March 13, 2026

Ep. 31: A Sub-3 Marathon in 90 Days? McKay Nelson Chased the Impossible

Ep. 31: A Sub-3 Marathon in 90 Days? McKay Nelson Chased the Impossible
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Season 1

McKay Nelson had never trained for a race in his life. His athletic background was in high school baseball and football — not exactly the resume of a marathoner. But armed with an unshakeable belief that the human body and mind are capable of more than we give them credit for, he set out to prove just that.

90 days. 26.2 miles. Under 3 hours.

In this episode, McKay takes us through the full journey — the training, the doubt, the moments he wanted to quit, and what it actually felt like to toe the start line knowing everything he'd put on the line to get there. His story isn't just about running. It's about what becomes possible when you stop believing in your own limitations.

Whether you're a runner, an athlete, or someone who's ever talked yourself out of something before you even started — this one's for you.

🎧 Listen, subscribe, and leave a review if McKay's story moved you.

WEBVTT

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Really, the whole mission of this is like who I am and what I believe is that truly we are limitless, and our potential is far beyond what we can even imagine.

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And I'm testing that with myself.

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Welcome back to Through Their Stride.

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I'm your host, Sam Sutton, and today I'm sitting down with McKay Nelson, who asked himself the question: what does it take to attempt something most trained runners wouldn't dare try?

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McKay came into this challenge with no background whatsoever, just the grit and athleticism he built on the football field and baseball diamond back in high school.

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That was it.

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No marathon training, no runs, no idea what he was truly getting himself into.

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And yet, he set his sights on one of the most respected benchmarks in all of running, a sub-three-hour marathon.

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That's 26.2 miles in under three hours built from scratch.

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What happened over those 90 days, the grind, the setbacks, the moments of doubt, and the ones of pure determination, that's exactly what we're getting into today.

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This is McKay Nelson's story, and I think it's going to leave you thinking a little bit differently about what your cap is.

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Let's get into it.

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So, welcome back to Through Their Stride.

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I'm your host, Sam Sutton, and today I'm joined by McKay Nelson, who tried to run a sub three-hour marathon in 90 days.

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That's that's a pretty incredible journey.

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So welcome, welcome to the show.

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Thank you.

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I'm excited to be here.

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So tell me a little bit about your story before we get into that.

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Have you were you a runner growing up?

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Or how did how did running come to you?

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Yeah, so growing up, I played baseball and football as a kid, as long as I can remember.

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So when I was super little, that led me all the way into high school, just playing baseball, football.

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I wanted to play baseball at the collegiate level.

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Turns out I wasn't super passionate about it.

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I was good at it.

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I was an outfielder, so I wasn't like a first baseman or third baseman, you know, whether a little bit slower.

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So I was fast.

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And then in football, I was really good at football, but I don't know, I just it never went anywhere, which is totally fine.

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But and then, you know, you just go into your normal life.

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You know, I got married to my wife in 2021.

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Oh no, 2020, sorry.

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No, yeah, 2021.

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Oh, cool.

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Or two, 2022.

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But anyways, I know seriously.

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I was like, wait, wait a second.

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Yeah, I was thinking.

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I was a lot of times in my head right now.

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But uh, and all I did after like high school sports was lift weights.

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I I did always do athletic training though, so like I didn't I don't love like just going to the gym doing bodybuilding stuff.

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And I started up as of like recently, so this is actually where this running thing came in.

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I went and trained at a gym.

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I live in Utah.

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They train a lot of like actually like NFL athletes there.

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So I don't know if you know Puka Nakua.

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He's a big one, receiver for the Rams.

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And my buddy trains out of that gym, so he started training me.

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I know I started doing a lot more athletic training, and we do uh he asked me, he's like, Do you want to just lift weights or do you want to do like speed and mobility?

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I was like, I want to do speed and mobility.

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So, you know, you're doing that means you're doing the 10-yard shut, you're doing the shuttles, you're doing the 40-yard dash, and and my times were pretty good.

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I'm like, all right, I'm pretty fast.

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Like, how could I do something where I can move and run because I enjoy moving like this?

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And my first stop was running, and it wasn't a marathon.

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I was like, hey, maybe it'd be like 5K's, or maybe do a 10k, but I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do the marathon.

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I've never ran a marathon, I've always wanted to do it, and then I just had this idea of the challenge, and at that same time, I wanted to like I've always wanted to get onto social media, and I was like, this is a good way, like, let's do the challenge, let's publicly put it out there, it's gonna keep me accountable and let's go for it.

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Yeah, so that's where it all came to be.

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Awesome.

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And did you grow up in Utah originally?

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Yeah, grew up in Utah.

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Nice.

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I went to I went over to Utah back last summer for a race, and it's it's beautiful over there, so I'm kind of jealous.

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Yeah, no, I love it.

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Yeah, the mountains are pretty, air quality is not good though.

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Sucks here.

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Oh, really?

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I didn't know that.

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Well, there's just a lot of inversion because of the mountains.

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Yeah, okay.

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So the air quality is pretty bad, but uh and then I don't know, Utah has a like my high school, I went to America Fork High School, that's where I grew up.

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They they're like great and cross-country, they've won nationals like year over year over year, and my brother was a big runner, so I'm like, hey, let's just like give this running thing a shot.

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Let's see how it goes.

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Yeah, awesome.

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And then uh and I learned a lot, yeah.

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So it talked to me a little bit about the the journey.

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So, first off, which marathon did you did you end up going to do?

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So I did the SoCal River Marathon in California, obviously.

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Yeah, and when you started it, when you were thinking about sub three, did that seem daunting or did that seem well, I got I've got three months.

