November 15, 2024 • 37 mins
Most athletes announce they're coming out of retirement, only to show up ready to roll at the next big race. But not Ellen Noble!
As an authentic and inspiring fixture in cyclocross racing, Ellen's announcement to un-retire was actually the start of beginning to train again after two years out of the professional circuit. Listen up to hear why that was important to her, how her studies to become a nutritionist will connect to her passion, and the perspective shift that comes with a concussion.
Plus, both Ellens get confused by talking to a fellow millennial Ellen at least twice.
Links mentioned in the show:
Ellen Noble's podcast, This One's For You on Apple or Spotify
Donate $50 or more to All Bodies On Bikes during our fall fundraiser and get a pair of Goodr x ABOB sunglasses!
Simone Biles Rising is on Netflix
All Bodies on Bikes Zwift group ride — link coming soon!
Follow Ellen on Instagram @EllenLikesBikes
Follow ABOB on Instagram @AllBodiesOnBikes
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Marley Blonsky (00:00):
Hello.
How's it going?
Ellen Schwartze (00:02):
Good.
How are you?
Marley Blonsky (00:03):
Good.
I should tell you we're recordingjust in case anything funny happens.
Ellen Schwartze (00:07):
The disembodied voice also told me when I joined.
Marley Blonsky (00:10):
Oh, perfect.
Ellen Schwartze (00:12):
Not yours.
An actual disembodied voice.
Marley Blonsky (00:14):
Okay.
Good.
I'm glad.
Yes.
How are you?
I am really good.
How are you?
Ellen Schwartze (00:19):
You're looking fresh.
You're looking smiley.
Marley Blonsky (00:21):
Thanks.
I smell bad.
Ellen Schwartze (00:22):
Okay.
You could have just said, gee, thanks.
Oh, yeah.
Marley Blonsky (00:31):
Yeah.
I think that's the neuro spicy part of me.
Just doesn't know howto accept compliments.
, but thank you.
I feel fresh.
You look fresh too.
How are you?
Ellen Schwartze (00:38):
Thank you.
I showered.
Marley Blonsky (00:40):
I have not done that yet.
Ellen Schwartze (00:41):
Me go.
I am good.
I was telling a friend this morning.
It's I feel like I'm on a precipiceof a lot of interesting things.
Like I have to talk to you abouta lot of this involves all bodies.
So okay.
It's been a lot of planning without you.
Okay.
But yeah.
Marley Blonsky (00:54):
No, I love that.
Ellen Schwartze (00:55):
Some Kansas City stuff too is shaping up, but
yes.
Marley Blonsky (00:58):
Before we get too deep into this, I'm going to tell the
audience who we are chatting with today.
Okay.
So, today we are thrilled towelcome Ellen Noble to the podcast.
Ellen is a former professional bikeracer, making her highly anticipated
return to elite racing in 2024.
That's this year.
That's this year.
That's right now, actually.
Ellen is best known for herachievements in cyclocross, but
(01:20):
she also dabbles in gravity riding,using it as part of her training.
Ellen lives in western Massachusettswith her boyfriend Aiden, her dog
Winnie, and their two best friends ona mini farm, complete with 17 chickens.
Outside of racing, Ellen manages socialmedia for bat conservation international,
which if you're not following theirsocial media, you need to, there
(01:41):
are some hilarious memes, Ellen.
I think I'm going to havesome questions about that.
And she's currently studyingto become a nutritionist.
Ellen's accolades includea, get ready for this guys.
Actually, I need you to pay attention.
Her accolades include a silver medal atthe world championships, four national
championship titles, two Pan Americanchampionship titles, two world cup
(02:02):
podiums, and the honor of being theinaugural U 23 world cup overall winner.
In 2019, Ellen was diagnosed withHashimoto's disease, a challenge she
has navigated with resilience and grace.
Thanks for joining us, Ellen.
How often are you on a call or a, notlet alone, a podcast where there's
(02:22):
another Ellen who's your same age?
Never.
This is literally neverhappened to me before.
Yeah, no, same.
I don't find other Ellens my agethough at one point at work, I was
on a team with a Helen and an l.
Oh, okay.
So you guys have all three of themillennial name pillars represented.
(02:42):
I feel a little left out is okay.
Correct me on this.
I'm not intimately familiar with Ellen.
Is it a like kind ofan old fashioned name?
Yeah, you will find a lotof 70 plus year old Ellen's.
Yes.
I was like, Oh, I had a greataunt named Ellen or something
like that is usually the response.
Exactly.
(03:03):
Well, welcome to the show, Ellen Noble.
Can I add one more thing thatyou host your own podcast?
This one's for you, you were tryingto poach Marley to be your own guest.
Yes.
I would love to be on your show.
I would love to talk abouton this one's for you.
This one's for you.
Is like conversations of like resilienceand come back and inspiration.
(03:25):
And so I try to talk to people who havea story that kind of goes outside Outside
the lines of like your typical, maybe likehigh performance bike podcast, which I
think are great, but that's not what I do.
So I like to talk to people who havemaybe been through something or are
still going through something thatother people may take inspiration from.
Ooh, I am intrigued and I will go listenand we will link that for our listeners
(03:48):
who are podcasting people already.
Yes.
Love podcasting people.
Yes.
So I'm fangirling a little bit.
Thank you.
Happy to be here.
Awesome.
We were going to record this whole behindthe scenes thing, but you are just a
pro at this and you are ready to go.
So we're going to jump right intothings if that works for you.
Yeah.
It's actually really nice and relaxingto be a guest on someone else's podcast.
(04:09):
Putting on the podcastis a lot more stressful.
We did just have a meeting about, itwasn't stressful at all, but you're right.
There is a lot that goesinto making a podcast, but
anyway, that's not about this.
Welcome to the show.
And we'll see you next time.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
We're excited to have you.
Yeah.
Even though you and I have becomefriends over the past couple of years.
So it's really cool tohave you on the show.
I remember watching you race cyclocrossmany years, not that many years ago.
(04:32):
I don't know, five years ago.
How long ago was it?
But could have been five.
Yeah, could have been five yearsas recently as five years ago.
Okay.
So, well, and I had my, yourbunny hop, the patriarchy shirt.
So, and you kind of famously retireda couple years ago to work on
health issues and but you're, yourecently came out of retirement.
What has it been liketo reenter the sport?
Well, first word thatcomes to mind is emotional.
(04:55):
It's been like a reallypowerful and emotional process.
But my retirement or sorry on retirementhas been really interesting because
I announced that I was coming out ofretirement in January, but that was really
like just so everyone knows, I'm goingto start training to race eventually.
I think usually people are like, I'mcoming out of retirement and I'm in shape.
(05:17):
I'm like, I'm, I have arrived.
I've already arrived where I'm goingand I'm going to come out of retirement.
I'm going to win a World Cup or whatever.
And my process has been very different,but I've always been someone who really
like, loves to share and benefitsfrom being able to share all people.
Parts of my process.
So, It's been motivating for me tohave that information out in the world,
even though I'm like, Me coming outof retirement means that for this
(05:39):
week I'm riding 90 minutes a day.
Or like an hour a day onthe trainer or whatever.
So, The process has been interestingbecause it's been, Long and I'm
actually really just getting started.
So I announced my unretirementin January and I did my first UCI
cycle cross race last weekend.
So it's been, you know, I had ninemonths of training and I didn't
do a lot of racing in that time.
(06:01):
And so I really did my firstbig race last weekend and it was
like, it was really hard and theresults were like complicated.
But I'm, It feels really right to be backand cycling used to mean the world to me.
And then everything got reallyhard and I didn't have the
(06:22):
love for the sport anymore.
And I worried that maybe one day, likemaybe I never would love it again.
And then giving myself the timeto interact with the sport only
in the ways that felt right.
I suddenly started to miss racing a lot.
And that was the best feeling tookay, no, I really do love this.
I just needed a little bit of a break.
I think that's a really important thing toacknowledge it at all is that it's there.
(06:46):
Your life is going to be hard andthey're going to be things that need
to be reprioritized for a short stint.
And if you're starting to feel out oflove with something, that's probably
a sign that might need to be onthe back burner for a little bit.
Yeah.
My therapist and I talk aboutthis a lot, that Only in rom coms
and in the movies do people feellike 100 percent pure emotions.
So whether that's about your career oryour hobby or your partner or whatever,
(07:08):
like only in rom coms are you like, Iam purely and unequivocally in love.
Usually it's a lot more complicatedthan that because it's like I'm fully
in love but also like I'm the one whodoes the laundry, and now I'm annoyed
with you because your laundry's alwaysinside out, right, so I'm like, there's
always, there are these other layersthat we can't ignore, and that's how
the sport of cycling is for me, whereit's I love the sport and it means a
(07:31):
lot, but it's also hurt me in a lot ofways so there's yeah, it wasn't like
a pure emotion one way or another.
