Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 97

Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 97

Here's a link to listen to this week's episode.

Guest: Robert Jackson @robjack15

Show Notes: 

Rob Jackson⁠ and I met first on Instagram and then in person before the ⁠CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon ⁠last year. This year, he'll be racing his first marathon as an elite athlete at the 2025 ⁠Carmel (Indiana) Marathon⁠.

During this episode, sponsored by ⁠⁠Pure Fuel⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Cure Hydration⁠⁠, we talk about:

This is a Sandy Boy Productions podcast.
Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones, a podcast that celebrates the everyday runner.
I'm your host, Ally Brettnacker.
If you run, you are a runner and every runner has a story.

0:16

Join me each week as I share these stories and we cross finish lines and celebrate milestones together.
This episode is brought to you by Organic Pure Fuel.
Organic Pure Fuel is made by Anderson's Maple Syrup, and it is just that, pure, organic Maple syrup.

0:35

And I know it seems maybe a little strange, but it is my most favorite running fuel.
I just got back from Vegas, as you'll hear, and I used it during my half.
I had three packets.
I do it about every 4 miles.
And you know what?
I wish I would have brought in four packets so that I could have also used it on my waffles the morning of the race because I had these.

0:56

Incredible waffles and their tagline is from waffles to workouts because it's the same exact Maple syrup that you can use on your waffles, oatmeal, coffee, whatever.
And I also love the fact that it has everything that you want in a fuel, the carbs, etcetera.

1:15

But it also has antioxidants and electrolytes, which is an added bonus.
It goes down really easy because it's pretty liquidy and it's also easy on my stomach.
And if you want to try it, which you 100% should, they sell 10 packs and 24 packs on their website if you go to andersonsmaplesyrup.com and then click shop at the top and pure fuel.

1:36

You can use code.
Fuel 20 at checkout to save 20% off your order and they also have the 24 packs available on Amazon.
Anderson's Maple syrup is also available in stores nationwide, so if you look in the syrup aisle, you're likely to find some Anderson's there as well.

1:52

When you support this company, you also are supporting the preservation of acres of hardwood forests across the Midwest.
Thank you so much to Anderson's for supporting this podcast.
Hello and welcome to episode 97.

2:07

This is Allie and I am fresh off of the Vegas Rock'n'roll Half Marathon.
I had a blast in Vegas.
If you don't already, follow me on Instagram.
You can see plenty of Rock'n'roll Vegas content there.
I'm Ally ALYT Brett.

2:24

Brett under score runs.
Anyway, I have gone now three times for this race and I go with my dad, who goes with his cousin and his cousin's kids, and they've been doing it for a handful of years.
I first started in what year is it, 25.

2:39

So I did 2524, skip 23 because my friend Selena got married.
And then I did it in 22 for the first time.
So I've done it three times.
I'm already registered for next year, if that goes to show how much I do love that race.
It's just really fun.

2:54

It's weird that it's a night race.
It starts at 430 Las Vegas time, which is 7:30 PM Eastern Time, the time zone that I am on.
And you know, the night before my dad and I went to the Eagles concert at the Sphere and we are gambling on our feet a ton.
And so it's not necessarily a race where I go to go super fast, but rather to have a great time.

3:14

But I did tell my coach Rachel to make it a challenging enough race plan and so it was that I finished just over what she prescribed.
I did a 15047 and last year I did around a 145 just under.
So little slower than last year, but I'm totally fine with it.

3:33

It was so much fun.
So if you want to do it next year, let me know 'cause I'll be there.
So you should.
It's it's a blast.
And I am going to write a recap.
I'm in the middle of doing that.
It always takes me longer than I think to do that.
So stay tuned if you want to hear even more about my trip.

3:52

And before I talk about this week's guest, I'm going to plug a couple of upcoming local events.
There is my coach Rachel Senders is hosting A1 day retreat for Team RMR.
Rachel Michelle running it is on International Women's Day, ironically enough, next Saturday, March 8th.

4:10

Just let me know if you're interested.
I can send you a link to register the also the same day there's a 5K.
The Shiro 5K is part of the Kokomo Women's Expo up in Kokomo, IN.
So if you're interested in that, I think there is a link in my bio on Instagram for that or you can just Google the name of the race and register.

4:28

And then on the 14th and 15th of this month of March is the Holiday Park Trail Run.
I'll be doing the family night with my kids, having my 7 year old run the one mile and my toddler run whatever distance they have them run.

4:45

And then I'll be doing the five mileer on Saturday.
So really excited for those upcoming events.
And if you don't already know the story behind the Holiday Park Trail Run, you can just rewind a couple episodes and listen to episode 95 with Lisa Hurst.
And she tells a story about how that race came to be and why you should do it.

5:03

So join me if you are local to the Indian, the area.
OK?
And now for this week's guest, Robert Jackson.
I am just so impressed by Robert.
He is a force.
He's only been running for a short time and it's clear he has this natural talent.

5:19

He recently kicked off his year of racing with the Polar Bear in Indianapolis, and he did what's called the Bear and it's a 5K and A5 Miller and he scored second in his age group.
So congratulations, Rob, for a great start to the year.

5:36

And Robert and I talk about a lot.
This episode's actually pretty long for one of my episodes, but I found I just couldn't really stop talking to Rob.
He is, like I said, new to the sport but has a lot to share, has big goals on his future.

5:53

But we talked about how he started running, how he ended up with a coach, how he's used some interesting methods of training because of injuries, but he's done a lot on the elliptical.
He trained for his first marathon on the treadmill.
And perhaps, as you've noticed with the title of this podcast episode, Rob also happens to be a black man.

6:13

And he is one of the few that runs marathons in this country.
He's in the top 55 of black men in the US and hope someday to crack the top 25.
But we talked about what it's like to be a black Unicorn and why he says that more black men don't run marathons.

6:31

So that was a really interesting part of our our conversation as well.
And we talk about shoes.
He loves his shoes.
And you might want to grab some Kleenex for when he talks about losing his sweet mom.
But Rob really is so incredible.
And I know that you're going to love this conversation with Rob Jackson.

6:48

We're in business.
All right, Let's do this.
Hello, Rob Jackson.
Hello.
Hello.
See, I'm already making you laugh.
Look at that.
There we go.
You ready?
I'm ready if you're.
Ready.
This is a lot less intense than being on stage at the Boston Expo.

7:04

Yeah, it's definitely a lot less intense, but I'm looking forward to it.
It's.
Going to be so excited, yeah.
I'm so excited you and I first met in person.
Was it monumental last year?
Like walking.
Yeah, you and Brennan were walking.
Brennan or Brennan?

7:20

Brennan.
Yeah, we're walking out of the Expo and I was like, hey, I don't think I'd ever met him in person either.
Maybe.
Yeah, so when we were walking, we were walking towards you.
And I was like, I know her.
And he was like, yeah, I know her too.
I've never really talked to her, but I know I knew about the podcast, know about everything else, bouquets and bouquets and whatnot.

7:39

And I was like, oh, there's my chance to say hi.
And then after that, we've kept in touch since then.
So it was, it was a nice first meeting.
And then it just led to this and.
Then you just crushed it at Monumental.
Yeah, it was.
It was definitely something I expected but also didn't expect the same time.

7:58

I know that sounds weird to say, but the summer I had an injury, it took away most of my summer slash fall training so I missed the Chicago Marathon.
I had to cancel that.
Oh, I.
Didn't realize.
That yeah, I had to cancel Geist.
I had to cancel a bunch of things.

8:14

It was I was in a dark place to during that time.
So and we could touch base on that later on, but all I did, it's funny because we're in Carmel and all I could picture myself was being like a caramel mom in the gym because I was on the elliptical 24/7 almost.

8:31

I'm doing 2 hours a day at threshold on the elliptical like Parker Valvey style.
Saturdays I would mimic a long run.
So long run Saturdays I would do 3 hours, 3 to 3 1/2 hours on elliptical.
And I'm talking about like 10 minutes on, one minute rest, 10 minutes on or even 5 minute rest and just going like I'm dripping sweat and I'm like, I'm get my caramel mom going.

8:55

Yeah.
So it's not.
If you walk into the gym now, you don't really see people using an elliptical.
Right, like which I'm trying to picture the kind of elliptical because I feel like they're not all created equal because you've got some are like, OK, so just kind of try to describe it.
So mine had the handlebars that you move, the handles, the arms.

9:12

Moving your arms the whole time too, yeah.
I'm going full force.
It was great.
So when I was able to come back to actually running even a little bit, I was, it wasn't too much out of shape.
So I was able to come back, hit some speeds.

9:27

I didn't have all my gears, but I had a gear that was fast enough to at least give me APR.
Like I knew that I could hang six man miles for a long time after that it was I might sink, but the good thing was I didn't need to go below 6 that much to even get APR.

9:44

So I was, I was happy with that.
And then like if you would have told me in the summer I was going to finish the year with the time that I finished at my mental, I would have looked at you and laughed and like, that's not going to happen.
It's going to be way faster.
And then injuries happen.
Life happens.
And then I got a time that was super excited about and it was a full circle moment.

10:04

It was happy.
I was happy that I overcame the injury.
Yeah, tell people your time.
I was 23712 OK and that was only with one month of solid training.
That's insane.
So I was out pretty much mid-july.
I went from 100 mile weeks to maybe 10-15 miles one week and one week it was only one mile.

10:26

It was bad.
That's crazy.
I just think, well, at least all those hours on the elliptical paid off.
Oh yeah, for sure.
I mean, it helped me not get a dad bod, so I was super excited about.
That what did you do on the elliptic?
Did you watch something?
Oh, Netflix and chill all the time.

10:42

OK, and that's the same thing with the treadmill.
I turn Netflix on.
I love it so much.
I rewatched Outer Banks.
Oh, I've never watched that.
How to get away with murder.
Loved that scandal.
Yeah, I'm a TGIT guy, so Grey's Anatomy, ABC, I'm, I'm tuned in on that for sure.

10:58

So I already watched a lot of series.
I've already watched Friday Night Lights, the TV show and then Madam President, just nothing too crazy to get your heart rate up outside of me working hard.
So it was pretty chill.
Yeah, I'm just picturing you on on an elliptical watching Grey's Anatomy for like 3 hours.

11:18

It's funny because I'm actually next to in the morning.
This lady and I are always the only ones on elliptical.
And it's not trying to throw her age out there, but she's an older lady.
She's, she's a grandma, but she's working hard and I'm working just as hard.

11:33

And it's just funny because you see me and then you see her.
Yeah.
In the gym together.
So every time I.
Talk to her.
Yeah.
Like become.
Friends, every time I get on the elliptical she looks at me.
I like her hair.
She's like good morning and we smile and we get to going on elliptical.
That's adorable.
Yeah, and I actually still do the elliptical now.

11:50

I feel like it's given me an advantage.
As of late, as far as like threshold work, because I I still crank it up on there and it's a way to get some threshold or at least high heart rate work without using my legs as much.
So they will save my legs for the actual miles and I'm able to still stress my body somewhat.

12:10

So I I feel like it's been working.
I do it.
I make sure I hit it for 30 to 40 minutes hard every Tuesday morning.
And that's after running 6 miles and before I have my Tuesday night speed practice.
So I'm already got some type of moderate to threshold workout in the morning on the elliptical and then we go full go Tuesday night.

12:30

So I feel like I've definitely seen, have you seen my numbers as of late talking to Matt?
You would say it's it's worked, Yeah.
So what injury did you deal with last year?
It was a bad sciatic nerve flare up.
Oh.
No, that sounds so painful.
Oh, it was bad sciatic nerve and my fibular head and my knee was unaligned.

12:51

For a common person like us, you look at your knee couldn't tell anything was wrong with it at all.
It's not like it's swollen or anything like that.
And I'm at PT and the the PT looks at it and she eye in it and she goes to the side, eyes it again and then looks at it.

13:06

And then she said, hold on.
She clicks it and I mean, this was a pop.
This was the biggest pop I think I've heard from my knees.
And I feel like my knees pop all the time.
And it popped and I made the face and she said, did that hurt?
I was like, no, it was just like a, it was like instant relief.

13:24

Like I could feel like the blood flowing type thing, like, you know, you know, if you like cut your arm or something and you like feel the blood it, that's what it felt like.
It just relief.
And after that I was able to run a little bit more, but more so I still had to focus on my back and my stretches, my sciatic.

13:41

So what the sciatic did it tighten up my back, which tighten up my hamstrings and then the tight hamstrings caused the fibula head to move and then tied.
What happened was I was traveling a lot for work, driving 3, three hours out, three hours back because I have a lot of plants for my business in Ohio.

14:00

So I had to a lot of travel in Ohio and that's sitting for a long period of time, just just killed my body.
And you know, most runners, they don't do prehab.
It's only rehab.
They only do it when they're hurt.
Yeah, that's me.
Well, you're not hurt, you don't think about it, but as soon as you get hurt and you notice it only takes like 10 minutes, 1015 minutes, just do some simple stretches and you feel wonderful.

14:23

But as soon as you get healthy, like even when you did it while it get while injured, you'll be healthy.
Like I don't need it anymore.
Yeah, and that's me.
That's the cliche runner though.
Runner.
Yeah.
Like to stretch?
Nope.
I can wake up out of bed, run sevens 7 easy, a little bit below 7 easy, and I'm running with Mark Guyer.

14:41

Yeah, he's yelling at me.
He's like, man, I just got out of bed, let's do these eight, eight 20s and stuff.
I'm like, man, let's go.
Yeah, I'm ready.
I'm awake.
He's got.
Did you run today?
Yeah, at 5:00 AM.
Yes, I did 9°.
I was so fun by myself in the dark.

14:57

I was sad.
Yeah, I ran outside today, which I was very proud of myself for doing.
I saw, I saw, I did it.
It's funny because the other day you posted, I mean, you post a lot of traffic videos and I usually get a good laugh at them.
And I was texting Brendan and I was like, has she ran outside recently?

