1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:04,320 This episode of the City Smack podcast is presented by X 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,640 Endurance. When you finish a hard workout, 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,160 whether it's a long run or a workout on the track or a big 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,760 lift session, the work isn't actually done. 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,200 We all know this. That's when recovery starts. 6 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,160 It can get expensive to constantly pop into a smoothie 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,840 shop after a run. So one of the things that I've 8 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,680 been doing lately is using X Endurance protein, which is 9 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,960 designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and 10 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,880 get stronger after training. 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Check it all out at 42 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,480 xendurance.com. Code Sidious for 25% off your 43 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,760 first order. What's up everyone? 44 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,920 You are listening to the CDs Mag podcast. 45 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:24,560 I'm your host Chris Chavez, and every week we go beyond the 46 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,240 results to bring you conversations with the biggest 47 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,640 names on the track, the roads and behind the scenes. 48 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,920 From world class athletes and coaches to innovators shaping 49 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,080 the sport. If it's happening on the track, 50 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,000 we're covering it with real insights that sharpen minds, 51 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,520 deep dives into the moments that define careers and the kind of 52 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,520 access to the pros you won't get anywhere else. 53 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,120 So let's get into it because we love track and field. 54 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,080 Before we dive into today's episode, a quick moment of 55 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,120 gratitude. The only reason this show keeps 56 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,080 humming is because you press play, you text it to your 57 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,000 running buddies and you care about this sport just as much as 58 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,480 we do. That means everything to us. 59 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,120 If the podcast has been part of your weekly routine, one of the 60 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,920 simplest ways to support it is by leaving a five star View on 61 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:10,120 Apple podcast. It helps more people find the 62 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,120 show and keeps us doing what we love. 63 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,120 And that's talking track with you. 64 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,040 We also love shouting out listeners who take the time to 65 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,160 leave those reviews. So here's one that made me 66 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,800 smile. Chris Chavez practices what he 67 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,680 preaches. I've been a listener for a while 68 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:26,480 now. Enjoy nerding out while I hear 69 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,160 Chris and Preet breakdown race performances and speculate on 70 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,840 future ones. Love the data-driven estimates, 71 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,000 but also the intuition of the host. 72 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,000 Imagine my surprise while I was doing my long run on the Central 73 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,360 Park Loop and I look up and I see Chris running toward me 74 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:45,680 while his voice was in my ear. That one was from Sarah, Alaska. 75 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,520 OK, first of all, that was in fact, me. 76 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,720 Despite what my Strava has shown lately, I can't confirm. 77 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:53,840 I have been leaving the apartment and actually getting 78 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,720 out for runs a little less lately since I've been dealing 79 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:00,080 with some injuries and it's been brutally cold here in New York. 80 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,240 But seriously, that review made my day. 81 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,840 There's something wild about thinking that the timing of 82 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,720 everything lining up, that my voice might be in someone's 83 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,400 headphones while they're unknowingly sharing miles in the 84 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,960 same park as me. Thanks for listening, Sarah. 85 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,440 Thanks for nerding out with us. Really appreciate you. 86 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,720 To everyone else listening, thank you. 87 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,079 And if you feel the same way, taking a minute to leave a five 88 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:24,480 star review on Apple Podcast is the best way to support the 89 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,320 show. We read every single one and 90 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:31,960 they genuinely mean a lot to us. My guest for today's episode is 91 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,640 Susanna Sullivan, who hand up we've overlooked in the past and 92 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,600 we're no longer making that mistake. 93 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,720 She's one of the most consistent marathoners in the United States 94 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,720 and someone who's coming into Boston with some good momentum 95 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,400 coming off of 2025. Her last year was anchored by 96 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,880 that 4th place finish at the World Championships in Tokyo, a 97 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,960 breakthrough on the global stage. 98 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,720 She executed, she competed, but she didn't fully believe that 99 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,360 she was in the race for a medal until much later on. 100 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,440 Now she's heading into Boston with what she describes as her 101 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,360 first truly intentional build for this course. 102 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,520 She's focused on the hills, especially the downhills, and 103 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,960 tailored specifically to the demands of racing Boston. 104 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,120 Add in a 68 minute half marathon, which was a personal 105 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,880 best for her, and it's clear that the fitness is there. 106 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,760 In this episode, we talked about that Tokyo breakthrough, the 107 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,560 mindset shift that followed, what she learned from a 108 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:29,760 demanding 2025 racing season, and why Boston feels different 109 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,240 this time around. The goal here is to put herself 110 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,320 into the race and be there with 5K to go. 111 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,160 This is the latest in a series of interviews that we're doing 112 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,240 with the Brooks Marathoners in the lead up to the Boston 113 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,760 Marathon. We will have our schedule of 114 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,800 events with Brooks out of the Hyperion House pinned to the CDs 115 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,000 Mag Instagram page very soon. We'll have a shakeout run on 116 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,360 Saturday morning at 8:00 AM if you want to put that on your 117 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:58,400 calendar, where we'll have many of the Brooks pros in 118 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,000 attendance. A live chat with Jess McClain 119 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,000 will follow and much more. So without further ado, here is 120 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:18,320 Suzanna Sullivan. All right now, welcome back 121 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,680 Suzanna Sullivan to the City of Smack podcast. 