1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to episode 212 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,320 In this episode, we're going to talk with CJ Albertson. 3 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,240 This is the Marathon Running Podcast by Letty and Ryan from 4 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:20,960 We Got the Runs. Join us in our running community 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,640 for weekly content that is motivational, educational, and 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,640 inspirational and that the Marathon Running Podcast take 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,720 you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. 8 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,080 Hey runners, and welcome to episode 212. 9 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,440 My name is Letty and I am your host today flying solo because 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,320 it is summertime, our kids are officially out of school, and we 11 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,280 are traveling just a little bit this week. 12 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,480 We're off to the Florida Keys. If you guys know where that is, 13 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:53,560 great. If you don't, if you're 14 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,480 listening from Europe or anywhere else, it's the most 15 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:58,720 southern tip of the United States. 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,280 We're actually pretty close to Cuba here, so that's really 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,440 exciting. We've been here many times. 18 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,880 We keep coming back. We bring the boat when we go and 19 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,240 we just enjoy the ocean, some scuba diving, and yes, there 20 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,000 will be some running. Unfortunately, I don't love 21 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,560 running in the Keys just because the Keys basically is a bunch of 22 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,960 islands connected by a main road, kind of like an 23 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:24,720 Interstate. And since it is the Keys, nobody 24 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,280 really travels on that road that much unless you're a tourist or 25 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,760 workers or something like that. Anyway, Long story short, I've 26 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,520 had a couple instances where would be running in the morning 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,880 around 6:00 when it's pitch black dark and some cars would 28 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:43,160 either honk or you know, swerve over on purpose so I would 29 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:44,960 switch over to the other side of the road. 30 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:47,280 At the time, it just didn't feel very comfortable. 31 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,880 One time a car actually reversed and then turned around and I 32 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,480 switched roads again and I didn't love that. 33 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,800 So I'm going to try to run in our little resort area. 34 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,680 But again, you know, if you're trying to get more than one mile 35 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,120 and that's kind of hard, I'm going to bring some lights and 36 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:10,240 obviously all the things to fend off intruders and be smart about 37 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:11,760 it. Actually, now that I think more 38 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,120 about it, we are travelling with another family and sharing the 39 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,400 condo, so I can probably recruit my husband and take him running 40 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,040 with me. Anyway, anything besides running 41 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,480 will be super fun because it's literally paradise down there. 42 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,360 So with that, for you guys that are excited about today's 43 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:32,120 episode, we've had this episode sitting for a while and are 44 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,200 ready to play it. We had CJ Albertson on the 45 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,920 podcast, who is one of the greatest American runners out 46 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:41,400 there. He is absolutely amazing, super 47 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,760 humble. And without any further ado, 48 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:45,880 here is my conversation with him. 49 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,080 All right, so I'm on here with CJ Albertson. 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,560 CJ, thank you so much for joining me today. 51 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,920 Yeah, thanks for having me on. So let me let me start with 52 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:00,240 your, your racing and your your records. 53 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,640 You currently still hold two world records, right? 54 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:10,240 Yeah, yeah, the 50K world record and then the indoor marathon, 55 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,480 whatever you want to call it, world best or I don't know, that 56 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,280 one's more unofficial, but yeah. I mean, it's a world record, I 57 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,680 take it. But you know, when I read that, 58 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,720 at first I was like, oh, wow. And you know, when I read 59 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:25,640 indoors, I was like, wow, there's got to be a treadmill. 60 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:27,400 But it's not. So maybe tell us a little bit 61 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,480 about that. What's different about this? 62 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:35,520 And how come that this time is comparatively a lot slower than 63 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,600 a marathon? An outdoor marathon time? 64 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,960 Yeah, I, I mean, the biggest reason it's slower is because 65 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,080 not a lot of people do it. But what it is is it's a, it's a 66 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,600 marathon on an indoor track. So this, the one I did was at 67 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,080 the Armory in New York. So it's a 200 meter track. 68 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,640 So you have like, you know, about 211 laps for the marathon. 69 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,760 So yeah, it's just an event that not a lot of people do because, 70 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,120 you know, typically 5K is the longest event on an indoor 71 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:10,240 track. So, you know, doing 42.2 K on an 72 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,560 individual on an indoor track is a lot. 73 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,040 So it's not, it's not a test of a lot. 74 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:21,079 The day that we did that, it was like unseasonally warm in New 75 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:26,200 York. And so it it made the the inside 76 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,840 conditions like around like 70°, which isn't too hot, but for a 77 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:34,120 marathon, it's kind of warm. And especially inside, typically 78 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,240 a little bit more humid. But I mean, there's no sun, so 79 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,040 it doesn't feel, you know, it doesn't feel like 70° wood 80 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,200 outside. But it was a little bit warmer 81 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,280 than ideal. But yeah. 82 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:48,400 And then I don't know since then, I don't know how many 83 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,760 indoor marathons there's even been, but yeah. 84 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,640 But yeah, so, so that one, if you're lapping, you're going the 85 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:03,440 same way 211 times is that. We we started the first hour 86 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,960 going the opposite way of a track. 