15:15

Like I feel like I see a lot of treadmill.
Which is fine.
Treadmill made me.
I'm never going to knock.
Somebody could be on a treadmill.
Heard that you trained for your first marathon all on a treadmill?
Like 99% on a treadmill. 99% so 1 if you know me and you can ask Hannah, my good teammate, Mark, Sally, anybody that I run with, I do not have a sense of direction.

15:39

I cannot tell you I I don't care where I'm at.
I'm, I'm going to get lost when it comes to running and even driving.
I drive with the GPS on just just for insurance.
But so I didn't want to run by myself.
I didn't didn't know areas and things like that.

15:55

And I was just new to fishers at the time.
And then also, I mean, I will say being an African American in the dark don't always feel the safest.
So I did a lot of my training on treadmill when my friend talked me into running a marathon and I was like, yeah, let's do it.

16:11

And I and then he was pestering me for like a few weeks and I said, all right, let's do it, but I'm only going to do it if we try to qualify for Boston at this time.
I don't know what Boston is really.
I know it's a big race because I've seen it on TV, but I don't know anything about qualifying, whatever the standards are for different ages.

16:29

I don't know anything.
And he's like, do you know how hard it is to get in the Boston?
I was like, no, I just know it's a big race.
And then that was our running joke.
And then as I was training, I never told anybody.
That was like the goal.
I was just kept it to myself because I don't want to get laughed at like who's this guy trying to run?

16:46

And then we qualify for Boston his first time.
And then as as I'm training, I'm like, Dang, I'm actually kind of good at this.
Like maybe I'm beating my friend in all our long runs because since we have we have jobs, we couldn't meet up in the morning too much.
So we only met up on Saturday mornings to run our long run.

17:04

So the only rent run I ran outside was a long run.
OK, it was every Saturday and I would be like way ahead of him, but he's a guy that was more experienced and he was just pacing himself on Saturdays.
And I was like, Nah, that ain't the way to do it.
I'm just going to go, I'm just going to go hard every Saturday.
That's not a good idea.

17:20

Yeah.
And then Monday through Friday, I'm on the treadmill.
I was running out.
What I would do was I'd run a couple miles at a certain speed.
So if you put the treadmill on 8, run for a few miles, put it to 8.5, run for a few miles and put it back, put it up to 9 and run for a few miles and I'm done.

17:40

I'll do that same rotation of speed Monday through Friday for like a week or two, and then the next week would be 9/9 and a half 10 and so on and so on.
That's a horrible way to train.
Don't do it.
Just put that out there.
This sounds terrible anyway for me my 10 is my Sprint so.

17:56

Yeah, don't, don't do it.
But yeah, that was it.
Like that was my treadmill.
I would not knock anybody for training on a treadmill.
It can be done.
You can go sub three.
You can go faster than that if you want to.
I will say after transitioning to a coach and being outside more often, there's certain levels of fitness that you're not going to get on a treadmill.

18:17

But I mean, unless you're already at that level, like you see the pros training on a treadmill, that's different.
They're already at that level of fitness before they're on the treadmill.
I don't think I'd be where I'm at today if I was solely on the treadmill.
So the treadmill is a key piece of training.

18:33

I think every runner needs to have some treadmill love, but I can't find anybody that likes the treadmill.
I'm like literally the only one.
I know there's only a couple people I know that'll that'll run on the treadmill.
My coach is Rachel Sanders and she came out today to run with me, but she tried to bail.

18:49

She's like, I hate to be the one to do this.
I can't believe I'm the one doing this.
But I, yeah, I just my treadmill.
She just got it not too long ago.
And so now that she has that option, she's like, I want and I'm like, no, you're you're coming.
And she did.
But it's, it is such a nice option to have.

19:04

Was your treadmill at home?
Did you have one at home or do you have to go to a gym?
No.
So at the gym, and honestly I was at that time, it was better for me because it gave me the motivation to get up in the morning because getting up in the morning at 5:00 AM to be somewhere running at 5:00 AM is you don't want to do that.

19:23

I don't want to do it now.
I do it every day.
So if it was in my downstairs, it'd been like I'll get to it and then next thing I know it's like 530 and I get half my run in.
But I do want a treadmill for the house eventually, but it does add extra benefit that it's not in my house at the moment.

19:41

Right.
That does make sense because you still have to get out and go do it.
Yeah, Yeah, For me, sometimes I won't let the day go away before I get my run.
I will get it in but I don't always do it first thing.
Yeah, see, I I would say running first thing is like coffee.

19:58

People have to have their coffee first thing.
I have to get my run in because if not, I'm stressed in the rest of the day.
I think that's part of like my anxiety and things of that nature that will just.
I'll be in a bind the whole day.
Just think about what I'm going to get my run in until I can, then after I get my run in then I can like breathe and relax.

20:16

Everything is good now and you're a dad of three girls.
Yeah, three girls.
I struck out, right?
Yeah, I'm the oldest of three girls and I have two girls of my own, so.
So you're Did you want a boy?
I mean, kinda.

20:31

Because you're supposed to, right?
You're like, I'm supposed to want one of each right at least And then but I don't know what to do with boys.
I, you know, I'm the oldest 3 girls.
I, you know I.
Mean it's it's funny because I really wanted my first kid to be a girl.

20:46

So I was super happy with it.
My wife though, she was, she was a little hurt.
And the second one I was like, all right, this is going to be the boy.
It's going to be the boy and it was a girl.
And then I got suckered into one more chance.
I was like, oh, you gotta, you gotta try one more time.
Yeah, let's do that.

21:03

And as soon as I said it was a girl, I was like, I'm, I'm leaving the room.
I gotta go.
I'm gonna go ride.
So there's 33 girls.
Yeah.
You try one more, just one more time.
No, trust me, I got snipped before the third one was even born.

21:19

That's how I knew I was done.
I was retiring the jersey.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's fair.
I know if we we are done with two at 2, I'll spare you the details, but I know that if we had another kid it would be a girl.
So it's like, but my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, they had two girls and then they had a boy.

21:35

So it happens.
It's just like.
Man, I don't have that type of luck, I'll tell you that right now.
But I will say I know several of my guys that have all boys.
They either have two boys or three boys, and I'm super happy I don't have boys.
Yeah, bless.
Those kids are crazy.

21:52

Yeah, they don't.
They don't care.
They got guns shooting around everywhere, Nerf guns.
And I don't have to worry about Nerf guns.
I just have to worry about freaking Ken dolls and stuff like Frozen.
That's all I have to worry about.
And like, play makeup now is like one of my least favorite things.
Or like slime.
I hate slime.

22:08

Anybody that gives our kids slime for Christmas, it's like they're on my hate list.
Yeah, for sure.
It's like, why don't you just give me some glitter slime and make it worse because yeah, let's do a glitter slime A. 100% that's.
Great, you get that for people you hate.
Yeah.
So how old are your girls?
9/6 and the youngest one just turned 4 last week.

22:27

Actually this week.
Birthday card is last week, yeah.
OK, yeah.
So we have similar ages.
So mine is I have almost 4 year old, She'll be 4 at the end of April.
She's a true second born, like she's nuts.
And then I have a six year old or seven-year old, jeez.
And she'll be 8 in July.

22:44

How's the oldest?
Like what?
Like what's her character?
She's a lot like me.
She's a very first born, like rule follower, somewhat Type A.
Yeah, the rule.
Followers, that's definitely what.
I would use to describe her.
That is my oldest to AT like she for example, she'll she'll cry if she gets AC like on her homework assignment.

23:01

Like she cried to me like last week, for example, she had AC on a on a paper.
Mind you, her grades are all as I just put that out there.
Yeah, but I mean, just because you have all as as, I mean, you don't get bad grades in between.
And I said, well, I don't have to get on your case because you're already on your case enough.

23:19

So you're already crying and this is just a homework assignment.
I said, well, I told her I was like, it's OK.
Like, I mean, you do need to get better.
You do need to get a better grade, but this is not make or break your grade.
If you're getting A's on the test and other things, 1C won't hurt you.
But no, she she better not bring home AC on the report card, though.

23:36

That's different.
That's different.
Yeah, I remember I got grounded once for having AB on a midterm.
Yep I was, I mean same here actually.
Like my parents did not play when we got home from school.
It wasn't can I go play it was report to the kitchen table, snack and homework and then if there's time left you can go outside and play.

23:56

If there's not, you snooze, you lose.
Yeah, yeah.
So did you grow up here?
Yeah, I grew up on the South side of Indy.
OK.
So Decatur Township area close to downtown, say close to if you know like Morrisville or Plainfield IN so around that area.

24:12

Yeah, I don't know the South side super well.
Plainfield rings a bell for sure.
Yeah, it's fine.
You don't want to know the South side.
Yeah, I don't, I don't go there, sorry.
I go downtown.
That's as far South as I go, unless I'm going all the way South.
Decatur, like for my parents, live just about 10 minutes away from downtown.

24:28

OK.
Yeah.
So that's not like Super S Yeah.
And they're still there, you said so.
OK.
And do you have siblings?
Yeah, I have a younger brother.
People think that he's the older one just because I mean he's balding and he's bigger and he's bigger than me.
I'm I'm the good looking one of the two so.

24:45

Will he listen to this?
I hope so.
I hope that he knows that he's ugly, No?
Oh man, shots.
I would, I would say he's ugly, but I I got the looks.
How much younger is he than you?
A year and 11 months.
OK.
So you guys are like.
Pretty like picture me but 6/1.

25:02

And like cock diesel, like he played Division One football see all right, I wasn't anything.
I was just a scrub pretty much so I'll give him his props on that there you go.
I still have better stats than him though, football wise, but when you're good they key on you, so he's getting a little.

25:20

There's some love right there.
There's.
Some love right there.
How and how old are you?
Oh.
Man, how old do you think I am?
Oh, don't ask me that.
I don't know ages.
That's a good one.
How do you think I am?
Let's play that game, 33.
That's all.
You're 33.
No, I'm not 33.

25:36

I'm guessing you 30. 333 me.
See, that's so nice.
See.
Yeah, that was a good.
That was a good one, yeah.
No, you're in your 20s still, right?
3131 I wish, I wish, but yeah, 31, Okay, wow.
Well, a lot of people, a lot of people do say that because I do.

25:53

I do look a little bit younger than what my age is.
And then when I finally had three kids, they're like, hold on, how old are you?
Yeah, like, wait a minute, I started early.
Honestly I'm not mad about it though.
Yeah, how old are you when you had your oldest daughter?
I was a senior and a half.
Like I was on my 4th year.

26:09

I still had a half semester left.
So I did College in 4 1/2 years and then my wife was going into her senior year.
She did four, I did 4 1/2.
So we had our oldest, our senior college.
So it's kind of nerve wracking, but if you think about it back then, that's like our almost a record because kids are people are popping out kids back in high school and I'm like, I could never.

26:30

But in college that was, I mean, senior year I was happy.
I was, I mean, you plan things differently, sure, but it was it made me grow up faster and I'm happy about it.
Yeah.
So did you meet your wife Jordan?
Did you meet her in college?
Yes, actually the library, I know that sounds cliche and stuff like that.

26:49

We actually got married outside the library.
Oh, downtown, that is such a.
Pretty so we both went to IPY now IUND and there's that big water fountain outside the library.
You actually run past it in the indie mini on your left hand side.
Yeah, that Main Street and we at that point, our life are you?

27:10

In the monumental.
No, the indie mini.
The indie mini.
What am I thinking about?
The the finish line, the stretch of the finish line, that long street that takes like, oh so.
I'm thinking the downtown library.
OK, so I'm thinking of the wrong library.
Yeah, no, I'm thinking of like Central Library, which you run by it like in the Monumental or the like the mile now.

27:29

But OK.
So you're talking about on the IU campus?
Campus, OK.
You can't miss that water fountain running the Indy Mini like it's right there on your left hand side.
It's that long stretch, the final stretch.
When I'm like blacked out just focus on the finish.
Line, yeah, pretty much that's the longest stretch in all of racing.

27:45

Just put that out right.
That does feel you feel like it's like 5 miles.
It does, and it's horrible.
Like the Boston straightaway, like it's nothing.
Compared.
You see it right away.
Yeah, like there.
I am it's nothing compared to any mini, but we was at a point we was like, well, do we want this wedding or do we want to go to a house like we have?

28:06

We have our daughter.
We I have a bunch of money said I've just been saving, saving, saving and we can put something down the house or have a nice extravagant wedding like everybody else likes to have.
Our wedding and our marriage cost 25 bucks.
So we got the marriage license.
My friend, my best friend at the time, he got ordained and we met in the library.

28:25

So we got married outside the library on campus.
Just my parents, my brother, and then her parents and her her siblings.
I got married there and went to old Charlie's after that.
Got some free cake.
I ate a bunch of rolls.
We bought a house the next day and that was it.
We didn't even go on a honeymoon.

28:41

I mean, at that point we didn't have all of our money.
Went to the house, our first house to build our family.
So no honeymoon at the moment as of yet.
So we're hoping to do something for our 10 year though.
OK.
Yeah, I just, we just celebrated our 10 year last year and we didn't do anything seasonal life, I guess you could say.

28:57

But it's like, man, we need to do something.
That's a big milestone.
So what we want to do I want to do is I want to renew our vows and not have like a a wedding, but like I want to get the pictures and.
Everything like reception.
Like the part?
Like everybody else together, I want to see her in her dress, see the girls walk down with the flowers.

29:13

Oh, that.
'D be so.
Fun, yeah.
So a little a little version of that would be nice.
OK, so and we're recording this on Valentine's Day.
So are you a romantic guy?
Because that sounds super cute and romantic.
I like surprises.

29:29

Oh, me too.
So what I do is I suck though, Adam.
I like them, but I suck at them because as soon as I buy her something, I want to be like, babe, look at this.
The guy I just bought you.
Yeah.
It's hard for me to hide Christmas presents from her.
I want to give them to her as soon as I get them, but I like to think I'm romantic.