122 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,720 I guess the last time we chatted was when we were in Tokyo, fresh 123 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,440 off of that fourth place finish. And then shortly after that, I'm 124 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,680 guessing there was a little bit of a break and then right back 125 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,440 into more marathon training. And then you go out to New York, 126 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,400 you finished 11th there, 228, two marathons and a span of 127 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,080 2:00-ish sort of months. How much did that take out of 128 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,160 you? Yeah, I was pretty tired by 129 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,440 about halfway through New York and I took a a pretty 130 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,120 significant break. Pretty much all of November was 131 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,760 just like easy mileage, but I didn't do workouts for several 132 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,440 weeks because I was, I was pretty tired. 133 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,680 I feel like the there were a couple of promising things that 134 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,680 happened between Tokyo and New York that made me maybe be a 135 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,480 little more optimistic than I should have been. 136 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,480 But by, I don't know, a little before halfway, I was like, I 137 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,000 don't know if this is the right choice, but I'm glad I did it. 138 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,160 New York was such an incredible experience. 139 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,920 At no point did I ever think about dropping out, but I was 140 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,560 really ready to be done. That was your first New York, I 141 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,880 guess like at this point you're, you've worked your way through 142 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,480 most of the majors. What do you have left? 143 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,080 Berlin and Tokyo. Berlin and Tokyo, yeah. 144 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,760 OK. What did you make of the New 145 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:39,920 York horse? Like compared to all the others. 146 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:44,440 The energy was incredible. London is pretty incredible as 147 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:49,920 well, but I feel like in London, I, I was skeptical that anything 148 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,320 would beat London. And then there were just like no 149 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,280 quiet parts in New York. And there are a few quiet 150 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,760 patches in, in London early on. And London has a slightly 151 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,000 downhill 1st 5K. And so you don't really mind 152 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,240 that there aren't a lot of people cheering because you're 153 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,760 trying to control your emotions and not go out too hard. 154 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:14,560 So it's but it but there is a quiet spot in a way that there 155 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,560 really wasn't in New York except for I guess the Queensboro 156 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,840 Bridge, so. When we look back at 2025, like 157 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,800 what were sort of like the big takeaways that when you looked 158 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,360 at just sort of the body of results that you had that you 159 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,800 were most proud of, it's. Probably not a surprise that I 160 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,799 was really proud of how how Tokyo went and not just like for 161 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:41,440 the result, but because like Tokyo was just all around such a 162 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,920 such an experience. And there were a lot of kind of 163 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,960 outside of my comfort zone. Pretty much I was outside of my 164 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,000 comfort zone the entire time that I was there. 165 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:56,600 And so to to have this moment when you know, when the race 166 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,840 started and just kind of like was in the right head space, 167 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,920 like you know what to do. This is like the only time and 168 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,000 place in this whole experience that you you know what to do 169 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,400 when you're ready. And so that was, yeah, that was 170 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,640 like a, you know, a lifetime memory sort of sort of thing. 171 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:19,840 I was really proud of that. London was, it wasn't good. 172 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:25,560 And I think that, I mean, it got, I snagged the 10th place 173 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:28,160 finish and I was like just kind of hanging on to that for the 174 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,080 last like couple miles. I was like, OK, you're still in 175 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,160 the top ten, like just to get just get to the finish. 176 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,600 But I went into that not feeling super well and I thought that I 177 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,280 would be OK because I hadn't been feeling well for a couple 178 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,840 weeks and like workouts had still been going well. 179 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,800 But I think between just feeling a little bit off and the fact 180 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,520 that it was so warm, there was really just like, and then I was 181 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,120 running pretty much all of it by myself just made London a 182 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,080 pretty. It was a disappointing 183 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:02,520 experience, but I was proud of like how kind of as as a team 184 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,640 around me and we all kind of looked at it and thought, OK, 185 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:10,200 that wasn't that wasn't what you trained for and it isn't 186 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,720 indicative of your fitness. And so we're just going to take 187 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,640 this body of work that we had done to prepare for London and 188 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,680 recognize that it wasn't lost and that, you know, we had 189 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,080 continued to to progress through the season. 190 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,440 And so even though on the day it was, it was disappointing, I 191 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,440 knew that it was going to serve me well for Tokyo. 192 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,200 And then going into Tokyo, it was just kind of a reminder 193 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,640 that, you know, you really need to be prepared for the heat when 194 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,440 you're running hot race. And so I thought we did a really 195 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,440 good job of of making sure that I was ready for the conditions 196 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,120 in Tokyo. And then New York was just kind 197 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:48,400 of a a cherry on top, so. I think one of the parts that 198 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:53,240 when we chatted in Tokyo, the feelings are still super fresh. 