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I can think, I think I can get there.

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What was that kind of feeling like?

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Yeah, I'm gonna say this without sounding like I have a massive ego because I got humbled, right?

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I was like, okay, sub three marathon can't be that hard.

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That that was my original thought.

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And then I would like see a lot of like, you know, like running influencers on social media that have hit sub three, yeah, and I'm like, all right, like these guys, I I could do this.

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That's what I was thinking.

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I was like, it just depends how long.

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I asked my brother, first thing he says to me is like, there's no way.

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And I'm like, no, like I think I can.

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I was like, why not?

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Like see and try.

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And I was like, cool, I'm gonna post about this.

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I was like, what time constraint should I put on it?

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And I was like, three months or six months.

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And I was like, six months, I don't know if I'll stay interested because it's too far out.

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I was like, three months though, it's like, well, I really got to train in order to get there.

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I was like, let's do 90 days, so three months.

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Yeah, so that's how I came to that.

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Had your brother ever run a marathon before?

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Did he have some experience and some thoughts behind it?

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Yeah, so he had never run a marathon, but he did cross country in high school for like a little bit, like one year, and a lot of his friends ran cross country.

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And he, I mean, I remember the day I I brought up the challenge to him.

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He's like, Watch, I'll text my friends, let's see who can do it.

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He asked like a couple of his cross-country friends, some that actually run for D1 schools, and they're like, uh, like it's possible if they have an athletic background, the right coaching, right strategy, right training plan, like could probably get him there.

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And then some were like, No, there's no way.

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Yeah.

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And I was like, okay, all right, I've gotten answers where some people think it's possible, some think it's not.

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Like, let's go try this.

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Yeah.

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And then Did you did you run any 5Ks or 10Ks ahead of this race?

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And what were your if if so, oh no.

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You just jumped right in.

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Yeah, I just jumped right in.

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I mean, I had a so like I know I said zero running background.

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I I don't count this as running background.

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This is also where the idea came from.

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So I was living in New Jersey.

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Okay, and I started training like like lifting weights again, and I was like, let's try this running thing.

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I was like, I'm just gonna go run a mile and I'm gonna run a mile as fast as I can.

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I kept doing that every about every two to three days, I just go run a mile as fast as I can.

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I did that for like four weeks, and I still actually have it on my Garmin, but in four weeks I got my mile down to a 532.

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Oh, not and I was like, I was like, hey, that's pretty fast.

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And so, like, you know, fast forward to 90 days ago, I was like, I mean, I ran a mile completely different, right?

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Like marathons are completely different.

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But I was like, I ran a mile in four weeks, I got my mile down to a 532.

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Like, how hard could this be to run a marathon?

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Yeah, I don't know.

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I just yeah, the the naiveness like protected me from getting like wrecked, but like also was my biggest downfall.

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Yeah, for sure.

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And then when when it came to the training in the you know, in those 90 days, so talk to me a little bit about the training.

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Did you run five days a week?

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What was the the running like for you?

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Yeah, so I was managing injury, not injury, is managing a lot of pain.

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I that was the whole goal was just to be able to do it without getting injured.

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Yeah, so I went week one with again no zero zero running background.

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I I did like 21 miles, I think it was week one, and my body was hurting and feeling that, and I ran five days that week.

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So like I was like adjusting the whole time.

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But the goal was three days on, one day off, three days off.

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Okay.

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I didn't end up doing that because it was too much, but I was gonna do three days on, yeah, one day off, three days on.

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Gotcha.

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And uh I was trying to do six days a week, but it it it would vary.

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Yeah, six days a week is a lot, especially if you're jumping in from like zero to six.

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That's and especially like 20 plus miles a week, that's hard to manage right at right at the beginning.

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Yep, exactly.

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And I was on actually the week one, I went on vacation with my wife to Hawaii.

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So I was running in Oahu, and the humidity was killing me, and I was like, wow, this is actually like hard.

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I remember like day four, I had a three-mile run.

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Again, this is me, just lack of knowledge, and I went and ran the three miles as fast as I could.

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Yeah, like I remember I ran that with like 185 average heart rate, and I ran it with at like a 730 pace, and I was like, Oh, I got this, like just thinking I can crush it, but you know, you know how I went.

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And this was all self-coached, right?

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You didn't have a coach for this?

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Chat GPT and me.

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Yeah, yeah, it's funny because a lot of people like who who talk to me these days actually do use chat GPT.

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So I think that's kind of an interesting like phenomenon going on today, like where like AI can really help you train, but for a sub-three marathon, it's pretty tough.

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But what was the yeah?

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The the funniest the funniest thing is AI told me it's not possible before doing it.

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Yeah, and I had to like re- you know, my prompt, I had a reprompt it, like, okay, well, no, you're gonna train me as if it is possible.

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And they're like, All right, yeah, yeah.

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So they tried to protect, they tried to work you.

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Yeah, they tried.

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And then with the training, so what are some things that you learned?

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And talk to me kind of step by step of like how it felt and the emotional and physical journey that it was.

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Yeah, so again, no knowledge.

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I I got on social media.

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I was like also getting trained by like social media, like my algorithm quickly changed to just be pure running content.

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And I'd just see videos after videos, and I'd try to like follow people that seem pretty reputable in the running community and like go off their advice.

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And you know, it was in my comment sections, it was all about you need to build your aerobic base, you need to build your aerobic base.

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My understanding was I was like, there's no way I have time to build aerobic base in order to sub three.

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I was like, I gotta run fast and I gotta run fast a lot.

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Yeah, and so that was my training.

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I do believe that zone, you know, zone two training, spending the time to build your aerobic base makes a hundred percent sense.