29:45

That's cute.
Though that you want to give it, yeah, you like immediately want to make her happy.
So you met at the library.
What tell people like what did you do?
Like walk up to her and just like start talking to her.
How did you actually meet?
I said, what did you do, baby?
Now I'm just like.
And she was like, yes, please.

30:03

Pretty much No.
Honestly I look totally different than what I was now.
I was a shy kid about 20.
I didn't like the first time I met her.
I didn't really talk to her like the first because I knew her through a friend.
Like we I met her through a friend in the library because I was with him and we met her and then I would just talk to her shyly through Instagram, not really talk to her in person.

30:27

And that and that lasted for about like a year and a half.
And then we finally hung out once after that year and a half.
But picture me short haired, not I don't have the hair that I have now, like a like a fade and about 30 lbs overweight.
That's what I was.

30:42

So I was shy.
I got, I didn't want to talk to her.
I didn't think I had a chance.
So I mean, as you lose weight and gain a little bit of confidence, so shoot your shots a little more.
And then I was, she would always give me candy now because you I wouldn't talk.

30:59

So she'd give me some candy in the library.
And after that we start talking.
I start walking in class and then we meet up at the gym.
She wants to work out.
And then I was in my fitness thing.
And then really after that we just made a bond and then we just clicked.
Yeah.
Like look at you get me all all softened up on here.

31:18

You guys are so cute.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Yeah, on Instagram you dance and I love that about you.
See, my friends say I can't dance.
I just think I just got a select style of dance.
That's what it is.
Yeah, doesn't matter.
You're dancing, you don't care.
Exactly.
Yeah.
I mean, I love to do it.

31:35

Yeah.
I don't care if it's goofy or not.
Yeah, it gets me loose.
I'm ready.
Yeah.
I'll dance before a race if I have to.
Yeah.
It's all fun.
Yeah, well, I joked with Jordan, your wife, about having her on instead of you to like hear her side of supporting a marathon runner because it is hard, especially with three young girls.

31:54

Yeah, you.
Guys, how in the world do you?
Make So she's actually joked in the past about like doing a podcast like her own, like supporting runner because I mean people, people see us runners, they see us, but they don't see behind the scenes, right.
And the supporter, sometimes the husband or the wife is they do a lot.

32:14

I put a lot on her plate when it's race, when it's like big race time.
For example, she, she schedules like all my appointments, like my car there, my chiropractor, my massages.
She makes sure all the food is in order in the house for the week of the race.

32:33

And then like when we're out, if we have to go to a different state or thing like that, she handles the hotel booking the flights, the driving, the Ubers, things of that nature.
Like my thing is just run.
So it's funny because I remember last year before Boston, my dad was watching her kids and he always has a lot of questions.

32:51

He, his memory is bad and he's asking me all these questions while I'm at work.
I said I don't do this, don't ask me questions.
I I just run Ask Jordan.
Yeah, she knows.
She'll tell you everything.
Like just don't ask me.
Yeah.
And then my wife would call me telling me and like I told him just to ask you, like don't ask me anything.

33:09

I just run.
But no, it is a lot.
And I'm thankful for her because she has a she has a full time job and getting up early in the mornings isn't easy for anybody.
But then she gets up early in the mornings, gets all three kids ready and herself ready, and then I'm just walking in the door.

33:26

Yeah, I mean, that's like that's a marathon in of itself.
Like, yeah, it's so much easier to go out and run however many miles you're running than it is.
To no for sure.
Kids ready.
She she's getting ready getting all dolled up and then getting the girls all dolled up yeah and I'm just walking in from the gym like or from outside freezing acts like I'm tired and she's done more than I've done yeah yeah, but I do put a lot on her play and I.

33:48

And I if you ever look at my post after a race, I do say we did it.
Yeah, thank you to the wife.
We got this PR or we finished this because it.
I couldn't do it without her if she wasn't supporting me as much as she does, I wouldn't be able to give all my energy to it.

34:05

Yeah.
That give the energy that I want to give to it.
Right.
I wouldn't say all my energy, but give the energy I want to give toward the race or just a sport in general.
So she's definitely baby.
If she wasn't in my corner, I wouldn't be at the level of that I'm at now.

34:20

Yeah, she should start like a runners supporters support group podcast, I mean.
Something like that.
She should because.
It is, it's so hard.
I, I like to say, well, one of my friends, Carly Stewart, who is on this podcast, she's with New Shoe Day.
I don't know if you've ever met her, but she her episode title was this is easier than parenting because we joke about how like being the spectator and like hauling your kids around to like cheer for your runner is harder than just like all you have to do is just run.

34:49

And I I think it's funny, but also very true.
That that's her.
And then her big thing is like on race day, like she's like got to be right there at the finish line.
I see her.
I see her before I see the finish line sometimes at the any race she makes sure at Boston, she has this one spot.

35:07

If you ever run Boston, you'll see it, but it says like you're the building will have a sign, a poster on it says you're this many steps away from the finish line and she's at that spot.
The last three years in a row.
She's met the same cop three years in a row.
Like they know each other.
That's fun.

35:22

Almost by name, the same group of people.
So she's dedicated.
So she'll walk me to the bus at Boston and we get there on the buses around five, 6:00.
And then she gets her Dunkin' Donuts and sits in that one spot.
She's there so early, she could actually sit in the stands of the Boston Marathon, but she doesn't have the she doesn't have the credentials, But so so she gets as close as you possibly can as a spectator without credentials and sits right there.

35:47

And then we just wait hours all day.
It's good thing you're fast.
That that I mean, yeah, that does help.
Like, I got to run.
Jordan's waiting.
She's.
It's funny though, because she does say that sometimes because she obviously there were different people and they got their runners and they're like, yeah, my, my husband's going to be done this time.

36:05

And she's like, oh, I'm not.
I'm going to be gone before this.
Yeah, yeah.
So that is nice.
I'm happy I don't have to make her wait too long.
That is a plus.
Yeah, that's funny.
So when you were a kid growing up, did you play like kind of normal sports?
Just were you athletic growing up?

36:21

Yeah, Basketball, Football.
I mean, I will say I was overweight some, but at the same time I was athletic enough to where like I was, I was, I would surprise you.
So I was like, in football I would play offensive guard and defensive end.

36:39

So if you see, if you think of those positions now football like those are kind of bigger positions, but then you go to basketball and play a point guard shooting guard.
Yeah.
Your lineman usually isn't playing a point guard.
Yeah.
Or shooting, yeah.
So let that sink in.
That'll tell you that.
The athleticism right there.
But and then I mean, I played varsity football and basketball as a sophomore all the way through.

36:59

So I wasn't too bad.
I got I had some interest a little bit in football.
I mean as big as Butler and then as small as where Podunk Iowa.
So nothing, nothing crazy.
I just when I got done with high school sports, I was so beaten up my sophomore year I had torn labrum junior year.

37:19

I tore my meniscus in the summer.
So I had a lot of injuries in high school.
It made sports that fun in a way.
And also when you have, when you don't have the right coach, it does take a toll on you.
That's why I'm so thankful for Matt.

37:36

I look at Matt almost, I mean, my dad, my dad's was in my life and he's still in my life and I'm happy to have him.
Matt's like almost another dad to me.
I come to Matt with anything I can call him.
I feel like I can call him at 1:00 in the morning.
If I was on the side Rd. he'd come pick me up.
So if I, if I were to let Matt down, I would feel like I let my dad down like type thing.

37:55

So when Matt lays in to me, sometimes I feel that like it, it hits a little different than just a a regular coach talking to you when you had that relationship.
It does it.
It does hit.
How did you find Matt?
It's, it's funny because I was on the way home from my first Boston and then a few of us were on the bus to get our cars from the airplane.

38:17

And I see another guy with a Boston jacket, another guy from Boston jacket.
And we're just talking about where we trained out of.
And I came across his old teammate Rob, who's the athletic director at Fishers.
OK.
And he's like, oh, you should.
Do you know of PBT?
I was like, I don't know anything.

38:33

PB Who like what?
Matt, who doesn't ring a bell to me, He said, I'll get you in touch with him.
And then he told Matt my back story, things like that.
And Matt talked to me.
He said, I'm not going to lie, you might be one of the most more interesting athletes that I've taken on because nothing correlates to the time that you currently have or the skill that you currently have.

38:55

It's untapped.
Like basketball and football don't correlate to this.
And you haven't been playing those sports for a while.
You just pick this up in a year and this is what happens.
Like you do have potential to do this and that.
And what sold me on Matt was like, not even like knowing me.
He was like, he was excited to coach me.

39:14

I thought that was really cool.
It was more.
It wasn't even about money coming.
Obviously, we pay.
We pay him.
Yeah.
I mean, I would like to think he's living good.
How?
How many athletes He Yeah, I.
Hope so.
Not for sure.
Yeah.
But it wasn't even about that.

39:29

That was the last thing we even talked about.
It was more so I think you could do this, this and that.
And then what sold me was he's had 9-8 or nine Olympic trial runners.
I mean, if you're going to shoot for a goal, why not shoot big?
I mean, I'm not saying I'm going to get there, but if I'm going to, I got the coach to do it and I got the person that believes in me to do it.

39:50

So I might as well make that a goal.
And if the good thing about that goal being so big, if I don't make it, I'm still winning because I'm going to get faster trying to achieve that goal.
So if I'm getting faster while trying to achieve that goal, even if I don't hit that goal, I'm a winner.
It's a win, win situation to me.

40:06

So that's how I look at it.
Yeah, well, and like the way I asked you about crushing it at Monumental, you got APR, but still it wasn't.
Yeah, like you still wanted more?
Like, yeah, but last year I would say I was more like a a 234 runner between 2:34 and 2:35.

40:28

And I would say, I mean, 237 is a fair amount of time off of it, but at the same time I was also cut off almost 2 minutes.
It's crazy off a month of training so.
Yeah.
I mean, you're like, what?
Yeah.
Wonder Matt's like, you could really do well.
Yeah.

40:43

So you got into distance running because your friends like, let's sign up for a marathon.
Like that's literally how you start it.
Yeah, 100% did.
You run anything else, like half marathons or five KS, 10 KS, like anything.
Before I ever ran a marathon, the most I ever ran outside was 3 miles and that was just like a typical 5K here and there, like just once in a while.

41:05

Like an organized 5K?
Yeah, like.
I ran the Colts 5K once or twice, OK.
And I didn't like train or anything.
It's just like, oh, it's Colts 5K.
You get to finish on the 50 yard line.
That's cool.
Yeah.
So that was a cool idea to me.
It wasn't nothing about like finishing top ten in my age group or this and that or P Rs.

41:22

I didn't know what APR was.
So I was like, so when my friend that talked me into we both were the same company at the time.
He's the health nut as far as like endurance sports and things of that nature.
I'm just the lifter and had a sports background.
So we would talk sports this and that, and he would tell me about triathlons and I'm like, man, you're crazy, this and that.

41:44

His ass got me.
He talked me into a triathlon too.
What?
You've done triathlon.
I don't want, I ain't going to do it again.
Black people don't swim, so that's really difficult.
I made sure I did the one in the canal, even though the canal was nasty.
I just knew if I got tired my black ass could walk.

41:59

So.
Yeah.
I was in there pedaling.
Oh my God, I was doggy pedaling some and then walking on the bottom.
I felt so nasty after that race.
But it was it was cool.
It was cool to do, but.
How far did you have to swim in that one?

42:15

I couldn't even tell you.
We start.
I started at the part, you know, the bridge that's over the canal.
There's a lot of those.
The one where the pedal boats are.
Sure, yes.
A little bit beyond behind that and we had swim to the front of the NTA building and then the full distance is at the very, very back where they had the waterfall.

42:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then all the way to front I would have drowned.
Yeah, I don't do swimming very well either.
Now, I will say for the record, I can swim and I can swim for a black person.
Yeah.
But if you're talking about like, time, like anybody can run, but if you're running for time, there's a little difference.

42:49

Just like swimming.
I can swim, but I can't, like, swim for time like I'm Michael Phelps or.
Anything.
I couldn't even tell you what how fast I swim.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
So that part, I was just trying to survive.
I didn't.
I didn't train for it.
I was trying to survive.
And then we got on the bike.
I don't know how to ride a bike.
I mean I know how to ride a bike bike, but not like a Mongoose.

43:08

Not like to be efficient.
Not like those, yeah, yeah, not those speed bikes or anything like that.
I was on his wife's mountain bike, just just cruising.
I've.
Done a triathlon on a mountain bike as well.
Because I don't.
Yeah, buy a bike.
And then the Rampart was cool.
I was far at that.

43:25

But so it originally happened.
Talk me into a race because my brother, no, not my brother.
My friend's brother was an intern for the indie Mini and he had free entry and he had two of them.
I signed me and my guy up through his entry.

43:42

But then COVID happened and then that's when he said, let's just do a marathon.
And I was like, bro, I haven't ran 1/2 marathon.
How am I going to run a marathon?
I can barely survive a 5K.
And then so I guess you could say my first distance race was Fort Bend.

43:59

OK, because it's on the the train, the generic training plan that coach makes for the monumental.
So if you go to my mental website, coach has a training plan that you can download for free, OK, and then he has all the descriptions of the type of runs, which I don't know what those were.

44:16

I still don't know what they are today.
I just he's I was like, how do I run this?
He said run it like this at this rate, heart rate, blah blah.
I was like, so run fast.
Got it.
So I didn't follow that plan at all.
I just followed the mileage on that plan and then everything was on a treadmill like I said.
So Fort Ben, it was my first like distance race if you count it, but I never really looked at it like that.

44:36

It was more like a training run for me because I was just there for my long run for that week.
That's so weird.
So wait, was it only only?
Was it 13.1?
Was your training run or did you have a training run where you ran after you were done?
No, that was that was it.

44:51

So, so at least you didn't have cause the way the plans set up online.
Once you doubt when you print off or whatever, it will make it like the race.
It will make it like it's your race that week.
So your long run that week will be the Fort Bend.
That's cool.
I think that's how you get people to buy into the Fort Bend.
I kind of like that.