199 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,240 It had only been like a couple days afterwards and I think the 200 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,760 word that got thrown around maybe in multiple interviews in 201 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,360 the mix zone and all that kind of stuff is just bittersweet. 202 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:08,400 Like, you know, finishing fourth, being so close after a 203 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:13,280 couple weeks, months, do does sort of that change in your mind 204 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,560 a little bit and you start to think of it as more of a 205 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:19,240 positive experience than and like it starts to dissipate a 206 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:21,200 little bit? Yes and no. 207 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,960 I I still like, you know, kind of brought it back in my head 208 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,400 and and wonder, you know, what if, but I think I I ran the best 209 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,200 race I could have, you know, for myself that day. 210 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:33,600 It was it was a really cool experience. 211 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,440 I just had never really, I think truly considered that I could 212 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,080 end up in the medals. And so you just kind of run it 213 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,560 back and wonder like, well, what if I had gone into it thinking I 214 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,640 was running for a medal rather than thinking I was just I was 215 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,520 going to try to be in the top five or I was going to try to be 216 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,520 in the top 10. So in that regard, I guess I 217 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:54,800 like just kind of question like mindset wise. 218 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,040 And and I talked with my coach about that and we, you know, 219 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,040 it's just kind of part of this process of like, you know, 220 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,320 putting myself in the the best position to, you know, to 221 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,640 succeed in the future. But no, I mean, overall I think 222 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:11,880 it was like it was an incredible experience. 223 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,040 There was, I think also like when I came off the the finish, 224 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,960 there was just this like little teaser for a minute of like, 225 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,960 well, maybe you will get a medal because there was all the 226 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,640 hullabaloo about like, oh, well, water bottles were taken out of 227 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,840 like out of the zone and we filed A protest and you might 228 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:30,920 get bronze. And I was like, you know, it's 229 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,120 not the way that you want to get a medal, but at the same time 230 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,640 like a medal's a metal. So I think that was also kind of 231 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:41,480 just like part of the emotional experience of like, well, where 232 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,160 did I actually end up and and what's this going to be so. 233 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:47,400 You brought up your coach I, I kind of want to learn a bit more 234 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,000 about coach Andrew Gerard and just sort of like how this 235 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,800 partnership kind of was struck up. 236 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:54,280 Now, I guess we're going on what year? 237 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,360 6:00-ish, right of of. Working, yeah, I started in. 238 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,160 I started working with him in September of 2020. 239 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,520 Yeah, and I guess a lot of people would probably know of 240 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:07,880 him from the Stanford days. I think even in his bio on the 241 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:12,040 George Mason website, like, Ian Dobson's name, I think is just 242 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,320 plastered all over that more than than than his own name. 243 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,600 And so he's got like, you know, a very strong track background. 244 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,280 But where does his marathon philosophy really come from? 245 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,520 I mean, he's he's an incredible coach. 246 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,120 And I think, you know, and it's a great question. 247 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,640 I think that it has to do with like kind of coaching the 248 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,440 athlete more than the event if, if that makes sense. 249 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,280 I feel like he was just really thoughtful. 250 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,000 Like when we first started having conversations about me 251 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:44,000 starting to work with him, he asked just tons of questions to 252 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,520 to kind of get to know me and my history as an athlete really 253 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,280 well. And then he had worked with 254 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:56,440 Bethany Sakhleben, who had run for George Mason and so and she 255 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,800 was doing really well and she was in the Fairfax area. 256 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,360 And so I was sort of familiar with her success. 257 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,360 But I also just knew that he was really highly regarded by a lot 258 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,040 of the coaches in the area. I had known Steve Taylor at the 259 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,120 University of Richmond for for a while through his Collegiate 260 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:20,000 Running Association work. When I was getting my graduate 261 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,800 degree, I would sometimes run their races. 262 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:26,640 And I reached out to Steve to ask his opinion on, you know, 263 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,840 coaching and, and, you know, making a switch to to something 264 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,960 different. And he highly recommended Coach 265 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,360 Gerard. And yeah. 266 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,160 And I think from the first time we sat down and just felt like 267 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,560 the right fit. I feel like personality wise, 268 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:48,360 we're a really good fit. And yeah, I think we've over the 269 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,840 first couple of years, we're sort of figuring out what I 270 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:52,960 responded to. He was figuring it out. 271 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:58,040 I was, you know, just trying to, you know, follow, follow the 272 00:14:58,040 --> 00:14:59,640 directions he gave as best as I could. 273 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,600 And I think that we've gotten really good at having like a a 274 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,200 really comfortable flow of communication. 275 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:12,480 And so he's always like able to to tweak things on the fly and 276 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,520 he sees my workouts in person. And I think that that also 277 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,480 really helps you like bikes, my long runs and stuff. 