87 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:12,480 So what is that clock clockwise? Yeah. 88 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,320 And then and then we switched around and ran the normal way 89 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,200 after an hour. OK, so they basically kind of 90 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,800 make you stop and then wow, that's a tell me what goes on in 91 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,680 your mind Because, you know, when you're running a marathon 92 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,280 outside, it's nice. You're looking at different 93 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:27,080 things and it triggers different, you know, different 94 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:31,080 smells, different temperatures. But with that, you're just kind 95 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,440 of, I mean 200 meters is not very far. 96 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,040 Yeah, my wife always says that how I perceive things isn't 97 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,200 isn't normal, but I feel like it. 98 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,040 It doesn't matter. It's just like running, like 99 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,240 running is running. So like if it was practice or if 100 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,280 it was just like a train run, then yeah, it would be probably 101 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:55,320 extremely boring, you know, because you're just running in 102 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,160 in ovals or whatever. But but in a race it's like 103 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:00,960 you're in like a competition mode. 104 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,360 So like you're competing. And so all those other things 105 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,760 like don't really matter, like don't really go through your 106 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,320 head. I mean, sometimes the crowd and 107 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,440 the environment and like sometimes you notice things in 108 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,080 nature, but for the most part, like you're just racing. 109 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:15,600 So that's all you're really focused on. 110 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,280 And so yeah, I'm just like in that competitive mode. 111 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:21,920 So it doesn't matter if I'm, you know, were to be running on a 112 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,840 treadmill, just running straight for 26 miles, you know, running 113 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:30,040 on loop cores or running on like a, you know, of super scenic 114 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:31,520 route. Like it's all the same when it's 115 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,240 a race. So mentally I didn't have to do 116 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,240 anything or like keep myself focused or any of that. 117 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,760 It was just like arm racing. So it's, you know, it's a 118 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,000 marathon. And that's a good point too, 119 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,000 especially for you guys in the front of the pack, because, you 120 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,040 know, a lot of times you hear about marathons and people 121 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,880 taking the wrong turn and how you actually have to focus not 122 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,160 on just following people like we do, but also staying on the 123 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,040 course and pacing. Yeah. 124 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,400 I mean, typically in big marathons, like it's pretty 125 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:05,000 well, like it's hard to go the wrong way because it's, it's 126 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,240 super well marked and there's lead vehicles and just all this 127 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,400 stuff. So they make it, you know, so 128 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,320 they take a lot of the thinking out of it. 129 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,200 But yeah, I mean, the indoor, I mean, that was one nice part 130 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,240 about track is like you don't have to really think about 131 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,200 anything. You're just running in circles 132 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,320 and there's no changes in terrain. 133 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,480 There's no uneven footing or like potholes in the road. 134 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,560 It's just, you know, the same track service the whole way. 135 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,560 Were you able to count how many laps you were doing, or is that 136 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,280 something that just kind of went out the window? 137 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,040 No. They have a, they, we were 138 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,840 wearing chips or like chips on our bib. 139 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,680 So every time we would go around a lap it would show up on the 140 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,120 scoreboard. So and our split, our 200m split 141 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:50,400 would pop up on the scoreboard too. 142 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,200 So it was it was technology was counting for us. 143 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:55,280 That's nice. Yeah, it's kind of nice 'cause 144 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:57,840 then you get to really pace it too, right, 'cause it's 200 145 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,720 meters, you know? Yeah, you get feedback very 146 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,200 quickly. Yeah, not that I looked every 147 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,800 single lap, but yeah. Oh my gosh, yeah. 148 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,120 I can't imagine. OK, so then your Second World 149 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,760 record is the 50K world record that you broke in 2022. 150 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,400 So I know that a lot of marathoners don't go beyond the 151 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,720 marathon. What drew you to setting a 152 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,160 record in the 50K and what type of course was it? 153 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:29,560 So I had first done it during COVID in 2020, mostly because I 154 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,920 had done it in practice. Like I had ran 50 KS in 155 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,200 practice. And I remember one day I was 156 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,600 like, I wonder what like, is there a 50K world record? 157 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,799 And I looked it up and I was like, I pretty much just ran 158 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,200 that today and like just in a training run. 159 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,920 So it was kind of in the back of my mind like, oh, like I could 160 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:50,520 set the world record if it was if there was ever a reason to, I 161 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,520 guess. And then during COVID, there's 162 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,600 kind of nothing going on. And so I just kind of set up 163 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,480 this event with Brooks to do a 50K on, on the track at Buchanan 164 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:04,720 because it was easy to, we didn't have to certify a course 165 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:06,440 or anything. We really didn't have to do much 166 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,960 work for it. I mean, we had to do some things 167 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:11,000 like get a timer and get some officials out there. 168 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,000 But but yeah, it was fairly simple and gave me something to 169 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,640 do when there weren't, you know, many races going on. 170 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,160 And it was, it was kind of fun at that time. 171 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,760 It was just a world best. And then after that, World 172 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,240 Athletics categorize it as an event that you can have an 173 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,920 official world record in. So there's more standardized 174 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,160 protocols you have to follow to have a world record. 175 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,080 But basically now it's just recognized by World Athletics. 176 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:43,680 So yeah, so off in like I think 2021 my at the time world bets 177 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:49,040 got broken. And so then in 2022 I had had 178 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,920 like it was also in my contract, like I could get a bonus if I 179 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,960 set the 50K world record. So I was like, this is this kind 180 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:58,680 of, you know, be good on two things. 