45:07

Thanks, Matt.
Yeah, yeah, I should probably know, know this but about that.
But that's cool.
It's a great event.
It's so fun.
I hate that course.
OK.
Fine.
It's tough.
It's it's tough.
There's one hill.
Come on.
Well, the first time I read it, I didn't know anything about hills so.

45:24

Well, yeah, My, my friend, my friend.
I'm, I'm going out the gates hard.
I don't know what I'm getting into.
And then he's like, hey, slow down a little bit, slow down a little bit.
We're like 2 miles in.
And he said, all right, just go because he knows he can't control me for too long.

45:39

I just take off and you get that one hill that kill the hill, and at that point my life flashed me from my eyes and I thought I'm not cut out for this ever again.
Like I died.
I legit died on the hill.
I I walked.

45:54

I was wheezing as I mean I have asthma and that I was like if you.
Had a camera.
On me, I was probably making the ugliest faces too.
Yeah.
And so after that race, it was like a 124.

46:11

Yeah, I think it was 124.
OK.
And my friend was like, that's that's a really good time.
Yeah.
Like I wasn't expecting you to do that.
Good.
And I was like, is 124 good?
Like, I don't know, times or anything like that.
He said, well, if you, I mean, if you look at it, if you ran that and you ran another half, it's like 248 or 252.

46:28

But the rule of thumb is I, I guess you take your half at it and then do plus 10.
And that's pretty much what I got at the monumental.
I got 258 even my first monumental.
Interesting, I've never heard that, but that yeah, that's too much math for me at this.

46:45

Moment.
It's just, it's just one way to guess, right?
It's not.
There's no real science to it.
But you can have a fast half and have a slow marathon, or you can have a slow marathon have a fast half.
It just depends.
Everybody's different.
Yeah.
What year was that Fort Ben?
See.
Would that be 21?

47:01

Did you have it 2121?
OK, yeah, while I was there, I don't remember.
I it's hard.
The years kind of start to blur together, but OK.
So you did Fort Ben in 124 and you had no idea.
Did you win like an age group award or anything you've had to have?
No, I don't recall.
No, I mean, anybody told me I did.

47:17

I didn't think I did.
I think I finished.
Like I think I was happy with like top 25 or top 50, something like that, yeah.
And then did you do monumental in 21 or?
Yeah, so that.
November of 21.
Was that your first marathon?
Then yeah, that was my first marathon, so And you.

47:35

Qualify and you ran a sub three spoiler alert.
Sorry, but you just said that never.
Mind yeah, 2258 even I didn't know what I was doing either.
That's crazy.
I like you.
Like what about fueling, redoing anything at all with fueling?

47:52

So that's when I was taking goo that I could never take that again.
After try, after try Mort.
What after try Morton?
I don't think I could ever go leave Morton, to be honest.
Bougie fancy Morton.
I don't mind it.

48:07

The caffeine ones I can't tolerate.
They don't taste good to me.
They don't.
Regular ones kind of taste like marshmallow to me, so I'm not.
I've actually, I hate it.
The last couple weeks I've experimented with caffeine.
I mean, I've done some research into the caffeine.
I've not been a caffeine person either.
I usually just take the regular gels.

48:23

But I have experimented with caffeine the last couple weeks.
I want to do something like where I do caffeine, regular caffeine, Right, right, right.
And go that route.
But we'll see how the stomach acts in the long run.
That's that's the key, Right.

48:40

But that race was so cold.
My, my fingertips were frozen.
Like, I don't know much about gloves at that time.
So I just, I mean, I got some gloves.
It was so cold I couldn't reach into my look, my little running Fanny pack to get my gels toward the end.
Yeah.
So I was stuck like I remember the last three miles I kind of did like some runners math and I was like, OK, I'm going to get this.

49:04

I would walk, stretch, walk, stretch because I felt like at that time if I ran all the way through, I was going to like, like really lock up and be stuck.
So I would jog, walk, stretch, jog, walk, stretch, do it that way.
So I left a lot.
I left some time out there for sure.
Yeah.
It should have been faster than 258, which is crazy to believe.

49:22

Yeah.
And then I, after that I go, I trained for Boston, which was a, a wake up for me because at that point I'm training by myself.
My friend didn't qualify for it.
So I'm stuck training in the winter, dark and cold.
And in that time I actually did transition outside a little bit more, but not too much more.

49:41

And I'm still, and then even the weather is bad.
I wasn't like 9° out.
I'm not running that now.
I will it's, it's no big deal.
But I was doing 20 miles on the treadmill and things of that nature.
And I remember the first week I hit 60 miles on like on a train, like I thought I was gonna die.
That's that's 60 miles right now is I'm done with 60 miles halfway through my Thursday run nowadays.

50:07

And I remember 60, I was used to be that I used to be falling asleep at my desk hitting 60 for a week.
So.
And that's when I was at the low fifties going into the weekend.
Yeah.
So it's a big change, yeah.
Then Boston came, and that was at that point I really thought about not running at first.

50:29

Boston out.
That killed me.
It was so cool, though.
But I got the Dizzy's last mile and a half.
Two miles.
I was like throwing up in my mouth a little bit.
Oh, no, no.
It was disgusting, it was bad.
I had all the cramps, things like that, and I don't.

50:48

I didn't know all this about Boston.
Like they put you in a field a mill nowhere before the race.
The athletes village, which is Boston is not set up for you to be.
All these majors are not set up for you to be successful in a way they put you.
They make you sit around for hours before you run.

51:05

It's not efficient at all.
There's nothing like going to my mental, getting out of your park, getting out of the car, walk up to.
Yeah, and like.
Boom.
Majors are really a headache.
Yeah.
It's more it's more about just getting your star than it is actually having like a really efficient race.
Yeah, because you're sitting out there, it's cold.

51:22

That year was super cold.
It actually snowed the day before a little bit of a flurries.
So you're sitting out there freezing on like a on a tarp with your stuff in your hand and everything you take with you to athlete Village.
Either donate it or you're going to run with it.

51:42

So if you mess around and like bring your gear, drop back like I had a teammate do Oops.
You gotta find.
Hopefully you can find a house that's local that.
You can go back to or Yep.
Or like give it to a stranger and be like please.
Yeah, pretty much.
So at that point, once again, I'm new, I'm running, I have Apple Watch, I'm sure my Apple Watch, so.

52:01

Oh gosh, I remember hearing you say that and I was like, what?
So I'm over here in athlete village like what am I do for hours?
I'm texting my wife just chilling, killing the nerves, killing my battery the last mile and a half My my Apple Watch dies.

52:17

I don't know what the time is.
And I'm so I'm so irritated about it because this.
Is oh, I would be losing my.
Mind this is my this is my worst race too.
It was 3 even 30000 which is.
I mean, not cool because you didn't want it to be, but like, that's hard to.
Do yeah, just like and it was it was kind of funny because my first race was a 25800 it.

52:37

Was like even.
Yeah, that's so that's.
A weird.
It sucks because if I knew how close I was, I would have pushed even harder even though I was like emptying everything but so that's my worst race.
Yeah, 3 even.
And I always tell myself like people would, people would kill for that race.

52:58

And I'm over here like, Dang, that sucks.
Well, you know, I especially the more people I talk to, it's all relative and everyone's just trying to do their best.
And so when it's not your best, of course it's frustrating.
And so it was really cold that year was that didn't rain that year, right, 22.

53:14

No, it didn't rain that year.
Well, I guess it did kind of drizzle today for it with a little bit of flurry.
So the the IT was muddy out there in the village.
Then my second year it was it rained.
Second year, 2023. 23 It rained, DES won.

53:32

Which year did DES win?
That was before my, that's before I was in the running game.
What year was that?
Sorry, I digress.
OK, so it rained.
I'm just trying to remember.
It's funny, like you can kind of remember the years based on like what weather day it was there. 23 was when the goat was there, Kip.

53:50

Yeah, yeah, the hills got him bad.
Yeah.
Yeah, tough year.
I can't.
Well, I I hope to get to Boston someday.
It's it's fun.
Honestly, I would go, I would like to go to watch.
Yeah, OK.
I would love it.
I know I would.
This year when I went, I did take a lot.

54:07

I had, I had a lot of business to take care of.
I've met with some, with some people, just some networking.
So the first two days I was there it was like straight business trip.
So that was a lot.
And then I end up getting sick the night of the race.
I had a fever going going into the race.

54:27

It was a low grade.
But then by the time I got done with the race, I was like I had a one O 2 and I was like, I was it was.
Did you go to the Med tent?
Oh yeah, you haven't heard that about the Med tent story.
No, Tell us the Med tent story.
I'm gonna get so much.
I've been in Med tents too so.

54:43

I've gotten I've got cooked on this so many times.
Cooked.
This is the first time you said cooked.
You are.
I like how you say cooked, by the way.
Oh, man.
Cooking.
All right, people are going to cook.
You tell us a story.
So I get to the finish line this year, like I got the dizzy's again.

54:59

It's like almost like year one for me.
And I I, I drop because I know I don't feel good.
Like I'm legit don't feel good.
This is a different type of don't feel good.
Yeah.
And my legs are locked up.
I'm like severely cramping.
They take me to the Med tent.
And I will say this year, compared to the first time I went, it was like a war zone there, like somebody actually, because it was really hot this year.

55:20

Oh, yes, it was really hot this year.
A lot of people have the same problem in Carmel because I remember seeing the results in Carmel.
I was like, man, these these are kind of, these are kind of slow, like, compared to what we're used to seeing.
And I'm like, man, I'm checking the temperature at Boston.
I'm like, Dang, this is not good.
I'm about that the same.

55:37

But that same look, it's about to be ugly.
At that point.
You can only control what you can control.
Yeah.
And I made a business decision at mile 16.
I'm running with my boy Colin Trent.
I know, Colin.
Yeah, good guy.
Work with Colin really.
Yes, I need to get him on.
This podcast, I love Colin.
He's a good guy.

55:53

You'll you'll love him.
We're six, we're side by side and it's mile 16.
I was like, man, I got 3 miles left at me.
This episode is also brought to you by Cure Hydration.
Cure is a plant based hydrating electrolyte drink mix with no added sugar.

56:11

It's natural, delicious and a convenient way to keep you and your whole family hydrated without the artificial stuff.
What do you know, right before I left for Vegas, my variety pack of Cure Hydration arrived and I was so glad because I've gone to Vegas a couple of times for this race and I just can't seem to stay hydrated enough when I'm out in the desert.

56:29

So I grabbed a fiscal of these cure packets to put in my luggage and I had some on the way out there and sprinkled the rest in throughout the trip while I was there to stay as hydrated as I possibly could.
I love that it's a clean way to stay hydrated.
It's clean ingredients with no added sugar, so it has high quality ingredients like coconut water powder and pink Himalayan salt.

56:51

So that way you know you're not adding a bunch of extra junk and you're just adding some great flavor to your water to make it easier to continue to stay hydrated.
I really like the pomegranate Berry flavor is my favorite, but I haven't had a flavor I dislike.

57:07

So in the variety pack they have Berry pomegranate, strawberry, Kiwi, lemonade, and watermelon.
My favorite is the Berry pomegranate so far.
I don't know that between that and the watermelon lemonade is good too.
Even my husband like the lemonade.
I had him try it.
So if you would like to give Cure Hydration a try for finish lines and milestones listeners that is you.

57:29

Cure is offering 20% off your first order.
Stay hydrated and feel your best by visiting Cure hydration.com back slash Ali BALLYB and use promo code ali.b@checkoutthatscurehydration.com/ali B and use code Ali B for 20% off your first order.

57:52

It's miles 16.
I was like, man, I got 3 miles left to me.
If you do, if you do the math, do that math, you're not going to make it.
So it's either keep pushing the way I was pushing and I was going to go 19.
I was going to get DNF and I was like, DNF is not an option.

58:09

I'm going to get my medal.
If I paid all this money to come in Boston, I'm going to get my medal.
So I remember at one point I sat down, somebody had like a chair, like a chair that you'd use for baseball games.
Yeah, soccer mom.
Chair, yeah, they sat down.
I sat down in the chair.
They gave me a popsicle, put some water on my head.

58:24

I was like, they say you good?
I say yeah, I'm just going to chill for a second.
I legit sat in their chair chilled for about a few seconds like I'm not feeling good.
So at the end of the race I get to the finish line, it happens.
How do?
You get to the finish line.
Skill, baby.

58:41

Just kidding.
Prayer.
Yeah. 1 foot.
Yep.
Left or the other Right foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.
But no, I get to the finish line and this happens to a lot of runners.
You just get the Bambi legs and you just black out a little bit.

58:58

And that's what happened.
I'm falling over.
I'm laying on the ground.
They're like you guys, like, no, I'm not good.
I'm not good at all.
In what way do you think I'm good?
And the fact that I'm on the.
Ground.
Yeah, like too.
Yeah.
I'm dying.
And but I will say like on the course, I literally saw I ran past somebody getting like help from the ambulance.

59:17

Like on the course, like people were dropping like flies this past boss.
It was very the heat was a real thing.
So I get to the Med tent, I did hear somebody call a code somebody coded back there.
They didn't, they didn't die, but it was a lot.
It was definitely scary back there, but they could tell.

59:37

They look hooked me with IV and stuff like that.
And it's like you feel like really warm.
I got to take your temperature.
I'm like, all right, that's that's cool.
So I open up my mouth.
There's like.
Oh, no, yeah, I know what you're going to say.

59:53

That's not good.
They're like, Sir, this is more invasive than that.
Oh, no, I'm like, what you mean?
And it's like, I was like, Oh no.
And like I'm I'm trying.
Why?
Why I'm laying down on this cot.
I'm trying to pull my, my, my tight spandex shorts downside and I'm cramping in my right in my hip flexors and stuff.