278 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:22,240 And so I think part of the, you know, it just being a really 279 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:26,080 good fit and, and really working well for me is that he, I think 280 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:27,520 he could coach anybody in anything. 281 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,160 I think if I decided tomorrow that I was going to, you know, 282 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,680 do a triathlon, I don't know, maybe he wouldn't like be on 283 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,520 board with that. But I really think that like he, 284 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,200 he really just kind of understands mindset and taxing 285 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,400 all the different systems. And I think he just, he's a 286 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,720 really, really good coach and I think that he could coach 287 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,040 anything. But I also feel like the first 288 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:52,960 couple years we're really just kind of figuring out what I 289 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,800 responded well to and what I didn't. 290 00:15:54,920 --> 00:16:01,360 We did some like really long, grindy long runs early on that I 291 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,600 think I just got pretty tired from. 292 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,920 And so like we've just he's made adjustments along the way to 293 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,560 kind of figure out what the right blend is of like speed 294 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,680 stuff on the track and, and grindy long runs for me. 295 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,160 And I think we figured it out, but I feel like the marathon 296 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:20,000 teaches you something every time you run it, so. 297 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,800 What's the training look like I guess for in this build up to to 298 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,160 Boston? First time back since 2021. 2021 299 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,680 yeah so when I ran it in 2021, I, I don't know if they just 300 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,720 have like a smaller field because there were still a lot 301 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,280 of COVID restrictions in place. But I wasn't really kind of 302 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,160 officially part of the pro field until like the very last minute. 303 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,480 I I think somebody had maybe withdrawn and Mary Kate called 304 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,240 or emailed that week and was like we have a hotel room for 305 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:50,360 you and I was like OK, great. So I didn't really like do like 306 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,960 the elite suite and like athlete dining and any of that kind of 307 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,480 part of the pro experience the last time. 308 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,360 So I think that this one is just going to be, and it also was in 309 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,560 the fall. So I think that for a lot of 310 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,440 reasons, this one's just going to feel like my first Boston, 311 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,640 even though, yeah, I have run it before. 312 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,560 I'm really excited. I went out last weekend and ran 313 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,480 from 15K to the finish. It was, I think, a smart thing 314 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,440 to do because I don't feel like I remembered much from 2021. 315 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,480 I mean, I get up to Boston fairly frequently, so I have a 316 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,080 general idea of, you know, what the course is all about. 317 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,160 But there's just some subtle up and downs that I was glad that I 318 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:34,240 had the opportunity to experience. 319 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,200 You know, I guess at that point a month out to just kind of have 320 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,960 in the back of my mind for this next couple weeks of training. 321 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,120 Why 15K as like the starting point? 322 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,880 Well, because I wasn't going to run the whole thing and we, I 323 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:49,160 really wanted to finish at the finish and not and not finish 324 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:54,920 somewhere along the course. And yeah, Mary Kate Shay, who's 325 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,640 the coordinator of the elite fields, came along with me and, 326 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:01,440 and she asked my thoughts on it. And then I was like, you know, 327 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:02,920 what do you recommend? What do people do? 328 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:04,800 And she was like, just do 15K to the finish. 329 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:07,320 So that's what we did. All right. 330 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,520 So I need to know when people typically go and do their long 331 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,200 runs, I guess along the course and they get to the finish. 332 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:15,560 So you cross it or do you stop, right? 333 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:16,800 Before. No, no, no, no, no. 334 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,480 I stopped before. I know some people who buy into 335 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,240 the superstition and then others who are just no, it doesn't 336 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,240 matter. But I, I think I'm currently 337 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:30,320 also in the same camp of like not crossing until, till race 338 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:32,080 day. What is it I guess that you 339 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:36,600 remember about that Boston in in 2021 that you felt that maybe 340 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:38,400 you did right, that you're hoping to? 341 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,440 Or is this just sort of just a blank slate? 342 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,720 This will be very different. I think it'll be a blank slate 343 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:52,000 kind of thing. I think when I went in in 2021, 344 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:58,040 it was the second marathon that I had run since Gerard had 345 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,200 started coaching me. But I ran the marathon project 346 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,760 in 2020 and he had only been coaching me for like 2 months. 347 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,280 It's almost three months at that point. 348 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,440 And I mean it was APR. So like I immediately, I mean, I 349 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,440 had already bought in, but then I was like really bought in. 350 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:16,440 But it really felt like the first real one that I had run 351 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:20,800 since working with Coach Gerard. And the just the amount of 352 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:25,120 quality volume I had done for that marathon build compared to 353 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,040 any others was it was significantly higher. 354 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,400 And I think I'm still kind of adjusting to that. 355 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,480 I feel like we were kind of figuring out how I, you know, 356 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:35,800 what a good taper for me would be. 357 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,000 And I remember I ran more miles in the week before that marathon 358 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,920 than I ever had before any other marathon. 