1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,600
This episode has been sponsored 
by a generation. 

2
00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,640
You can more about our sponsor 
later on in the show. 

3
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,680
You're listening to episode 196 
of the Marathon Running Podcast.

4
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,720
In this episode, we're going to 
gain some insight from a running

5
00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:22,280
coach. 
This is the Marathon Running 

6
00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,840
Podcast by Letty and Ryan from 
We Got The Runs. 

7
00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:28,120
Join us in our running community
for weekly content that is 

8
00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,960
motivational, educational and 
inspirational and that the 

9
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,760
Marathon Running podcast take 
you from the starting line to 

10
00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:43,840
the finish line and beyond. 
Hey runners, and welcome to 

11
00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,800
episode 196. 
My name is Letty, my name is 

12
00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,800
Ryan, and we are your host of 
the Marathon Running Podcast, a 

13
00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:51,800
weekly podcast on all things 
running. 

14
00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,600
Ryan, how are you doing today? 
I'm doing well. 

15
00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,280
How about you? 
I'm doing OK. 

16
00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:58,120
So it's a tough week for the 
running community, huh? 

17
00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,520
It really has been. 
So as you guys know, last Sunday

18
00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,160
we tragically lost the world 
record holder for the marathon 

19
00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,080
distance, Calvin Kiptum and his 
coach, Haki Simana Jeeves, in a 

20
00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,600
car accident in Kenya. 
And that's just really crazy, 

21
00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,640
because his world record he had 
set at the Chicago Marathon last

22
00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:16,640
year. 
It was just ratified last week. 

23
00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,240
He was planning on running a 
fast spring marathon, 

24
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,240
potentially break those two 
hours. 

25
00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,160
And he was so young, he was 24 
years old. 

26
00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,200
It's just absolutely crazy. 
Yeah, I've heard that traffic in

27
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,360
Kenya is really bad and car 
accidents are pretty common. 

28
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,400
I have no experience to that, 
but that's what someone was 

29
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,080
saying, so. 
Yeah, apparently he drove into a

30
00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,320
ditch and then they both died. 
I kind of looked on YouTube and 

31
00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,960
saw the wreckage of the car and 
it just looked horrible. 

32
00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,320
It's always sad, you know, when 
somebody dies tragically. 

33
00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:47,800
But it's also, you know, it's 
tough because you'll never see 

34
00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,280
how fast he might get or would 
have gotten. 

35
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,000
If he was already world record 
holder once, he might have 

36
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,720
improved. 
No, absolutely. 

37
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,520
And we've just been discussing 
on another podcast that that we 

38
00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:59,920
were pre recording. 
We were talking about his 

39
00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:03,080
training and how many miles he 
runs and all that stuff and how 

40
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,280
much potential he really had. 
So that's that's crazy. 

41
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,840
Life is short sometimes. 
It is, so you gotta make the 

42
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,600
most of it. 
Now, on a more positive note, we

43
00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,080
have a quick sound bite to play 
for you guys from a previous 

44
00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,040
podcast guest, Sophie Shunk. 
As you guys remember, we 

45
00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,080
interviewed Sophie after she 
qualified for the Olympic Trial 

46
00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,400
marathon at CIM. 
She is a type one diabetic 

47
00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:32,040
runner and went to the trials, 
finished the trials and she had 

48
00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,000
a little bit to say about her 
experience at the trials. 

49
00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:36,320
That's cool. 
You got her back on, Yeah. 

50
00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,480
That's cool. 
She was actually on vacation in 

51
00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,560
the mountains, so it's kind of 
nice to see that runners take 

52
00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,480
their training very serious and 
then afterwards they can also 

53
00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,200
vacation and take some time off 
from running. 

54
00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:48,440
So you want to get into it? 
Yes. 

55
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,040
So I'll play that sound bite 
now. 

56
00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,320
All right. 
So I'm back on with Sophie 

57
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,520
Shank, who has been previously 
on and told us all about her 

58
00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,600
journey to the trials, qualified
at CIM and ran the trials. 

59
00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,640
So huge congratulations to that 
again. 

60
00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:05,640
How are you feeling? 
It's been a week. 

61
00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,800
Yeah, I it's been a up and down 
week I think as we expect after 

62
00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,160
a marathon and the post marathon
Blues. 

63
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,400
But you know, I and that piece 
of that I knew, I think for the 

64
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,120
days leading up, it wasn't going
to be a race day for me. 

65
00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:24,080
I had some shin pain going on 
and just was feeling pretty 

66
00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,400
unfortunately over trained even 
though we tried to cut back my 

67
00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,400
mileage and and whatnot after 
the other two marathons. 

68
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,360
But just sometimes it's 
inevitable and and you learn. 

69
00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,240
So I tried to make the most of 
the race day and just go out 

70
00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,400
there and and like I wasn't even
sure if I could start but I was 

71
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,520
like you know what? 
I deserve to finish, even if 

72
00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:48,160
it's not close to what I am 
capable of running time wise and

73
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:49,840
ended up being. 
Really. 

74
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,480
I'm glad that I did, even though
it was a hard decision to make. 

75
00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,880
But I met a lot of people on the
way and and other girls with 

76
00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,120
type one diabetes reached out to
me and people were on the chorus

77
00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:03,480
that had diabetes. 
That was really cool. 

78
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:05,480
That's so awesome. 
I mean to. 

79
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,360
Still just say I think digesting
all of that this week. 

80
00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,640
Yeah, it's a lot because we 
talked to you last, it was a 

81
00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,240
month ago, was right after CIM, 
right after you had called the 

82
00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,279
fight. 
And then I know I had asked you 

83
00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,560
the question, oh, is this going 
to be a fun run? 

84
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,320
Because in my head I'm like, oh,
it's a victory that. 

85
00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,280
But nobody that is at your level
thinks that way. 

86
00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:25,960
Everyone is like, oh hell no, 
I'm training for this and I'm 

87
00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:29,400
going in hard. 
So then you said you bulked up 

88
00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,800
on miles and that's probably 
where the over training 

89
00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,200
happened. 
You know, I I think it was just 

90
00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,560
the back-to-back to back 
marathon cycles because I did 

91
00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,920
New York and then Cam and I 
actually felt pretty good after 

92
00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,680
Cam for a couple weeks. 
And so that's when we talked and

93
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,240
I I was hopeful that I could 
race them. 

94
00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,640
But then I think what happened 
is, is I hit a couple like 

95
00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,840
another 20 mile or and then it 
just kind of started. 

96
00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:57,000
Once you start getting to that 
point of like the bodies going 

97
00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,960
the other direction, it's really
hard to stop it and keep some 

98
00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:03,600
fitness. 
So I I tried to keep some 

99
00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,080
fitness as best I could, but the
body was telling me, you you 

100
00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,360
you've done like 80 mile weeks 
for four or plus months. 

101
00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,760
Like we're ready to rest. 
Oh my gosh, that's crazy. 

102
00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,160
And and when we're saying, you 
know, you finished last at the 

103
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,880
trials, but your last is faster 
than I looked it up, I think the

104
00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:26,000
percentage is 97% of runners in 
in the world. 

105
00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,400
So what was your finishing time?
It was 3/21, right? 

106
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,200
Somewhere around there I I 
stopped looking at my wife 

107
00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,160
because I didn't want to get it 
in my head. 

108
00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,600
I think it was 321, you know, I 
I just knew I I had to just get 

109
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,000
through it and enjoy it as best 
I could and and embrace the 

110
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,920
crowds. 
I mean, well, as average runners

111
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,800
tattoo that number on our 
shoulders and stuff and here you

112
00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,000
are. 
But here's the thing, you 

113
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,120
finished it. 
Whereas a lot of people who 

114
00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,480
didn't feel it that day dropped 
out, which you know, would be 

115
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:00,800
the easiest way. 
I mean, I'm not, I'm not 

116
00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:02,120
shaming. 
And I mean, obviously if you're 

117
00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:03,880
at that level, you know why 
you're doing what. 

118
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,120
But it is obviously easier to 
drop out than to keep pushing 

119
00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,480
and you keep you kept pushing, 
which is super inspiring to us. 