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Like everyone should do that.

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But with the time constraint, I and no running background, it's like I couldn't do that.

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So emotionally, I was knew that I was gonna feel pain and a lot of pain, and that was the biggest factor.

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I was just constantly hurting.

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It was never my muscles as much as it was my tendons, my knees, my IT band, my feet too.

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Like that hurt a lot.

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And there was times I'd go out on runs, and I would like yeah, I would try to run.

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It's like, okay, so I was like, I would have to like switch between this.

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May sound weird, it's like what I did to just keep my body going.

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I would switch between like four foot striking and heel striking.

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Because like when you heel strike, it's you know, moving using more about like the front of your body.

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You when you four foot strike, you're using your hamstrings, calves, glutes a little bit more.

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So in order to like manage being able to still run, I would like switch from like heel striking to four foot striking.

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Interesting.

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And then I learned about increasing my cadence too.

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That changed probably more than anything was shortening my stride and increasing my cadence helped me the most.

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Okay, cool.

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But yes.

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So what was your cadence before that?

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And then how did you what was your cadence when after you shifted and what did you do to work on that?

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Yeah, so I think it so day 30, it was like I was like, okay, I'm one third away, I'm gonna go run a half marathon.

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This is when I actually thought that it was possible.

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I went out, ran the half marathon at an 812, just you know, on a on a training day.

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My heart rate was like 172 the whole time.

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So I was completely cooked.

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Redlining it.

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Yeah, I redlined the whole thing.

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And my body felt that for like a week to like probably like realistically, like two weeks, because I was only 30 days in.

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But I ran it at that 812 pace, and I was like, dang, that's like pretty good for 30 days, like, right?

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Like, and some people were telling me that it was, and that was my first video that it got over like 10,000 views.

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It got like 20k views.

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I was like, okay, there must be something there that someone saw that, like, hey, that's pretty good for 30 days to go run a half marathon and 812 pace.

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And uh, but then I looked at my people were mentioning cadence, and I went to Strava, I looked down, my average cadence on that was like I think it was like 156 steps per minute, I think that's how they measure it.

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And I was like, this is all new to me, so I'm like learning everything as I'm going, and I was like, oh, that's like super low.

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It's like they say like elite marathoners are like 170 to 180 plus.

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I was like, I was like, what?

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And I was like, I and it took me like probably two weeks to figure out how to increase cadence, and it wasn't, I would like try to like move my legs faster until like again I go to Chat GPT, and it's like the number one way you can increase your cadence is just shorten your stride.

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Yeah, so I shortened my stride and I started four foot striking at that point, and I don't know, my cadence, I just like would focus on it and I try to get it to you know 160 to 170 because it felt so awkward at first.

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So at the same time, I'm like managing pain, but also trying to like change my running mechanics.

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And I come from football, so it was always like explosiveness, right?

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Quick, short bursts, and that was kind of how I would run, but that was costing me.

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Like, I don't know if a lot of people know that that haven't ran before, because I didn't.

00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:40.799
Running mechanics like for a marathon versus like even a 5k are probably different.

00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:51.919
Yeah, I mean, you you you you're a runner, you know, but like that was the biggest thing that I learned was you can't run a marathon like you're gonna run something else, like or the way that you used to play sports.

00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.000
You actually have to change the way that you actually run.

00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.320
Yes, and that was a huge takeaway for me.

00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.320
Yeah, that's that's super interesting.

00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:06.000
I haven't done a whole lot of uh cadence training work, so just like I haven't really thought about it, but maybe it would be something that could help me.

00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.360
But yeah, you're right.

00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:15.440
Like running your the your form and everything, your pace and everything in a marathon is so much different than like a 5k.

00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:17.679
Like oh my gosh, it's completely different.

00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:19.519
Yeah, and uh not even close.

00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:27.519
Yeah, I my 5k time currently is like a 650 per mile, whereas my marathon is like an 834.

00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:28.480
You know what I mean?

00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:34.080
So yeah, yeah, no, it's complete, yeah, it's two different games.

00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:41.279
But but being in this though, learning and hearing from people and getting like tips and tricks.

00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.799
Of course, you got some haters, but like you got a lot of good tips and tricks as well.

00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:48.879
Were you able to implement what other people were saying into your training?

00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:56.960
Yeah, if I were to list them like bullet point, it was increasing cadence and shortening my stride, run posture.

00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.519
So I always thought you had to like run tall.

00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:03.120
It's like, or no, sorry, running posture matters, right?

00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:09.360
Run tall, chest uh open, but like the forward lean, I adjusted that, you know, always got to run with forward lean.

00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.120
That increased my speed.

00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:19.200
Um, and then I started like learning a lot about someone talked about breathing cadences, even so like rhythmic breathing.

00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:30.399
Yeah, and so I started implementing like rhythmic breathing, like like you can do uh a 3-1 or a 2-2, and that has to do with your stride and your breathe and like how you breathe.

00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:33.200
That was that was also huge.

00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:50.159
Yeah, I would say those things cadence, shortening my stride, so increasing cadence, shortening my stride, rhythmic breathing, and then run form, like by posture, yeah, and then also too, like not running with like clenched fists, loose hands, and like hold the potato chips.

00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.279
So I was I was trying to learn everything, and then the biggest thing was running on a midline.

00:15:55.600 --> 00:16:03.039
I would run kind of like a little bit farther apart, so I started to try to like learn to run on my midline, and that helped too.

00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:05.600
These are all things that like helped the most.

00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:06.480
Awesome.

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:07.440
That's super cool.

00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.960
And I was thinking about that.