181 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:00,360 I can get my record back and make some money. 182 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,280 So that's primarily why I decided to do it. 183 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,800 And there was a 50K in San Francisco, which is about 3 184 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,720 hours for me. And it seemed like a decent 185 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:11,960 enough course. So I just kind of decided to do 186 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:13,880 it. And then obviously if it worked 187 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,960 out, I set the record. And it has not been broken 188 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,040 since. Yeah or yeah it hasn't. 189 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:23,720 OK, So what made you, you know, pick that distance and why do 190 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,680 you think is it that so many marathoners don't go beyond the 191 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:31,640 marathon distance? Well, I mean, it's it's really 192 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,840 the only distance after the marathon or it's the first 193 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,440 distance like the So yeah, it's just kind of like a natural 194 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:38,800 distance. It's like we're either going to 195 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:43,920 do the 50K or go to the 50 Miller and the, the 50 mile kind 196 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,200 of requires a little bit different type of training. 197 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:52,240 And I, I wasn't really ready or wanting to do that yet and would 198 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,440 have taken a little bit more on logistical planning. 199 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,560 But the 50K you can more or less keep your same marathon 200 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:02,240 training, or at least the way I marathon train. 201 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:07,680 All right, so then you know, let let me move on to the next 202 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:09,040 topic. I want to talk to you about your 203 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:14,040 unconventional training methods. And also you seem to kind of 204 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,320 approach racing different than even most amateur runners. 205 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:22,280 And, and what I mean is, you know, you went to Boston and you 206 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,560 stayed in the same room with your newborn, your seven month 207 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:28,200 old baby. You go to the Kenyan dinner 208 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,160 party where I saw you, you know, two days before racing, eating 209 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:37,200 Kenyan food. I think that I have, well, I 210 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:42,280 think, I think I am somewhat structured with my regiment. 211 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,760 I think I've just been able to find a balance of like, OK, 212 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,280 what, what matters and what doesn't. 213 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,600 And so like the things that that do matter, like that could 214 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:56,200 affect me or impact my race. Like I'm, I, I do my best to be 215 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,600 pretty careful about those. So you know, like like the day 216 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,480 before, usually like the day before the race. 217 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,400 So like, like I'm Boston race on Monday. 218 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,000 So like all of Sunday. Like the food that I'm eating is 219 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,280 like very plain. Like I'm basically just eating 220 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:16,360 like some like bread, like like you know, sourdough bread, like 221 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:20,760 whitish bread, white rice, maybe a little bit of meat, couple 222 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:25,120 pieces of fruit, some like Martin carbohydrate bars, just 223 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:29,840 like basically just like simple, like well, technically complex, 224 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,440 but kind of like simple type, easy to digest carbs, no fiber, 225 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,240 you know, I'm mostly just resting throughout the day. 226 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:40,280 I'm drinking like I'm like hydrating appropriately, having 227 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,720 some salt, you know, just like so all the things that like 228 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,000 matter, that can like physically affect me from my race, I'm like 229 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,480 taking care of those things. But some of us more like, I 230 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,760 don't know, superstitious things, I guess don't really 231 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,200 matter as much. And like with my daughter, like 232 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:00,480 like, I mean, I know my daughter. 233 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,880 So like she's typically is a really great sleeper. 234 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,880 So like if she was not a great sleeper, then she wouldn't have 235 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,200 been in my room. And also the room we had had 236 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:14,360 like a really I'm normally big closet for some reason. 237 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,080 Like it was, it was weird, but it was very big. 238 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,000 So her entire crib like fit in there really easily. 239 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,360 So she was actually like almost like she was in like a separate 240 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,240 room. And so and I have I sleep with 241 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:29,640 earplugs anyways, so I typically don't hear her. 242 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,640 So like she didn't affect me at all, but I knew that going in. 243 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,600 So like, there's not a lot of things that I leave to chance. 244 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:40,760 Yeah. Like like pretty much everything 245 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:45,360 that like could negatively impact me, I try to control that 246 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:49,560 beforehand. So I think it comes across as 247 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:53,560 I'm like very laid back, like going into race day and I, and I 248 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:57,280 am in a way, but it's also because all of the things that I 249 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:00,880 feel like I need to be controlled, I kind of already 250 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:03,240 controlled them or prepared for them in advance. 251 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,160 So then by the time I'm in race weekend, it's like, well, 252 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:08,200 everything that needs to be taken care of already is. 253 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,840 And so everything else is just like, you know, I can just just 254 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:14,880 whatever, just like go through and and be relaxed. 255 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,440 And is that how, how you approach your racing as well? 256 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,800 Like let's talk about Boston and what type of race strategy you 257 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,920 have, not, I guess not just for Boston, but any race when you go 258 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,400 into and do you have a plan A, Plan B and that type of thing. 259 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:32,440 Somewhat, yeah. I mean, I feel like it's the 260 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,600 same, like the more prepared that you are, the the less 261 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,360 worried you have to be about races. 262 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:43,000 You know, if you can, if you can handle maybe a little bit faster 263 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,040 paced or you can handle going out fast on downhills or you can 264 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,720 handle maybe picking it up late in the race. 265 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:54,000 Like if you're prepared to do a variety of different things then 266 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,200 or like, or prepared to run in a variety of different weathers, 267 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,680 for example, then there's not as much like there's not as much 268 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,160 worry because like the race doesn't have to go a certain way 269 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,320 or the weather doesn't have to be a certain thing. 