120
00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,160
So maybe tell us a little bit 
about what made you keep pushing

121
00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,400
and why did you want to finish 
that race, knowing that for that

122
00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,200
race you weren't on the front? 
Yeah, well, I think if anyone, 

123
00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,560
like family, friends know me, if
I'm going to start something, 

124
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,000
I'm going to finish it, even if 
unless my legs are like broken 

125
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,880
or something takes me off the 
curves. 

126
00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,320
So I think that was my, it's 
always been my mentality and 

127
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,320
this one was a tough one because
I knew I would be dead last. 

128
00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,960
And that's something hard to 
swallow when you're not used to 

129
00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,640
that position. 
But I I really, I think it was 

130
00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,560
the the people I saw on the 
chorus like the girls and the 

131
00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,800
the individuals and and the boys
that reached out to me with type

132
00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,680
one that they said they were 
rooting for me and thought it 

133
00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,040
was so cool that there was a 
type one in the race and asked 

134
00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,040
like about like the heat 
affecting my belchers. 

135
00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,800
I'm like no, you know what we'll
find out and I'll report back 

136
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,440
how it goes. 
And so just wanting to do it for

137
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,960
like bigger than myself and and 
it wasn't my time to race. 

138
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,320
I think it was my time to for me
to like kind of be humbled by 

139
00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:17,080
the marathon and just, yeah, 
finished and learn other things 

140
00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,160
right. 
And just enjoy being amongst the

141
00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,480
best in like a crowd. 
That was insane. 

142
00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,920
I I know you saw it. 
Like, I've never been in 

143
00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,320
anything like it. 
My family kept asking, did you 

144
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:27,440
see us? 
And I'm like, well, where were 

145
00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,360
you? 
And they were like, where 

146
00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,280
there's the most people. 
I'm like, no, you don't. 

147
00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,520
You realize how loud it is that 
you're in the middle of it. 

148
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,560
Like, yeah. 
Yeah, I mean and it's crazy too.

149
00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:39,920
There was a lot of people 
wearing the same outfit. 

150
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:44,120
I think Tracksmith had 70 ish 
runners and they were trying to 

151
00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,760
flood the course with Tracksmith
people. 

152
00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,360
So it's it was really difficult.
I believe I saw you one time, 

153
00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,360
but I wasn't sure. 
I screamed your name anyway. 

154
00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:56,920
But you know, it was drowned out
because the crowds were 

155
00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,520
literally 10 people deep. 
You could not get to the front 

156
00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,720
and it was just amazing. 
And we had goosebumps all away. 

157
00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,640
And you know, everything we saw 
from the things that were 

158
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,960
obviously visibly for us, 
challenging, like the pregnant 

159
00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,400
runner that was out there, which
was absolutely nuts unless 

160
00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,480
Someone Like You, you have type 
one. 

161
00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,200
Yeah. 
Yeah. 

162
00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,760
So talk to us a little about how
that race went and how it was 

163
00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,640
different for you than what you 
probably assume would be for 

164
00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,440
somebody who doesn't have type 
one diabetes. 

165
00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,520
Yeah, so I mean, I I followed 
everything I learned from Cam, 

166
00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:32,000
right? 
And and then this ended up being

167
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,320
a little different 'cause I 
wasn't going I guess, quote UN 

168
00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,520
quote marathon case for me. 
So as fast as I had originally 

169
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,880
planned on. 
So the feeling was a little bit 

170
00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,200
different. 
I actually had to feel more for 

171
00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,560
this because I was out there for
longer than I used to. 

172
00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:51,080
So, and I was going a little bit
low, like with the middle, 

173
00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,160
because with the heat you're 
burning more, so you're having 

174
00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,960
to take in more carbs usually 
and then also a lot of 

175
00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,400
hydration. 
And I also this time didn't have

176
00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,920
as much of an adrenaline spike I
did in the beginning, just with 

177
00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,880
all the hype and antics. 
But then when I was more or less

178
00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,680
kind of running, having to run 
by myself or race by myself, 

179
00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,760
that adrenaline dropped. 
So I had to balance like the 

180
00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,960
carbs with the adrenaline spike 
I normally have while racing 

181
00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:19,880
that I didn't get. 
But the heat does elevate it a 

182
00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,680
bit as well because you get a 
little bit dehydrated and it's 

183
00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:26,240
an external stress on the body. 
How do you monitor that? 

184
00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,600
Do you have a little device in 
your arm and you can see it on 

185
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,680
your phone? 
It's a sensor on my arm and it 

186
00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:35,840
actually displays on my Garmin 
but it has to go through my 

187
00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,720
phone so it it's something I'm 
hoping to partner with Garmin on

188
00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,680
to like fix so I do more direct 
to watch. 

189
00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,840
I did not have my phone on me so
sometimes I am a little bit in 

190
00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,200
the dark but when I get in 
enough range I can see it. 

191
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,520
It's still not ideal. 
I even thought about wearing 2 

192
00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,320
watches because it will go like 
direct to Apple Watch. 

193
00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:56,760
Yeah. 
OK. 

194
00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,960
So if you had an Apple Watch 
that was connected to the 

195
00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,160
Internet, then you would be able
to have that information and 

196
00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:07,400
then accordingly you know how to
slow down and fuel and and all 

197
00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:08,360
that. 
Yeah. 

198
00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:14,200
So hopefully something I can fix
or use in the future but and all

199
00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,400
of us runners, I think we we see
the benefits of Garmin over at. 

200
00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,520
Apple Watch. 
Garmin or others? 

201
00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,280
Yeah. 
So, OK, so then I don't want to 

202
00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,880
take too much of your time, but 
reflecting on this experience, 

203
00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,200
what would be your number one 
take away that you can give us 

204
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:37,000
average runners on how to to 
face those setbacks and 

205
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,360
obstacles in our own pursuit for
running? 

206
00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,240
What can we do to make harder 
experiences? 

207
00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:49,840
Better, Yeah. 
I think you have to embrace the 

208
00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:51,640
pain. 
I mean, that's something my 

209
00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:53,560
friend told me right before. 
He's like make another party. 

210
00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:57,560
You know, it's going to hurt. 
So you might as well like accept

211
00:10:57,560 --> 00:10:59,440
it and not make it any harder 
than it is. 

212
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,080
And and I think just like taking
away like the fear with the 

213
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,000
worst thing that could happen is
going to be and and how would 

214
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,680
you feel tomorrow if you didn't 
out there and did try to finish.

215
00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:12,440
You just pull back on your 
training. 

216
00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,920
I mean and when you train like 
put yourself in hard situations 

217
00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,920
that challenge you right. 
And like get through them even 

218
00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,560
if it's not a pace you want like
just make sure you get through 

219
00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:23,360
it because then when that 
happens in the next day you're 

220
00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:27,160
like oh I've done I've been here
before and just kind of like 

221
00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,240
keep saying like a mantra you 
have to yourself like over and 

222
00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,480
over again and and like what 
happened to me in Cam like it it

223
00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:35,840
got better, right. 
Sometimes it doesn't and then 

224
00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,720
you have to adapt course and 
maybe change your pace and 

225
00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:44,960
hopefully not be able be unable 
to finish, but I think just like

226
00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,360
having confidence in where 
you've been and and what you 

227
00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,200
already overcome helps trick the
mind to do it again and race it.

228
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,040
I love it. 
Thank you so much. 

229
00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,000
And what's next? 
To you, I'm on a street trip 

230
00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,360
currently and so yeah, just 
feeling my shins. 

231
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,080
I think I'll need a few for 
probably four to six weeks. 

232
00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:08,960
No, running, probably have a 
couple of stress reactions that 

233
00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:13,400
I pushed through, but that's OK.
It's been so long since I've 

234
00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:15,200
been injured, so I couldn't be 
more thankful. 

235
00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,520
But so getting through that, I 
was hoping to do Carlsbad 5000 

236
00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,320
in April, which is one of my 
favorite five days. 

237
00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:26,320
We'll see how I'm recovering and
then after that I I think we're 

238
00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,440
leaving it open but I'd love to 
see how I actually stack up 

239
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,280
amongst the pros. 
So choosing a race to do that 

240
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,240
whether it be like the 20 K 
champs or the half marathon 

241
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,480
maybe even a fault marathon. 
But but let's say I don't. 