00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:17.120
Like, while you do get a lot of like flack and hate, I guess, on social media, like there are a lot of people who genuinely are like, ooh, that's it, that's interesting.

00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:17.919
I want to help him.

00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.080
This is could be so cool to see, you know what I mean?

00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:23.120
And like they become invested in your journey.

00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:24.240
Yes, yeah.

00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:25.279
I I noticed that.

00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:36.639
That was when I like at first, like, I didn't know what to expect of posting, but then I started getting, you know, a lot of like comments, and even on my last like five or so videos is like when it's happened the most.

00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:40.639
But yeah, it was like at first, it's like you know, I knew hate was gonna come in because I was making a crazy claim.

00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:46.960
Like, sub three with no background in 90 days is like crazy, and I knew that people would tell me, Oh, this is just for clicks, this is just for engagement.

00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:51.360
No, like I was like genuinely interested in seeing if this was possible now, and I tried.

00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:58.559
Like, I tried to learn everything that I possibly could in order to do it, and believe it or not, yeah, the naysayers or the haters, they they helped a lot through the process.

00:16:58.720 --> 00:16:59.919
You need to do this, you need to do that.

00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:06.799
And I was like, I'd respond to them like, hey, like that's negative, or whatever I would say, hey, no, we're limitless, we can do it.

00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.920
But then I would like take a step back and I'd be like, No, like that's actually really good advice.

00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:11.839
I should probably like go a little more about that.

00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.480
Yeah, and I wanted to touch on that a little bit too.

00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:31.440
So, as far as like the emotional side of sharing this on social media, and as you, you know, got more flack and hate, and then as you got closer to race day, did it ever start to kind of wear on you psychologically of like, man, this is just really hard.

00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.119
Like, I don't know if I'm gonna do it.

00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.759
It's like I don't want to put this out there, and then people be like, see, told you so, and all this and that.

00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:39.920
What did that ever kind of cross your mind?

00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:46.000
Yeah, so I'd say around day 40 to no, yeah, day 45 to 55.

00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:49.759
I I started getting like migraines daily.

00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:50.559
Oh no.

00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:58.480
So I didn't post about it, but like I was getting, I think in one week, I got like three or four migraines, and my migraines are crazy.

00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:02.400
Like, I'll lose my vision, I'll throw up, my tongue will go numb.

00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:04.559
Like sometimes the left side of my body goes numb.

00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:05.039
Oh no.

00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:14.079
And I was like, is this from overtraining, or is it just from the psychological stress of you know, the like what everyone says I can or can't do?

00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:20.720
And I realized it was a mix of all things, so it was like overtraining, the stress of, hey, can I be able to do this?

00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:26.960
And then also too, like it took an adjustment to like put myself out there and just like own how things were going.

00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.599
And so it was it was a mix of all three of those.

00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:30.480
But yeah, it was hard.

00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:35.839
I even told my wife sometimes like some of the things some people would say, I'm like, like that just bothers me.

00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:37.599
I'm like, why did someone say something like this?

00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.920
Or psychologically, yeah, it was kind of hard.

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.039
Yeah, it affected me.

00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.480
But yeah, so I went through that stint where I was literally getting migraines and my body was breaking down.

00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:45.200
Oh my gosh.

00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:49.200
How did you what did you do to manage that and get over and like get through it?

00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:55.279
So migraines, the typically the trigger is stress, but it was like putting my whole nervous system in fight or flight.

00:18:55.359 --> 00:19:10.880
So I started learning about nervous system regulation, and in order to actually recover, you need to get your body out of it's you know, there's the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and whatever one's active, so like parasympathetic, it's rest and digest.

00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.119
Sympathetic is like fight or flight, right?

00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:18.799
It's survival mode, it's where you go on race day because your body is like over exerting itself.

00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:32.319
And when I started like realizing that, I was like, okay, after my runs, the number one thing that I'm trying to do is to get out of my sympathetic nervous system and into my parasympathetic migraines went away after that, and I started recovering better too.

00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:38.559
So like it may sound cheesy, but I think what I'll and this isn't just for runners, just athletes in general.

00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.720
It's like, no, you can't like argue with your wife or your your relationships.

00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:51.759
It's like you got to keep your environment very low stress because like your nervous system feels it and it knows it and it keeps score, and that's gonna affect your running.

00:19:51.839 --> 00:20:02.319
Yeah, so I tried to really like de stress my life at the after that 10-day stint where I like everything was going wrong, and that helped, and I stopped getting migraines and I started recovering actually a lot better.

00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:04.319
Yeah, no, that's totally true.

00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:18.720
Like, it's one of those things where if you tell or like hear it enough that you're you're not capable, you're not good enough, you're you know, it's like your body, your brain will start telling your body that because it's just like exactly you're not good enough.

00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:26.640
Like that's what you're hearing, and it's not true, but it definitely starts to wear on you and and and stress and overwhelm you.

00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:31.279
So that's cool that you were able to kind of take those those proactive steps in that moment.

00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:35.680
Like, I gotta get out of this, I gotta stress, like, take out the stress in my life.

00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.119
That's pretty amazing.

00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:38.240
Yes, yeah.

00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:41.920
Your body really does like I don't know, it's like a computer system.

00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.160
You give it the code and it will respond to whatever you give it.

00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:44.960
Exactly.

00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.079
And that's that's honestly kind of a fun thing about running.

00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:56.480
You start to learn about your body and how it like reacts and interacts with things like over over a training period.

00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.640
Oh, a hundred percent, yeah.

00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:01.200
It's it's actually really fascinating.

00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:09.279
It applies to other all aspects of life once you running does, all sports do, but running has been a huge eye-opener for a lot of things for me.