359 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,240 And so I think I just kind of went into it very nervous about 360 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:45,920 all the different factors at play. 361 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:47,600 I was definitely in the lead pack for a while. 362 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,120 I don't think it went out very fast. 363 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:54,400 And as I started to drift off, Dez pointed out that like, you 364 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,120 really have to be mindful of the tangents there. 365 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,440 So I feel like I learned, I picked up things along the way 366 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,120 that will be helpful. But for the most part, this is 367 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,800 really just going to feel like I'm, you know, running my first 368 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,280 one. But I do remember running the 369 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:14,560 tangents with Dez for a little while and then I feel like the 370 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,920 last 5K. When I look back at it, I, the 371 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,800 point that I saw last week was like 5K to go. 372 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,600 I felt like it was like 5 miles to go. 373 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,400 When I was running it the other day, I was like, I felt like 374 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:28,640 this was further out from the finish. 375 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:34,120 So that was, this is just like good things to be aware of now 376 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:36,480 and to kind of put it in context because I feel like at that 377 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:38,560 point I was really, really hurting in 2021. 378 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,840 But you know, hopefully, hopefully it won't be in a 379 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,960 couple weeks. This episode of the City Smack 380 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:50,520 podcast is supported by Wahoo. You've got 26.2 miles of work. 381 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,800 Heartbreak Hill. The Newton Hills, that long 382 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,240 grinding stretch from mile 16 to 20. 383 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,640 You've studied the course. You've circled the date on the 384 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:02,680 calendar. You've sacrificed the early 385 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,960 mornings for long runs. You've sacrificed your social 386 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:07,200 plans. You've put in the work. 387 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,800 But there's a difference between knowing a course and knowing a 388 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,120 course. Have you felt the gradient shift 389 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,080 under your feet? Have you practiced holding your 390 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:19,960 pace when the hill doesn't care about your goal time? 391 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:24,320 With the Wahoo Kicker Run, you can simulate the exact Boston or 392 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,480 London Marathon course right in your own home. 393 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,640 Upload the GPX file into the Wahoo app and the Kicker Runs 394 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,320 Automatic grade control. Adjust your incline in real 395 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,200 time, mile by mile, climb by climb, descent by descent. 396 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:40,600 Exactly as it would feel when it matters most. 397 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,320 That's race day. Every hill rehearsed, every 398 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,320 crucial on course moment. Practice. 399 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,120 No guessing at all. That's not just training, that's 400 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,600 race specific preparation. 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Check it out today at 419 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,800 wahoofitness.com and use Code SIDIOUS at checkout for that 420 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:57,000 free Kicker Headwind Smart fan. Many thanks to Wahoo for coming 421 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,840 back on as a sponsor of the Sidious Mag Podcast. 422 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,480 This episode of the City of Smack podcast is presented by 423 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,760 Lollipop. 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We've made it the runner's soda. 460 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,440 You've, I guess, done London in the spring for the last couple 461 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:11,560 years. Then there was the, you know, 462 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,160 the time that you were injured. And I'm trying to, like, piece 463 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,080 together my mind. The last New York really, I 464 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,000 guess like doesn't count because it was so close to Tokyo. 465 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,800 But when was the last full build you had for a hilly marathon 466 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,560 like Boston? Atlanta 2020? 467 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,040 I was kind of injured going into that one, so I don't know that 468 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,080 I've ever had one. Yeah, because I I ran my first 469 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:37,920 marathon was grandma's and then the Olympic trials in LA, which 470 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,960 is extremely flat. I ran Richmond, but that one's 471 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,040 not really hilly. So has this build felt different 472 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,120 than others just to incorporate more of that hill work? 473 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,200 We have been really intentional about hills and downhills in 474 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,120 particular. So yeah, it has. 475 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:58,440 It has. I tend to run a lot of hills in 476 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:02,040 the summer. I like to go up to Acadia and 477 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,000 run there. And so I feel like I have, I 478 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,840 like regularly incorporate hills, but in terms of training 479 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:14,000 for a hilly marathon, this might be like the first like real 480 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,800 intentional bill that I've ever done so. 481 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,120 What are the takeaways from Houston Half? 482 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:23,200 Where like, even after taking the time off in November, you 483 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,560 had December and then instantly, I guess you open up 2026 with 484 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:28,680 the 6844 personal best and a half. 485 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:30,040 Yeah. What'd you take away from that? 486 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,800 I was excited. I I mean, I feel like the 487 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,560 weather was perfect and there was just really good energy 488 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,960 there. Brooks shows up in a big way 489 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:45,160 there and yeah, there's some great races from like a bunch of 490 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,400 folks on the team him a couple weeks before. 