But right now the top emotion isthat I'm really happy to be here.
I wanted to dig in a little bit.
You've mentioned that youjust had your first race.
. And it didn't go as the way you expected.
And I think I'm curious and I really likewhat you said about how it's important for
you to show the process of coming back.
(07:52):
You were not in fightingshape, so to speak.
Yeah.
And you came back and you wanted to showhow all of this builds and I think, you
know, to continue your romcom example.
. In romcom it would be.
Your Rocky montage, andnow you've won the race.
Yes.
And that's not what happened.
So what did you take away from thenot winning in your first time out?
(08:15):
Yeah, I mean, I want to like,just clarify because I didn't get
a great result and it's not likeI was expecting a great result.
I was just a little further off ofwhere I wanted to be than I expected.
Not expected, but then like whereI would have been happy with.
So it's not like I was expectingto win and I was getting pulled.
I wanted to make the lead lap andI was a little bit shy of that.
(08:36):
So it's not like I went in with theselike delusional expectations that
I'm suddenly going to win this raceafter five years off and whatever.
I go in delusional toevery cyclocross race.
So if you did, it wouldn'tbe out of the norm.
I think we, I think to racecross, you have to be a little
delusional, but point taken.
And I, you do appreciate that.
You do have to be a little delusional.
You're like no.
(08:57):
I'm telling myself this is definitely themost fun way that I could spend a weekend.
There's nothing else that I would enjoymore than whatever the hell this is.
I mean, the joke this weekend wasnothing like doing a muddy cross race
and still needing an ice sock becausethose things like should not go
together, but it's like a steam room.
I think, Ellen, you asked whatmy takeaway was from the weekend,
was that where my tangent started?
(09:18):
Yeah.
It reaffirmed that this processwas going to be really hard, and
that's part of why I'm doing it.
You know, it would have been reallyfun to choose another sport, I
thought for a little while aftermy retirement that I was going
to get really into speed skating.
So I was like, okay, I could just getinto a different sport, but then I was
like, you know, I actually really missbike racing and I miss the people, right?
(09:40):
I have this community ofpeople that I'm like, not as
involved in as I'd like to be.
So let's just get back into bikeracing, but I love the challenge.
I love that Rocky Balboaovercoming element of this is
going to be really fucking hard.
So.
That's a good reason to do it.
So really I guess it wasn't like arevelation, but it was a reconfirmation
that this process is going to be ashard, if not harder, than I thought.
(10:02):
And I was sort of relieved, because ifI had done really well and I was like,
fighting for the podium or something, Iwould have been like, Oh, that doesn't
really make it feel as not worth.
It's not quite the right word,but something like that, like it
wouldn't have been as exciting.
Okay, no, like just in case we wereworried, like I have plenty of work to
do to get back to where I want to be.
(10:23):
Yeah.
I really appreciate your honesty on that.
Cause I think we don't often see thatside of it from professional athletes.
So thanks for your rawnessand your vulnerability and
just showing the process.
And I know You're also comingoff of a recent head injury.
How's all of that going ifyou're open to talking about it?
Yeah, I'm an open book.
Yeah, it's been, it's going well now.
That was a really hard process.
(10:44):
I hit my head on.
August 16th or 17th and knew pretty muchimmediately that I had a concussion and
I was like hoping that I was wrong, butmy friends were like, no, like just go
home and lay low and see how you feel.
I know how I'm going to feel.
I literally already feel it.
This is not good, but you know, I've hada couple of minor concussions before, but
I've never had anything to this extent,which kind of makes sense knowing what
(11:07):
I know now about concussions that likethey can build in severity and they
get easier to get to at a more severe.
degree.
So it's I've had a couple minor ones.
So it kind of makes sense thateven a small hit could yield like
a bigger concussion or whatever.
But I just, I reallystruggled with the recovery.
And so it took me over a month to getback on the bike in a meaningful way.
(11:29):
So like for a week, I was like able toride the trainer without any symptoms,
but like I had really bad motionsickness and vertigo, so I wasn't able
to ride outside, which was incrediblychallenging, especially during late
August and early September it's beautiful,all my friends are doing big rides,
we had team camp, and I wasn't able toparticipate, and it also meant that I
(11:50):
missed A really key part of my training.
Like I had worked really hard overlike the eight months of me training.
And then all of a suddenI had to take a month off.
And so it was like, my fitnessfelt very like fragile.
So it was definitely not the idealway to start out the season, but, I
believe that there's a lesson to belearned in every injury even if we
don't see it at the time, and I thinkthat this injury really gave me, maybe
(12:15):
healthier perspective on this season.
I think that I had set maybeunrealistically or un unhealthy,
healthily big goals and so I thinkthat this kind of humbled me in a way
that's been, you know, really good andgiving me a little more perspective.
Overly ambitious goals maybe?
Yeah.
In a way that like, if I didn'tmeet them, I probably wouldn't
have handled it as graciously.
(12:38):
I think I was setting myself up for alot of disappointment, and so this is
kind of Suggested those expectations.
It wound up being a pretty goodrecalibration that ultimately benefited
your view of what success would be.
Yeah.
So like bad preparation,but probably good for me
mentally, in a weird way, in the long run.
(13:02):
Not good for my head.
Not, yeah, not good for my head.
Concussions are never good.
Please always get your head checkedif you think you have a concussion.
We are not doctors.
Yeah, I actually didn't realizethis because I didn't go to the
doctor because I was like, I've hada concussion before, I don't know.
And then they were like, no, with yoursymptoms we actually need to make sure
that you don't have a brain bleed.
I was like, oh, so there issomething you guys could do for me.
(13:24):
I didn't know that.
So I just, I didn't think that therewas anything that they could do.
They were like, no, there is stuffthat we can do, make sure that
you're not literally bleeding.
So, that was news to me.
I learned a lot about concussionsthat I did not previously
know during this process.
Speaking though of health and you arestudying to be a nutritionist and how
is that all kind of interconnected withyour training and your body positivity?
(13:47):
I know watching you on Instagram too, it'svery, you're very open about struggles
and bodies and how it all fits together.
Yeah the nutrition aspect has beeninteresting and really welcomed.
So like getting the certification is theIt's adding legitimacy to something that's
always been like a huge passion of mine.
(14:08):
I think a lot of peoplecan relate to this.
Food is so powerful,positively and negatively.
And especially as it pertains to bodyimage and that whole can of worms.
So it's like I've When I have a healthyrelationship with food, it feels like
so many aspects of my life can flourish.
(14:29):
And when I've had a negative relationshipwith food, it's like everything suffers.
So it's not all about food, butif the food aspect is not managed
well everything else can struggle.
Yeah.
So, I, You know, I've questioned whatI want to do with my life, especially
you know, I'm 28 and I'm trying tofigure out maybe at least something
(14:51):
that could be confused for a long termcareer, at least for this next chapter.
And I realized that what matters tome the most is working with people.
I love working, I love the ideaof working with people one on one.
And I was kind of lamenting tomy boyfriend earlier this summer.
I was like, I just wish someonewould grab me by the shoulders and
be like, do this, go down this path.
(15:11):
I wish someone would make a decisionfor me because I feel like I could
do anything and be happy as long asI'm like helping people feel better.
And he's okay, well, to methat feels like nutrition.
He's like, all you want to dois talk about food with people.
You're so passionate.
Like when you got your relationshipwith food, more in line.
(15:32):
That's when everythingclicked into place with you.
That's when you started to be happier.
That's when your Hashimotostarted to kind of heal itself.
He's you love food, you love cooking.
He's it just feels like such a kindof like an obvious thing to me.
And I was like, well, thisis what I've been hoping for.
I just wanted someone totell me do this thing.
So I looked through a bunch of differentoptions and I decided that although
(15:55):
like the slightly more Like a steamedpath would be a registered dietitian.
I don't really have an interest inworking in like a hospital or in a medical
setting, so I don't need to be an RD.
So I decided to go down the nutritionroute which still allows me to do
the kind of work that I want to do.
And I found like a really reputablecoaching company that is like, They're not
(16:17):
the calories in, calories out people that,that like I'm sure we've all encountered.
They like really believe in food just asa super duper holistic it's, they say it's
about food, but it's not only about food.
So I'm really like jazzed on this and Ijust started the program but it makes me
really happy that I might be able to helpother people improve their relationship
with food in the way that I've been ableto improve my own relationship with food.
(16:42):
It's so fun to hear you talk about this.
Like you literally light upwhen you're talking about this,
which is just a delight to see.