242
00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,440
I didn't say that yet. 
It'll it'll all come back to it 

243
00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,400
maybe in a year and and 
hopefully not qualify right 

244
00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,800
before the trials next time 
around now that I know I can do 

245
00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,280
it so. 
We really appreciate your time 

246
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:54,960
and we wish you good luck and we
look forward to staying 

247
00:12:54,960 --> 00:13:00,840
connected and then following you
around for 2028 very much. 

248
00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:02,200
Thanks. 
Thank you so much, Sophie. 

249
00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:03,880
I really appreciate your time. 
Have a good trip. 

250
00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,600
Thanks. 
Thank you, Sophie, for sharing 

251
00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:09,840
your insights with us. 
It's always great to hear from 

252
00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,680
you and we'll be cheering you 
on, you know, leading up to 

253
00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:15,400
2028. 
Man, that sounds so far away it.

254
00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:19,320
Does so letty you want to move 
on to the main topic of today. 

255
00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,760
Yeah, so for today we have a 
special interview with James 

256
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:24,840
McCurdy. 
The founder of McCurdy Trained 

257
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,960
and he has some good insights to
marathon training. 

258
00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,760
You know, it's always nice to 
pick someone's brain that is a 

259
00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,800
coach and runs a run coaching 
company to see what what their 

260
00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,400
philosophies are and how they go
about it. 

261
00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,840
So yeah, I had a conversation 
with him after having met him at

262
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:42,600
the Olympic Trials and and it 
was pretty cool to talk to him. 

263
00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,000
So you want to get into it? 
Sure. 

264
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,720
So without any further ado, 
we're not going to play our 

265
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:51,520
conversation with James McCurdy.
All right. 

266
00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,800
So I am here with James McCurdy 
from McCurdy Trained. 

267
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:59,840
Thank you, James for joining me.
I'm really happy to be here 

268
00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,200
lady. 
Thank you so much for I'm we we 

269
00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,240
met officially in in Orlando but
it's really nice to be on. 

270
00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:07,320
Yes, yes. 
And you were. 

271
00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:09,760
You know they're supporting your
athletes. 

272
00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,600
How many athletes did you have 
running the Olympic Trials? 

273
00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,200
Personally, I had 7 athletes 
that were there that I was 

274
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:21,480
supporting the business itself. 
We had multiple coaches 

275
00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,120
including Foots and Zena 
Selassie, dot McMahon. 

276
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,240
We had Ari Hendrix, Roach was 
there as well. 

277
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,840
And then we also had a few other
coaches who served their own 

278
00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,800
athletes. 
So I think overall we helped 15 

279
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:44,080
or 16 athletes at the trials. 
Who, who, who competed? 

280
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,560
That's awesome. 
That's a that's a big number 

281
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,360
given that there was so few 
athletes the fastest of the 

282
00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:50,360
country. 
So that's cool. 

283
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,480
So with that, I guess I want to 
know, can you tell me a little 

284
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,200
bit about your business? 
McCurdy trained. 

285
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,400
When did you found it? 
How did that happen and who are 

286
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,360
your clients? 
Yeah, yeah, be happy to. 

287
00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,720
You know, the business itself, 
it started a little over 8 years

288
00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,240
ago. 
I was, I was unemployed. 

289
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,960
I was actually fired from a job 
because I essentially had a 

290
00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:16,800
nervous breakdown and I was, I 
was, I was, I was looking for 

291
00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,120
for work, but I didn't want to 
go back into the personal 

292
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,640
training side of things. 
I I really wanted to to find my 

293
00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:28,520
way into coaching and adjust it.
It wasn't it wasn't presenting 

294
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:32,040
itself to work for other other 
businesses. 

295
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,360
I was even declined jobs saying 
that I just I just didn't have 

296
00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:41,200
the the the background in it. 
So I I still needed to make 

297
00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:42,880
money. 
I still needed to pay bills. 

298
00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,480
So I I just asked some local 
athletes, hey can I help you 

299
00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,240
with your 5K? 
Can I help you with your 10K or 

300
00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:52,280
your half marathon And it 
started with just me and and 10 

301
00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,240
athletes and inside of that we 
grew quickly. 

302
00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:02,520
Actually the the first coach I 
hired took over my job and and 

303
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,040
unfortunately she was treated 
kind of the same way that I was 

304
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:11,040
and she she ended up deciding to
leave that position and start 

305
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,000
her own coaching service. 
And I said Michelle like why? 

306
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,040
Why would we, you know try to 
poach each other's athletes. 

307
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,040
Why don't we work together and 
develop something together. 

308
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,520
We live in the same town We can,
we can create something. 

309
00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:30,120
And now you know we have 33 or 
34 coaches around the country 

310
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:36,000
and we service athletes of all 
abilities from six hours, 6 1/2 

311
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,680
hour. 
Marathoners run walkers in the 

312
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,880
5K. 
One of my athletes is actually 

313
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,480
64. 
He's just coming back from 

314
00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,240
prostate cancer and we started 
with a run walk and he's getting

315
00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,800
ready for the Boston Marathon. 
So we have a long way to go. 

316
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,920
We have 9 weeks left and the 
mission is to finish that that 

317
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,560
race and across that line happy 
and healthy. 

318
00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,960
And we also work with athletes 
that are budding Olympians. 

319
00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,119
You know we have one athlete who
who's in the Olympics in the 

320
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,680
marathon representing the nation
of Lesotho, the Kingdom of 

321
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,480
Lesotho. 
And we have athletes that are 

322
00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,880
here in the US that are trying 
to make Team USA. 

323
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,839
And unfortunately we didn't have
any Olympians out of out of the 

324
00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:20,920
Olympic trials. 
We did have a 7th place finish 

325
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,839
with Nathan Martin. 
But yeah, we're just, you know, 

326
00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:27,880
we're we're we're not A1 size 
fits all coaching service, but 

327
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,480
we are a service that tries to 
individualize training for the 

328
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,280
athletes in our care. 
I love it. 

329
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,240
I love it and I love that you're
serving everyone. 

330
00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,120
And I guess that kind of brings 
us on common ground here because

331
00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,040
most people that run, we do run 
for fun. 

332
00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,560
But ultimately a question in our
head that always raises is how 

333
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,520
do we get faster? 
So I want to hop into that topic

334
00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,920
with you today, just catering 
towards half and full marathons.

335
00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:56,800
Sure. 
Yeah. 

336
00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,480
I think, you know, we have to 
recognize where an athlete's 

337
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,560
coming from. 
I just had this conversation 

338
00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:08,240
with a potential athlete of ours
who may or may not come on 

339
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:09,680
board. 
She'll take the day to think 

340
00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,760
about it. 
You know, she is a CrossFit 

341
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,400
connoisseur, if you will. 
She does CrossFit four or five 

342
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,280
days a week. 
But she wants to run the 

343
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,600
marathon and and she wants to 
not just run the marathon. 

344
00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:26,040
She wants to qualify for Boston.
And this is where 

345
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,360
individualization comes into 
play. 

346
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:33,080
You know we we we work with 
athletes that and I think every 

347
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,040
coach out there will work with 
athletes that all they all have 

348
00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:37,920
different ceilings. 
We just don't know what that 

349
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,520
ceiling is. 
And I think any coach who says 

350
00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,440
they know exactly how fast 
somebody is going to be or where

351
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,200
their potential is. 
Honestly I I don't I don't know 

352
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,920
what your your listener base is.
Hopefully there's not too much 

353
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:51,880
too many children listening. 
But if a coach is saying that 

354
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,440
yeah no we're we're definitely 
going to get you there. 

355
00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,080
I think they're full of No, 
we're humans, we're not robots, 

356
00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,480
and we don't know the athlete's 
potential. 

357
00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,680
We don't know exactly where 
things are going to lead. 

358
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,120
You know, one of our athletes 
literally just chopped off 2 

359
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:12,280
hours and 12 minutes in her 
marathon under the guidance of 

360
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,520
coach Kevin Koski, and, which is
really cool. 

361
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,000
She went from 5 hours, 44 
minutes down to three hours and 

362
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,480
32 minutes over the course of 
nine months. 