1:00:14

Cut off my clothes and I'm like, I'm roll.
I'm barely rolled over and they're taking the temperature.
That was a very weird moment in my life.
Yeah, yeah.
What sucks is sure actually I get another guy next to me and I'm laying down and same thing on him and he turns toward me and they got a I was like, Oh no, I look the other way.

1:00:37

Don't make eye contact.
With me, yeah, all this is happening.
I I, I turned the other way.
I'm not trying to make that eye.
It was so awkward, so funny.
So yeah, that awkward that I got.
I've got cooked so many times for that.
I wonder.
Well, it's because I've been in Med tense.
I was in one.

1:00:53

The most recent time was after New York in 2018.
And I don't remember if they did that, but I remember that that was where it was going to happen.
Maybe I did.
I don't know if I did.
I totally have erased it from.
My memory they say it's the most accurate unfortunately.

1:01:09

I've never even done that to my kids.
Yes, neither have.
I I mean because that is true like you if you want the most accurate, but I'm like I don't.
Really, I like sorry you have you have a one O 2 and that was like real dizzy and I couldn't like I couldn't even like form a sentence all the way.

1:01:25

So they called the wife things of that nature.
It was funny because the first time I went to Boston, I went to Med 10 everything as well and a space call on the wife part.
And my wife, we're just, we're playing hopscotch between phones.
I'm calling her phone from different people.
And we finally got together like almost an hour after the race.

1:01:43

Yeah, this time it was better organized by me.
Hopefully I don't have any more Med tip visits but we'll see.
Yeah, it's like no shame in going to the Med tent because it's like, well, clearly you gave it everything you had.
But I remember being embarrassed by that being like, I can't believe that I had ended up in the Med tent.

1:02:02

Like, what did I do wrong?
But it was just kind of like, I don't know.
I just gave it everything.
And then I was I like couldn't catch my breath at the end of New York.
I just couldn't breathe.
I felt it was very.
I get it.
It's like I and it I think it was more anxiety ridden than it was anything like physical for some reason.

1:02:18

I don't know.
You think I'd be have relief?
After I mean done.
There's no knock coming by if you ask me.
If you go to Med tent, you go to Med tent.
It's all.
Help you need.
Yeah, it's it all comes with the game.
Like we're in a territory where we're pushing our bodies to a limit.
Some people's bodies just sometimes fold on them.

1:02:34

Some people's bodies do better.
I mean, I would never knock somebody if we're going to Med tent.
I mean, I mean, what's the point of that anyways?
Plus, they, they take great care of you.
Yeah, they, by the way, they'll give you whatever.
You I got a full Gatorade bottle and set a couple Gatorade.
Exactly.
So I know you're like and they give you a cot or whatever.

1:02:50

And Cot and I got Oh, that's another thing.
I couldn't stop shivering.
Oh yes.
I was shivering super bad.
So I got warm blankets, Yes.
And the thing was, I wouldn't just fall asleep.
They wouldn't let me fall asleep, but they kept making sure I was up.
But I was shivering super bad, yeah.

1:03:06

Like I can, yeah, I've been there too, sadly.
And Warzone is the perfect way to describe it because they're just, it looks like a envision a war.
Tent, it was crazy.
Yeah.
They had like their own.
They had like their own ICU unit on.
That right, Like they have different tents for different.
I had Jennifer Connor was on this podcast.

1:03:24

She volunteered in a Med tent, actually at Boston this year, and she said it was like, yeah, it was wild experience.
Yeah, it's, it's sucked.
Yeah, yeah.
I told my wife I was like, it's like a war zone.
That's all I could describe it to.
Her.
Was she there this year as well?

1:03:40

OK, does she go?
She'll come every time.
You the wife.
Wife is at every race, yeah.
Well, it seems like she has to be now.
She like, does everything.
The wifeager, I heard.
Yeah, I heard.
She she's pretty much manager.
She handles everything so I run everything past her.
So Speaking of like business, business part of the trip, are you sponsored yet?

1:03:59

Are you, is that part of what you're talking about when you talk about like making it a business kind of a trip, are you going that route?
Yeah, so I mean, it's, I mean, I'm not on like some celebrity status or like influencer or even like a super fast guy status or anything like that.

1:04:15

But what I do have is a good personality and I do know how to talk to people with respect.
And I work into business deals.
I mean, I'm a business major and things of that nature.
So like right now, Pioneers Clothing line out in Boston, The owner, Sid Baptista, I work with him.

1:04:34

I mean I get all my gear from them for free.
I've never heard of pioneers.
Yeah, it's a black-owned, one of the first black-owned athletic running apparel.
It's and it's more got like a street look to it.
It's not your typical like Track Smith or something like that nature.

1:04:50

It's it's creative.
It's really cool.
Yeah, my boy said he take he took care of me.
I got there and I've gotten packages at the door, just a free merch.
It's it's nice to wear and I can go to the website and fill up my cart whenever I want and it's all free.

1:05:06

Not it's different than like an ambassador.
Like yeah, ambassadors, they get their like little coupon code and stuff like that.
Like no, myself, like legit.
Yeah, 100%.
So it's not that's really cool.
That's thousands of dollars right there.
That's incredible.
So that's really cool.
That's black-owned.

1:05:22

I want to hear about the black Unicorn.
Yeah, because I didn't know that was a thing, and that's really cool.
So the black Unicorn, I mean, as you know, black people in general, it's, it's not big in the marathon world.
And if so, not that many black people can qualify for Boston.

1:05:41

I mean Boston in general.
Is a fast race, right?
So you got to think about it.
Only about 1 to 2% people can run a sub three anyway, so there's not that many black people running in general to then be part of that one to 2% that's running a sub three.

1:05:59

It makes a very slim margin of people that can qualify for Boston as far as like African Americans.
So, and that's what the Black Unicorn event is about.
It's about bringing together all the African Americans under one roof and celebrating us in our small population into the running world.

1:06:17

Because there's not really many.
Like I can tell you right now, I'm almost top.
I'm either #1 or top two African American every race I run in Indy for sure.
You, Mark Glover.
Yeah.
How you guys do against each other?
I don't remember times either so.

1:06:33

I mean, Mark Glover is my boy.
There's different.
Levels though, yeah, yeah.
He not he not if they're with me, but yeah, I got love for him though.
He's he's good.
It's I mean, I would say though, out of the masters people, he's probably top African American in Indy, but I can go to any race in Indiana.

1:06:51

I'm most likely going to be the top black guy or top 2.
Every time I go to a race, I'll, I'll tell coach, like see, I was top five African American, top five this.
Why don't you think?
Why don't more black men run?

1:07:07

And I've talked to coach about this and with me personally, while I was turned off against running things like that, it's it's not flashy.
It's not cool.
If you think about the African American culture, we like a little flash.
I mean, look, look at track and field.
Those guys got tats, they got the chains, they got all that.

1:07:25

You don't see that in in long distance.
You see skinny Caucasians with the short shorts on and these and these tank tops.
That's it.
You don't you don't see anything.
What would when you look at writer, you do not want to, you do not oh, I don't want to be like that.

1:07:41

But you see Noel Isles.
Yeah.
And you're like, OK.
You see those guys off Sprint, you're like, Dang, yeah, that looks cool.
That looks cool.
Yeah, we need him.
To run marathons then, then.
Exactly.
So when I came into it, that was my, that was my little thing.
Like even though I was new, I didn't know anybody.

1:07:58

I came out there with my own logo, came out with the tattoos.
I had the necklace and I've had several like my black friends say, man, you actually you made running look cool.
I'm not saying I'm not saying like I'm the poster child for for running and making it look cool because other people do too.
But like on the black side, like black people are going to look up to other black people.

1:08:16

They're not.
They could see a Caucasian person doing it, which is cool, but it doesn't resonate with them as much.
But when you see somebody that's your same color, like Dang, he he does make it look cool.
He puts on and I had several people after different races because I used to wear before I got with Matt and PBTI had a different singlet every race with my RJ logo.

1:08:35

I don't think I've seen your logo.
Yeah, I'll show you.
I'll show you a picture after this.
My Chicago 1 was really dope.
I had a custom made Boston one that's.
Cool.
I wear any, like I say, like I'm not like a pro or anything, but like when I travel out of state or even to every marathon Expo, you'll see me in like ARJ jumpsuit.

1:08:54

That's cool.
Like a Nike tracksuit.
It it's dope.
I make sure you look good, you feel good, you run good.
Yeah, that's my thing.
Yes.
And everybody knows if you look good and feel good, that's a confidence boost.
No, you can't tell me that when you look good and you feel good, you don't you don't do anything good.

1:09:13

Like if you go to interview, you look good and you feel good, you go to interview.
Well, hopefully so that's my thing.
So I would say I bring a little swag to it.
That's why I bring some swag.
And as of right now, my stats and my my ability to race back it up.

1:09:30

So I would say that I can't.
That's why people.
Resonate with me so I would say that.
Yeah.
So you're currently top 55 in the US Black men?
Yep.

1:09:45

What do you dream of?
I would hope.
I'm hoping one day be in top 25 #1 is going to be kind of kind of.
Well, I mean you are getting older, but.
Yeah, Top. 25 would be nice at least once because I mean, it's a marathon.

1:10:01

Everybody's getting faster, everybody's getting better, everybody's grinding.
So eventually you're going to pass.
But to at least one time crack that top 25 and I can just put that on a resume.
It'd be nice to say, hey, I was top 25 at one time.
And it's kind of crazy to even say it now because like, Ronnie's been around for a long time.

1:10:19

And when you say it like that, it makes you think like, man, there's really not that many African Americans running it then.
So when I run, obviously I try to do well for the family because even though I'm not getting paid for anything, but like I've sacrificed time.

1:10:36

So if I've sacrificed time for my family to do this, I want to put out a good effort.
And my wife's always been proud of me, she says.
But like, I want to make her proud.
Like if I, if I, if I had to get up and take care of the girls every morning for this many months while you're out here training, you give me a dud time.

1:10:53

Yeah, Yeah.
She she would never say that, but that's what I would be thinking if it was the other way around.
I want to make the family happy.
And then I close my dad and then I will make coach happy.
And 3rd I'm going to put on for African Americans are people of my color because I mean, we're in this sport too.

1:11:10

So.
I just want to, I just want to put on for us and see how I hold up.
Yeah, what is the OTQ time?
218 that's probably going to get faster before then.
So I got a lot of time to cut off, but I will say like obviously it gets harder as you get faster.

1:11:28

But in two years I knocked off 20 minutes between my first two years, so and.
That's only two years of experience, just in general.
And I've left a lot of time out there.
I I haven't ran my best race yet.
And even when you run your best race, you might not steal PR.
It's not guarantee you can you can run a great race and not PR.

1:11:46

Yeah, but I will say the last.
Year and a half I've been dealing with like a foot injury and.
I'm finally actually able to really, really push off my left foot now.
So and I've you can tell in my times I'm able to.

1:12:03

I've been running the last year and a half on one foot for the most part.
I've been doing a lot of stuff on my foot, getting the toes spread out.
So I had some tendonitis in there and just I mean, when you run 100 mile weeks, it's just not going to go away without you doing the extra step.

1:12:20

So a lot of toe wearing toe space or toe exercise those are.
Weird, I have some of those.
Yeah, I actually got one on right now.
In your.
Shoe yeah in my left foot in my left shoe so but I'm able to actually push off of it now and it's getting stronger I'm actually able to bounce off of it oh wow hop off of it.

1:12:36

So I'm excited as long as I can stay healthy I I can knock off but in this year I think I can be low 230-230-2230 guy and then that puts everything into perspective.
Then I got 2 years to really do something.

1:12:52

Yeah, so.
We'll see how it goes.
That's really exciting.
Yeah.
So the other marathons that you've done, you were in Berlin, right, last year.
How was that experience?
Berlin was cool.
It was different, I mean different time zones.
Yeah, I've never done a race abroad I really want.
To yeah.

1:13:08

So with Berlin, it was I kind of did it.
We kind of did it right.
Well, I didn't do it right, but you know, working out well.
I couldn't really sleep on the plane.
So I stayed up a lot on the plane.
But when I got to to Berlin, took some coffee, stayed up all night and then.

1:13:24

Went to sleep and it allowed me to.
I was actually, the schedule didn't flip at all.
It was pretty perfect the way I played it.
But Berlin was cool.
I mean, with me in the way I'm so picky with like my anus or anything like that, it's kind of hard for me to try new things so.

1:13:41

I ate a Hard right Cafe 4 times.
I was there, same meal.
You got to know what you're going to get and then you're like, this works.
Grilled chicken every time.
OK, that's what I ate the whole time I was in Berlin.
Outside of the race.
I do love pretzels.
I was going to say like, you didn't have a pretzel.

1:13:57

I had soft pretzels.
They had soft pretzels for breakfast.
They ate, served it for breakfast in like the hotel.
Yeah, it was awesome.
That's great.
Yeah.
So talk about your eating disorder.
I How long have you struggled with that?
I mean, so I mean being overweight as a child.

1:14:15

So when I say overweight, I wouldn't say like crazy overweight or anything like that.
It's more so like I had the friends that play sports and I play sports I spend out of their house.
They can eat whatever.
And then I'll think I can eat whatever and I didn't have metabolism like them and they're running around with 6 packs.
I'm the guy at the pool parties that was sucking it in and then getting so bloated and I can't wait to jump in the pool so I could breathe like or something with this or.

1:14:39

Something with the shirt on that that was me growing up and I didn't.
I've never really felt comfortable until May, my senior year of high school.
But then you go to college and then.
You're done playing sports and.
You're just working and eating, working and eating. 15 man.

1:14:57

Well, I got up to like 202, something like that.
Yeah, I put that in perspective.
I was 202.
I read my first marathon 148.
Yeah.
And I didn't weigh 148 until I weighed 148 like in 7th grade, 6th grade type thing.

1:15:14

So I lost a lot of weight.
But orthorexia naversa, it's about you have an eating disorder.
But The thing is you eat healthy, but you're only concerned, you're concerned on eating solely on health food and little amounts of it because you still have that eating disorder in a way that you don't want to eat too much.