270 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,840 It's like you've already done the work, so you can just show 271 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,160 up and whatever it is or however the race goes, like you're 272 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,800 relatively fine and everyone's always going to have, like, 273 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,600 their preferences or what they're probably best at. 274 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,320 But you try to make that. You try to make it as even as 275 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,520 you can. And so that's what I tried to 276 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:26,440 do. Yeah. 277 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:28,800 For the marathon, I don't feel like there's as much like, 278 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,320 complexity. So I don't know. 279 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,800 The races are fairly relaxing to me because like, they're not it, 280 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,680 you know, it's not like a 1500 meter race where it's like, you 281 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,320 know, I need the race to be a certain pace because I'm not 282 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:44,800 like the best kicker in the field or, you know, there's just 283 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,920 so much different tactics that are like kind of sometimes 284 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,160 uncontrollable. And you still try to train for 285 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,800 those two. But the marathon's a little bit 286 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,880 more straightforward. And so like for this year in 287 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:03,080 Boston, I didn't necessarily need the race to be like to go a 288 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:09,560 certain way, but I, I didn't know that like I needed to not 289 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,000 run super fast, like the first five or six miles just 'cause I, 290 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,160 I didn't feel like I was in like really, really good shape to 291 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:17,560 where I could handle going out really fast. 292 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,800 So I did like consciously, you know, try to run slower or like 293 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,600 more within myself, the first hand fill of miles. 294 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:27,920 And then I got a little bit lucky that there was a good tack 295 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,280 that I could that I could run with. 296 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,720 Yeah, there was a second pack that formed, right, Even though 297 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:38,240 we weren't really able to see that on on television that, you 298 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,720 know, you had the first men lead pack and then there was a second 299 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,240 pack. Yeah, Yeah. 300 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,840 So there's a pretty good group with us and and some pretty 301 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,680 good, you know, really like strong runners in that pack. 302 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:51,960 So I was, I was comfortable there and that, you know, that 303 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,160 allowed me to run kind of the pace that I wanted to also run 304 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,160 with people and just kind of, you know, follow along and get 305 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,080 me through the 1st 10 miles or so of the race. 306 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:02,800 And then, even though you didn't feel like you were in the best 307 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,440 shape, you PRD. Yeah, yeah, no, it was, I mean, 308 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,760 I, I wasn't in like bad shape or like it was just like I didn't 309 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,640 think I was in better than ever shape. 310 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,480 So, you know, sometimes you're like, you're like, oh, this is, 311 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:19,960 you know, this is the best shape of my life. 312 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,760 I can do this or do that. And I was kind of like, I'm not, 313 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:24,760 I mean, I'm in good shape. Like I'm close to where I've 314 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,760 been in the past, but I wasn't in any extra special sort of 315 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,880 shape. So I just needed to, you know, 316 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,960 realistically I wasn't going to do anything like like too far 317 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:37,760 outside of what I had done before. 318 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,000 So I thought I could PR by, you know, like a small amount or 319 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,600 marginal amount, which is, you know, which is what ultimately 320 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:47,760 what I did. Yeah, yeah. 321 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:55,760 All right, so now from our sponsor, Tifosi Optics. 322 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,640 Tifosi, the brand name is the Italian word for superfan, and 323 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,600 that's who they make the eyewear for. 324 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:03,880 Their slogan is Live Your Passion. 325 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:07,360 They have a ton of different glasses on their website, which 326 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:11,440 are anything from polarized sunglasses to bike riding 327 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,040 sunglasses, really cool designs. 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And just to go back to your 359 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,240 races and maybe you can explain that a little bit to our 360 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,080 listeners because we were all following the Olympic trials and 361 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,240 who's going to be selected and who's qualifying and you ran CIM 362 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:13,840 and then you the course wasn't qualified for something and then 363 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,680 you had to run Mexico City. Maybe you can explain that a 364 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,200 little bit. Yeah. 365 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:24,880 So I ran CIM really kind of just for, for fun. 366 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:26,880 I mean, it's close, it's close to my house. 367 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:28,440 It's about two and a half hour drive. 368 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:32,800 And I could also make a good amount of money in the race. 369 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:35,720 And I just thought it was good racing experience because it was 370 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,960 a race that I thought I could win, especially like, but I, you 371 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,160 know, but I'd have to like race in my clothes. 372 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,120 Well, so it was kind of just like practicing a little bit 373 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,960 like, all right, the last like 5 miles, you know, how do you 374 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,080 figure out how to win a race? Because that's kind of what the, 375 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,680 you don't like the Olympic trials kind of plays out like 376 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:54,560 that. Like how do you, you know, 377 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:56,480 figure out how to be third or, or win? 378 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,240 So that's why I did that race. And then I knew it wasn't going 379 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:06,000 to count for the basically the minimum Olympic standards of 380 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:11,480 2/11/30 was the time that if your country had secured an 381 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:16,440 Olympic qualifying spot, they could, they could replace you 382 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,680 like they could use you to fill that spot, even if you weren't 383 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,120 the one that earned that initial spot. 384 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,400 But you, they couldn't just replace you with anyone. 