363
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,560
Now the difference is, is it's 
it's not that Kevin was like 

364
00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:31,360
this magician with training, is 
that he changed this athlete's 

365
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:35,840
mindset of completion into 
performance. 

366
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,840
And I think that's one thing 
that that we try to focus on is 

367
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,320
understanding what an athlete's 
trying to get out of their their

368
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:42,760
results. 
Are they trying to complete 

369
00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,720
something or are they trying to 
perform at something. 

370
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,920
And performance goals can be, 
can be short term and of course 

371
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,880
they can be long terms. 
We might have to take a look a 

372
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,800
little differently at what their
history is, at what their 

373
00:19:54,880 --> 00:20:00,840
current athleticism is and what 
their background is and what we 

374
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,800
need to focus on over the course
of three months, six months, a 

375
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:08,520
year or two years. 
So we don't really have a 

376
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:12,320
formula for every single person.
It's not a, you know, there's no

377
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:17,080
McCurdy train method to this. 
We serve over 1000 athletes 

378
00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,880
currently around the world and 
each one of them is getting an 

379
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:21,560
individualized concept. 
So. 

380
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,480
To answer the question of, well,
what's the breakdown of speed, 

381
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,720
work to easy running, I think 
the bigger question is that we 

382
00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,480
try to focus on and try to 
answer is, are you rested and 

383
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,640
ready to be able to handle the 
next quality or speed session 

384
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,240
with appropriate tenacity and 
appropriate care? 

385
00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,400
Because if you're not ready for 
it, if you're not rested, if 

386
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,840
you're, if you're feeling a 
little fatigued, then we have to

387
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,960
adjust training a little bit or 
adjust the expectations of what 

388
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,560
training looks like for that 
individual. 

389
00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,800
Yeah, no, I I like that you're 
saying that and I like that 

390
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,440
specifically because obviously 
your athletes can come in all 

391
00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,760
ages and you know, pathways of 
ways. 

392
00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,400
You have people that probably 
had children and the children 

393
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,680
keep them up at night. 
So their sleep while they have a

394
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,200
struggle to train is different. 
Yeah, actually one of my 

395
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,880
athletes, Brian, I've been with 
him for a few years now. 

396
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,440
He lives out in New York City 
and when I first started with 

397
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,400
him, his wife was pregnant and 
they were about to have their 

398
00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,480
second. 
And he got ready for 1/2 

399
00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,160
marathon. 
And he said, you know what, I 

400
00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:26,560
really want to run a marathon 
this spring. 

401
00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,880
I said, dude, you're just about 
to be a parent of two and you're

402
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,320
asleep and your work and all 
these things are going to need 

403
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,440
to adjust. 
And this this isn't a life that 

404
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,480
you really understand yet. 
So why don't we why don't we be 

405
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,480
patient. 
Why don't we try to just 

406
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:46,880
understand what your life is 
going to look like as as this 

407
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:53,240
new this new adjustment comes 
into play and then we can focus 

408
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,160
on a fall marathon. 
And he was a little hesitant 

409
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,240
about that because he was very 
regimented. 

410
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,920
He he had this mindset of I just
need to do this. 

411
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:07,120
But as soon as #2 came along, 
sleep left and there was no way 

412
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:11,880
that training for a marathon 
with the the, the little sleep 

413
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,480
that he was getting and the the 
responsibilities he had at work 

414
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,120
was ever going to make sense for
him. 

415
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,880
So I'm glad that we pulled back,
that that we we paid attention 

416
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,720
to that detail for him because 
it it ultimately helped him not 

417
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,520
overtrain, not overwork, and 
allowed him to become serious 

418
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,600
for that goal of the marathon 
later in the year. 

419
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,360
Then maybe he wanted, but he 
ultimately qualified for Boston 

420
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,760
in the Philadelphia Marathon and
he'll be lining up for the first

421
00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,080
time in Boston this spring, and 
it's been a journey to get 

422
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:45,640
there. 
But it's really cool to kind of 

423
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,800
see that come full circle for 
him. 

424
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:52,680
Yeah, no, that's beautiful. 
And yeah, so, so with all that, 

425
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,640
though, if you have your 
athletes, you've been coaching 

426
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,600
them for a while. 
What are your thoughts on the 

427
00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:01,680
whole 8020 method? 
Oh yeah, so so Matt Fitzgerald 

428
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:02,840
is actually a really close 
friend of mine. 

429
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,280
He actually he lives he lives in
the next, the next neighborhood 

430
00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:10,400
over. 
He's got this amazing run camp 

431
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,720
opportunity. 
It's called the Dream Run Camp 

432
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,400
and and for anyone who's looking
to come out to Flagstaff where 

433
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:23,640
we live and and spend time in a 
beautiful area of the country to

434
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:27,760
train, It's challenging for 
sure, but it is beautiful. 

435
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,760
Matt Fitzgerald has this 
wonderful opportunity where you 

436
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:36,080
can rent A room or or a few 
rooms for friends out of his 

437
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,440
home. 
It's actually a home designed 

438
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,240
for for training camps and I've 
had a few athletes come out and 

439
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,200
stay and be here for a week or 
two or even most. 

440
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,160
Recently I had had an athlete 
who was able to work from home, 

441
00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:50,360
spend a whole month here in 
Flagstaff or train with us which

442
00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:53,160
was which was a true blessing. 
So I understand Matt 

443
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,480
Fitzgerald's training concepts 
and philosophies and the the 

444
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:05,280
main crux of it is recovery. 
Don't work too hard so that you 

445
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,160
can actually receive the 
benefits in the science of 

446
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:13,320
training even even from from the
physiologist. 

447
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,880
Doctor Jack Daniels says that 
you know the vast majority of 

448
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,480
our development of MiTo, not to 
get too sciencey, but 

449
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:23,000
mitochondrial development is 
stemming from easy running and 

450
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,000
that's going to be anywhere from
60 to 70% of your of your 

451
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,960
aerobic capacity. 
So it's not really hard hard 

452
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,480
training at all. 
You can do and develop a lot of 

453
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:37,040
fitness off of 60 to 70% of your
aerobic capacity, which 

454
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,720
generally means if you're 
looking at zones, zone 1-2 and 

455
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:44,400
maybe maybe encroaching zone 3 
depending on on how you're 

456
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,960
looking at training and what 
charts you're looking at. 

457
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,400
But really what it comes down to
is spend most of the time 

458
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,320
running easy where you can have 
a conversation where you can 

459
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:58,400
fully be involved in the in the 
community of people around you 

460
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,280
on your runs, where you are not 
finishing every run with your 

461
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:04,400
hands on these, that's not going
to get you well. 

462
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,680
There's no added benefit and 
there's a whole lot more risk to

463
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,960
that. 
And then the other 20% is, is 

464
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,720
challenging yourself in 
appropriate levels of of 

465
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,040
intensity. 
It shouldn't all be really 

466
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:19,520
really hard mile speed work 
where you are hands on knees 

467
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:23,160
gasping for every ounce of 
oxygen that you can find. 

468
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:28,200
We, I think we can all come to 
the conclusion that that's 

469
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,800
probably not the best for for 
for the vast majority of runners

470
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,560
out there and the vast majority 
of people out there, we want 

471
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,280
running to be enjoyable, but we 
also want to reduce the risk of 

472
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,120
injury. 
You know David Roche, I think 

473
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,760
David and Megan Roche have a 
podcast and they, I'm pretty 

474
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,160
sure it was them who said no. 
We all agree that we can almost 

475
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,040
all agree that 8085% of the 
running should be easy. 

476
00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:52,280
It's just what does the other 15
to 20% of training look like? 

477
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,160
And that's where the variants 
can be. 

478
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,080
You know, athletes who are 
running only three days a week, 

479
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,560
Maybe the 8020 rule doesn't 
really apply to them because 

480
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,280
they're getting so much 
recovery. 

481
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:08,160
But certainly the athletes that 
are running 90, a hundred, 120 

482
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,600
miles a week at A at a 
professional level, 8020 might 

483
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,840
not work for them either. 
They might actually find that 

484
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:21,480
it's more 8515 or 9010, and 
that's how much time they're 

485
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:23,080
actually spending on easy 
running. 