1:15:32

So everything I eat is healthy, but it's more on a lesser like coach.
The Kuwait coach described it, which he said here I remind him of some of the middle school girls he used to coach things of that nature because I mean, yeah, yeah, I'm over here.

1:15:49

For example, 100 mile weeks I'm taking in less than 1000.
Calories a day.
Like I just don't even like know how.
Yeah, less than 1000 calories a day.
And honestly I haven't, I haven't changed that much.
I'm up to.
Give or take between 12 and 13, it's not a lot more, but it's an increase.

1:16:08

I'm working it.
I'm making baby steps.
It is a lot, yeah, taper time.
It really messes me up because.
Putting in all the miles that you.
Normally, yeah and the working out like I'm more of a workout to earn my food type person.
OK.
Yeah.
So and then taper time, you think you're just eating all these carbs, eating all this and that.

1:16:26

And what I've done is I eat my carbs, but I eat my ways to make me think that.
Am I eating too much?
Like, you can eat rice cakes all day.
You're not going to feel like you're eating too much.
I I can kill some rice cakes, some some goldfish, OK?
These are just my one These are my ways to get my carbs in outside of like eating baguettes from Panera or breadsticks from Papa John's.

1:16:48

These are my ways to help with my mental.
I do some.
Pretzels, little carb snacks, they don't come off as big.
That's why I do a lot even.
Like I don't even like eating public as much and then when people have bad food around me it's fine but when they try to put it on me as in like try this, it gets me hot.

1:17:08

I'm good and you're.
Like yeah, no, it gets.
Physically warm.
Yeah, it gets me hot.
Anxiety.
What?
I have like, anxiety about that.
Or like, if you look it up, it says this is one of the symptoms, which is ironic because this week I had a work conference and we had to go out for dinner.
The whole time I'm thinking about like, man, I don't want to go out to dinner like.

1:17:26

People don't judge, but then they're like, why is he not eating with that or why don't he try this?
And I just get hot.
All I'm thinking about this all day.
I'm thinking about dinner all day and it's like 9:00 AM.
Think about how I'm going to say, oh, I'm good.
I'm not hungry tight in front of people.
Yeah.
So.

1:17:43

Interesting.
Yeah, that, I mean, it got really bad during my injury this summer.
Actually backtrack.
It was to a point that I was so bad, I was on a schedule of eating like grilled chicken one day, Turkey the next day, grilled chicken, Turkey, grilled chicken, Turkey.

1:17:59

And then one day my wife decided to help me out, 'cause I usually cook my own meals just 'cause I know the oils and stuff.
I put my own.
Like that's another thing that's big in this with this disorder.
Like you want to know what's going into your food.
You want to know the ingredients this and that she could, she helped me out, God bless her soul.
She cooked me, I grilled chicken, but it was, it was a Turkey day.

1:18:18

Like it, I honestly, I couldn't function.
It really messed me up that night.
And she like she was so sorry she was.
I was like, I was messed up.
Like I couldn't, I wasn't even happy eating because it was just wasn't what I was supposed to eat.
And that means I had to eat it again tomorrow too, because to get back on schedule.

1:18:36

Right, that's how.
That's how crazy it was.
What is it called again?
Orthorexia naversa.
How did you figure out?
Like how did you know, OK, this isn't like normal And then how did you figure out that's what you were?
Well, that situation, my wife made me go to the doctor after that.

1:18:54

So and after that you put, I got put on some meds that was.
Like meds like anti anxiety type stuff.
Yeah.
And that was actually, it was right after the 22, my mental.
OK.

1:19:10

That was the half and then that year I remember I was just like real distant from people.
I didn't want really wasn't myself, wasn't talkative.
I didn't didn't go to family Thanksgiving.
I didn't want to go.
I didn't want to be around the food.
I even have Thanksgiving now I'm I'm around people.

1:19:25

I don't eat anything they eat.
I mean, I eat my my ground Turkey or grilled chicken still, but I'm still able to be around him.
That year.
I was just off.
It wasn't right.
There were some dark times even outside the eating part.
I wouldn't say anything like suicidal, but I did have some parts like I was OK with not living again.

1:19:48

Like I would talk to her, like I would just break down and I like, I'm just not right.
Like my balance was off.
Coach knew it.
I knew it like I was not in the right place so.
And then even up in the medicine.

1:20:03

And then one time I tried a cold Turkey get off of it.
Oh yeah, you're not?
Yes.
Yeah, don't do that.
You'll drop I I dropped I like dropped in the room and she's talking to me, my head spinning.
I'm just like mumbling, not even making sentences.
So you have that and then I get over that.

1:20:22

I'm not on messing no more, so I'm good.
I mean, I've got to a point to where like, if I'm I still get distant here and there.
It's not so from her.
It's more so like other people.
Yeah.
Which is it's actually kind of a good thing sometimes you.
I like having a small circle.

1:20:39

Yeah.
But like this summer with the injury and stuff, I had a situation like where I was.
I have a sauna and like you, you're not doing a lot.
And I feel like I.
Need to stay in shape for when I get back so I don't skip a beat and I just overheated from the sauna.

1:20:59

I haven't ate all day and I signed it.
It was the second time I signed it.
This was like the evening time and I go take a shower.
Next thing I know I wake up, I'm on the floor and she said do you know where you're at?
I said no.
I said I was supposed to take a shower.
Said you're like I would, I smoke the floor like I hit my head on floor, had a concussion, passed out.

1:21:21

Rob.
Yeah, So I mean, more of the story is eat your food, people, no matter even if you have a disorder, eat what you need to at least, or at least try to.
So injuries are not fun.
Injuries help, like spark a lot of bad things.
Yeah, well, at least at least you are open about it.

1:21:40

Yeah, talking about.
It yeah, no problem.
It's really hard.
Yeah, I mean.
I'm sure it's still is really hard.
And what I try to do, I, I try to eat.
I tried to be more lenient.
Definitely in front of my girls, I mean.
If.
You think about it, it's that's big.

1:21:57

So a lot of guys won't come out about this.
I'll talk about this another podcast.
Our guys won't go seek help.
If a guy does, it comes off as a weakness or they're not manly enough, things of that nature.
And that's just not true.
Like everybody's mental has a hole in it somewhere.

1:22:15

And that was the hole of mine and it got exploited and then it just went downhill bad to where we're talking about death.
But now like I'm I'm trying to eat like a little bit of ice cream in front of the kids, even though I don't want to, or a little sweets.
Let them know that's OK.

1:22:31

I mean like, because, you know, on the ladies side, that's a big thing in a way.
Yeah.
So I want them to be able to be OK, have a good relationship.
With them, yeah, right.
That's it's good that you're thinking about that too for them because yeah, I remember growing up we had like no sweets in our house.

1:22:46

My mom's like equivalent because she's just really healthy.
And, you know, I've never really talked to her about like food like that.
Like did she have any sort of like disordered eating with food?
But we had like these snack wells cookies that were just really gross.
Frankly, I think about them now.
It's probably like tastes like chemicals, like it's not even like chocolate really.

1:23:04

And, and so I grew up like that and then I got to college.
I didn't have the best relationship with food in college.
I went to Miami, Ohio and I actually have heard, I don't know if this is still a stat, but like they were one of the if not the worst College in the country for eating disorders.

1:23:21

I didn't even know that going in.
That's.
Crazy.
And just because every like a lot of the girl women there are, you know, they really care about looks and whatever.
And so I, I went through some years of really hard times with food too, and I never was diagnosed with anything, but I knew, I, I knew it wasn't normal.

1:23:40

And I also like with drinking in college, like I would not eat so that I could drink more like the calories, right?
It's like, OK, well I'm not going to drink or I'm not going to eat because then I can have like one more beer or whatever it might be.
I will say I'm a I'm a cheap date now because.
I bet.
Well, I tell you. 111 is good enough for me.

1:23:58

Yeah, one, maybe 2.
I mean for some reason after a race though my my tolerance is a little higher.
That is, which is crazy.
You think it'd be Yeah.
So like this year at.
Boston, we, we celebrated and I tried to drink my sorrows away.
I was sober as could be.
My wife, on the other hand, she's she's, she's popped.

1:24:16

It's just funny because she's part Asian.
So she has this Asian flush.
Have you heard about that?
She's part Asian.
Yeah, my my roommate in college was Korean.
Is.
Oh man, they they drink.
They get red splashes everywhere.
I was like, what's happening to you?
Like when it first happened The 1st I mean like not.

1:24:31

Yeah, it's, it's crazy.
Yeah, it is crazy.
But not like now, like I don't really.
I could probably count on my hands how many times I drink a year because I don't like to drink during a training block unless it's like on a special occasion or like maybe like tomorrow I think we're having wine because we're having Valentine's Day dinner at the house. her and I were just having like spaghetti, but we're having some wine.

1:24:54

But in general, I don't drink during a training block.
No fast food really no pizza.
I'm pretty clean through a training block.
And then right after a race, like for my mentalist past year, I had a large pizza, Margarita and breast sticks.
And the next day I had the same exact order.

1:25:11

Like I was going in on pizza.
So that's, that's what I do.
I pig out the first two or three days after a race and after that wash the system out with a bunch of water and we go from there.
Yeah, Howard, do you have a therapist Like do you, How do you continue to figure this out?

1:25:28

I did.
I pretty much.
I worked myself out of that, yeah, in a way for where I didn't have to go.
Yeah, anymore.
I mean, I could probably benefit from going, but no, actually it's kind of funny now I'm a mental aid.
I'm mental health certified through work CP.

1:25:44

It's kind of like CPR, but it's mental mental health.
Interesting since I'm in the HR field.
We deal with employees.
Employees have.
OK, I didn't know you were in.
HR yeah, employees have their own life situations.
Simple go to mine.
And and it was ironic because like shortly after I started this job, I had an employee that left a note and he was going to and his life and that.

1:26:06

That's crazy.
And I was like, man, I just went through all this and shortly after that, our job indicated mental health training.
I was like, I'm going to get on this.
And some of the stuff that I heard in that class was like, man, I know all these signs like this, this was me.

1:26:22

Now I can help managers look for this and their employees.
So that's.
Great it was it was it was a very.
Intriguing class to take.
Yeah, I bet.
Well, it's, I'm just so thankful that now we talk about mental health because it used to be just like so taboo, like you couldn't, you know, again, weakness, like you can't talk about that because it means you're weak in some.

1:26:41

Way, yeah.
And a lot of people think it's Fugazi.
Not not a real thing.
It's just a excuse.
It's real.
Yeah, well, and I think about running and how mental the sport is, it's like if you're not mentally strong, you're not going to go.
Anywhere that's for real.
So I tell people the running parts actually easier the mental part getting locked in.

1:27:02

There was one race it was, it might have been, it was the 23, my mental, my mom.
So my mom's passed.
She.
Passed last March, but so right after Berlin last year, that was actually really the last time we all got together as a family.

1:27:24

And in October, so Berlin's in September, October, she hit the fan with her and she had a seizure, dropped, brain swelled up.
She never spoke again or really ever moved.

1:27:43

She's pretty much on bed rest for the rest of her life.
At that time, half her skull was missing and I spent every single day in the hospital with her, like I was training for the 2023 Monumental, Like I'd run my double S, I'd run my double S around the hospital outside.

1:27:59

I'm.
So.
Sorry.
Yeah, well, she was doing that and so it was the first time I ever lost my mental in a race like 'cause we ran past, she was a veteran.
So we ran past to be a hospital and we ran past another facility that she was at downtown during my mental and I was the day before.

1:28:21

So the day before the race I spent all day with her 'cause I had the day off and I was always up there anyway.
So I said the whole day with her.
And it's kind of hard to get high for a race and you're sitting there next to your mom that's barely even alive.
Yeah, at that time.
And then so we do that and the next morning I'm in the elite crowd warming up and I have a break time.

1:28:44

I look at my wife like, I don't want to run, I don't want to race this.
I want to go home.
I want to go to my mom sound.
Like a little.
Kid, I want to go to my mom.
I'm like crying and.
Then coach yells out there elite runners blah blah and.
He's like, come on.
And I was like, she said.
It's go time and I'm like.
One of the.

1:29:00

Things I say a lot is like F it.
We hear like we hear now we got to do it.
You get to the start line, you have all this doubt.
You wondering if you're training well, you're like, F it.
Like you're here.
We got to do this.
So I'm walking up town, I'm clear my eyes.

1:29:16

So you ready?
I see I got this race starts off like normal.
I'm locked in.
I'm I'm clipping.
I'm right with the elite women that are all trying to OTQ.
So I'm right where I need to be pretty much like pacing, slash blocking win for them.
Like they got something bigger at hand like me.

1:29:32

If I had to sacrifice some time to help these ladies, how it is what it is.
So it was mile 21 or 22 and it wasn't the wall like people say it was, more so.
Like I just broke.
Down.
And it's funny because I get.
Slack for this.
Colin beat me that race.

1:29:49

Colin Trent, he came from behind and beat me.
It was after I already had my meltdown, was crying in the race.
I was running while crying.
That's hard to do.
They always because I always talk about the age we bring up age and they'll send that result of him beating me at the my mental about 30 seconds.

1:30:06

It's fine, but I like.
To run it back when I'm when I'm locked in, he's locked in.
But no, I, I lost my mental like I almost walked with the course.
I never, I've never had my mental broken race until that moment.

1:30:22

And I was like I got 3 miles left.
I I got to do this.
Yeah.
I did it and then as soon as we got done and stay long, went right to the hospital which right down the street deliver the medal to her and then it was cool she not being sent home.

1:30:37

We it was good.
Then toward the end of February last year, her health started to decline.
And then middle of March was actually right before Sam Costa.
OK.
Sam Costa was my training race before Boston this past year and I left for Tuesday practice and when I left for Tuesday practice, I knew that was probably the last time.

1:30:59

I saw her.
And I spent the whole day with her.
I love work early.
I knew that was going to be it.
And at practice I broke.
I broke down coaches there.