385 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,560 They can only replace you with people that had run at least two 386 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:31,320 11:30 on a qualifying course. And even though I had run under 387 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:35,800 211 thirty many times, I had never, I hadn't done it in the 388 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,040 qualification window on a course that was certified or, or that 389 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,760 met the the standards. I guess so. 390 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,920 Oh, so that's why I went to Baja, Baja California and Mexico 391 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,960 and that race was a World Athletic certified course that 392 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,440 met qualifications. So yeah. 393 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,880 And did you know that you were going to do that, or was that 394 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,120 kind of like another thing that you winged? 395 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:11,760 I had looked into the course about month or six weeks prior 396 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,120 and then, but I didn't decide to do it. 397 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:19,640 And then Wednesday, was it either Tuesday or Wednesday 398 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,440 before the race, I decided to do it. 399 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,960 So yeah, basically it was a a last minute I, I decided about 400 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,120 like three to four days before the race that I was going to do 401 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,040 it. OK, But it's kind of like what 402 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:36,480 you said earlier that you are still a planner, you still have, 403 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,920 you know, you're not just completely winging everything. 404 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,240 You still have that kind of in mind and then you just decided 405 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,680 to do it last minute. Maybe talk to me about your 406 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,520 recovery because it's it's difficult for average runners to 407 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:51,240 think, OK, you're running a marathon, but you're not just 408 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,600 running it for fun, you're actually running it to almost 409 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,040 your best potential. And then you're turning around 410 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,120 and doing it again within a week. 411 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:06,160 Yeah, I think the recovery part is mainly due to training. 412 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,800 So like, I mean, I, I don't, I'm sure there's like genetics and, 413 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,520 and different things to, to recovery, but for the most part, 414 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,840 it's like you, you, the, the length it takes you to recover 415 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:23,920 something is largely dependent on how damaged your body is. 416 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:29,000 And that's largely dependent on, you know, how, how different is 417 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,920 what the activity you did versus how you've prepared for it. 418 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,600 So I mean, I've been obviously not like running the type of 419 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:41,720 mileage I am now, but I've been running since I was been running 420 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:43,280 since I was 10. Yeah. 421 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,640 So I've been running, you know, basically for 20 years and I've 422 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,120 done like tons of long runs. And like when I prepare for for 423 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:53,240 marathons, it's like when I actually go out and race the 424 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,720 marathon, yes, I'm racing like 100, you know, close or pretty 425 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,080 much 100% effort. But it's not too much different 426 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,600 than what I've done so many times before because most of the 427 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:10,040 times when I do my long runs, I'm running, you know, maybe 428 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,960 maybe 10 seconds per mile slower than my marathon pace. 429 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:15,600 And so that's like that's pretty close. 430 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:21,880 And it's a fairly close, you know, physiological effort or 431 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,040 like the damage on your body is like very similar. 432 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,280 So then when I'm doing a marathon, it's not like this 433 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:29,840 like thing I've never done before. 434 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,240 It's like pretty close to what I do almost every week, you know, 435 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,840 maybe it's just a few miles further or like a little bit 436 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,600 faster. So I think it's more that like 437 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,920 what people feel after a marathon. 438 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,360 I'm not necessarily feeling that it's kind of like weightlifting. 439 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:51,600 Like if you haven't lifted much, you know, maybe maybe you've 440 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,560 been in the weight room, but not a whole lot. 441 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,880 And then you go with your friend and you just do some, you know, 442 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,760 crazy hard routine like, like, let's call it the marathon, like 443 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,320 weightlifting routine. Like you're going to be 444 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,720 incredibly sore. It's, you know, might take you 445 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:07,960 10 days just to walk normally again. 446 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,720 But if you, but if you've been lifting for like 5 years and you 447 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,640 do like, you may, maybe you Max out or do a really hard workout, 448 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:17,760 like you're going to be a little sore for a couple days, but 449 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:23,000 you've done it so much that you know four or five days later 450 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,640 you're relatively good to go. OK. 451 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,320 So, you know, just to put it in perspective, the type of 452 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,120 training, type of long run that you do is a lot different than 453 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,280 what most coaches give people that have 95 jobs and everything 454 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,800 obviously, right. I mean, it's a fairly common 455 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,320 thing. Like I don't know if, I mean, if 456 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:48,360 you're ever like on Strava and just kind of finding random or 457 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:52,680 semi random, like, you know, Kenyan athletes. 458 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,440 I mean, a lot of like you'll, you'll find like like it'll just 459 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,160 be some random untitled run, but it'll be like, you know, 38 460 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:06,560 kilometers at, you know, 5, 15520 pace, but that's at like 461 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:08,760 8000 feet of altitude or something. 462 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,440 So like they're doing, they're all doing basically the same 463 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:17,160 thing that I'm doing. Renata Panora describes that 464 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,320 Helen O'berry like with, you know, with, with their club 465 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:25,560 under, under Ritzenheim, Like she, I mean, her public long 466 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,080 runs, they're not at quite as high of altitude, but I mean, 467 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,840 she's doing really fast long run, like really fast 25 miles, 468 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:37,920 pretty close to marathon pace. Most of the Japanese, like I 469 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,600 mean, most probably most professional marathon runners 470 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,160 are actually training that way. And for like a lot of maybe like 471 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,560 more, I don't know, I guess you don't amateur runners. 