486
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,640
You know, everybody's a little 
bit different. 

487
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,280
But I think in some, in some 
ways that the overall concept I 

488
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,800
would absolutely agree with is 
spend the vast majority of your 

489
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,480
time in a casual, conversational
pace of running, because that's 

490
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,560
where you're gonna get the most 
benefit aerobically anyway. 

491
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:43,160
Yes, yes, I agree with you and 
I've actually taken this concept

492
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:47,920
too hard so much that's my 
Garmin is now telling me I would

493
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,160
really benefit from some 
anaerobic work. 

494
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:56,000
What are your thoughts on doing 
what and when We have fart legs,

495
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,480
tempo, steady runs? 
Threshold runs? 

496
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,040
At what proximity to the 
upcoming marathon? 

497
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,600
Say you have a marathon, 8 weeks
away, four weeks away. 

498
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,760
What are your thoughts on that? 
That's a really good question 

499
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:15,000
and a really good good idea to 
to kind of dive into, you know, 

500
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:19,160
there's a lot of plans out there
that are pre made presupposed 

501
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,680
and what I'd like to tell 
potential athletes that we're 

502
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:26,920
going to work with is we don't 
plan our training that far in 

503
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:28,400
advance. 
We're not going to say OK, 

504
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,880
here's 16 weeks of training, 
good luck, have fun. 

505
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,320
It's the way we operate is one 
or two weeks at a time. 

506
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:36,560
We like to work backwards from 
the goal. 

507
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,440
So if we know that a marathon is
is is in October and someone's 

508
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:45,440
signing up right now, OK, we we 
generally know when the most 

509
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,080
marathon specific work is going 
to be, right? 

510
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,320
We're not going to be marathon 
specific for the entirety of 

511
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,600
someone's onboarding, right? 
That's just too much. 

512
00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,680
But so we can work on areas of 
fitness that an athlete hasn't 

513
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,920
worked on so we can have a 
better understanding of of how 

514
00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,200
that is transpiring and how 
their development is taking 

515
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,600
place. 
So generally, our marathon 

516
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:14,760
segments can be anywhere from 6 
1/2 to 11 weeks in length 

517
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:16,600
depending on the athlete and 
what they need. 

518
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:22,600
And then from there, as we're 
working backwards, what does the

519
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:24,880
prior 6 to 8 weeks need to look 
like? 

520
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:26,920
What are we working on in that 
segment? 

521
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:31,440
And then working backwards even 
further, what does the 6 to 8 

522
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:36,200
weeks need to be leading into 
that concepts? 

523
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,720
So we're always kind of trying 
to conceptualize and periodize 

524
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:41,800
the training. 
So we're working on different 

525
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,520
aspects of fitness. 
Maybe we're working on 5K and 

526
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:49,320
10K ability for six to eight 
weeks, maybe then we're working 

527
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:54,080
on the ability to run their half
marathon a little bit more 

528
00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,760
efficiently and working on 
developing their overall mileage

529
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,440
to to then be able to handle the
marathon segment a little bit 

530
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,760
easier. 
But what if somebody's already 

531
00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:07,520
running 80 miles a week and 
training for five KS and 10 KS? 

532
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:09,720
Well, we don't. 
Maybe they and maybe they don't.

533
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,040
They don't have the capacity to 
run even more well. 

534
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:16,280
We could still work on 5K and 
10K work, but it the transition 

535
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,200
to marathon specific work or 
half marathon specific work can 

536
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:21,680
look a little different because 
we don't. 

537
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,880
We're not necessarily adding 
mileage, we're just changing the

538
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:28,120
the speed, volume and intensity 
of what they aren't doing. 

539
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:29,520
And maybe that's foreign to 
them. 

540
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,080
I have an athlete right now 
who's going to make his marathon

541
00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,880
debut in Boston. 
He's a professional runner, 

542
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,840
right? 
And he's not used to running 100

543
00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,160
mile, 110 mile weeks. 
Now, that's very, very common, 

544
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:47,040
if not below average for 
professional male marathoners 

545
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:51,160
and Yamadi Hale El Selassie is 
going to be debuting. 

546
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:55,560
He's a very talented runner. 
He was fifth in the Olympics in 

547
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,560
Tokyo in the steeplechase. 
He was 7th at the World 

548
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:03,160
Championships in in in Eugene in
the steeplechase, and he's run a

549
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,240
few 10 KS and a few half 
marathons very, very well. 

550
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,840
But he's done it on limited 
mileage. 

551
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:14,160
So my concept with this level of
runner is I'm not going to all 

552
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,080
of a sudden Jack up his mileage.
I'm just going to introduce a 

553
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,960
little bit more running than 
he's used to and increase the 

554
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:27,720
easy running and slowly develop 
him to handle the marathon 

555
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,600
specific work work which we have
just started. 

556
00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:37,200
I'm going to extend his marathon
segment out just a little bit so

557
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:39,280
it's not a complete shock to the
system. 

558
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:43,520
So we can have a little bit more
time on feet versus some of my 

559
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,080
other athletes who are far more 
experienced in the marathon, 

560
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:51,840
albeit slower, their segments 
might actually be a little bit, 

561
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,760
little bit less because they 
have so much experience. 

562
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,240
So we can benefit on doing a 
little bit more speed work for a

563
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:02,120
little bit longer and their 
marathon segment might only be 8

564
00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:06,760
weeks long relative to Yamani 
who's starting around 11 weeks 

565
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:08,520
and that's a significant 
difference. 

566
00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:12,480
So for those athletes who have a
lot more experience, I'm 

567
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,400
focusing on a little bit more 
raw power, a little bit more 

568
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:20,360
speed, endurance, like 10K type 
of work for a little bit more 

569
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,920
time to work on that missing 
link for them. 

570
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:29,880
So that when we get into the 
marathon specificity, because of

571
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,680
their history and because of 
their background, we don't 

572
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:34,960
necessarily need to take the 
same amount of time that we 

573
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,440
might have taken before because 
it's already in their system. 

574
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,120
They've already been doing it. 
I've got an athlete, Tobelo Rama

575
00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,600
Kangwana from from Lesotho who 
who is The Olympian, this 

576
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:48,280
marathon that he's going to run 
coming up next weekend in Osaka,

577
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,720
this specific segment was only 
seven weeks long and that is, 

578
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,480
that's including the taper. 
But we didn't need to work 

579
00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:01,480
incredibly hard on the marathon 
work because he had run Budapest

580
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,160
and he had run a marathon in 
March. 

581
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,680
So he essentially had three 
marathon segments inside of 12 

582
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,240
months. 
They didn't need to be massive. 

583
00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,640
He it's not like it went away. 
So everybody's background is a 

584
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:20,160
little bit different and and 
sometimes sometimes an athlete 

585
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,400
who has that experience 
regardless of the level of 

586
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,520
ability can can get away with a 
shorter segment for a marathon 

587
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,080
or even a half marathon. 
And they can allow for more 

588
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,800
focus on other areas of fitness 
like a 5K or A10K or something, 

589
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,000
something that's a little bit 
different just because they 

590
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,640
already have that background. 
Does that kind of go to where or

591
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,120
answer the question? 
It does. 

592
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:47,360
Yeah it does. 
At this time we want to thank 

593
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,920
our sponsor you can are you 
tired of a spike and crash and 

594
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,640
GI distress that comes with the 
sugar based sports nutrition. 

595
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:59,080
It's time to give you can a try.
You can use as steady release 

596
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:02,320
carbs instead of sugars so you 
don't feel the highs and the 

597
00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,360
lows and energy you can. 
Powders, gels and bars are 

598
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,840
powered by Life Study, a patent 
starch based carbohydrate that 

599
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,400
was originally developed as a 
medical food to help children 

600
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,160
maintain stable blood sugar 
throughout the night. 

601
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,760
It's backed by science and truly
unique in energy source. 

602
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:22,640
Clinically proven to help blood 
sugar stable during exercise, 

603
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:26,040
Lip study supports sustained 
performance and optimal energy 

604
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,440
levels. 
I've tried you can now for the 

605
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,960
past couple of months and I've 
been happy with my long runs and

606
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:35,120
how I feel. 
Also, they don't taste bad and 

607
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:37,560
after mile 15 I can still 
stomach them. 