00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:09.839
Yeah.

00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:18.640
All right, and so going to race day, when you when you got to race day, race weekend, what were the nerves like leading up to that starting line?

00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.079
What was the feeling like?

00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:26.480
I saw you posting a little bit, or like you said your body doesn't feel like it's it's in sub three shape.

00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.559
Um, you're in good shape, but you're not sure how what it's gonna happen.

00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.519
So talk to me about those thought processes.

00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:38.240
Yeah, so going into race day, I knew that my fitness level was not sub three.

00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:39.279
Like I knew it wasn't.

00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:52.240
What I was banking on was the elevation change from Utah to California, wearing a race shoe, and like being able, you know, in in California, Laura, at sea level, you're gonna get more oxygen in your body.

00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:57.440
So I was like banking on those things to give me the extra push in order to do it.

00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.759
There was like an inkling in me that was like, hey, maybe.

00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.839
It's possible, but I was like, it's probably not.

00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:12.960
Yeah, I wanted to go out at a 730 pace, but even now running post-marathon, I probably would have gone out at an 815 pace, eight to eight fifteen.

00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:15.759
And I think I would have been fine at that pace, like the whole marathon.

00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:17.599
But I obviously didn't.

00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:19.200
And so yeah, I didn't know what to do.

00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:21.359
Like for the whole week, I was like, hey, do I just send it?

00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:31.039
Because that's what this whole journey was about, was doing the sub three, or do I actually just go run a good marathon and get you know a bunch of like a lot more respect for at least running a good time?

00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.000
And then I was like, you know what, I'll just like leave it up to the people that I've been watching.

00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:35.200
I was like, let's just post a video.

00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:37.200
So I posted a video, I was on the beach that day.

00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:38.799
I was like, hey, what do you guys want to see?

00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:40.079
Do you want to see me go for it?

00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:43.680
Or do I go out and run a respectable pace and get a good time?

00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:52.079
And everyone, and that post got a hundred thousand views, and like we got like 200 comments, and it was and you know, people were saying, You know why we're here.

00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.599
I didn't follow you just to see you go out and run the respectable release.

00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:59.680
I was like, all right, I was like, all right, I'll okay, I'll go for it.

00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:13.119
And I didn't want to, I'll be honest, because I knew that I like I knew I was gonna blow up, like I knew that was gonna happen, and oh, and the course was a little bit downhill, like it's like 365 feet net downhill, okay.

00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:15.039
And I was like, okay, maybe that will help too.

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.160
Maybe I can do it.

00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.480
And so I tried to like reconvince myself that I could.

00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.480
Yeah, and then the first like by mile three, I was like, yeah, this ain't happening.

00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:24.400
But but I went out at sub three pace.

00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:24.960
I sent it.

00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:26.640
Yeah, yeah, I saw your splits.

00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:35.920
I saw your splits, and as far as though, as a respectable time, I mean, you were holding quite a respectable pace uh for like several miles.

00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.440
I don't think it was until the mid to late miles that you hit the tens.

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:45.440
So um, were you able to kind of dial it in for a little bit in those early to mid miles?

00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:52.319
Yeah, I want to say it well, a funny story too is my watch was misreading my heart rate for sure for the first eight miles.

00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:53.119
Oh yeah.

00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:05.680
Because yeah, so like I'm looking at my splits, I came out at 647, next one was six fifty-two, six fifty-three, and then it was seven twenty-three, seven fifteen, seven thirty-two, seven fifty-five, seven thirty-nine, seven fifty-six.

00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:08.720
And I'm like, okay, this like I was feeling pretty good, but it just kept getting slower.

00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:14.319
And I was like, Okay, if I don't dip back to like an 830, or like I this race is toast.

00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:18.559
I'm gonna be walking in over four hours, and sure enough, that's what happened because I was like, Okay, I'll just keep pushing.

00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:33.359
Yeah, but to answer your question, I was feeling fine for probably four miles, and then I got this like reading on my heart rate, and I was running at like 185 for like the first like five miles.

00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:41.200
Yeah, I had no idea because it was reading like 150 to like 160, and I was like, that's normal, that's like a good range to run a marathon for sure.

00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:47.759
But then like I saw it like shoot up to like 180 to 185, like for like a couple minutes in a run.

00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:55.680
I was like, wait a second, and I think my watch was misreading my heart rate, and that was when I actually got kind of scared because I was like, and then now I felt like I was shutting down.

00:24:55.759 --> 00:25:05.839
So I think that's an interesting thing actually about the body is I think we get way too tied up into our watch and what the heart rate says, and it sends a signal of like of fear to your body, and your body responds to that.

00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:06.640
Oh, yeah, for sure.

00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:16.400
So, like, I was almost like, yeah, the takeaway for me was like I almost brainwashed myself with that low heart rate for the first like five miles because it was reading 150 to 160, and I was like, I'm fine.

00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:18.559
I didn't feel fine, but I was thinking that I was fine.

00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:24.799
Yeah, and my body felt better, but then the second I saw it go to 185, everything felt different in my body.

00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:29.440
Fear kicked in, I started to slow down, pace got slower and slower mile by mile.

00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:31.359
So that was an interesting thing that I learned.

00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:35.440
I was like, maybe you can just kind of gaslight yourself into a you know a faster pace.

00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:36.240
No, for sure.

00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:53.279
I I felt the exact same thing before with heart rate and like getting too too caught up in the watch where it's like you like I tell my because when I try to do zone two training, I'm like, okay, I gotta stay in zone two, which what zone two for me is like 120 to 130 something.

00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.400
And so I'm like, if I stay there, like I'm good.

