1 hr 4 minHow to Push Through Adversity: Lessons From Hannah Eden
With Hannah Eden
Guest on the show
Hannah Eden
Hannah Eden is a fitness entrepreneur, athlete and coach who founded a gym in Fort Lauderdale and now runs the HEF Tribe and HEF training app, and who cycled and ran 828.6 miles around Iceland in nine days.
Episodes with Hannah Eden
1 hr 4 minWhat Hannah talks about
Ep. 59: How to Push Through Adversity: Lessons From Hannah Eden
Fitness entrepreneur, athlete and HEF Tribe coach Hannah Eden joins Nikkiey Stott to tell the story behind her 828.6-mile cycle and run around Iceland's Ring Road in nine days. She took it on for her best friend Jess, who was diagnosed with stage four cancer while six months pregnant. Jess passed away months before the start, and Hannah went anyway, carrying letters from people affected by cancer and raising money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Hannah walks through how she trained from barely having cycled to five- and six-hour sessions, and what happened when day one fell apart with headwinds, rain, hills and a stress fracture. Instead of calling it failure, she switched from distance targets to 12 hours of work and 12 hours of rest, and finished every planned distance with one extra day. On day four, after losing her bike pump and riding 12 miles in the wrong direction, she caught herself blaming her team and learned the lesson she now coaches by: take ownership and don't make your problems other people's problems.
The conversation then turns to her pregnancy. Hannah shares how she stays consistent by listening to her body and training relative to what she did before, why the hardest part has been letting go of her old identity, and how she is learning to meet online hate with empathy instead of anger. If you have ever let one bad day convince you that you failed, this episode is for you.
- When a plan falls apart early, change the approach instead of calling it failure; Hannah switched from daily distance targets to 12 hours of work and 12 hours of rest and finished every planned distance.
- Blaming others for what goes wrong keeps you in a victim mindset; take ownership of your choices, your mistakes and your results.
- Tell yourself what you need to hear, not what you want to hear, because Hannah found her body responded to the story her mind repeated.
- Being fit in one area does not transfer to another, so start a new goal as a beginner, get a coach and build up gradually, as Hannah did going from 30 to 45, 60 and 90 minutes.
- Mix your training with intervals, tempo work, endurance sessions and recovery sessions, and match your food intake to your output.
In Hannah's words
Common questions
Why did Hannah Eden cycle and run around Iceland?
Her best friend Jess was diagnosed with stage four cancer while six months pregnant, and Hannah promised her she would do it to give Jess something to look forward to. Jess passed away before the mission, and Hannah completed it in her honor, dedicating miles to people affected by cancer.
How did Hannah Eden train for 828.6 miles?
She hired a coach, started as if she had never trained before and built from 30 minutes to 45, 60 and 90, using interval, tempo, endurance and recovery sessions and matching her food to her output. Over 10 to 11 months she worked up to five- and six-hour sessions and over 5,000 calories a day.
What did she do when her plan failed on day one?
Day one ran until almost two in the morning, so she gave herself a pep talk and stopped chasing distance. She committed to working 12 hours and resting 12 hours each day, which removed the pressure, and she finished every distance with just one added day.
What was the lesson from day four?
After losing her bike pump and riding 12 miles in the wrong direction, she blamed her team, then realized she was the leader with the map on her phone. She took the lesson that no one is coming to save you, so take ownership of your life and don't make your problems other people's problems.
How does Hannah stay motivated to work out while pregnant?
She says working out is simply part of her day, like brushing her teeth, so some days are low intensity and some days she pushes. She explains that she stays within her own perceived-effort boundaries, listens to her body and substitutes movements rather than stopping.
How does Hannah handle negative comments online?
She admits the hate affects her, but she is trying to respond with empathy rather than anger. She believes much of it is projection, since you don't know what the other person is going through.