491 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,280 It was like kind of unnerving. Like I wanted to do what I 492 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,480 wanted to go to the event, but we didn't really have any idea 493 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,680 what to expect. But I had been doing like a 494 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,760 decent amount of threshold work and so I just didn't know if 495 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,680 something may be slightly faster than that was going to feel 496 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,800 incredibly uncomfortable from from the jump. 497 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,600 And and it didn't. I felt really good. 498 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:14,840 I PR Ed in the 10K through the New York City half a couple 499 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:19,480 weeks ago. But before that my 10K road PV 500 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,840 came in route to the Houston half in January. 501 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:28,480 And so, yeah, when I came through 10K in a rode PR and 502 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,480 when I was feeling good, I was like, oh, OK, like this could 503 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,560 actually be a decent day. And then Erica Kemp and I like 504 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,440 we just have experience together now from World champs and just 505 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,160 being Brooke's team mates and kind of showing up at a lot of 506 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,840 the same things. She and I were side by side and 507 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:46,320 I was like, I mean, I know I can run with Erica. 508 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:50,240 And like, if we're, we both seem to be having a good day. 509 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,720 She ran PR as well. And it was just kind of like a, 510 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:58,640 a moment of, of calm and composure And we just kind of 511 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,200 hung together the last several miles. 512 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:05,920 And I was encouraged by like the result, given how uncertain we 513 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,120 were about how ready I was heading into it. 514 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:13,360 I guess I also saw photos of you and Erica at the Brooks Kickoff. 515 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,440 For the fans and people following along, we see all 516 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:21,440 these photos of you, Jess, Amanda at this, you know, 517 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,560 Summit, it seems like. And then, you know, there's some 518 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,440 contraptions and, you know, all this stuff, extra stuff, you 519 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:30,800 know, that you guys are wearing while you're doing all this sort 520 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,600 of testing. What exactly goes down at the 521 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:37,240 Brooks Kickoff? Well, this year was was new and 522 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:41,800 different because, well, I guess last year in January we went to 523 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:46,520 San Diego and we didn't return to San Diego I think for any 524 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,560 number of reasons. But I think part of it was that 525 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,640 the air quality was really bad. There were fires just over the 526 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:54,720 border in Mexico when we were there last time. 527 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,360 And so we switched and we went to Scottsdale this time and, and 528 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:01,400 Jess is, is in Scottsdale. So it was kind of home care for 529 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,520 her. So it was like it was fun and 530 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,320 different because she was kind of like, you know, helping us 531 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:07,600 play tourists while we were there. 532 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,560 But we also did testing in a kind of a more significant way. 533 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,840 When we were in San Diego, we had just done sweat testing. 534 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,960 And because it's so dry that, well, I guess it's dry in both 535 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:25,200 places, but it was really dry. And I hadn't done any kind of 536 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:29,440 heat acclimatization stuff heading into San Diego. 537 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:33,080 So like I just couldn't sweat. And so we had sweat patches on 538 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,280 me that were like as dry taking them off me as they were when 539 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,240 they put them on. So it indicated that I didn't 540 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:39,800 sweat at all. But I don't think that was 541 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,920 legitimate. But we did some sweat testing. 542 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:45,760 No, we didn't do sweat testing in Scottsdale. 543 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,240 We did sweat testing before before Tokyo. 544 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,680 We did they had heart rate monitors on us. 545 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,120 They had like blood oxygenation monitors on our quads. 546 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:04,120 And then they were like sensors in our shoes for force to have a 547 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,400 the Physiology team kind of put it all together and, and, you 548 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,000 know, pumped out resort reports on the other, on the other end 549 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,080 and shared those with us. And it was, it was cool to be 550 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,000 part of that. And we were learning about 551 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,440 lactate and all sorts of things while we were there. 552 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,800 But that was just one day of the, I think we were out there 553 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,320 for three. I ended up being out there for 554 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,120 six days because we had our snow event here in Northern Virginia, 555 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:29,920 but we're out there together for three days. 556 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,920 And Jess and Amanda paired up for their testing and Eric and I 557 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:40,160 paired up for for our day. And it was just really fun 558 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,160 because, I mean, it's like it's it's fun and we enjoy like the 559 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,360 science behind it, but it's also it's a little uncomfortable and 560 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:47,680 it's different from a normal long run. 561 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:52,520 So there is some kind of just team bonding that happens kind 562 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:54,920 of as you go through the emotional roller coaster of like 563 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,600 having, you know, sensors and monitors on you constantly and 564 00:30:58,600 --> 00:30:59,680 having to run a different effort. 565 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:01,320 So, you know, some of them are easy, but some of them are 566 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,920 pretty challenging. So yeah, it's a lot of fun. 567 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,080 What's exciting, I guess you, you get a sneak peek of like 568 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,480 whatever's in store for the next couple years with Brooks. 569 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,920 Like when I chatted with Clayton Young, he was like, I think part 570 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,720 of the reason why he leaned towards signing with Brooks was 571 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,000 because he sat down with the innovation team and they 572 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,720 presented this huge stack of shoes and showed him what's to 573 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,320 come in the next couple years. Like for you, I guess, like 574 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,000 since signing, like what's that been like to see kind of just 575 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,440 the evolution of, you know, the Hyperion Elite and the rest of 576 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:34,800 the lines? Yeah, it's it's been incredible. 