And I think you'll beexcellent at that work.
Having known you over the past couple ofyears and had one on one conversations
with you, I can attest that Ellen isreally good at one on one conversations.
Thank you.
Yeah.
I, you know, I don't take thelike potential lightly because
(17:04):
I have worked with a lot oflike nutritions and dieticians
that don't understand like the levelof responsibility that you have.
Like food is so, it's so fragile and it'sit means so much to people and it can
have such a big impact on people's lives.
And so I've had a lot of people I'veworked with that have reinforced
my like disordered eating habits.
(17:24):
So I don't take this role lightly.
But I really look forward to being ableto help people maybe yeah, improve their
relationship with food and not likefurther further those Unfortunate habits.
You anticipate, oh, sorry.
Go ahead, Ellen.
I was just going to say, I likethat you called it fragile.
Because that's how I think a lot of uswho grew up in the last 30 ish years feel.
(17:47):
Like we've probably done some work tofix it, but we can tip really quickly.
Back into old habits in the name ofso many things, quote unquote health,
quote, unquote, seasonality, whatever.
So I liked that.
That's kind of the word that you'reusing in the the care that you're taking
with people as you work with them.
(18:08):
Yeah.
I was going to ask in this samevein, do you anticipate bringing
nutrition into the cycling world?
I mean like maybe not exclusivelybut like I probably like my main
motivator is the ability to workwith other athletes because like it
really can make or break your careerand or just like your enjoyment too.
Like I don't know if you guys have evertried to do like an endurance ride fasted,
(18:31):
but it's oh I'm not having fun anymore.
Actually Marley, I feel like I rememberyou had a post about I don't, I might
be making this stuff, you're like,how do you know when you're bonking?
Yeah.
And it's You kind of know, even ifyou don't always know, because it's
like, all of a sudden, somethingthat's not really that hard becomes
really hard, or really un fun.
Yes!
I get sad!
Yeah!
I get angry!
(18:52):
I like, lash out, and, yeah, Aiden rideswith Mott's gummies for me, because he's
okay Let's back it down a little bit.
The intensity just ramped up.
Yeah.
Emotional intensity.
Like anger personified at that point.
Oh my gosh, that's so accurate.
And then you can gaslight yourself somuch about it, but it's usually, it's
literally just I just needed a snack.
(19:12):
So yeah, it's it literally is it canbe the difference between enjoying
a ride and not enjoying a ride.
So yeah.
We're even enjoying the sport.
Yes.
I mean, it can just, it's not everything,but it can also be everything.
So I would love the opportunity towork with athletes, especially in
the sport of cycling, because thereis so much misinformation out there.
Like you were saying, Ellen, where it'sI think anyone who grew up in the last
(19:33):
30 years with People Magazine and youknow, like Beachbody and whatever, but
also people who grew up in the sportwhere it's like thinner is better.
The only way that you can be asuccessful cyclist is to be skinny
and all these incredibly triggeringand harmful misconceptions.
So I'm hoping to be able to just in, ina small way maybe, Undo some of that.
(19:57):
Yeah.
I think that's startingto be a recognized trend.
I remember I saw a post during theOlympics, even comparing like the gymnasts
from the nineties who are real thinonly compared to Simone Biles, who is
muscle and tone and all these things.
And just, you know, like I rememberhearing something about like
(20:19):
gymnasts don't get their periods.
Because they're so slimand they're so everything.
And now I, then I saw some postsfrom Simone about you know, women
only feel good once a one week amonth because they're terrible.
And so it's just thenarrative has changed.
The understanding has changed somuch, but like you said, I think
there's still a lot of work to bedone within certain industries.
Yes.
(20:40):
Yes, it's both.
As an aside, I just watched SimoneBiles Netflix docuseries, and
she has such a from the outside,her food just looked so normal.
I would have thought, yeah, her foodit's like her husband who's an NFL
player, he like, Cook some breakfast.
It's just like kind of like a normal,it just looks like a normal morning in
an American household, which was likerefreshing and surprising because I
(21:04):
could have seen it going either way,where it was like, I only eat like from,
you know, like this, like super hyperorganic, this, that, or the other thing,
or, you know, I don't eat at all, butshe's just I don't know, like eating
eggs and bacon with her husband andhaving mimosas like on a random morning.
Like it was like reallyinteresting to see how she ate.
It was super refreshing.
I, this Netflix series was so inspiring.
(21:28):
It was so powerful.
I would highly recommend it.
Okay.
Nice.
Yeah.
I just finished one.
So I'm looking for a new show.
So this is perfect.
It was really good.
She's even more amazing.
I think off the mat thanshe is in her sport.
She's just so cool.
I love, I follow her on threads andnot to get totally off topic, but
she's also very real on threads.
(21:49):
I remember, Yeah, right after theOlympics, she posted something
about going out and tequila.
And then the next morning sheposted, I'm never drinking again.
And I was like, this is the mostrelatable Olympian in the world.
Yes.
Yeah.
I mean, it also helps me feel like myhangovers are the same as Simone Biles.
I'm at the same level at thatpoint as Simone Biles if I get
(22:11):
a hangover the next day, right?
Right?
That has nothing to dowith the fact that I am.
It feels like twice her age andtwice her size and anyway so Ellen
back to cycling at the pro level.
I thought you were going to talk to me.
This is really,
should I?
Yeah.
Nope, you're fine.
But I just roll with it.
(22:31):
You need to talk to me about.
Yeah.
No pro cycling, Ellen.
It's super demanding.
I mean, between the training scheduleand the new managing the nutrition
and cycling just takes time to trainfor along with any other sport.
How are you balancing training andracing and nutrition and running
a farm or taking part in a farm?
How do you find balance in your life?
(22:51):
I am trying my best to manageeverything, but it's so hard.
Especially, I have ADHD.
I'm kind of a mess.
Not kind of, I'm like, properlya mess in so many ways.
So really the best way for me to getmy riding done, this is not gonna
work for everyone, but I have towake up in the morning and do it.
(23:14):
Because if I don't usually, it's justlike the whole day can get away from me.
So it's if riding is my priority, thething is if riding's my priority, I
know that I'm going to make time tosit at my computer, but it doesn't
always go the other way around.
If I sit down on mycomputer and I start work.
For one of the eight part time jobs,you know, like part time jobs and
side hustles and passion projectsand volunteer work and whatever.
(23:37):
It's I may not stand upuntil the end of the day.
So it's I have to get theride done because it's so
much harder to pull away from.
But I, one, mad respect to the peoplewho work mega full time jobs and still
make time to train, the people whohave families, who have all of those
considerations I did not appreciate theamount of time that I had when I had it.
(23:59):
When I was just racing full time andI was like making my, I was making
like a good salary to race my bike.
I did not appreciate that level of timeand I did not take advantage of it enough.
I swear.
I'm like, what was I doing?
That is very relatable.
Yeah.
Queen of many side hustles and tryingto find time to ride, but that's
(24:20):
really admirable that you're able to,that you have the discipline to get
up in the morning and ride your bike.
I got into a good streakthere for two weeks where I
did it and then it went away.
So props to you.
That's awesome.
Yeah, I don't do it every day,but yesterday, like the last
couple days, I've been reallybusy, so it was like, a necessity.
It's much easier in the summer, like,when the sun is already up by the time
(24:40):
I'm up, so it's like, it feels way easier.
It doesn't hurt that my boyfriendgoes to bed early and gets up early,
so I'm not trying to extricatemyself from bed or anything.
He's sleep in!
You know, that would be harder,but because he's already up
and left the house, then yeah.
I think it makes it a lot easier actually.
And at what point do you start moving yourworkouts indoors to the trainer or are
you like outdoors as much as possible?
(25:02):
I'm an outdoors as muchas possible person.
For me, riding the trainerlike sucks the life out of me,
so I really play it by ear.
There are some periods in the winterwhere it's like mentally refreshing
not to have to get dressed to go outall the time, and I like, I'm watching
a series or something that I lookforward to but yeah, I really prefer
to ride outside as much as possible.
(25:24):
I have the benefit of having gear thatmakes it doable but yeah, I think it
really The trainer has some benefitsfor people, even though it's not as fun.
So you don't talk about gettingyour bike dirty or you know,
getting dressed and doing all that.
You can kind of maximize I only have45 minutes, so I'm going to spend it
getting a little bit of an endorphin rush.
I'm going to spend all 40 of it on thebike and not 40 of it getting ready.
(25:48):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I go outside in the cold.
Cool.
It makes sense to me.
I'm not gonna do it, if that makes sense.
Yeah, right.
Right.
And it's also, if you don't wantto ride the trainer, literally no
one in the world would blame you.