00:25:56.559 --> 00:26:01.599
And then like my watch starts to tick up later in the miles, like to 138, 140.

00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:05.920
And then I start panicking, and I'm like, oh no, I'm not in zone two anymore.

00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:11.599
Like, I've changed the workout, and then once that happens, the heart rate goes up to like 150, you know what I mean?

00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:13.759
And you're like, yes, you're just panicking.

00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:18.880
So yeah, the science the science can kind of screw you over sometimes.

00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:22.720
Yeah, that that's what I would say is some sometimes you can get too involved in the science.

00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:23.359
Yeah.

00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:24.880
So and I did.

00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:27.119
Yeah, but that's on race day.

00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:32.720
Yeah, that's okay though, but like that's one of the things that you kind of learn and take going forward.

00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:37.839
So in the race, though, did you ever have a moment like that what were your thoughts like while racing?

00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.880
What kind of carried you through all the way to the finish line?

00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:46.319
Because to finish that after going out so fast, like takes a lot of willpower and grit.

00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:51.279
Thoughts that were going through my head, it it kept changing.

00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:57.680
So at the beginning, I was like, I've got this, and then I was like, Okay, I need to slow it down, and then I was like, oh my gosh, I need to slow it down more.

00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:00.319
I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to slow it down even more.

00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.279
And then it got to a point where I was like, okay, just don't walk.

00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.920
Like, just do not stop, do not walk, do not walk.

00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:10.720
And then it got to a point I started getting chills and I was overheating like really bad.

00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:16.480
And my brother, my wife, and and his wife, my brother's wife, were like me.

00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:24.880
I put an air tag in my back pocket so they could like hand me electrolytes because I didn't know if they the aid stations just had power raid and I don't I don't like power raid.

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:30.400
So they were dropping off electrolytes and he handed me that water bottle and then I walked.

00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:33.039
And I that was when I think I kind of felt defeated.

00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:38.400
And that was at like mile, I think it was like mile 11 or 12, something like that.

00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:48.240
And that was when I first walked, and I was like, for, or it might have been at like 13, mile 12 or 13, and and he handed me that water bottle and I walked, and I was like, all right, I think this is over.

00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:59.599
Like what I wanted to do, which was run like a three because I was thinking sub three, and then I was thinking, okay, 315, okay, 320, 325, 33, 330, 335.

00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:05.599
And at mile 13, when I was like, that was when I was like, I could probably do 335.

00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.880
And then it just kept getting worse and worse from there.

00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:23.359
Like, but uh, and then it and then it got to a point where I like couldn't even move now because my body felt like a thousand pounds of bricks, like a bag of bricks, and then I just I would walk and run and walk and run, and the rest was just the willpowering it to get to the finish line.

00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:26.240
I was like, you know, no matter what I'm finishing though, I'm not gonna walk off this course.

00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:34.720
Yeah, and you mentioned something while talking about that about the heat and humidity and of being on the beach and how that kind of affected your marathon.

00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:39.200
I saw you post a little bit of a little video about it saying, like, what is up with this heat?

00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:42.799
Like, it really does have have an effect on your running.

00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:46.400
So did you imagine that it was gonna be as bad as it was?

00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:48.559
No, like so.

00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:58.720
In Utah, I was running in 30 to 45 degrees, and I could, it's weird because it feels like when you're outside and it's cold, you actually can redline.

00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:01.039
Like I could run, because that was what I was banking on.

00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:02.880
I was like, I'm just gonna redline this whole marathon.

00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:06.240
I'm gonna run 170 to 175 heart rate, the whole marathon.

00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:14.559
Yeah, because I was doing that in my training in Utah and I felt fine, like obviously didn't like feel good on my body, but I wouldn't I'd I could do it.

00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:15.519
Yeah, you weren't gonna like die.

00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:17.200
Yeah, yeah.

00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:23.759
I was like, I'm not gonna die, but then I get to California, you add 40 degrees of heat and now humidity.

00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:27.680
My heart rate was actually lower, and now I actually felt like I was gonna die.

00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:31.759
I'm like, oh my gosh, like completely different ball game.

00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:33.599
So yeah, that was the biggest thing.

00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:38.720
And I tell on social media on my videos, I say, like, that's my excuse, is the heat was what blew up.

00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:40.480
I shouldn't have gone out that fast, no matter what.

00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:41.519
That's the real excuse.

00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:50.400
I should have gone out at my fitness level, but like my second excuse is like the heat completely changed everything for me, and I was definitely not prepared for that and didn't even expect that.

00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:57.359
Yeah, I was sweating, I had the chills, my body felt super heavy, like everything was shutting down.

00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:00.160
I've kind of felt nauseous sometimes too.

00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.079
So, and I needed way more water.

00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:04.160
I never would run on my runs with water ever.

00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:04.799
Oh, wow.

00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:05.839
So that's another thing.

00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:07.759
Like, I wouldn't drink water in Utah when I'd go run.

00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:11.119
Like, even my half marathon, I took two gels and that was it.

00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:11.680
No water.

00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:12.240
Yeah.

00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:13.519
And that's crazy.

00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:14.400
Yeah, it's crazy.

00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:21.039
That you yeah, uh, you said during that video, you were like, you know, the heat's not an excuse.

00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:22.960
I ran what I ran and I'll own it.

00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:29.119
But then there was a comment that said, no, the heat is an excuse, like heat changes everything with running.

00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:43.200
Like, you know, I train here in Texas, and most of the yeah, like late fall, winter, you know, it's it's pretty comfortable, even like early spring, you know, the highest it gets is like in the 70s, and you're like, this is fine.