577 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:39,080 When I was right before I signed with Brooks, I spoke with Dez 578 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,440 and she was like, look, the next iteration of the Super, she was 579 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:44,640 incredible. Like you're going to love it. 580 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:48,960 And she was absolutely right. That was right before the the 581 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,600 Force came out and the Hyperion Elite 4. 582 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,160 Love those shoes. That's what I ran in Tokyo. 583 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,280 And it's just been really cool to be involved in the process. 584 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,520 They'll send us prototypes and we'll get feedback on them. 585 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,840 Yeah, that's just been really neat to be involved in the 586 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,040 process. And I feel like they're really 587 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,360 great when I get feedback, they're always reassuring, like, 588 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:10,800 oh, we've heard that from other people. 589 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:16,280 And so I do feel like they're get, they're asking enough 590 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,560 people for feedback along the way that they're then taking 591 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:22,800 that feedback and really incorporating it into the next 592 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,880 iteration. So that's been, it's been very, 593 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:29,640 very cool to, to just be part of the, the shoe development 594 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,360 process. But they also asked about our 595 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:36,400 feedback for, for gear. Last summer we were in Seattle 596 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:40,960 and there was like a demand for more pockets in some of our like 597 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:45,640 pro athlete things like just the, our uniform just for gels 598 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,240 and things like that. And they were, you know, they 599 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,720 like took the feedback and immediately implemented some 600 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,640 changes for the next, you know, set of set of gear that we got. 601 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,280 So it's just been really cool to feel like they really do care 602 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,760 about our feedback and that they incorporated it like immediately 603 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:08,760 when we've given it. And then there's also kind of a 604 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:14,200 growing human Physiology kind of part of the Brooks headquarters 605 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:20,760 and Bridget who Erica and just sometime invoke her name. 606 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,600 Like she's, she's been great about kind of pushing like 607 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:29,760 hydration and, and nutrition stuff, but she's also helping us 608 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:33,640 kind of understand just different efficiencies and 609 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:39,200 inefficiencies and our foot strike and, and how we respond 610 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,760 better and, you know, certain pairs of shoes. 611 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:46,040 And so she's constantly texting us and asking like, what can I 612 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:47,360 do to support? What do you feel like you're 613 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:48,640 missing? What do you feel like you need 614 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,680 more support in? And so it's just been really 615 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:57,360 great since I've signed to feel like it's, it's been, I've felt 616 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,600 well supported, but I feel like they are kind of adding to their 617 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,160 capacity. Seems like every week like, Oh, 618 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,360 we have somebody who can help you with this or oh, you know, 619 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:08,440 we, we want your feedback on, on that. 620 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:11,320 So it's been, yeah, it's been really cool to be kind of 621 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,080 involved and felt like there's like this incredible investment 622 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,600 from the whole company to helping us do our best, so. 623 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,080 And you're still giving feedback on spikes as well, I'm assuming 624 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:26,400 because like I saw you got, you know, into that 5K at BU. 625 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,520 Like, what was the intention of that? 626 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:30,800 That that was the Doris Lemon Gold Race, right? 627 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:35,000 Yeah, that was an interesting choice. 628 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:40,679 It was one that I would like to forget, but it was, you know, 629 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:43,159 it's kind of funny. I think it was a couple weeks 630 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:47,480 after I came back from the team summit in Scottsdale and just 631 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,000 like running with the women out there. 632 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,080 I feel like something between like the vitamin D and just like 633 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,920 the good team vibes. I came back, we had had the snow 634 00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:00,040 event, so a lot of my like the track was just covered in ice. 635 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,600 And so I was on the indoor track for a couple weeks and I was 636 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,920 running a lot of threshold stuff. 637 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:10,040 But because I was on the indoor track and like that time and 638 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:12,640 access to that is at a premium. I was doing some workouts 639 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:17,400 overlapping with some of the men on the team and I was finding 640 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,720 that I was running paces for like, you know, threshold case 641 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:24,680 or whatever that were, you know, 345 seconds faster than I ever 642 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,160 had before for the same effort. And so I just got, I think I 643 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:28,680 just got like a little overconfident. 644 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,320 And so I thought, well, gosh, like, you know, if I can, if I 645 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,480 can do this, like what can I do on a 5K? 646 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,640 And it turns out when you're running 100 miles a week, 647 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,600 switching gears, like you can run it for, you know, AK or two 648 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,720 or three maybe, but stringing them together was, was kind of 649 00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:47,760 ugly. But that's all right. 650 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:52,000 It was a good experience and definitely like a, a shock to 651 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:53,560 the system, which I think has some value. 652 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:59,160 But I was out there because one of our one of our guys was 653 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:04,480 running the 5K the night before and he's just a great kid. 654 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:06,800 And he actually sometimes trains up in Acadia as well. 655 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:08,520 So sometimes we'll see each other in the summer. 