608
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,240
Top marathon runners in the US 
including Emily Sisson, Sarah 

609
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,560
Hall, Emma Bates, and Cara 
D'amato all use you can for 

610
00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:46,960
feelings, so why shouldn't you 
give him a try? 

611
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:51,360
Especially because marathon 
running podcast listeners have a

612
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,080
chance to try 4 gels for free. 
All you pay for is the cost of 

613
00:33:55,080 --> 00:34:00,280
shipping. 
So head over to youcan.co/MRP 

614
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:03,880
which by the way stands for 
Marathon Running Podcast to 

615
00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,240
claim this offer and get your 
free samples. 

616
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,560
If you are already using you can
and you want that 20% discount, 

617
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:15,639
you can just go to youcan.co and
save those 20 percents with code

618
00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:19,080
MRP. 
We're also having all this 

619
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:25,600
LinkedIn, our show notes and now
back to the show for our 

620
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,719
listeners that would like to 
know, you know, what specific 

621
00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:32,199
workouts would work best towards
the marathons. 

622
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:35,560
You know, how would you tell 
them to go about incorporating 

623
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,000
speed work? 
You know, the long run on 

624
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,360
training plans a lot of times is
20 to 22 miles. 

625
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:43,560
Just your thoughts. 
Yeah, yeah. 

626
00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:48,520
So that question again, this is,
this is where coaching matters 

627
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,560
in my belief, because everybody 
is so different. 

628
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,800
You know how somebody goes into 
a marathon segment as a nurse 

629
00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:02,680
who's working 3 or 412 hour 
shifts on their feet is very 

630
00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:07,200
different than how at the same 
level of fitness than how 

631
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:11,360
somebody else who is possibly an
administrative assistant or or 

632
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,760
an accountant where they're 
sitting or if they are sitting 

633
00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:20,440
down for 8 to 10 hours a day, 
what is happening in their 

634
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:24,760
bodies throughout most of the 
day effects, what training can 

635
00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:30,320
look like or should look like? 
So to answer that question, we 

636
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:32,920
have to kind of take a look at 
different circumstances. 

637
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:39,240
So what I would say is this I 
the biggest sand trap that I 

638
00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:45,240
find are athletes of of all 
ability focusing too much time 

639
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:50,760
or worrying having anxiety about
how long their longest run is. 

640
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,920
They need and I think this is 
probably because of media and 

641
00:35:56,280 --> 00:36:01,960
and and old books and 
preconceived notions of what 

642
00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:05,520
training should look like. 
You know, we we we have this 

643
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:09,360
idea that we need to have a 
certain amount of 20 mile long 

644
00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:13,960
runs in our bodies so that we 
can do the marathon itself and 

645
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,560
or even closer to 22 or 24 mile 
long runs. 

646
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,840
But you know the slower you get 
and the slower an apple it is, 

647
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,880
the longer they are going to be 
on their feet and that could be 

648
00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:26,560
pretty devastating and damaging 
on their body. 

649
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:30,760
You know, they might run their 
marathon or leave their marathon

650
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:33,680
in their training with three, 
4-5 weeks out of the marathon. 

651
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,360
And by the time they get to the 
marathon, you know they've 

652
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,440
already done 3 or 4 or maybe 6 
or 7, four and a half hour long 

653
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,000
runs and they're going to be on 
their feet for five hours. 

654
00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,080
They might be toast by the time 
the marathon actually happens. 

655
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:53,280
As so I I would say as a rule of
thumb in our world the vast 

656
00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:55,920
majority of our athletes of all 
ability are going to run. 

657
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,960
I would say no longer than two 
hours and 45 minutes. 

658
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:01,680
Every once in a while we might 
see a three hour run, but it's 

659
00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:03,680
rare. 
It is incredibly rare to have an

660
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:08,800
athlete run longer than three 
hours in our coaching concepts 

661
00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:12,800
and yet we find amazing success 
of athletes of all ability. 

662
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,800
That athlete that I was speaking
about earlier who went from 544 

663
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,240
down to 332? 
I don't think she ran longer 

664
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:25,320
than two hours and 25 minutes in
her training at all, and yet she

665
00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:29,560
was able to find a new level of 
fitness by focusing on 10K 

666
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:34,000
specific intensity work as well 
as developing endurance and 

667
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,000
marathon specific work. 
So I I would recommend that an 

668
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:43,160
athlete be mindful of how long 
they are on their feet and not 

669
00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:49,680
worry so much about how many 
miles they have run we've had. 

670
00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:54,560
I've personally had athletes 
break 3 hours in their marathon 

671
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:58,280
run, two hours and 34 minutes in
their marathon without even 

672
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,320
touching over 19 miles in their 
training. 

673
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:04,040
And for them that was that was 
two hours of running. 

674
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,720
Mike Purley is actually an 
example. 

675
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:09,320
He's an athlete that lives out 
in in Utah. 

676
00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:14,320
He he, he broke 3 hours for the 
very first time and not a single

677
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:17,440
run was longer than one hour and
59 minutes. 

678
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,200
And it's a it's a pretty cool 
thing. 

679
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:24,400
You know, we we we harp on the 
long run so much when it comes 

680
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,600
to marathon training and I think
it's the wrong idea. 

681
00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:32,880
You know, if I were to give you 
an example of of somebody who 

682
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:37,880
who's never run before but it's 
going to run 2 miles a day, five

683
00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:42,040
or six days a week for a month. 
Do you think Letty that that 

684
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:49,000
individual can run a 10K at the 
non-stop at the end of that 

685
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:53,080
month? 
I mean now I'm throwing your own

686
00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,040
question back at you, right 
performance based or finishing, 

687
00:38:56,720 --> 00:39:00,880
I think you know you can finish 
it, but can they do well in? 

688
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,480
It yeah, right. 
Yeah, you can. 

689
00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:08,000
You can finish it, right? 
So we OK 2 miles a day, 5-6 days

690
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,600
a week. 
They can finish their 10K, But 

691
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:15,200
here's a stat for you, Camille 
Harrone, who has the 100 pile 

692
00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:19,680
world record. 
Male or female on the track I 

693
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,800
believe, or on flat ground. 
I don't think she runs anything 

694
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:28,720
over 20 or 22 miles in any 
single long run. 

695
00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:33,200
Isn't that insane? 
It's not like she's going out 

696
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:37,000
there and running 3540 mile long
runs or 50 mile long runs to 

697
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:42,160
prove to herself that she can 
cover the 100 mile distance. 

698
00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:46,520
She's not doing the back-to-back
long runs every single weekend. 

699
00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:50,640
She's just focusing on being 
healthy, as healthy as she can 

700
00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:54,040
be, being consistent, as 
consistent as she can be. 

701
00:39:54,440 --> 00:40:00,680
And she gets away with about 20 
to 25% of of the the total 

702
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:07,800
distance of her long run inside 
of a single run, equalling 2025%

703
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:09,920
of the the total distance that 
she's going to race. 

704
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:12,840
So, and and that's for 
performance, not just for 

705
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:14,360
completion. 
Like, that's the world record 

706
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:19,480
holder. 
So why, why on earth are we as 

707
00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:26,080
marathoners in in an amateur 
world, Why are we so focused on 

708
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:28,320
being on our feet for 3, 1/2, 
four hours? 

709
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,640
Why is that like? 
Or even 4 1/2. 

710
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:36,680
Like Why are we so pent up about
needing to run these massive 

711
00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:40,000
long runs that are so 
debilitating where we it takes 

712
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,480
us five or six days just to 
recover from that run, right? 

713
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:45,880
Like, I don't. 
Of all the professional runners 

714
00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:50,520
that I coach, I don't have a 
single one of them going out and

715
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:58,920
spending 3 1/2 hours on their 
feet in their training and they 

716
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:02,040
are running 100 hundred and 
10120 miles a week. 