472 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:53,080 It's like when they first start out in marathons, building the 473 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,840 distance is is a challenge. So like you don't necessarily 474 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,640 need to run them super hard because if you try to, you 475 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,440 usually end up not getting the full distance in. 476 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,760 So like the goal initially is to get the distance in and then you 477 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:07,280 can work down from speed from there. 478 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,240 But like after you've done, you know, a couple marathons, then 479 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:14,880 typically people will start to transition or, or they can get 480 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,400 better if they transition to like, OK, like more of my long 481 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,200 runs are, you know, maybe maybe 20 seconds slower than marathon 482 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,040 pace. And then and maybe the last few 483 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,120 are like at marathon pace are close. 484 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:30,480 So like most of the people that I will coach, if they're 485 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,760 experienced marathoners will, you know, maybe not right at the 486 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,880 start of the block, but as they're like getting into good 487 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,240 shape, they're doing lots of their long runs, maybe like a 488 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,800 2022 Miller, you know, at like 1520 seconds slower than their 489 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:48,080 goal marathon pace. And they typically do pretty 490 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:49,720 well. And there's not a whole 491 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,160 typically there's not tons of surprises in the marathons. 492 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:54,760 Like maybe you know, if they have a bad race, it'll be like 5 493 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,080 or 6 minutes slower than their P like than their goal time. 494 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,360 But it's not like you know, they're it, it, they typically 495 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:06,400 have a small window of like, you know, where their performance is 496 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,400 because it's it's predictable because we've done it so many 497 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,080 times. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 498 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,040 And I mean, I guess since we're already talking about you as a 499 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:17,800 coach a little bit, what are your, what do your easy runs 500 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,560 look like? Are you a big fan of polarizing 501 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:24,560 runs? Yeah, I mean, my easy runs are 502 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:26,280 just, you know, whatever they are. 503 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,000 So like I don't, I don't have like a a preset pace I'm trying 504 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,520 to run. Actually, I don't even have a 505 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,720 preset distance. Usually I just kind of go out 506 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:38,240 and run and stop when I stop but or whenever I happen to get back 507 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,640 to the house. But yeah, I mean, I typically 508 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,480 like I'm, I'm, I live at sea level here and it's pretty flat. 509 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,840 So a lot of times my runs will end up being around like 620 510 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:53,880 mile pace, you know, which is about a minute and 25 seconds 511 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,200 slower than marathon pace. So it's relatively, you know, 512 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,760 pretty easy. But I'm not, some days it's 513 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,000 faster, some days it's slower. Like I don't, I don't, I don't 514 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,040 particularly care what it is. It just is whatever I run. 515 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,160 How do you say disciplined? You know, I'm wondering about 516 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,320 your motivation. If you don't prescribe yourself 517 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,240 distances and you just go out because you know what's best for 518 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,880 you, how do you keep in the game and stay motivated? 519 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,240 Is it the goals or milestones that you're setting for yourself 520 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,160 in the future, or how do you keep your head in it? 521 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:29,240 Yeah. I mean, discipline and 522 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:31,360 motivation are definitely different. 523 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:38,440 Motivation is, I think, somewhat uncontrollable. 524 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,640 I mean, you can do things that can help enhance your 525 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:44,800 motivation, but sometimes I think motivation is a little bit 526 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,960 of a of a temporary feeling. So it's how we practically 527 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,520 describe it, whereas discipline is just kind of doing things 528 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,120 regardless of your feelings or regardless of your motivation in 529 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,240 the current moment. And so my discipline isn't, 530 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:04,360 isn't always good, but it, it's hard because I feel like for the 531 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:12,440 marathon, because it's so energy demanding that I, I think 532 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,920 sometimes if you're, if you're over discipline, like if you 533 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:21,120 really are trying to stick to a plan or a preset amount of 534 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:27,680 mileage or intensity, then it, it's a lot easier to overtrain. 535 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,760 And so it's hard to find that, that balance of like, OK, am I 536 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,920 being, is it good to be disciplined here and do this 537 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,360 thing anyways? Or is it actually better if I 538 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,840 just don't do it? Like I don't run or like I, I 539 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:45,960 run less or I, you know, cut this work out short or in half 540 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,720 or don't even do it and just run easy and come back the next day. 541 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:54,680 So like there's no real answer. Like, I mean, you really don't 542 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,920 know, like, OK, what is the actual best physiological 543 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,560 decision for me right now? I think over the, over the 544 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,240 course of a long term, like that's like tracking your 545 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,200 training is helpful because over the long term it's like you do 546 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,000 have to like train at a certain level. 547 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,440 Like you have to, you know, when you look back and like, oh, I 548 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,400 only ran, you know, I only averaged running like 40 miles a 549 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,480 week these past 12 weeks. Well, then my marathon's 550 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,000 probably not going to go very well. 551 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,040 Like I made the decision to not run too many times and it just 552 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:28,200 wasn't good. Like, but if your overall long 553 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:33,160 term averages are kind of where they need to be, then then you 554 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:37,080 can you have that kind of freedom to like allow for when 555 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,600 you aren't motivated or you're just feeling tired or whatever. 