00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:53.920
But then like you get into the summertime and it's like 104 degrees every day, and you try to go out and run at 104 degrees, and you're like, Man, three miles feels like impossible.

00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:58.000
Yeah, no, like yeah, I yeah, that's why I posted that video.

00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:06.079
I really didn't know, and there was a lot of people that actually said a lot of insightful things about what heat changes and what it changes in the body, and even nutrition too.

00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:12.880
And so this next time around, I'm actually running in June, so it will be a little bit hotter, it's an earlier start time.

00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:17.359
Yeah, like also too the SoCao River Marathon started at 8 8 a.m.

00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:19.200
I'm like, yeah, sorry, 8 a.m.

00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:20.720
I'm like, where's this 6 a.m.

00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:21.519
start time?

00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:30.640
Like it was already 64 degrees when we were starting, uh-huh, and then within 45 minutes, it was already approaching 70s, and I was just like, dude.

00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:45.119
And then during this build, during this race and everything, I mean, posting 90 whole days of this, you must have gotten also some comments of like, hey, you've like you're this is such a so it's such inspirational to me.

00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:49.440
Like, I'm I'm getting a lot of like you're motivating me to get out there and push myself.

00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:51.200
Did you get any of that kind of stuff?

00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:52.240
Yeah, tons.

00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:54.160
That was actually what kept me going.

00:31:54.400 --> 00:32:11.200
I would get people that would just DM me and and they'd say, Hey, I just wanted to say I just started running, I was going for a goal of this, but now I saw that you're doing this, and I've seen your runs, and this was actually what made me feel really good.

00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:13.440
They're like, I don't know how you've been progressing so fast.

00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:15.519
So that like kind of inflated my ego a little bit.

00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:16.400
I'm like, oh sweet.

00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:20.160
Like you know, people think I'm actually improving fast, but it made me feel really good.

00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:26.160
And this one, I remember it was like this one guy, he's like, Yeah, I was gonna go train to go run a sub four-hour marathon.

00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:33.359
He's like, But I've seen your videos and how fast you're progressing, and he's like, I've been running even longer than you, and I haven't progressed to the level that you have.

00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:35.519
He's like, I'm gonna go change my goal.

00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.079
And that was what really kept me going.

00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:43.920
That was what kept me inspired and kept me focused on hey, I gotta keep trying because people are loving to see this.

00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.880
Yeah, and it's helping someone and it's inspiring them to push themselves.

00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:48.240
Yeah, that's amazing.

00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:53.359
And it's so funny how like a goal to just like, I'm just gonna see if I can do it, why not?

00:32:53.519 --> 00:33:03.440
Like, you know, see what happens, can turn into like, man, like I'm helping people, I'm inspiring people, and this is more than just a why not just for me?

00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:06.480
Like, this is for this is helping other people too.

00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:08.240
Yeah, exactly.

00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:10.319
That was it was awesome to see that.

00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:16.799
I even had uh to be honest, even more came after I blew up and I posted it.

00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:24.720
Even more of those types of DM, like I got hundreds of DMs after those two videos because the most recent two videos were the only ones that really like blew up.

00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:43.519
I got over 100k views on both and hundreds of comments, and then I got like hundreds of DMs and I was just going through all the DMs, and even though I blew up and it didn't go as I'd planned, and I made huge bold claims that I could and I would, everyone was like super positive and like mad respect for owning it.

00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:44.880
I love the way you approach this.

00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:49.359
You've inspired me to you know go go push for a better time, etc.

00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:49.839
etc.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:51.759
So that was the most rewarding part about all of it.

00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:52.400
That's amazing.

00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:58.720
Yeah, I I think I followed you in like this like the 60s, day 60 something.

00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:02.720
Um I had seen a video pop into my feed and I was like, I'm following this guy.

00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:05.680
Like, I want to see it, see if this can, you know, this can be done.

00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:13.119
And like every few days I would check in to see how it was going, and then I saw the day 90, and I was like, Oh, did he do it?

00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:15.519
And I looked and I was like, Oh, but that's okay.

00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:16.880
And so, but I was like, Thank you.

00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:29.119
I saw that I was like, I'm gonna reach out to you because like you know, this is an incredible story and like a incredible like story of willpower too, and just like seeing what the body is capable of.

00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:31.039
Yeah, no, thank you.

00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:35.199
I wish the result was better, but this next time around, like I genuinely think it's gonna be different.

00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:37.039
Yeah, so you keep saying next time around.

00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:40.159
So I want to hear like what the goal is going forward.

00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:44.880
Are you still gonna do a uh try to do 90 days, or what's your what's your outlook?

00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:48.480
Yeah, so again, goes to the comments.

00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:57.599
Really, the whole mission of this is like who I am and what I believe is that truly we are limitless and our potential is far beyond what we can even imagine.

00:34:57.840 --> 00:34:59.920
And I'm testing that with myself.

00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:03.679
So people are like, this is rage bait, this is just for clicks and engagement.

00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:08.559
It is for engagement and to like grow social media, but like it's a self-experiment.

00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:14.719
I want to see what my like what limitations I can like shed and how fast I can shed them.

00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:23.760
But yeah, I want to do sub three and now under six months, and I am hiring a coach, so I already have a coach, that's gonna help a lot.

00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:27.360
I'm gonna increase my mileage like crazy and run a lot slower.

00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.920
So like the most I ever ran was 40 miles in a week.

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.840
Like I'm gonna get up, build to those 50, 60, maybe 70 mile weeks.

00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:34.559
All right.

00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:44.239
But like, yeah, this the approach this time is just doing the things that everyone said I wasn't doing and like and now doing that.

00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:46.800
Yeah, because it was just like self-experiment.