I think triathletes have really foundtheir rhythm on the trainer, but other
than that I don't think that there'sanyone who would be like, oh my god,
you don't like riding the trainer?
That's so weird.
(26:09):
Or you don't like eating raw vegetables?
A quick plug right here allbodies on bikes will be starting
back up our Zwift rides.
So if you do want to ride the trainerwith other folks we will get those going.
So join the all bodies on bikesclub on Zwift, and you'll be
notified of upcoming rights.
Sorry to interrupt with that littleplug, but Ellen, we would love for you
(26:30):
to join us on a ride at some point.
How do you guys like.
I think on Zwift you like set, there'slike a pace, or do you like start to, how
do you guys, how do you guys do the rides?
Yeah we always ride for 60 minutesand we'll choose we try and choose
a route that's not too hard, so it'snot like climbing the entire time.
Although we might vary it up a littlebit, but we use the rubber band feature.
So that way folks can go atwhatever pace they want to.
(26:52):
So if they're doing a workout,they can continue doing that.
If they just like to cruise along, whichis usually what I do most of the time.
Yeah.
And then we have a discord where weall chat and people will share funny
videos and it just makes the time onthe trainer go by so much quicker.
Oh, it really does.
Okay.
I love that.
I need the rubber band featurebecause I've never done a Zwift ride
that I haven't gotten dropped from.
(27:14):
So this might be the,this might be my chance.
Yes.
Yeah, exactly.
We get that feedback all the time.
Oh, I love that.
People were gettingdropped from Zwift rides.
I'm like, What the heck we play ina sport where you're even getting
dropped in a virtual world like that'snot fun Literally, even in my fake
reality, I can't, you know, I was likeadjusting my weight and stuff too.
(27:34):
Cause like the rides were so hard thatI was like, well, if I say that I'm like
54 pounds or whatever, I might be able tohang just to build a ride with my friends.
And I couldn't, it's I just, I'mnot like a super powerful rider and
I'm not good at sustained power.
And I was so, str I was dying a thousanddeaths, so I was like the only way to
modify the intensity felt like just bysaying knife that I'm like, oh, I weigh
(27:55):
the same as the second grader or whatever.
Yeah.
Wasn't, I did the same thing.
It wasn't enough.
Yeah.
Your weight.
Yeah, right here we are.
Yeah, but just even get to two wattsper kilo or four watts per kilo.
Like I had to put my weight at105 pounds and yeah, it was wild.
So relatable again.
Feedback for the Zwiftcommunity developers.
(28:17):
To edit out.
The rubber band feature seems really nice.
I'm very into that.
It's really cool, yeah.
Can you quickly explainthe rubber band feature?
Because I do not Zwift.
Yes, so basically if you're So for thosefolks that don't know, Zwift is an online
training video game, basically, whereyou are riding your bike in real life.
So you're on your trainer andyou're following your little avatar
(28:40):
through these virtual worlds.
And it can be the islands or it canbe like these futuristic worlds,
which is actually quite fun.
And you like get points that youcan then trade in for gear and new
wheels and Kit and all sorts of stuff.
Yeah.
And so there's group rides on Zwift.
You can ride alone if you want to,but just like the real world, there
are group rides and they're oftenpaced by your watts per kilogram.
(29:04):
So how much you tell the system youweigh and in theory that keeps people
of the same pace together, but theproblem is there's just people go
really fast on Zwift and so you'llget dropped from these group rides.
And so the rubber band featuredoes some sort of magical coding.
I don't really know.
Maybe Ellen, you can explain itbetter than I can, but where it
just keeps the group together,regardless of what pace you're riding.
(29:25):
So as long as you continue topedal, you'll stay with the Peloton.
Why would they not just doit like an auto setting?
Just tell us that we're riding together.
It's a virtual world, y'all.
Yeah, I mean, I get it for the races.
Because there are a lotof legitimate races.
And there's like actualmoney on the line now.
Yeah, there is.
It's wild.
And so for those races, you have to weighin, there's like a ver like a way that
(29:49):
they verify your weight because likebasically watts per kilo is like the true
equalizer because if you're like, if I'mlike sprinting against one of the kids
that we train against who's in like 8thgrade, he's like a little string bean,
like if we're sprinting against each otheron a flat road, like I'm gonna win because
I'm putting out just more pure watts.
But watts per kilo, it adjustshow hard you're pushing on the
(30:09):
pedals for how much you weigh.
But the thing is on Zwift, if you'renot doing like a verified ride,
then probably everyone's saying thatthey're lighter than they are, so
they can make it a little bit easier.
So it's like Marley and Itrying to adjust our weights to
make it a little easier on us.
Right.
Doesn't actually matter becauseeveryone's doing it, so it
hasn't actually helped us at all.
Suddenly we have weighins of negative amounts.
(30:31):
Well, we're coming up at the endof just the amount of time that
we have with you, Ellen for it.
It's still really weird to say myown name for this podcast, but we're
curious, just like kind of what is thefuture of racing look like for you?
What are you excited about inthe next couple of, you know,
(30:52):
six to 12 months and kind of whatwould you want the world to know?
Ooh.
You know, the next, This season I'mreally just excited to like kind of
be a student again and hopefully likefix, kind of improve on the result
that I got this past weekend do alot more training and invest in that
process in the nerdiest way possible.
(31:12):
And I'm already just looking forwardto next season where I will have had,
you know, over a year of trainingunder my belt and have you know,
A season of racing and whatnot.
But in between there's also a lotof races that i'm looking forward to
some cross country stuff and a littlemore gravity again stuff like that.
So i'm just looking forward to gettingback on the bike and I don't know spending
(31:37):
time with friends and all have startedmy nutrition practice and all of that.
So I don't know the next, I have alot of optimism about the next year.
But partially in a way it's likea lot of it's staying, hopefully a
lot of things are staying the same.
And then I have a couple ofthings to look forward to as well.
Fun.
Awesome.
And for folks who are listening, where canthey follow along with your adventures?
(32:00):
I am on most social mediaplatforms as ellenlikesbikes.
I have a website, ellennoble.
com, and that's the bestplace to message me.
You can, there's like a contact form andit just gets sent straight to my email.
So there's no risk of it getting buriedin Instagram, which is a common problem.
And also you can support my podcast,which is this one's for you.
(32:23):
I would love it if you listenedand send me a note about it.
If you like the podcast or if you havefeedback, I love talking to people.
I know it might shock you guys,but I love talking to people.
So, I'd love to hear from you.
Yeah.
I meant to mention the reason Ifound you on Instagram is because
I was trying to change my Instagramhandle to Ellen likes spikes.
And I was like, dang, she's alreadyhere and she's very well established.
(32:46):
Oh my God.
That's.
Really funny, actually.
Sorry about that, butalso that's kind of funny.
You're not sorry.
Guess you just need to, you needto think of something even better.
I have also toyed with changing it andif I ever do it, I'll let you know.
But at this point, it'swhat am I gonna do?
Rebrand?
I don't know.
Yeah.
You can't rebrand at this point.
You're Ellen Likes Bikes.
Yeah.
(33:06):
I'm like, Oh, I can't wait to belike a grown adult with an Instagram
handle that says Ellen Likes Bikes.
But I'm also like, you know what,Instagram might just disappear off
the face of the earth at one point.
So then it won't matter.
Yeah.
It'd be so refreshing.
I agree.
There was, I do know one person, there'sher name's Laurel Bristow on Instagram.
She wound up being like a millennialepidemiologist in the middle of
(33:27):
COVID and she her account blew up.
But her actual accountname was King Gutter Baby.
And she did finally decide becauseshe was getting interviews from CNN
and the White House and everything.
She's okay, fine.
I will be an adult.
Yes.
With an adult Instagram handle.
And it was.
I felt like it's a really, avery real millennial issue.
(33:51):
It is.
I mean, like when you think about likeour AOL names and stuff like that, that
we had don't make me say those out loud.
Don't make me say my email before theone I have out now, the one I have now.
Out loud, like it's humiliating.
We were just making up the mostoutlandish stuff good because they
were available because we werehilarious that we were so clever.
(34:12):
The number of screen names I havethat have 182 in there because
I was obsessed with Blink 182.
Oh, my God, like every singlescreen name had 182 as part of it.
Oh, my God.
That's really funny.
And I will share a link with you.
A friend just sent me over a bunch ofDisney songs remade into, by emo bands.
(34:32):
Actioned by Disney, remade by emo bands.
It's wonderful.
So.
I love like the Taylor Swiftemo kind of crossover too.
Her songs are very good.
Done by.
Like emo folks.
It's amazing.
We will have two playlists atleast for your earbuds, right.
As I mean, up right after the break.