717
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:04,480
Some of them are running a 
little bit less than that, but 

718
00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,960
these are the some of the best 
athletes in the world and I 

719
00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:12,360
would never give them three 3 
1/2, four hour long runs for 

720
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:18,640
training for the marathon. 
And yet we're often seeing that 

721
00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:22,800
the advice for the amateur 
runner for the 3 1/2, four, four

722
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,520
and a half five hour marathoner 
is that they need to get 22 and 

723
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:31,360
23 mile long runs done. 
Like they're they're spending 3,

724
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:36,040
1/2, four, 4, 1/2 hours on their
feet week in and week out, and 

725
00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:38,280
yet professional runners aren't 
spending that amount of time on 

726
00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,680
their feet. 
It to me that's lunacy. 

727
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:42,960
That doesn't make any sense. 
It's fine I think for 

728
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:47,840
completion. 
But even that it isn't really 

729
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:52,560
like isn't there an inherent 
risk of injury that when 

730
00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,680
someone's running 30 miles a 
week or 40 miles a week and 

731
00:41:56,680 --> 00:42:01,080
they're going out and running 4 
1/2 hours on their feet week in 

732
00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:03,720
and week out. 
Like maybe it's OK for the 

733
00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:06,360
lungs, but are there muscles and
their tendons really able to 

734
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,280
handle that load and is it like,
I don't know. 

735
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:11,600
To me that just doesn't make a 
lot of sense. 

736
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:17,200
So I I would encourage re 
evaluating why we have such an 

737
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:21,360
attachment to this long run and 
why this seems to be so 

738
00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:26,080
important for everybody. 
And maybe consider running a 

739
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:29,680
little bit more often on an easy
day, or a little bit more often 

740
00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:32,720
throughout the week if it's 
available to them, and not 

741
00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:37,000
worrying so much about one 
single aspect of of their of 

742
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,400
their focus of training. 
Yes, 100%. 

743
00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:44,840
I think you nailed that answer, 
but obviously this is not really

744
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,760
a good idea. 
Can you maybe talk to us also 

745
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:53,200
about some things listeners can 
do, maybe a little bit of 

746
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:57,600
self-assessment to identify what
their personal strengths are so 

747
00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:01,200
they can find the areas in their
running that they can improve 

748
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:04,600
on? 
Yeah, I think what I think, I 

749
00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,880
don't know if you're familiar 
with it, but again, this kind of

750
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:10,480
goes back to the Jack Daniels 
concepts and systems. 

751
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:16,600
Jack Daniels has developed over 
50 or 60 years, the V dot system

752
00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:21,080
where it kind of measures, you 
know, equatability. 

753
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:26,880
If somebody's 5K is a certain 
speed, what then is equal in 

754
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:30,240
their 10K or their half marathon
or marathon? 

755
00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:35,960
Does somebody have a really good
marathon relative to their 5K 

756
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:37,880
ability? 
Or does somebody have a really 

757
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:41,720
good 5K but their marathon isn't
as equal? 

758
00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:43,680
And there's and there's charts, 
you can look it up online. 

759
00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,480
There's charts you can you can 
take a look at v.o2.com where 

760
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,520
you can kind of see where you 
lie on that. 

761
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:54,400
So say you're a 20 minute 5K 
runner or a 21 minute 5K runner.

762
00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:59,320
But, and I don't mean to say the
word only, but equatability, 

763
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,440
you're only running a four hour 
marathon. 

764
00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,760
Well, that that probably says 
that you have a lot more power 

765
00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:07,320
than you have endurance and that
well, that can help maybe help 

766
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:10,800
guide what training can and 
maybe should look like for the 

767
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:14,000
next six months to a year. 
How do you develop more 

768
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:17,160
endurance? 
Or maybe, maybe you are an 

769
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,960
incredible marathoner. 
You're running A320 or A330 

770
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:27,160
marathon, but your 5K is only a 
few seconds a mile better than 

771
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,760
what your your marathon or even 
your half marathon is. 

772
00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:32,000
Well, maybe that tells you that 
you have great endurance, but 

773
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:33,840
you you are lacking a lot of 
power. 

774
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:37,280
And if you can find a way to 
increase your power and raise 

775
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:39,800
that ability, well, maybe that's
how you're going to see a 

776
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:41,800
massive jump in your ability in 
the marathon. 

777
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:46,400
So I I think that is one way of 
looking at it and that's that's 

778
00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:49,080
that's a way that we look at it 
from a coaching system. 

779
00:44:49,640 --> 00:44:52,400
If somebody is really lacking in
an area of fitness, we want to 

780
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:58,280
attack those those missing links
and focus on on the development 

781
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:02,080
of those things. 
So that when it comes time to to

782
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:06,440
put the training towards what 
that athlete is looking for, 

783
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,960
whether it be a 5K or 10K or 
whether it be 1/2 marathon or 

784
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,200
marathon, we've worked on the 
missing links of that that 

785
00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,880
athlete to help help them 
realize hopefully more of their 

786
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:21,000
potential in those areas. 
And I think that's one of the 

787
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,600
reasons why we see such major 
jumps in many of the athletes 

788
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,360
that we work with is because we 
we've we've worked on some of 

789
00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:29,520
those missing links. 
Perfect. 

790
00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:31,280
All right. 
So let me let me ask you the 

791
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:33,800
next question that I have for 
you, which is super, super 

792
00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:35,960
important. 
And to give you a little 

793
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:37,840
background, I always do a lot of
research. 

794
00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:41,680
Is mental training something 
that you do with your athletes? 

795
00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:45,280
And if so, in what capacity? 
Do you have some kind of, you 

796
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:49,800
know, something that goes with 
the weekly mileage building 

797
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:53,680
where people can mentally 
prepare themselves for races 

798
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:55,680
such as marathons and half 
marathons? 

799
00:45:56,280 --> 00:46:00,560
That's a really good question. 
You know, we live in a world, 

800
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:03,720
you know, social media is 
wonderful, but it's awful at the

801
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:07,000
same time. 
And we live in a world of 

802
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:16,280
comparison and and wanting to to
have what what we don't and 

803
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:21,840
maybe sometimes to what what we 
feel is an expectation. 

804
00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:25,680
Oh if I don't do this I'm 
letting other people down or I 

805
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:29,680
need to be a certain way or look
a certain way or run a certain 

806
00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:33,760
time and and we we impose these 
on ourselves. 

807
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:35,640
And I I'm not saying I'm not 
immune to it. 

808
00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:39,480
I I felt this and as recently as
this past week I I you know I I 

809
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:44,040
I live in a career where you 
know the quote UN quote the 

810
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:48,080
better I look as a coach the the
the better off that that you 

811
00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:51,000
know my career is going to go. 
But ultimately what it comes 

812
00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:56,000
down to is I've I believe it's 
it's really having it's having a

813
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,880
really good support system of 
people who truly care about you.

814
00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:02,240
You know one of I said this to 
Mason Frank one of the athletes 

815
00:47:02,240 --> 00:47:04,160
that I serve who who was at the 
Olympic trials. 

816
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:08,120
I was so proud of him at the 
Olympic trials, knowing he 

817
00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:13,320
wasn't going to finish and he 
showed up anyway, not for any 

818
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:16,720
other reason that he deserved to
be on that line because he 

819
00:47:16,720 --> 00:47:20,520
qualified and it was important 
for him to be there and and get 

820
00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:23,280
that experience. 
And it wasn't what he wanted. 

821
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:27,840
But he also stepped off of the 
line, not risking his injury. 

822
00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:32,000
He was healthy enough to run 10 
to 13 miles, but he was not 

823
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:35,960
healthy enough to run 26.2. 
And he had self realization and 

824
00:47:35,960 --> 00:47:39,640
self acknowledgement that this 
is what he needed to do to have 

825
00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:42,440
a good day. 
And it wasn't what we wanted for

826
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:44,000
him over the course of the 
segment. 

827
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,320
But that's what that's what he 
needed to do. 

828
00:47:47,320 --> 00:47:52,280
And I was just so proud of him 
for being willing to go there 

829
00:47:52,880 --> 00:47:56,440
and be amongst the the nation's 
best and some of the world's 

830
00:47:56,440 --> 00:48:00,320
best and still have the 
wherewithal to run within 

831
00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:03,920
himself and to not force 
something and to step off the 

832
00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:07,640
line recognizing that this was 
not the be all end all. 