1:31:15

Like I said, coach is like another dad and broke down.
I finished practice.
I had a good practice.
I had a good practice and I broke down a couple of times on the way back.
When I got to the parking lot, I saw my wife and I was like, oh, so we met at the hospital that night, and we knew the next day it was probably going to be it because, I mean, at that point, there's no sense of keeping her around.

1:31:41

She was gone.
And we knew he was going to pull the plug.
So that morning, I went in, they.
They were going to give me an update that morning.
I get a call while I'm running on the treadmill.
I ignored it because I knew what it was like.
We was going to make the decision that day.

1:31:58

And I was like, all right, I'm gonna finish his help.
Yeah, and then Sam Costa like two days later and coach like you don't need to run.
This is it's a train run anyway.
That race.
I can't.

1:32:13

That's the only reason I can.
I can really recall that.
I don't remember anything in it.
It's like God had me and my mom was right there.
And I remember running that with Galloway and we're getting closer.
He's like, dude, I'm getting emotion for you.
And we're yelling like, let's go like.

1:32:31

It just took over.
I ran a 2 minute PR training run on that race.
My.
God, I ran.
I ran 115 in that race and I hadn't, I hadn't know, I hadn't.
Like I didn't know what it was going to happen.
I didn't know I was gonna finish or anything.

1:32:46

I didn't really think of it as a race anyway.
So if I didn't finish, I didn't really see it as a DNF in my head.
Yeah.
It was crazy.
Did that and then when I had my first official race after she like die like Boston, I remember I'd always get a text from her tell me godspeed and things like that and she'd be proud of me.

1:33:08

And I woke up that morning didn't have that text right.
So.
I wasn't feeling well.
That was emotional.
It wasn't my day.
It just wasn't my day.
But before every race, I still, I text her every day.

1:33:24

I talked to her every single day.
Text her because my mom was real big.
Sorry.
Don't.
Be sorry.
My mom was real big on text us every night even though we're even though we're grown, grown men and goodnight.

1:33:43

I love you and to the family.
So I text her every night save texts over and over and I text her like life updates.
I have longed.
I'm just sitting there hoping for a text back one day.
Yeah, but uh, on my wrist I got godspeed.

1:34:02

I tap it before every race or anytime something's doing difficult.
Yeah.
And then I just go, that's, that's what I do.
So that's that's me.
Sucks.

1:34:18

I'm so sorry.
But I mean, living through that and doing that, there's nothing harder than that.
So like, like every time I'm about to do something hard, it's like, all right, it's whatever.
So running has actually become easier since then because like, I'm not going to face anything harder than that.

1:34:37

Hopefully anytime soon.
So in a way, it's kind of made me evolve into a better runner.
It's kind of messed up, but that's how I look at it and.
Every race I point out to her now over my purple headband because that was her favorite color.

1:34:53

So.
So what happens?
That's it.
I dread the day.
Yeah, I mean, I don't wish you for nobody.
It sucks.
Sucks what will you will you do anything next month?

1:35:10

Just celebrate her like it's been a almost a year that's.
Yeah, well, I have Sam Costa that same week, same weekend.
I have Sam Costa that same weekend again.
So hopefully I can do her.
Well, I don't know if I'll have the the emotional power like I did last time because I was still fresh and I was numb.

1:35:32

Yeah.
So I wouldn't be surprised if I broke down during the race this time because it'd be the one year actually realizing what happened.
But no, I think my brother, my dad and I think we're going to get together on the actual day, which is the 20th and do something and in memory of her.

1:35:49

And then hopefully I got there, crush a race for her and have a new PR and a new shiny metal for her.
So that's the goal.
Make her happy.
She's.
So proud of you.
I hope, I hope, I hope I'm making her proud.
I text her that all the time.
So yeah, no matter what or however any race when she'd always tell me she's proud.

1:36:08

And even though I was mad that like mom, I left like 2 minutes after yeah mom, I could have done this better.
Like she was like oh I'm proud of you, this and that.
So that it was cool.
And like she didn't really know much about writing so I'll be telling her like I have this time.
She's like, that's good, like.

1:36:24

She.
I want more than that it.
Was great.
You bring in the metal and she's like, did you win?
Like, yeah, to to her defense, I will say she'd not go that far to say did you win because at least she had some sense of it.
But no, I I but the my mental 2023 will always still a little different because I've I went to hospital and delivered the medal and PR then I just laid my head on her chest so that they've been reason to stay for a while.

1:36:53

But the last time I gave her a medal after that she it's like she didn't know what a medal was.
So it was a little different feeling after so well, if we live when we learn, but yeah, oh I'm I'm good family's.

1:37:10

Good.
Bless so.
Yeah, so jeez, it's hard to be like, well, now let's do this.
Oh yeah, let's go.
Jeez.
I can change up real.
Quick no.
I.
Just it's, it's so hard going through that.

1:37:26

I'm sorry, what?
What military branch?
She was in the army, the.
Army Did you ever consider the military?
No, she wouldn't let us.
OK, she wouldn't.
She wouldn't let us at all.
Plus I at the time.
They have all those I had asthma, 2 surgeries, screwing my shoulder and things like that so.

1:37:44

They weren't going to have you anyway.
They weren't going to have me anyway.
Because you can't have asthma, right?
I think.
Yeah, that's, that's the biggest thing I've always heard it's it's so crazy because all of a lot of runners have asthma.
A lot of people on this podcast have had asthma.
I'm like, wait, what?
How is that?
How is that true?
Oh, before.

1:38:01

OK, Before the one thing I forgot on my list, Shoes.
Shoes.
We got to talk about shoes because you love shoes.
I need you to teach me how to don't look at.
I mean these shoes I finally bought because I had to.
Are those Uggs not the off ram?

1:38:19

No.
I got the real.
Uggs.
The real money so I could walk to the bus stop.
For the record, I wear Uggs too.
Oh.
That makes me feel.
Better I get knocked on that.
Too.
I bet.
I bet you do.
But Tom, if Tom Brady can do it, I can do it.
He wears Uggs.
He was sponsored by UGGS.
He was one of the first mill athletes that they had.

1:38:36

Out of town.
That's hilarious.
So how much they paid?
Probably paid him a lot of money for that.
Oh, yeah.
So you're a sneaker head.
And I know that you share this with Coach Matt.
Ever saw?
Because he told me when I interviewed him.
But how did you get into shoes?
I'm really the plug for Matt.
Well, if Matt really wants a shoe, he'll come to me and I can make it happen.

1:38:54

OK, so I'm the plug for certain people that can help.
I'm not going to be the plug for everybody, but I can help.
A shoe dealer.
You're like, hey, we're going to get my.
Shoe yeah.
So how I got into shoes really.
I mean, I've always had like a flair for style.
Like I always like being creative and have my own fits and.

1:39:11

As you can see, like I'll show you after this, like my RJ stuff, like I like being flashy.
That's that's just who I am.
It just helps that I don't.
I'm not too bad of a runner, so it doesn't look like I'm being extra extra, but I'm OK with being extra if you don't look.
It is what it is, yeah.
Most of the people that could say something to me can't beat me, so that's fine.

1:39:31

If you can beat me, you can say a little bit, but you're still going to catch these words regardless.
Yeah.
But no shoes, just me and my guys in high school.
We just always liked them, fantasized over them.
And then I became a manager for Footlocker.
Oh.
Then my senior year of high school slash early years of college, so work for Foot Locker, then transition over to finish line.

1:39:53

The rival worked in there.
So I would say in high school I got voted most likely to have 100 pair of shoes.
That was my big award in high school, so.
I was very.
Cool, very close at one time to having 100.
Fun fact, I sold 1/4 of my collection and bought my first engagement ring for my wife so.

1:40:16

So that means a lot.
I'm gonna sell my shoes.
That seems like it.
Would be and put a ring on it yeah Yeah.
So I did that but no I and it's crazy 'cause RIP Kobe.
But I had so many Kobe's that were like that are being re released now and I really want them and now people are just getting them to sell them.

1:40:37

Not really.
Real.
Fans, yeah, they ruin it, just like with Jordans, people do that.
But no, I had, I had a lot of heat, man.
Limit edition Kobe's from different countries.
Limit Edition.
Jordans Lebrons.
All that and.
When you collect them, do you wear them ever?

1:40:55

Are they not to wear?
Let's see I sat outside 2011 senior year of high school, Jordan 11 Concords the you the viewers might know this shoe you probably I have.
No idea, I will not.
I sat, I sat outside for 9 hours for that shoe and I've only worn it twice now.

1:41:15

The first time I actually wore it was for my kids 5th birthday.
So I'm still a long time ago.
Yeah.
So it really just fits.
I have a pair of shoes I still haven't worn.
I have several shoes I still haven't worn.
I used to have this rule.
My role was buy a shoe put on hold for three months, then finally wear it or eventually wear it.

1:41:34

Because The thing is, when people get these new shoes, they wear them and beat them up.
Their shoes look like trash.
And.
When they're when they're feeling down in the dust of their shoes look like trash.
You see mine looking brand new.
So like my shoes are always like a few months later than everybody.
That's when I would wear them just to make sure they look even more cleaner and better.

1:41:54

My go to shoe at my Jordans be the Jordan threes.
I wear those a lot.
Coach likes Jordan threes.
Jordan threes are probably my favorite.
And then you got the elevens and then you can go with some ones.
Those are classic.

1:42:10

You could rock some ones.
I if you I can show you some ones.
I we can get you in a pair.
Of if I know what you're saying, I think I have some.
OK, OK.
Are they are?
Tell me what the full name is.
Retro Jordan Retro 1 highs.
No, they're not OK.
No, I thought when you said once that I don't I.

1:42:27

Are you talking about Air Force One?
Yeah, I shouldn't say things out loud.
Funny.
No, I have those.
Yeah, yeah.
No, no, I get it.
Probably the coolest shoes I have because I don't have any cool shoes.
You got the all white Air Force ones or the black?
They're well, they're white and they're like, they've got pastel, okay, they're cool.

1:42:44

My brother-in-law got them.
For as long as you don't got the all black Air Force ones, that means you're in the streets.
Yeah, I don't want those.
I could wear those.
Yeah, you don't want those.
Yeah, OK, so I don't know.
You should.
I'll ask you and you'll tell me what shoes to buy.
Yeah, if you send me some shoes, I'll get you.

1:43:00

Just tell me just be like here, based on what I know about you, you could buy these shoes and I'll.
Yeah, you could wear these.
Because I'm not that cool, but I'd like to think I can be cool.
Yeah, I mean, I think you're cool.
Thanks.
I mean, you got you got some style.
I mean, I like the.
I like the boutique.
I like the color.

1:43:16

Yeah, thank you.
It's funny because before I actually knew you and I saw you advertising like your logo.
So I was like man, this this chick trying to copy me.
You like those colors?
I mean, I like and everything you're gonna take, you're gonna take my, you're gonna take the logo.
Like I got the branded stuff.

1:43:32

You got branded stuff.
Yeah, I know.
I started putting my brown everything.
Yeah, so fun.
It is cool so.
Fun people notice it too.
Which is crazy.
Yeah, I've, I've, I've been to a race before.
They thought I was like, it was actually this year at my mental.
Yeah, somebody really thought I was somebody.
I was like, that's cool with me.

1:43:48

That's cool, Yeah.
I'll take that cloud.
Yeah, that's just so.
Fun.
Follow me on IG.
Yeah.
Oh man, I could talk to you all day.
We've been talking for longer than an hour and a half already.
I know talk to you all day, I kind.
Of killed the vibe of being emotional.
You didn't kill the vibe at all.

1:44:03

It's every.
I mean, everybody's going to go through that.
Yeah, it sucks, but everybody's going to go.
Through it, I do want to say a quick shout out to a few people if I can.
You should.
So I got my morning crew, which is Mark Geyer and Britton Kelly.
I hit a lot of miles with them early in the morning.
It's it's definitely helpful.

1:44:19

I mean, nobody wants to get up at four and be ready to run at 5:00 AM even though I'm left because I usually have more miles than I'm usually by myself for the end.
It does help.
Having that company though for like the first 40 or 15 minutes of a run for sure.
Definitely when it's freezing cold.

1:44:35

Also, I want to thank my My Guy, My Track group that I run with on Thursdays.
They're my guys, we're at different speeds, but I use them as rabbits on a track.
Yeah.
So I like doing it on, I like doing my Thursday workout on the track just because it keeps us all together, because if we run on like the Nickel Plate or anywhere else, we're all spread out.

1:44:53

Yeah.
And the.
Nickel Plate's like the Monon, right?
And Fishers.
Yeah.
And what track do you use?
The Fishers High School track.
So since I'm cool with the athletic director, he lets us on.
He lets me on the track, so I have all access.
That's.
What I need to do to get on my track at my kids school?
Yeah, I've gotten kicked off a couple times.

1:45:08

Really.
Yeah.
Because you can't use it during school hours.
And I'm like, well, why?
I'm a mom?
Like what am I doing?
I'm.
Just running in.
Circles, so it's maybe I need to find somebody that I need to be friend you.
Could probably get on Fisher tractors.
That's too far.
It's like an Ohio for me.

1:45:24

Oh my gosh.
OK, so I run with them a lot.
They they help me.
I mean, obviously we're all different paces.
They have different goals.
We're not seeing goals, but they see me pushing it pushes them and then right, I see them pushing and I'm like, all right, I gotta go catch them Yeah and make sure that they know that I'm the man.

1:45:43

So and then PBT wise, obviously coach I ever saw, but then I got my girl Hannah.
She's one of the top dogs.
What's?
Hannah's last name.
Bass.
Bass.
I hate a bass.
Yeah.
OK.
I don't think I've ever met her.
Really.
Yeah.
Hannah.
I wonder if I follow her.