Yeah.
(34:53):
Yeah.
Thank you so much for joining Ellen.
Thanks for being agreat co host as always.
And we wish you best of luck inall of your races and trainings and
all the things you've got going on.
It's been delight chatting with you.
Thank you guys so much.
Marlee, great to see you again.
Ellen, great to meetyou and chat with you.
It's been a novel pleasure.
And Marlee, hopefully the next timeI see you, the roles are reversed.
(35:16):
Yes, let's make it happen.
Can't wait.
Hello.
How's it going?
Ellen Schwartze (00:02):
Good.
How are you?
Marley Blonsky (00:03):
Good.
I should tell you we're recordingjust in case anything funny happens.
Ellen Schwartze (00:07):
The disembodied voice also told me when I joined.
Marley Blonsky (00:10):
Oh, perfect.
Ellen Schwartze (00:12):
Not yours.
An actual disembodied voice.
Marley Blonsky (00:14):
Okay.
Good.
I'm glad.
Yes.
How are you?
I am really good.
How are you?
Ellen Schwartze (00:19):
You're looking fresh.
You're looking smiley.
Marley Blonsky (00:21):
Thanks.
I smell bad.
Ellen Schwartze (00:22):
Okay.
You could have just said, gee, thanks.
Oh, yeah.
Marley Blonsky (00:31):
Yeah.
I think that's the neuro spicy part of me.
Just doesn't know howto accept compliments.
, but thank you.
I feel fresh.
You look fresh too.
How are you?
Ellen Schwartze (00:38):
Thank you.
I showered.
Marley Blonsky (00:40):
I have not done that yet.
Ellen Schwartze (00:41):
Me go.
I am good.
I was telling a friend this morning.
It's I feel like I'm on a precipiceof a lot of interesting things.
Like I have to talk to you abouta lot of this involves all bodies.
So okay.
It's been a lot of planning without you.
Okay.
But yeah.
Marley Blonsky (00:54):
No, I love that.
Ellen Schwartze (00:55):
Some Kansas City stuff too is shaping up, but
yes.
Marley Blonsky (00:58):
Before we get too deep into this, I'm going to tell the
audience who we are chatting with today.
Okay.
So, today we are thrilled towelcome Ellen Noble to the podcast.
Ellen is a former professional bikeracer, making her highly anticipated
return to elite racing in 2024.
That's this year.
That's this year.
That's right now, actually.
Ellen is best known for herachievements in cyclocross, but
(01:20):
she also dabbles in gravity riding,using it as part of her training.
Ellen lives in western Massachusettswith her boyfriend Aiden, her dog
Winnie, and their two best friends ona mini farm, complete with 17 chickens.
Outside of racing, Ellen manages socialmedia for bat conservation international,
which if you're not following theirsocial media, you need to, there
(01:41):
are some hilarious memes, Ellen.
I think I'm going to havesome questions about that.
And she's currently studyingto become a nutritionist.
Ellen's accolades includea, get ready for this guys.
Actually, I need you to pay attention.
Her accolades include a silver medal atthe world championships, four national
championship titles, two Pan Americanchampionship titles, two world cup
(02:02):
podiums, and the honor of being theinaugural U 23 world cup overall winner.
In 2019, Ellen was diagnosed withHashimoto's disease, a challenge she
has navigated with resilience and grace.
Thanks for joining us, Ellen.
How often are you on a call or a, notlet alone, a podcast where there's
(02:22):
another Ellen who's your same age?
Never.
This is literally neverhappened to me before.
Yeah, no, same.
I don't find other Ellens my agethough at one point at work, I was
on a team with a Helen and an l.
Oh, okay.
So you guys have all three of themillennial name pillars represented.
(02:42):
I feel a little left out is okay.
Correct me on this.
I'm not intimately familiar with Ellen.
Is it a like kind ofan old fashioned name?
Yeah, you will find a lotof 70 plus year old Ellen's.
Yes.
I was like, Oh, I had a greataunt named Ellen or something
like that is usually the response.
Exactly.
(03:03):
Well, welcome to the show, Ellen Noble.
Can I add one more thing thatyou host your own podcast?
This one's for you, you were tryingto poach Marley to be your own guest.
Yes.
I would love to be on your show.
I would love to talk abouton this one's for you.
This one's for you.
Is like conversations of like resilienceand come back and inspiration.
(03:25):
And so I try to talk to people who havea story that kind of goes outside Outside
the lines of like your typical, maybe likehigh performance bike podcast, which I
think are great, but that's not what I do.
So I like to talk to people who havemaybe been through something or are
still going through something thatother people may take inspiration from.
Ooh, I am intrigued and I will go listenand we will link that for our listeners
(03:48):
who are podcasting people already.
Yes.
Love podcasting people.
Yes.
So I'm fangirling a little bit.
Thank you.
Happy to be here.
Awesome.
We were going to record this whole behindthe scenes thing, but you are just a
pro at this and you are ready to go.
So we're going to jump right intothings if that works for you.
Yeah.
It's actually really nice and relaxingto be a guest on someone else's podcast.
(04:09):
Putting on the podcastis a lot more stressful.
We did just have a meeting about, itwasn't stressful at all, but you're right.
There is a lot that goesinto making a podcast, but
anyway, that's not about this.
Welcome to the show.
And we'll see you next time.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
We're excited to have you.
Yeah.
Even though you and I have becomefriends over the past couple of years.
So it's really cool tohave you on the show.
I remember watching you race cyclocrossmany years, not that many years ago.
(04:32):
I don't know, five years ago.
How long ago was it?
But could have been five.
Yeah, could have been five yearsas recently as five years ago.
Okay.
So, well, and I had my, yourbunny hop, the patriarchy shirt.
So, and you kind of famously retireda couple years ago to work on
health issues and but you're, yourecently came out of retirement.
What has it been liketo reenter the sport?
Well, first word thatcomes to mind is emotional.
(04:55):
It's been like a reallypowerful and emotional process.
But my retirement or sorry on retirementhas been really interesting because
I announced that I was coming out ofretirement in January, but that was really
like just so everyone knows, I'm goingto start training to race eventually.
I think usually people are like, I'mcoming out of retirement and I'm in shape.
(05:17):
I'm like, I'm, I have arrived.
I've already arrived where I'm goingand I'm going to come out of retirement.
I'm going to win a World Cup or whatever.
And my process has been very different,but I've always been someone who really
like, loves to share and benefitsfrom being able to share all people.
Parts of my process.
So, It's been motivating for me tohave that information out in the world,
even though I'm like, Me coming outof retirement means that for this
(05:39):
week I'm riding 90 minutes a day.
Or like an hour a day onthe trainer or whatever.
So, The process has been interestingbecause it's been, Long and I'm
actually really just getting started.
So I announced my unretirementin January and I did my first UCI
cycle cross race last weekend.
So it's been, you know, I had ninemonths of training and I didn't
do a lot of racing in that time.
(06:01):
And so I really did my firstbig race last weekend and it was
like, it was really hard and theresults were like complicated.
But I'm, It feels really right to be backand cycling used to mean the world to me.
And then everything got reallyhard and I didn't have the
(06:22):
love for the sport anymore.
And I worried that maybe one day, likemaybe I never would love it again.
And then giving myself the timeto interact with the sport only
in the ways that felt right.
I suddenly started to miss racing a lot.
And that was the best feeling tookay, no, I really do love this.
I just needed a little bit of a break.
I think that's a really important thing toacknowledge it at all is that it's there.
(06:46):
Your life is going to be hard andthey're going to be things that need
to be reprioritized for a short stint.
And if you're starting to feel out oflove with something, that's probably
a sign that might need to be onthe back burner for a little bit.
Yeah.
My therapist and I talk aboutthis a lot, that Only in rom coms
and in the movies do people feellike 100 percent pure emotions.
So whether that's about your career oryour hobby or your partner or whatever,
(07:08):
like only in rom coms are you like, Iam purely and unequivocally in love.
Usually it's a lot more complicatedthan that because it's like I'm fully
in love but also like I'm the one whodoes the laundry, and now I'm annoyed
with you because your laundry's alwaysinside out, right, so I'm like, there's
always, there are these other layersthat we can't ignore, and that's how
the sport of cycling is for me, whereit's I love the sport and it means a
(07:31):
lot, but it's also hurt me in a lot ofways so there's yeah, it wasn't like
a pure emotion one way or another.
But right now the top emotion isthat I'm really happy to be here.
I wanted to dig in a little bit.
You've mentioned that youjust had your first race.
. And it didn't go as the way you expected.
And I think I'm curious and I really likewhat you said about how it's important for
you to show the process of coming back.
(07:52):
You were not in fightingshape, so to speak.