556 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,160 Then sometimes you can, you know, you can't just kind of 557 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,560 listen to that because maybe that is what your body, what's 558 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,920 best for your body. But it's it's a hard balance 559 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,120 because you can easily just convince yourself, oh, you know, 560 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:53,640 I feel bad. That means I really need to 561 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:55,000 rest. And then you never turn rain, 562 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,840 you never run, you never do what you need to do. 563 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,080 So yeah, I don't know that I have it perfect. 564 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:04,400 I don't know. And and some seasons are 565 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,960 probably better than others as far as that balance goes. 566 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,680 I mean, obviously it probably helps for you to know this is 567 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:13,440 your career and if you, you know, if you, it's like not 568 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,480 going to do your job right. If your job is to get a certain 569 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:21,400 case done, if you work somewhere else and then you just don't do 570 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,000 it, then you know you're not going to perform well on your 571 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:25,880 performance tests or whatever, I guess. 572 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,000 Yeah. Well, and it's, I mean, I guess 573 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:32,400 part of the like motivation or discipline is like, I don't it, 574 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,600 it's kind of like embarrassing to run really slow. 575 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,840 So that's like, I don't want to, you know, say I always want to 576 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,840 be relatively and it's not fun to be to not run fast. 577 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:50,880 So but yeah, it is it is hard to sometimes like the motivation 578 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:56,360 isn't there, but I feel like the maybe the the fear of 579 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,920 embarrassment is, is sometimes enough to stay in in decent 580 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,800 shape. I guess everyone follows CJ on 581 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,680 Strava to keep that motivation going. 582 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,360 All right, so all right, so back to you being a coach. 583 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,200 So you're a coach. Who do you coach? 584 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,400 Do you also besides your team, coach, middle of the Packers or 585 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:17,840 who? Who are your clients? 586 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:24,200 Yeah, so my like my, I guess my career job is like I'm a, I'm a 587 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,080 professor in Community College, cross country and track coach. 588 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:29,800 So I'm at Clovis Community College. 589 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,840 Yeah, again, coaching cross country and track, yeah. 590 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,840 And so that's like those are all, you know, college age 591 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:39,880 students or first couple of years of college. 592 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,560 And then I coach kind of like, I guess like my side job is like 593 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,800 I'll coach like online coaching is through team run, run. 594 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:54,040 And that's just yeah, just basically anybody marathoners. 595 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:58,080 But some people are just, you know, doing their first 5K or I 596 00:33:58,080 --> 00:33:59,840 mean, it's kind of, it's kind of a wide range of things. 597 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:03,280 But yeah, primarily it's just just people that are just 598 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,640 working jobs, have families and they want to accomplish some 599 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,560 sort of running goal. And your training philosophy 600 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:13,320 doesn't vary obviously depend on who your person is that you 601 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,920 coach. The training will vary, you 602 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,960 know, based on based on a person's experience, what they 603 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:25,040 can do, maybe what their, you know, injury history is or 604 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:26,800 their, their current life circumstance. 605 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:31,000 But yeah, I mean, generally there's the same like 606 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,880 philosophies for, for running the marathon. 607 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,280 It's like these are like traits that you kind of need to have 608 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:37,520 and training that you need to do. 609 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,239 But how you get there is is different. 610 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,320 OK, perfect for runners that are middle of the Packers. 611 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,400 What are your biggest mistakes that you see? 612 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:52,280 If you could tell people, hey, you're a new runner or you're a 613 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,840 seasoned runner, but try to avoid blink, what would that be? 614 00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:58,840 Yeah, maybe like they won't have like they won't have like those 615 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:00,840 speed workouts because like they're running a marathon. 616 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,720 So they kind of just like run just like basically distance 617 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:06,480 runs every day. And they kind of like neglect, 618 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:11,080 like the speed work part or, or yeah, doing doing like all of 619 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:15,920 their long runs, like slow I guess is a big factor because 620 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:20,880 like if you never do a long run fast, then like it doesn't make 621 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,680 sense that you're going to be able to do that in a race. 622 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:26,480 OK, that makes sense. And then let's talk about 623 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,400 specific mental training techniques. 624 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,120 What are your things that you do when you run, and what do you 625 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,360 tell your athletes that is important to do while you're 626 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,800 running the marathon? I mean, for the most part, I'm 627 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:40,400 just like, I'm just trying to stay just kind of stay relaxed. 628 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:46,400 Like where I'm not, I'd like anytime you're in kind of like a 629 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,440 stressful state or kind of like panicked or anxious, like you're 630 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,560 not going to get the best physical performance. 631 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,160 So I think just you just want to keep yourself like in a state of 632 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,240 mind where like you feel relaxed, you feel comfortable. 633 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:04,160 It may be hard like that may be difficult, but like you feel, 634 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,120 you still feel like you're in like a familiar state. 635 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:08,720 Like you, you've done this before. 636 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:10,560 Yeah. Basically just like, I mean, 637 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:17,040 just trying to be like relaxed, not thinking too much and just 638 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:21,200 really being in a state of like that, like you've done this 639 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,760 before. And so like whatever, there's 640 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:25,560 not really like a correct way to think. 641 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:29,480 It's just like whatever, like you're you, I feel like whatever 642 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,360 you think the most. Like in training, you know, if 643 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,920 you, if you have certain things that you think about, if you 644 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,800 don't think at all, I think there's like some science. 