1:46:00

I probably do.
I feel like I just like cobbled together people from PBT because I'll be like, oh, I don't know them or.
She she's right up there as far as like ladies in India's in.
The elite in the elite.
Which is like I know nothing about because I'm not an elite, right?
So now that I've started this podcast and I've, you know, gotten to meet more talented runners, then I start to be more aware about it before I'm like.

1:46:20

I'm not in the elite world either.
Like I'm I'm just starting.
Mr. Elite Corral.
I'm just now starting to get into the to the elite corrals, which is kind of cool.
I got I had a joke this this past fall after is at the.
Beginning of this year we were talking about signing for Carmel and my friend was talking and he was talking about signing up and I was like how much was the sign up?

1:46:42

He said this much, how do you not know?
I said Oh my fault, it was free.
My fault, I'm really good.
Yeah, I had to throw that in there one time and he just gave.
Me a sign, we laughed.
He said all right, I'll give you that one, Hannah.

1:46:58

And then Saturday, Mark Saturday.
He's not a real big social media guy, so he probably won't even know about this, but he's been, he's been a tear above me the last year and a half.
And I've been working my way to get up there to run with him.
And now I'm with him in practice.
That's cool.
And now we have some battles.

1:47:14

So he's pushing me and I'm hopefully I'm pushing him just like he's helping me.
That's cool.
It's it's been a great battle.
So and then also my guy Galloway.
Is there for me.
He's like, he's like a Big Brother.
I can go to him.
We we've had some things that work like are the same.

1:47:30

So I'm able to have been to him, he they would have been to me.
So it's been really nice to have.
That's really.
Cool.
It's great having such an awesome team around you.
Yeah, I mean, if you you run these miles in the weird times of the days and the amounts, it definitely helps having people in your circle, no matter if it's small or big.

1:47:48

Yeah, that's why I'm so thankful for Strava, because at least I kind of get some, like, perspective on, like, people pushing me, like if I see what somebody does there.
I do run with other people at times, but a majority of my runs are solo.
That's just because I do it like in the middle of the day when people who have jobs like.

1:48:05

Yeah.
Work.
That's funny that you bring up Strava because I actually just like didn't the least Strava.
I kind of just like went and ghosts on Strava.
I've I've made my runs private.
I don't, I don't get on there.
OK.
So this past, it could have been like some seasonal depression or anything like that, but I just was in a rut.

1:48:25

I didn't, I feel like I was getting stagnant.
I feel like I wasn't getting better, but I was like I was hitting times.
I just wasn't feeling good about anything I was doing around it.
And I'm over here comparing myself.
I'm struggling.
Damn.
I know I'm faster than this person, but this person did this work out and I want to be as fast as this person, but he's just getting faster.

1:48:42

Like get in my head.
Yeah, things like that.
Can happen.
I got off.
I got off Strava.
I went private on my training because I didn't want comments on my training.
And I've I've taken off in the last month.
Coaches even know it's like my energy's changed.
My my numbers have gotten better.

1:48:58

It's been nice.
I will say so shrivel at your own risk.
That's a good that's good advice though, because people probably they might not even be aware that they're looking and comparing themselves to you know, and how what the impact that can.
Happen yeah, when you're when you're in a rut.

1:49:14

That was the first thing I thought of and when I did I was like, man, it feels so good so.
Much better.
At first it was more like I stopped scrolling through Trevor and it wasn't like I don't want to give kudos.
It was more so like I just don't want to compare myself, right?
The only person I need to focus on is me and the clock and that's my big thing.

1:49:30

I'm, I don't care what anybody does now.
Yeah, it's more so I'm a do me and whatever happens, happens.
And at the end of the day, we line up together.
I'm gonna give you the business.
I'm gonna give you the business.
That's that's what it is.

1:49:46

Yeah, OK.
I got to ask you the end of the podcast questions because I don't even know what time of day it is anymore.
All right.
Favorite running song and or mantra?
Favorite running song?
Like it has to be about running.

1:50:01

Or just like, no, like what song gets you going?
Man, I wouldn't say a specific song.
I have artists.
OK.
So, as you know, like I'm light skinned, so it's gotta be Drake.
Drake's up there for sure.
I got Drake little baby and then some gonna in there.

1:50:19

But then off off the on the other note, I got some Shibuzi in there.
OK.
Yeah, I like, I like, I like that.
Let's see Jason Aldean.
I listen to some country on my SO.
I don't ever listen to music when I run OK every now and then when I run my double S in the afternoon.

1:50:37

It's an easier chill.
Run.
I do listen to country on my runs because it's not going to give me hype.
Yeah, you're just going to be like, yeah.
Yeah, I'm just relaxed.
Hanging out.
So yeah, yeah, it's McCain Brown in there.
OK.
I mean, I listen to little Pop.
Whatever, my girls, that one.

1:50:53

But it's like straight hype for a race.
Yeah.
It's gonna be Drake, little baby gonna and actually you throw future in there as well and then mantra.
It's funny, 'cause I said this practice on Tuesday and 'cause it was a hard, we had a hard workout and he's talking about take.

1:51:16

It easy this now I was.
Like I die, I die, I die, I die.
We gonna do this I I say that a lot and F it we hear Yeah.
And then my go to one for every race, though in general does look good, feel good around good.

1:51:32

Yeah, because I like to make sure, I like to make sure the headbands swagged out.
I like to make sure my fit looks good.
I mean, if I'm looking good, I'm a, I'm a, I'm have a good race, hopefully.
Which shoes do you race in?
I'm a ASICS guy.
It's it's funny because I'm super Nike.
Everything I know I would have guessed.

1:51:47

I'm super Nike everything but ASICS guy.
Now if I do wear Nikes, it's to Vapor Fly and I wear that in the half.
OK, wouldn't.
I'm not really a marathon guy in the Vapor Fly, but I would wear it in the half.
I wore it in the half actually twice.
OK.
But it's more so ASIC Sky.

1:52:04

Gotcha.
I've never tried those.
Oh, you gotta try it.
I'm.
Saucony Saucony girl, I I mean I love the ASICS gel Nimus for like my everyday like.
Training.
That's a good shoe.
But I've never used an ASICS like race shoe.
I probably get a new shoe like every month and 1/2.

1:52:21

It's a lot.
That's a lot.
So like right now my go to like speed training shoe.
Yeah, I don't I do like it.
It's not as good.
I like the three better.
The Saucony Endorphin.
Yeah, yeah, the three was better.
It's a little bit wider, OK, it's narrow in the four, but the four still pops.

1:52:40

And I can't believe I'm saying this.
The Hoka mock X too.
Oh yeah, that thing bangs like I've I've, I've put in some fast times in that shoe.
Those rub my ankle weird.
They rub my Achilles weird.
Yeah.
From first breaking them in they definitely did OK maybe.

1:52:57

I just need a break.
I have some.
Which ones did I get?
Outside the Hoka Mock X2, I would never wear Hoka.
Ever.
You're never going to catch me wearing Hoka.
Yeah, I have the ones because of the color way that had like it was like the 80s color way this like hot pink, like cerulean blue and purple that was like those old 80s like cup look.

1:53:13

And I was like, I have to have these because of the color way, but I don't ever wear them because.
I could not do, I could not do some hocus, yeah.
Another brand that's sucked on is the 361I.
Don't know.
I wear the Elios 361.
Actually, Jesse Davis.

1:53:30

OK, I've never met Jesse Davis.
I've heard his name A.
Lot.
He's a man I ever saw a legend.
Yeah, he is I.
Mean, I mean, he's a legend in general, but he's a he's a 361 guy.
And then so that's where I, I mean, I got tips from Mike Olson, who's cool with Jesse Davis.

1:53:45

He was they wear 361 and I love it for my this year.
It's.
Very, very similar to the ASIC Nimbus, OK.
That you were talking about.
Well I don't work at a running store anymore so it's really sad because I don't get my discount.
Anymore at 30% ice clutch what?

1:54:00

What's 0?
Percent.
I know, right?
Fleet Feet.
It was amazing.
I'm done off fleet feet.
They never get my money.
Yeah, it's, I shouldn't say anything.
But anyway, we'll just move on.
OK, So what's next?
What's next?

1:54:16

Finish.
Line or milestone?
What's going on this year?
The next big race for me, the one that I actually like, have my eyes set on big It's it's caramel.
It's caramel, yes.
I'm so excited because I'm going to be I'll have a microphone at the finish line.
Really.
Yeah, OK.
I.
Believe I'm like scream.

1:54:32

I'm definitely going to be looking for you, I'm definitely going to wave at you.
And as I pass by, caramel is my big one.
You know you have.
Races leading up to a race.
Of course.
But like no matter what, those aren't going to how I feel about going into Carmel.
Like I have polar bear next week.

1:54:49

I'm doing the 5K and then the bear.
I mean the five mile or so it's called the bear when you do both.
Races I didn't.
Even know that I'm running the 5K as a race so I'm gonna try to give it my all which I.
Have done that before.
Like a 5K race race like where you're.
Yeah I I hate 5K.

1:55:05

That's my, that's my worst.
That's my worst race.
Yeah, I hate it.
It's so weird, isn't it?
Like people who don't run are like, what do you mean?
Yeah, 3 miles is harder.
I said it all the time.
They were like.
You run 26 miles.
You run 20 miles every day.
You don't.
Understand you go from start to death right away.

1:55:21

Marathon.
You don't.
Go from start to death.
You die slowly.
Yeah, it's a lot more manageable, yeah.
Of the death. 5K is just horrible, yeah.
I don't like it, not a fan of it.
It's like pulling teeth to give me what?
Are you doing?
What are you doing for?
Because if I don't, coach is gonna give me shit.
You gotta get.
Better.

1:55:37

He's like, I thought you wanted.
To get better, yeah.
OK, that's his go as you know, that's his go to he and he knows that like boils my blood when he says that.
So that's another thing with coach.
He knows what buttons to push.
He knows his athletes.
Like I know when I first started with him, I was like man, I thought I had a good run like he don't say anything, but then I noticed like he gives me that.

1:55:58

He gives me the head nod or in a look.
That's when you know you did good.
I don't even need him to say anything.
I'll look over him after I wrap.
He'll give me a head nod.
Yeah, I know.
That's it.
That's all I need.
That's all I need.
Yep.
But yeah, Carmel is my big one.
It's my first marathon, like in the elite field like, so I'm super excited about that.

1:56:16

A little nervous.
I mean, I'm not going to be like the top elite runner, but it's just in general just being in that elite field, like get that little bit of status, I mean, adds a little bit of pressure.
You want to no.
You want to at least live up to that you.
Will just by default.
Yeah, I hope so.

1:56:32

I hope so.
It's it's I'm.
I think things will align.
Perfectly for what I want.
And I might surprise myself and others that.
Hope so.
I hope so.
Are you?
What are you doing in the fall?
Fall I have, well, I have Fort Bend as a training run, but then I have Chicago and I have my mental back-to-back.

1:56:49

Have you done, have you done Chicago?
OK.
What year did you use Chicago?
I did Chicago.
The same year I did Boston SO 20222.
OK.
I also ended up in the Med tent in that one too as well.
Yeah.
And that was the worst.
That was my worst race as far as like, strategy goes.

1:57:06

Mind you, this is my third marathon time, so I don't know anything.
Yeah.
My coach will tell you I looked so good. 1st 16.
Miles, I was on.
This is right after I ran a Last Chance BQ in Michigan.
OK.
And I ran that race because we didn't know what the cut off was going to be for Boston, because they don't ever tell you.

1:57:26

And I need to get a race in before then.
So everybody's training for Chicago at the time.
And I had Chicago.
I'm like, yeah, I can't wait for Chicago.
And then I'm like, damn, I had Michigan before this.
I ran the Michigan Last Chance BQ at Grand Rapids and he told me to cut it off with six miles left because we knew I was going to get the BQ there.

1:57:43

Yeah, but we didn't want to empty the tank because.
We have Chicago coming up within three weeks.
I cut it off with four miles left and got second.
I could have won it.
I could have won.
Yeah.
My like, that was actually what was my third marathon.

1:58:00

I could have won that but got second there, got like a.
Went from 2:58 to 2:45 and then went to Chicago.
Ran 242 but I was on track for 234 the whole race because I was running stupid and then died.

1:58:16

I died so bad, it was bad.
But went to the finish line, I was actually fine, but I had total problem with something that my foot was bleeding and you could see it through my shoe.
And anybody that had a foot injury that automatically put them in the wheelchair.
So I'm sitting in the wheelchair.
With a bloody.
Sock and shoe like the Curt Schilling red socks I still got the sock did not wash it it was a brand new I wear a brand new sock every race like I open up a new fresh pack of Nike socks that's.

1:58:40

Understanding.
So OK want one wore at one time.
It's in the shrine the.
Shrine.
With all my PR shoes that I have that are retired, like I keep all my shoes I have retired.
Put the time signature and date on there.

1:58:55

That's cool.
They ain't gonna sell anywhere.
In auction or anything when I pass but it's.
How do you know, Rob?
Too soon, Too soon.
You never know.
Sell yourself short.
Oh man.
Oh, thank you so much for doing this.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
It was, it was fun.

1:59:11

I definitely enjoyed it.
Did not expect to open up like that, but hey.
That's what I'll do to you.
It was a blast.
It was a blast.
Thank you.
Thank you for having.
Me and you got to tell Brandon.
He's next.
I guess I don't you want Brennan on there.
I know, I don't know what he's going to say.
No, he's a, he's a cool guy.

1:59:26

He's he's super, he's a super dad.
It's he does.
He does what?
Like he runs like I like I do but also does the mom duties in the morning like my wife.
So I give it to him.
He he has a lot on his plate too, so well.
Thank you.

1:59:42

Yeah.
Thank you to everybody who has listened and happy running.
Peace out everybody.
Bye.
If you enjoyed this Sandy Boy Productions podcast, please be sure to share rate review again on Instagram.
I'm Ally ALLYT, Brett Brett under score runs and also join me next week to hear from Christine Anderson, the creator of the organic pure Fuel sponsor that I talked about at the beginning of this podcast.

2:00:10


Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.