656 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,320 And I was just really excited to see him run a great race. 657 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,120 And so I was like, you know what, I'll go up and, and up in 658 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:19,920 the 5K. And so overall, it was, you 659 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:26,160 know, like maybe not the best choice, but it was fun until it 660 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:29,080 wasn't. But I'm glad I gave it a shot 661 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:30,360 because I, I did learn a lot from it. 662 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,480 And I think that I'm not riding off the track entirely, although 663 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,680 if you'd asked me an hour after you, I probably would have told 664 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:38,960 you I'm never running on the track again. 665 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:46,120 I love the roads. But yeah, I think that I would 666 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,160 like to do another track race, but I think I'll be a lot more 667 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,360 intentional about the preparation for it and, and 668 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:54,240 spending some more time in the spikes because I, I, I love 669 00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:56,240 their kind of lineup of, of super shoes. 670 00:36:56,240 --> 00:36:58,600 And just like lighter weight trainers, I do a lot of my work 671 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:03,080 in the Hyperion and I hadn't spent much time in spikes and 672 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,200 and they did feel really awkward on the on the secondary, so. 673 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,760 No USATF half marathon championship. 674 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:13,160 So you avoided the disaster of, you know, veering off the 675 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,000 course. Where were you at in training at 676 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,200 that point? Yeah, I mean, it's just like 677 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,640 starting to, you know, I guess I was like in the middle of kind 678 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:25,960 of high mileage, but my highest mileage weeks the I was down in 679 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:31,120 Virginia Beach that weekend for the Atlantic 10 championships. 680 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:35,920 So yeah, I had a good, had a good 20 Miller in the First 681 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:40,040 Landing State Park. It was fairly hilly, so that was 682 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:41,520 good. Decided to wait for New York. 683 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:44,760 I really love the New York Rd. owners events and I had a good 684 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,120 experience at the United Airlines half the year before, 685 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:50,120 so that's the one I wanted to go back to. 686 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:55,360 And yeah, I mean. Yeah, you got pasted A10 KVR in 687 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,640 the middle of that. Yeah, yeah, it was. 688 00:37:57,680 --> 00:37:58,880 Yeah, it was a good experience, so. 689 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:02,400 How would you define success in Boston this time around? 690 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:04,920 It's such a loaded American field. 691 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:07,280 And then just internationally, they're also bringing out some 692 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,320 big stars. You know, my coach and I don't 693 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:14,480 really talk about like place and time goals until like a day two 694 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:17,480 days before. And so I guess I'll kind of see 695 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:24,640 how the next couple weeks go. But I missed out on keeping my 696 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:28,680 top ten at AUS or at a world major streak when I were in New 697 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:30,840 York. That was my biggest regret 698 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,920 walking away from New York. I said I had like, but I've lost 699 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:37,200 the streak. But I certainly that I feel like 700 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:40,800 it's kind of like that, that's an easy one to say. 701 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:45,320 Like I, I, I want to get back and, and into that rhythm of, 702 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:49,400 you know, being in the top ten. I would really love to find 703 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:55,600 myself at like 5K8K to go, like feeling like I'm still competing 704 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,600 for, for one of the top spots. So we'll see. 705 00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:59,720 I don't really know how the race will unfold. 706 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:03,640 Yeah, Boston's such a weird one where it could just like it. 707 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:06,560 We've seen just a variety of different kinds of races. 708 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:10,600 Yeah, I mean, I I would love, I mean, I apparently Amanda 709 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:12,880 predicted to Brooke's sweep of the podium. 710 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,840 So I'm I'm on board with being part of that. 711 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,960 If that's so, what's come? Is it going to come fast? 712 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:24,040 So I do feel like it's been cool throughout this whole build to 713 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:28,880 just be in touch with Amanda and Erica and Jess and just like 714 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:32,880 feel like everybody's the firing on all cylinders and things are 715 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:35,560 going well. So I would really love to to 716 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:39,520 find myself like in the later stages of the race, feeling like 717 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:43,520 we're like all having a good day and that we're working together, 718 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:49,000 but I'll be disappointed if I'm outside of the top five, I would 719 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,760 think, but I don't know. I mean, I guess we'll we'll see 720 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,640 how it shakes out. And I think it really is just 721 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,600 going to depend on, there's so many factors of Boston, you 722 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:02,520 know, the weather and. It's just everybody showing up. 723 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:06,160 It's it's a loaded field, so. So we'll see. 724 00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:08,920 Well, Suzanne, I appreciate you taking the time for this. 725 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,960 Best of luck in these last couple weeks of training and 726 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,280 looking forward to seeing you in action in Boston. 727 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,480 Thank you so much. All right, that's a wrap on 728 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,720 today's episode. Thanks for listening, for the 729 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,720 time, the curiosity and for making this show part of your 730 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:26,800 routine or your run. A big thanks to our producer 731 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:29,680 Jasmine Fair and to everyone behind the scenes who helps make 732 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:32,840 the Sidious Mag Podcast happen. If you enjoyed today's episode, 733 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:35,760 a quick five star review on Apple Podcast or Spotify helps 734 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,920 people find this show and we read every single one. 735 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,160 You can find muchmoretrackandfieldcoverage@sidiousmag.com 736 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:44,520 and you can follow along across all of Sidious Mag social 737 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:46,040 channels. We'll see you next time. 738 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:47,240 Thanks again for listening.