh, like I said, I'm a little lady on a big mission, so, and we can do it alone at ironheartwoman.com, but our, our theory is together we're so much stronger. Well, we're going to be cheering you on. I know you have a lot of social media as well. We're going to put those handles in the description as well, uh, that they're on your website also. Yeah. Uh, my Instagram is ironheartwoman.com is basically, we keep it all that way outside of the Grace Global Foundation and it represents the pacemaker in my heart. And, um, somebody is like, you just never break. You're like made of steel. So you should be like iron heart woman. And I'm like, Oh, that's kind of catchy. Okay. That's awesome. Well, I encourage everyone to, um, follow you, Ashley on your, uh, social media as well, just to be able to even encourage you and your team as you're, as you're on this incredible mission. And, uh, October 12th is a big day. October 12th, I believe it is when you're going to be in Kona in 2023. So leading up to that time, everyone make sure you're cheering Ashley on, on our social media and, uh, and helping her if you can with her foundation to, to, to help not only her, but all these people that she's trying to help. So thank you so much, Ashley, for meeting with me. You've touched my heart and, uh, and you're such an inspiration to all of us. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you to everybody and, and everybody out there, like no matter who you are, what you're going through, anything is possible, anything. Uh, and, and you're living proof of that to us. Thank you so much for joining us. For those of you who are watching, don't forget to hit the subscribe and the like button. So you can get more content like this. And if you want to see our television show lifestyle or watch other podcasts like this, or read our life-changing blog, make sure you go to our website, lifestyle.org. So we can continue this journey with you. Thanks so much. We'll see you next time.