Yeah.
And you came back and you wanted to showhow all of this builds and I think, you
know, to continue your romcom example.
. In romcom it would be.
Your Rocky montage, andnow you've won the race.
Yes.
And that's not what happened.
So what did you take away from thenot winning in your first time out?
(08:15):
Yeah, I mean, I want to like,just clarify because I didn't get
a great result and it's not likeI was expecting a great result.
I was just a little further off ofwhere I wanted to be than I expected.
Not expected, but then like whereI would have been happy with.
So it's not like I was expectingto win and I was getting pulled.
I wanted to make the lead lap andI was a little bit shy of that.
(08:36):
So it's not like I went in with theselike delusional expectations that
I'm suddenly going to win this raceafter five years off and whatever.
I go in delusional toevery cyclocross race.
So if you did, it wouldn'tbe out of the norm.
I think we, I think to racecross, you have to be a little
delusional, but point taken.
And I, you do appreciate that.
You do have to be a little delusional.
You're like no.
(08:57):
I'm telling myself this is definitely themost fun way that I could spend a weekend.
There's nothing else that I would enjoymore than whatever the hell this is.
I mean, the joke this weekend wasnothing like doing a muddy cross race
and still needing an ice sock becausethose things like should not go
together, but it's like a steam room.
I think, Ellen, you asked whatmy takeaway was from the weekend,
was that where my tangent started?
(09:18):
Yeah.
It reaffirmed that this processwas going to be really hard, and
that's part of why I'm doing it.
You know, it would have been reallyfun to choose another sport, I
thought for a little while aftermy retirement that I was going
to get really into speed skating.
So I was like, okay, I could just getinto a different sport, but then I was
like, you know, I actually really missbike racing and I miss the people, right?
(09:40):
I have this community ofpeople that I'm like, not as
involved in as I'd like to be.
So let's just get back into bikeracing, but I love the challenge.
I love that Rocky Balboaovercoming element of this is
going to be really fucking hard.
So.
That's a good reason to do it.
So really I guess it wasn't like arevelation, but it was a reconfirmation
that this process is going to be ashard, if not harder, than I thought.
(10:02):
And I was sort of relieved, because ifI had done really well and I was like,
fighting for the podium or something, Iwould have been like, Oh, that doesn't
really make it feel as not worth.
It's not quite the right word,but something like that, like it
wouldn't have been as exciting.
Okay, no, like just in case we wereworried, like I have plenty of work to
do to get back to where I want to be.
(10:23):
Yeah.
I really appreciate your honesty on that.
Cause I think we don't often see thatside of it from professional athletes.
So thanks for your rawnessand your vulnerability and
just showing the process.
And I know You're also comingoff of a recent head injury.
How's all of that going ifyou're open to talking about it?
Yeah, I'm an open book.
Yeah, it's been, it's going well now.
That was a really hard process.
(10:44):
I hit my head on.
August 16th or 17th and knew pretty muchimmediately that I had a concussion and
I was like hoping that I was wrong, butmy friends were like, no, like just go
home and lay low and see how you feel.
I know how I'm going to feel.
I literally already feel it.
This is not good, but you know, I've hada couple of minor concussions before, but
I've never had anything to this extent,which kind of makes sense knowing what
(11:07):
I know now about concussions that likethey can build in severity and they
get easier to get to at a more severe.
degree.
So it's I've had a couple minor ones.
So it kind of makes sense thateven a small hit could yield like
a bigger concussion or whatever.
But I just, I reallystruggled with the recovery.
And so it took me over a month to getback on the bike in a meaningful way.
(11:29):
So like for a week, I was like able toride the trainer without any symptoms,
but like I had really bad motionsickness and vertigo, so I wasn't able
to ride outside, which was incrediblychallenging, especially during late
August and early September it's beautiful,all my friends are doing big rides,
we had team camp, and I wasn't able toparticipate, and it also meant that I
(11:50):
missed A really key part of my training.
Like I had worked really hard overlike the eight months of me training.
And then all of a suddenI had to take a month off.
And so it was like, my fitnessfelt very like fragile.
So it was definitely not the idealway to start out the season, but, I
believe that there's a lesson to belearned in every injury even if we
don't see it at the time, and I thinkthat this injury really gave me, maybe
(12:15):
healthier perspective on this season.
I think that I had set maybeunrealistically or un unhealthy,
healthily big goals and so I thinkthat this kind of humbled me in a way
that's been, you know, really good andgiving me a little more perspective.
Overly ambitious goals maybe?
Yeah.
In a way that like, if I didn'tmeet them, I probably wouldn't
have handled it as graciously.
(12:38):
I think I was setting myself up for alot of disappointment, and so this is
kind of Suggested those expectations.
It wound up being a pretty goodrecalibration that ultimately benefited
your view of what success would be.
Yeah.
So like bad preparation,but probably good for me
mentally, in a weird way, in the long run.
(13:02):
Not good for my head.
Not, yeah, not good for my head.
Concussions are never good.
Please always get your head checkedif you think you have a concussion.
We are not doctors.
Yeah, I actually didn't realizethis because I didn't go to the
doctor because I was like, I've hada concussion before, I don't know.
And then they were like, no, with yoursymptoms we actually need to make sure
that you don't have a brain bleed.
I was like, oh, so there issomething you guys could do for me.
(13:24):
I didn't know that.
So I just, I didn't think that therewas anything that they could do.
They were like, no, there is stuffthat we can do, make sure that
you're not literally bleeding.
So, that was news to me.
I learned a lot about concussionsthat I did not previously
know during this process.
Speaking though of health and you arestudying to be a nutritionist and how
is that all kind of interconnected withyour training and your body positivity?
(13:47):
I know watching you on Instagram too, it'svery, you're very open about struggles
and bodies and how it all fits together.
Yeah the nutrition aspect has beeninteresting and really welcomed.
So like getting the certification is theIt's adding legitimacy to something that's
always been like a huge passion of mine.
(14:08):
I think a lot of peoplecan relate to this.
Food is so powerful,positively and negatively.
And especially as it pertains to bodyimage and that whole can of worms.
So it's like I've When I have a healthyrelationship with food, it feels like
so many aspects of my life can flourish.
(14:29):
And when I've had a negative relationshipwith food, it's like everything suffers.
So it's not all about food, butif the food aspect is not managed
well everything else can struggle.
Yeah.
So, I, You know, I've questioned whatI want to do with my life, especially
you know, I'm 28 and I'm trying tofigure out maybe at least something
(14:51):
that could be confused for a long termcareer, at least for this next chapter.
And I realized that what matters tome the most is working with people.
I love working, I love the ideaof working with people one on one.
And I was kind of lamenting tomy boyfriend earlier this summer.
I was like, I just wish someonewould grab me by the shoulders and
be like, do this, go down this path.
(15:11):
I wish someone would make a decisionfor me because I feel like I could
do anything and be happy as long asI'm like helping people feel better.
And he's okay, well, to methat feels like nutrition.
He's like, all you want to dois talk about food with people.
You're so passionate.
Like when you got your relationshipwith food, more in line.
(15:32):
That's when everythingclicked into place with you.
That's when you started to be happier.
That's when your Hashimotostarted to kind of heal itself.
He's you love food, you love cooking.
He's it just feels like such a kindof like an obvious thing to me.
And I was like, well, thisis what I've been hoping for.
I just wanted someone totell me do this thing.
So I looked through a bunch of differentoptions and I decided that although
(15:55):
like the slightly more Like a steamedpath would be a registered dietitian.
I don't really have an interest inworking in like a hospital or in a medical
setting, so I don't need to be an RD.
So I decided to go down the nutritionroute which still allows me to do
the kind of work that I want to do.
And I found like a really reputablecoaching company that is like, They're not
(16:17):
the calories in, calories out people that,that like I'm sure we've all encountered.
They like really believe in food just asa super duper holistic it's, they say it's
about food, but it's not only about food.
So I'm really like jazzed on this and Ijust started the program but it makes me
really happy that I might be able to helpother people improve their relationship
with food in the way that I've been ableto improve my own relationship with food.
(16:42):
It's so fun to hear you talk about this.
Like you literally light upwhen you're talking about this,
which is just a delight to see.
And I think you'll beexcellent at that work.
Having known you over the past couple ofyears and had one on one conversations
with you, I can attest that Ellen isreally good at one on one conversations.
Thank you.
Yeah.
I, you know, I don't take thelike potential lightly because
(17:04):
I have worked with a lot oflike nutritions and dieticians
that don't understand like the levelof responsibility that you have.
Like food is so, it's so fragile and it'sit means so much to people and it can
have such a big impact on people's lives.