833
00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:09,240
And it didn't matter what 
anybody said. 

834
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:11,440
It didn't matter what anybody 
was going to say. 

835
00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:14,520
He was there for himself and it 
was it was beautiful. 

836
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:18,440
And I'm I'm just so proud of of 
him as equally as of Nathan who 

837
00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:23,720
finished 7th and yeah yeah I 
mean that that's my thought on 

838
00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:27,200
it I I don't think I think 
there's there's there's there's 

839
00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:29,680
there's a time and place for 
sports psychology and and 

840
00:48:29,680 --> 00:48:33,600
working with somebody. 
But I think the the the deciding

841
00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:38,000
factor on that is probably 
having a lack of self 

842
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:39,560
recognition of where somebody 
is. 

843
00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:41,720
Yeah, I know that makes 
complete. 

844
00:48:41,720 --> 00:48:43,880
Sense. 
James, thank you so much for 

845
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:47,320
coming on and speaking with me. 
Are you going to be in Boston as

846
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:49,400
well? 
I will, yeah. 

847
00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:52,160
So man, Boston for us is a 
special time. 

848
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:55,520
You know, we have athletes that 
are in the charity section. 

849
00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:59,640
We have athletes that have 
specific physical needs and then

850
00:48:59,640 --> 00:49:01,520
are in the adaptive athlete 
program. 

851
00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:05,040
We have athletes that have 
qualified and are 70 plus we 

852
00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:08,080
have athletes that are trying to
break 3 and we have athletes in 

853
00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:09,720
the. 
I think we have 8 or 9 athletes 

854
00:49:09,720 --> 00:49:13,600
in the pro field this year of 
all different backgrounds and 

855
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:17,000
and ethnicities. 
So I'm really excited to be in 

856
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:19,400
Boston. 
I I don't know how many athletes

857
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:21,520
we have running. 
Last year I think we had right 

858
00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:25,520
around 200 across the McCurdy 
trained team. 

859
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,080
But this year I'm not sure what 
our numbers are this year, but 

860
00:49:29,080 --> 00:49:30,960
we're going to be hosting A 
shakeout for sure. 

861
00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:34,760
That's a really special moment 
for us to to to be with, to be 

862
00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:36,960
with our people. 
So I'll arrive. 

863
00:49:38,120 --> 00:49:40,480
Actually, oddly enough, I I 
don't get home much. 

864
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,880
I'm born and raised in 
Connecticut and I just found out

865
00:49:43,880 --> 00:49:47,840
I was nominated and I have been 
accepted into my high school 

866
00:49:48,200 --> 00:49:50,080
Hall of Fame. 
Which might not sound like a 

867
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:53,280
really big deal for a lot of 
people, but it means it really 

868
00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:57,080
honestly means the world to me 
to be inducted into the High 

869
00:49:57,080 --> 00:49:59,880
School Hall of Fame. 
So I will be arriving into 

870
00:49:59,880 --> 00:50:05,000
Connecticut a few a few days 
ahead of planned schedule. 

871
00:50:05,240 --> 00:50:07,960
So like the basically the 
weekend before I'll be staying 

872
00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:11,120
with my parents or at least be 
in the general facility, 

873
00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:13,800
spending a little bit of time 
with them and some friends and 

874
00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:16,280
family that still live in the 
area and then I'll make my way 

875
00:50:16,280 --> 00:50:19,400
up to Boston. 
So I just found that that out 

876
00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:21,760
just the other day, which I'm 
pretty excited about. 

877
00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:24,200
So it'll be good to be back home
for a little while in the 

878
00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:28,760
streets of Woodbury, CT and then
and then I'll make my way up to 

879
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:30,840
Boston probably that Wednesday 
before. 

880
00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:33,200
Perfect. 
We hope to see you there. 

881
00:50:33,200 --> 00:50:35,040
Keep in touch. 
And again, thank you so much for

882
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:37,080
coming on and speaking with me. 
Thank, Yeah. 

883
00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:38,360
Thank you so much for having. 
Me. 

884
00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:41,480
I know. 
I I love talking about running. 

885
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:45,480
I love talking about coaching. 
And I hope you know if anybody 

886
00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:47,320
wants to reach out, they're more
than welcome. 

887
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:50,800
To reach out, shoot me an e-mail
james@mccurdytrain.com. 

888
00:50:50,800 --> 00:50:54,480
I'd be happy to to to hear from 
you and and and and listen to 

889
00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:57,040
you and and if I can answer any 
questions, I'd be happy to do 

890
00:50:57,040 --> 00:50:58,080
so. 
Perfect. 

891
00:50:58,080 --> 00:50:59,400
And we'll link all that in our 
show. 

892
00:50:59,400 --> 00:51:02,640
Notes James, thank you, awesome.
Thanks Letty. 

893
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:09,600
Thank you, James, for speaking. 
With us it was a great time 

894
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:13,280
reconnecting with you and thank 
you for sharing your views and 

895
00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:14,640
you know your information that 
you had. 

896
00:51:14,640 --> 00:51:17,160
It was very, very great. 
It was always great to get 

897
00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:19,280
somebody's insight onto. 
Training and and their 

898
00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:23,120
philosophy with with all that I 
mean I think everyone's going to

899
00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:26,480
gravitate towards a different 
method and so by having multiple

900
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:30,600
different opinions they can find
what they like exactly right so 

901
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:32,520
that. 
Wraps up this week's episode. 

902
00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:36,320
Stay tuned for next week's 
episode where the topic will be 

903
00:51:36,560 --> 00:51:39,360
comebacks from setbacks, which 
is kind of cool. 

904
00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:42,880
Yes, comebacks from setbacks. 
So for that episode, we will 

905
00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:45,000
talk. 
To a running coach who had some 

906
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:48,280
setbacks and has made some 
comebacks and has some great 

907
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:51,920
tips. 
And if if if if it all works 

908
00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:55,960
out, we will try to have this 
episode also available in 

909
00:51:55,960 --> 00:51:58,480
Spanish because she's originally
from Venezuela. 

910
00:51:58,880 --> 00:52:02,400
I am Ecuadorian, so we're going 
to take a stab at re recording 

911
00:52:02,400 --> 00:52:06,360
this episode, re recording this 
episode also in Espanol. 

912
00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:10,640
And if that happens then that'll
drop the Friday after the Monday

913
00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:13,240
where it airs. 
So obviously you got to 

914
00:52:13,240 --> 00:52:16,640
subscribe because then you'll 
get an e-mail or you know, a pop

915
00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:18,840
up on your screen that says this
episode. 

916
00:52:18,920 --> 00:52:22,240
Is that disponible and you're 
going to make? 

917
00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:25,240
Me try to speak Spanish and 
that's going to be difficult, 

918
00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:27,240
Yes, that'll be the next perk 
here. 

919
00:52:27,240 --> 00:52:30,840
Listen to Ryan speaks Spanish in
the American accent. 

920
00:52:32,120 --> 00:52:33,880
Well, I won't. 
Make you talk too much. 

921
00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:37,880
I hope not. 
Anyway, so that's it for today. 

922
00:52:38,240 --> 00:52:40,520
Like we said, stay tuned for 
next week's episode and with 

923
00:52:40,520 --> 00:52:48,560
that, have a good week already. 
Thanks for tuning in. 

924
00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:51,680
For more information and 
marathon running news, please 

925
00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:55,560
head to 
www.marathonrunningpodcast.com 

926
00:52:55,640 --> 00:53:11,120
and we'll be back next week. 
Are you looking for the perfect 

927
00:53:11,120 --> 00:53:13,160
apparel that mirrors your love 
for running? 

928
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:17,160
Look no further than Run Swag, 
The go to store by runners, 

929
00:53:17,240 --> 00:53:19,960
forerunners. 
From witty Tees to hoodies that 

930
00:53:19,960 --> 00:53:23,360
commemorate your Marathon Majors
to crops that get you motivated,

931
00:53:23,520 --> 00:53:26,840
run swags got you covered. 
Discover the perfect blend of 

932
00:53:26,840 --> 00:53:32,360
comfort and style. 
Visit www.runswag.com Run swag. 

933
00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:34,480
There's something for every 
runner.