645 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:43,120 There's like the brain does best when it's like it's, it's, I 646 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:48,000 don't know, like it's in like a familiar state or like it's, 647 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:50,840 yeah, it's just doing something that it's done before. 648 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,920 So yeah, I just tried to like, like for me personally, like I 649 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:01,240 just try to treat racing like it's, you know, it's similar to, 650 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:07,280 you know, to how like I run in practice or in training or, or 651 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:11,920 in like in previous races. Like I know that even when I've 652 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,800 not felt good early on in the race, like I've ended up, you 653 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:19,080 know, continuing on and finishing really well. 654 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:22,960 And so like it's like no matter what happens in the race, I can 655 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,640 like draw back on like, oh, like I've been in this position 656 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:27,960 before. Like I felt this way or thought 657 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:31,440 this before and it was fine. So like, I don't like there's 658 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,400 nothing there's no like there's not really like as much 659 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,840 uncertainty or as much to be anxious about or worried about 660 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:42,320 or like maybe get down about because like you've, you've 661 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:48,520 somewhat experienced it before or you just kind of tell 662 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,920 yourself that you have sometimes when it's like your first rate, 663 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,200 like it is harder though, when it's your first race, like if 664 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,800 it's your first marathon, you know, it is going to be more 665 00:37:57,800 --> 00:37:59,720 difficult because you haven't had that experience. 666 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:01,400 But you've done long runs in practice. 667 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,960 So like you've been, you've probably been in moments in a 668 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,040 long run where you're like, I really don't want to finish. 669 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,160 I don't think I can finish whatever. 670 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:14,120 But then like you did like you, you, you did it, you know, you 671 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:15,720 finished the run and you stayed alive. 672 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:20,000 So like, it's, yeah, you're kind of, for the most part, you're 673 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,640 trying not to talk to yourself too much because you kind of 674 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:24,760 want a quiet mind. But then when you need to, 675 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,920 you're able to kind of like be like, oh, like, OK, this isn't 676 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:29,600 that crazy. I've done this before. 677 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:32,080 It's really not that hard, even though it feels like it. 678 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:33,600 And then you just kind of keep going. 679 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,840 I like that. Thank you so much for for your 680 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,080 time and everything and what's what's next for you? 681 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:47,600 I'm definitely going to run a fall marathon, so I I've pretty 682 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:51,320 much had it picked out and just not technically supposed to like 683 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:55,160 announce it yet. But yeah, a fall marathon will 684 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:58,560 be my next like big thing. Right now I'm just like resting 685 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:00,760 and not really doing anything. Yeah. 686 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:02,480 What was your recovery like after Boston? 687 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:07,600 How much time did you take off? I didn't like fully take time 688 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:11,080 off. I've just been just like very, 689 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:14,400 very casually running. So like I'm not even back into 690 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,080 like training right now. Like I'm running, but like very, 691 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:20,680 very easy, very casually, just like kind of with my team like 692 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:25,520 topping in and like some of their like runs and pacing, some 693 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:28,400 workouts and stuff. But I'm definitely not like back 694 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,760 to like training. I'm just kind of randomly 695 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:33,400 running. That's awesome. 696 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:37,400 I had AI trained for like a long time, like from like last like 697 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:40,600 August or so all the way up until Boston, 'cause I had 698 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:44,000 those, you know, winter races and then the Olympic trials and 699 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,080 then Boston. So I've been like pretty much 700 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:50,360 training for a while. So I feel like I can take kind 701 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:53,240 of a more extended break, at least mental break where I'm not 702 00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:55,880 really specifically doing anything. 703 00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,040 Yeah, I'm sure that helps and and that'll, you know, get you 704 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:01,760 fired back up again when it's time to really start doing your 705 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:04,400 workouts. Yeah, yeah, definitely. 706 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:07,080 All right. Well, thank you so much. 707 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,680 I appreciate your time. Yeah, Yeah, that's great. 708 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:12,200 Thanks for having me inside for this new. 709 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,560 Show All right, so that was my conversation with CJ Albertson. 710 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,600 What an amazing person he is super inspiring. 711 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,200 And who would have known that he is available to be your running 712 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:28,520 coach, right? You guys can jump right on that. 713 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:31,720 I'm gonna link everything that we heard in this episode into 714 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:34,960 our show notes. Stay tuned for next week's 715 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:36,640 episode. Next week, we're going to talk 716 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,920 about what you can do during your offseason. 717 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:43,840 So if you're not quite training for your marathon yet, what do 718 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:47,840 you do in offseason to, you know, maybe increase your base 719 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,920 and become a better runner once your training picks up again? 720 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:52,880 And that conversation we're going to have with the head 721 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:55,800 coach of the LA Marathon, Coach David Levine. 722 00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,440 So until next time, have a great week of fun. 723 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:05,480 Thanks for tuning in. For more information Ant 724 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:07,400 Marathon Running News, please head to 725 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:12,760 www.marathonrunningpodcast.com and we'll be back next week. 726 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:27,920 Are you looking for the perfect apparel that mirrors your love 727 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:30,800 for running? Look no further than Run Swag, 728 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:33,400 the go to store by Runners forerunners. 729 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:37,000 From witty Tees to hoodies that commemorate your marathon majors 730 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:40,520 to crops that get you motivated, Run Swags got you covered. 731 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,600 Discover the perfect blend of comfort and style. 732 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:47,760 Visit www.runswag.com. Run Swag. 733 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:49,880 There's something for every runner.