And so I've had a lot of people I'veworked with that have reinforced
my like disordered eating habits.
(17:24):
So I don't take this role lightly.
But I really look forward to being ableto help people maybe yeah, improve their
relationship with food and not likefurther further those Unfortunate habits.
You anticipate, oh, sorry.
Go ahead, Ellen.
I was just going to say, I likethat you called it fragile.
Because that's how I think a lot of uswho grew up in the last 30 ish years feel.
(17:47):
Like we've probably done some work tofix it, but we can tip really quickly.
Back into old habits in the name ofso many things, quote unquote health,
quote, unquote, seasonality, whatever.
So I liked that.
That's kind of the word that you'reusing in the the care that you're taking
with people as you work with them.
(18:08):
Yeah.
I was going to ask in this samevein, do you anticipate bringing
nutrition into the cycling world?
I mean like maybe not exclusivelybut like I probably like my main
motivator is the ability to workwith other athletes because like it
really can make or break your careerand or just like your enjoyment too.
Like I don't know if you guys have evertried to do like an endurance ride fasted,
(18:31):
but it's oh I'm not having fun anymore.
Actually Marley, I feel like I rememberyou had a post about I don't, I might
be making this stuff, you're like,how do you know when you're bonking?
Yeah.
And it's You kind of know, even ifyou don't always know, because it's
like, all of a sudden, somethingthat's not really that hard becomes
really hard, or really un fun.
Yes!
I get sad!
Yeah!
I get angry!
(18:52):
I like, lash out, and, yeah, Aiden rideswith Mott's gummies for me, because he's
okay Let's back it down a little bit.
The intensity just ramped up.
Yeah.
Emotional intensity.
Like anger personified at that point.
Oh my gosh, that's so accurate.
And then you can gaslight yourself somuch about it, but it's usually, it's
literally just I just needed a snack.
(19:12):
So yeah, it's it literally is it canbe the difference between enjoying
a ride and not enjoying a ride.
So yeah.
We're even enjoying the sport.
Yes.
I mean, it can just, it's not everything,but it can also be everything.
So I would love the opportunity towork with athletes, especially in
the sport of cycling, because thereis so much misinformation out there.
Like you were saying, Ellen, where it'sI think anyone who grew up in the last
(19:33):
30 years with People Magazine and youknow, like Beachbody and whatever, but
also people who grew up in the sportwhere it's like thinner is better.
The only way that you can be asuccessful cyclist is to be skinny
and all these incredibly triggeringand harmful misconceptions.
So I'm hoping to be able to just in, ina small way maybe, Undo some of that.
(19:57):
Yeah.
I think that's startingto be a recognized trend.
I remember I saw a post during theOlympics, even comparing like the gymnasts
from the nineties who are real thinonly compared to Simone Biles, who is
muscle and tone and all these things.
And just, you know, like I rememberhearing something about like
(20:19):
gymnasts don't get their periods.
Because they're so slimand they're so everything.
And now I, then I saw some postsfrom Simone about you know, women
only feel good once a one week amonth because they're terrible.
And so it's just thenarrative has changed.
The understanding has changed somuch, but like you said, I think
there's still a lot of work to bedone within certain industries.
Yes.
(20:40):
Yes, it's both.
As an aside, I just watched SimoneBiles Netflix docuseries, and
she has such a from the outside,her food just looked so normal.
I would have thought, yeah, her foodit's like her husband who's an NFL
player, he like, Cook some breakfast.
It's just like kind of like a normal,it just looks like a normal morning in
an American household, which was likerefreshing and surprising because I
(21:04):
could have seen it going either way,where it was like, I only eat like from,
you know, like this, like super hyperorganic, this, that, or the other thing,
or, you know, I don't eat at all, butshe's just I don't know, like eating
eggs and bacon with her husband andhaving mimosas like on a random morning.
Like it was like reallyinteresting to see how she ate.
It was super refreshing.
I, this Netflix series was so inspiring.
(21:28):
It was so powerful.
I would highly recommend it.
Okay.
Nice.
Yeah.
I just finished one.
So I'm looking for a new show.
So this is perfect.
It was really good.
She's even more amazing.
I think off the mat thanshe is in her sport.
She's just so cool.
I love, I follow her on threads andnot to get totally off topic, but
she's also very real on threads.
(21:49):
I remember, Yeah, right after theOlympics, she posted something
about going out and tequila.
And then the next morning sheposted, I'm never drinking again.
And I was like, this is the mostrelatable Olympian in the world.
Yes.
Yeah.
I mean, it also helps me feel like myhangovers are the same as Simone Biles.
I'm at the same level at thatpoint as Simone Biles if I get
(22:11):
a hangover the next day, right?
Right?
That has nothing to dowith the fact that I am.
It feels like twice her age andtwice her size and anyway so Ellen
back to cycling at the pro level.
I thought you were going to talk to me.
This is really,
should I?
Yeah.
Nope, you're fine.
But I just roll with it.
(22:31):
You need to talk to me about.
Yeah.
No pro cycling, Ellen.
It's super demanding.
I mean, between the training scheduleand the new managing the nutrition
and cycling just takes time to trainfor along with any other sport.
How are you balancing training andracing and nutrition and running
a farm or taking part in a farm?
How do you find balance in your life?
(22:51):
I am trying my best to manageeverything, but it's so hard.
Especially, I have ADHD.
I'm kind of a mess.
Not kind of, I'm like, properlya mess in so many ways.
So really the best way for me to getmy riding done, this is not gonna
work for everyone, but I have towake up in the morning and do it.
(23:14):
Because if I don't usually, it's justlike the whole day can get away from me.
So it's if riding is my priority, thething is if riding's my priority, I
know that I'm going to make time tosit at my computer, but it doesn't
always go the other way around.
If I sit down on mycomputer and I start work.
For one of the eight part time jobs,you know, like part time jobs and
side hustles and passion projectsand volunteer work and whatever.
(23:37):
It's I may not stand upuntil the end of the day.
So it's I have to get theride done because it's so
much harder to pull away from.
But I, one, mad respect to the peoplewho work mega full time jobs and still
make time to train, the people whohave families, who have all of those
considerations I did not appreciate theamount of time that I had when I had it.
(23:59):
When I was just racing full time andI was like making my, I was making
like a good salary to race my bike.
I did not appreciate that level of timeand I did not take advantage of it enough.
I swear.
I'm like, what was I doing?
That is very relatable.
Yeah.
Queen of many side hustles and tryingto find time to ride, but that's
(24:20):
really admirable that you're able to,that you have the discipline to get
up in the morning and ride your bike.
I got into a good streakthere for two weeks where I
did it and then it went away.
So props to you.
That's awesome.
Yeah, I don't do it every day,but yesterday, like the last
couple days, I've been reallybusy, so it was like, a necessity.
It's much easier in the summer, like,when the sun is already up by the time
(24:40):
I'm up, so it's like, it feels way easier.
It doesn't hurt that my boyfriendgoes to bed early and gets up early,
so I'm not trying to extricatemyself from bed or anything.
He's sleep in!
You know, that would be harder,but because he's already up
and left the house, then yeah.
I think it makes it a lot easier actually.
And at what point do you start moving yourworkouts indoors to the trainer or are
you like outdoors as much as possible?
(25:02):
I'm an outdoors as muchas possible person.
For me, riding the trainerlike sucks the life out of me,
so I really play it by ear.
There are some periods in the winterwhere it's like mentally refreshing
not to have to get dressed to go outall the time, and I like, I'm watching
a series or something that I lookforward to but yeah, I really prefer
to ride outside as much as possible.
(25:24):
I have the benefit of having gear thatmakes it doable but yeah, I think it
really The trainer has some benefitsfor people, even though it's not as fun.
So you don't talk about gettingyour bike dirty or you know,
getting dressed and doing all that.
You can kind of maximize I only have45 minutes, so I'm going to spend it
getting a little bit of an endorphin rush.
I'm going to spend all 40 of it on thebike and not 40 of it getting ready.
(25:48):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I go outside in the cold.
Cool.
It makes sense to me.
I'm not gonna do it, if that makes sense.
Yeah, right.
Right.
And it's also, if you don't wantto ride the trainer, literally no
one in the world would blame you.
I think triathletes have really foundtheir rhythm on the trainer, but other
than that I don't think that there'sanyone who would be like, oh my god,
you don't like riding the trainer?
That's so weird.
(26:09):
Or you don't like eating raw vegetables?
A quick plug right here allbodies on bikes will be starting
back up our Zwift rides.
So if you do want to ride the trainerwith other folks we will get those going.
So join the all bodies on bikesclub on Zwift, and you'll be
notified of upcoming rights.
Sorry to interrupt with that littleplug, but Ellen, we would love for you
(26:30):
to join us on a ride at some point.
How do you guys like.
I think on Zwift you like set, there'slike a pace, or do you like start to, how
do you guys, how do you guys do the rides?
Yeah we always ride for 60 minutesand we'll choose we try and choose
a route that's not too hard, so it'snot like climbing the entire time.
Although we might vary it up a littlebit, but we use the rubber band feature.
So that way folks can go atwhatever pace they want to.
(26:52):
So if they're doing a workout,they can continue doing that.
If they just like to cruise along, whichis usually what I do most of the time.
Yeah.
And then we have a discord where weall chat and people will share funny
videos and it just makes the time onthe trainer go by so much quicker.
Oh, it really does.
Okay.
I love that.
I need the rubber band featurebecause I've never done a Zwift ride
that I haven't gotten dropped from.
(27:14):
So this might be the,this might be my chance.
Yes.
Yeah, exactly.
We get that feedback all the time.
Oh, I love that.
People were gettingdropped from Zwift rides.
I'm like, What the heck we play ina sport where you're even getting
dropped in a virtual world like that'snot fun Literally, even in my fake
reality, I can't, you know, I was likeadjusting my weight and stuff too.
(27:34):
Cause like the rides were so hard thatI was like, well, if I say that I'm like
54 pounds or whatever, I might be able tohang just to build a ride with my friends.
And I couldn't, it's I just, I'mnot like a super powerful rider and
I'm not good at sustained power.
And I was so, str I was dying a thousanddeaths, so I was like the only way to
modify the intensity felt like just bysaying knife that I'm like, oh, I weigh
(27:55):
the same as the second grader or whatever.
Yeah.
Wasn't, I did the same thing.
It wasn't enough.
Yeah.
Your weight.
Yeah, right here we are.
Yeah, but just even get to two wattsper kilo or four watts per kilo.
Like I had to put my weight at105 pounds and yeah, it was wild.
So relatable again.
Feedback for the Zwiftcommunity developers.
(28:17):
To edit out.
The rubber band feature seems really nice.
I'm very into that.
It's really cool, yeah.
Can you quickly explainthe rubber band feature?
Because I do not Zwift.
Yes, so basically if you're So for thosefolks that don't know, Zwift is an online
training video game, basically, whereyou are riding your bike in real life.
So you're on your trainer andyou're following your little avatar
(28:40):
through these virtual worlds.
And it can be the islands or it canbe like these futuristic worlds,
which is actually quite fun.
And you like get points that youcan then trade in for gear and new
wheels and Kit and all sorts of stuff.
Yeah.
And so there's group rides on Zwift.
You can ride alone if you want to,but just like the real world, there
are group rides and they're oftenpaced by your watts per kilogram.
(29:04):
So how much you tell the system youweigh and in theory that keeps people
of the same pace together, but theproblem is there's just people go
really fast on Zwift and so you'llget dropped from these group rides.
And so the rubber band featuredoes some sort of magical coding.
I don't really know.
Maybe Ellen, you can explain itbetter than I can, but where it
just keeps the group together,regardless of what pace you're riding.
(29:25):
So as long as you continue topedal, you'll stay with the Peloton.
Why would they not just doit like an auto setting?
Just tell us that we're riding together.
It's a virtual world, y'all.
Yeah, I mean, I get it for the races.
Because there are a lotof legitimate races.
And there's like actualmoney on the line now.
Yeah, there is.
It's wild.
And so for those races, you have to weighin, there's like a ver like a way that
(29:49):
they verify your weight because likebasically watts per kilo is like the true
equalizer because if you're like, if I'mlike sprinting against one of the kids
that we train against who's in like 8thgrade, he's like a little string bean,
like if we're sprinting against each otheron a flat road, like I'm gonna win because
I'm putting out just more pure watts.
But watts per kilo, it adjustshow hard you're pushing on the
(30:09):
pedals for how much you weigh.
But the thing is on Zwift, if you'renot doing like a verified ride,
then probably everyone's saying thatthey're lighter than they are, so
they can make it a little bit easier.
So it's like Marley and Itrying to adjust our weights to
make it a little easier on us.
Right.
Doesn't actually matter becauseeveryone's doing it, so it
hasn't actually helped us at all.
Suddenly we have weighins of negative amounts.
(30:31):
Well, we're coming up at the endof just the amount of time that
we have with you, Ellen for it.
It's still really weird to say myown name for this podcast, but we're
curious, just like kind of what is thefuture of racing look like for you?
What are you excited about inthe next couple of, you know,
(30:52):
six to 12 months and kind of whatwould you want the world to know?
Ooh.
You know, the next, This season I'mreally just excited to like kind of
be a student again and hopefully likefix, kind of improve on the result
that I got this past weekend do alot more training and invest in that
process in the nerdiest way possible.
(31:12):
And I'm already just looking forwardto next season where I will have had,
you know, over a year of trainingunder my belt and have you know,
A season of racing and whatnot.
But in between there's also a lotof races that i'm looking forward to
some cross country stuff and a littlemore gravity again stuff like that.
So i'm just looking forward to gettingback on the bike and I don't know spending
(31:37):
time with friends and all have startedmy nutrition practice and all of that.
So I don't know the next, I have alot of optimism about the next year.
But partially in a way it's likea lot of it's staying, hopefully a
lot of things are staying the same.
And then I have a couple ofthings to look forward to as well.
Fun.
Awesome.
And for folks who are listening, where canthey follow along with your adventures?
(32:00):
I am on most social mediaplatforms as ellenlikesbikes.
I have a website, ellennoble.
com, and that's the bestplace to message me.
You can, there's like a contact form andit just gets sent straight to my email.
So there's no risk of it getting buriedin Instagram, which is a common problem.
And also you can support my podcast,which is this one's for you.
(32:23):
I would love it if you listenedand send me a note about it.
If you like the podcast or if you havefeedback, I love talking to people.
I know it might shock you guys,but I love talking to people.
So, I'd love to hear from you.
Yeah.
I meant to mention the reason Ifound you on Instagram is because
I was trying to change my Instagramhandle to Ellen likes spikes.
And I was like, dang, she's alreadyhere and she's very well established.
(32:46):
Oh my God.
That's.
Really funny, actually.
Sorry about that, butalso that's kind of funny.
You're not sorry.
Guess you just need to, you needto think of something even better.
I have also toyed with changing it andif I ever do it, I'll let you know.
But at this point, it'swhat am I gonna do?
Rebrand?
I don't know.
Yeah.
You can't rebrand at this point.
You're Ellen Likes Bikes.
Yeah.
(33:06):
I'm like, Oh, I can't wait to belike a grown adult with an Instagram
handle that says Ellen Likes Bikes.
But I'm also like, you know what,Instagram might just disappear off
the face of the earth at one point.
So then it won't matter.
Yeah.
It'd be so refreshing.
I agree.
There was, I do know one person, there'sher name's Laurel Bristow on Instagram.
She wound up being like a millennialepidemiologist in the middle of
(33:27):
COVID and she her account blew up.
But her actual accountname was King Gutter Baby.
And she did finally decide becauseshe was getting interviews from CNN
and the White House and everything.
She's okay, fine.
I will be an adult.
Yes.
With an adult Instagram handle.
And it was.
I felt like it's a really, avery real millennial issue.
(33:51):
It is.
I mean, like when you think about likeour AOL names and stuff like that, that
we had don't make me say those out loud.
Don't make me say my email before theone I have out now, the one I have now.
Out loud, like it's humiliating.
We were just making up the mostoutlandish stuff good because they
were available because we werehilarious that we were so clever.
(34:12):
The number of screen names I havethat have 182 in there because
I was obsessed with Blink 182.
Oh, my God, like every singlescreen name had 182 as part of it.
Oh, my God.
That's really funny.
And I will share a link with you.
A friend just sent me over a bunch ofDisney songs remade into, by emo bands.
(34:32):
Actioned by Disney, remade by emo bands.
It's wonderful.
So.
I love like the Taylor Swiftemo kind of crossover too.
Her songs are very good.
Done by.
Like emo folks.
It's amazing.
We will have two playlists atleast for your earbuds, right.
As I mean, up right after the break.
Yeah.
(34:53):
Yeah.
Thank you so much for joining Ellen.
Thanks for being agreat co host as always.
And we wish you best of luck inall of your races and trainings and
all the things you've got going on.
It's been delight chatting with you.
Thank you guys so much.
Marlee, great to see you again.
Ellen, great to meetyou and chat with you.
It's been a novel pleasure.
And Marlee, hopefully the next timeI see you, the roles are reversed.
(35:16):
Yes, let's make it happen.
Can't wait.
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