00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:48.480
It was like, I'm gonna roll this with myself.

00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:50.639
I don't need a coach, I don't run, like, this isn't my thing.

00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:51.519
I'm just gonna go for it.

00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:55.280
But this time it's like I really do want to prove to people like what's possible.

00:35:55.360 --> 00:36:00.639
Because even in my comment sections currently, people still are like, yeah, it took me 20 months to run a subtree.

00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:01.760
Yeah, there's no way this is possible.

00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:03.679
Took me three years, there's no way this is possible.

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:13.119
But believe it or not, I've had DMs, probably three, four, yeah, three or four DMs of people that have told me, hey, in six months I went from zero running background to a 255.

00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:13.519
Jeez.

00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:15.440
I'm like, okay, so this is this is possible.

00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:15.840
Yeah.

00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:17.599
And I don't know what their background was.

00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:25.119
Maybe they were an athlete in some other sport, but I like truly think still, as delusional as it may sound, that I that I can do it.

00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:25.840
No, yeah.

00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:31.599
Uh and no, and no one no one knows like what I did to even get to where I was.

00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:38.960
Yeah, I blew up, ran a 422, but like I spent like I mean, between race shoes, gels, nutrition.

00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:41.039
I would get bodywork once a week.

00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:46.320
Like I spent for sure over 2,000 bucks just in the 90 days on just doing stuff, like trying to figure it out.

00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:50.320
I bought my watch, it's probably like closer to three to four grand just trying to do this.

00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:53.760
Yeah, and so like this time around, I'm down to do it even more.

00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:58.159
Like, I'm I'm down to like go spend the money and get the training and get the proper nutrition.

00:36:58.239 --> 00:36:59.760
I'm gonna do a VO2 max test.

00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:00.159
Oh, cool.

00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:01.519
It's called a step test.

00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:04.559
Yeah, I'm gonna do the VO2 Max test, the step test, the coach.

00:37:04.719 --> 00:37:05.920
I'm gonna do a nutrition plan.

00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:07.440
I'm not gonna eat sweets this time.

00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:11.920
My sleeping was bad, so I'm gonna dial in the sleeping, and then I'm gonna increase my mileage like crazy.

00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:13.199
And I think it'll happen.

00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:14.079
I think I've got it.

00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:16.320
I think it's a net downhill course.

00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:17.519
It it really is.

00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:19.039
So that helps a lot too.

00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:26.000
I mean, it's still a Boston qualifier, so I hopefully there's some respect with the at least running a Boston qualifier, and and then I'm gonna push for it.

00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:27.199
What what race are you doing again?

00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:30.960
I think you said it, but I just it's called the Utah Valley Marathon.

00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:31.519
Oh, okay.

00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:32.719
Yeah, nice.

00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:41.360
It runs down Provo Canyon in Utah, and then you finish the last, I think, like eight or so miles, like when you come out of the canyon.

00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:41.920
Nice.

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:45.920
I did last year the one I did was the Deseret News Marathon in July.

00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:46.559
Oh, nice.

00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:48.079
Yeah, and then that one's all downhill.

00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:48.639
I love that.

00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:56.239
It's good, it's all downhill, so it's like they start you kind of up in forgot what the elevation is, but it's up in the mountains.

00:37:56.320 --> 00:37:58.239
And you start at like 5 30 a.m.

00:37:58.559 --> 00:38:02.239
and you run down all the way to into Salt Lake City, Utah.

00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:02.960
Oh, yeah.

00:38:03.119 --> 00:38:04.960
It's uh is it the Ogden Marathon?

00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:07.280
No, it's uh it's uh it's called the Desmond Marathon.

00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:23.360
Yeah, so it's it happens on Pioneer Day in Salt Lake City, and okay, yeah, and so it's like you have to get to the bus station at 2 30 in the morning and then like get on the bus around 3 15 and they bus you up and then you run down at 5 30 a.m.

00:38:23.599 --> 00:38:27.440
So it's it's quite the early start, but it's it's a fun race.

00:38:27.679 --> 00:38:28.320
That's awesome.

00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:30.079
Yeah, but I'm yeah, that that's awesome.

00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:32.480
Yeah, but I'm excited about like watching you.

00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:38.480
So uh you said you're not eating any sweets, but are you gonna take any like gels or what's your fueling strategy for this?

00:38:38.800 --> 00:38:39.920
Yeah, that, yeah, I don't know.

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:41.119
I'm gonna leave that to the coach.

00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:44.639
This last time I just took Martin Gels, if that's how you pronounce it.

00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:49.280
I tried the BPN Go gels, those would make my stomach freak out.

00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:58.480
But they did have yeah, I don't know why, but but they did make me feel like I had a little bit more energy than the Martin Gels, even in the comments, they're like, You're switching up gels like a week before race.

00:38:58.559 --> 00:39:01.840
Like, I think everyone acts like that's such a big deal, but like it really wasn't a big deal.

00:39:01.920 --> 00:39:03.440
It's like it well, they went down fine.

00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:04.719
Yeah, it's just carbs.

00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:08.800
And so I'll I'll do uh I'll figure out what how I should fuel with my coach.

00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:10.719
Yeah, see, I didn't know how to do that either.

00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:13.920
It was four days before hey chat GPT, like one shot.

00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:17.599
Yeah, it's it's fueling is a weird game.

00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:28.719
It's I did Morton back from my previous marathons ago, and I actually found out found that Morton hurt my stomach, and so I've switched to the BPN gels, and they were better on my stomach.

00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:31.199
So it's everyone's different, it's so personal, yeah.

00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:32.159
It's so personal.

00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:35.920
And she my coach has me doing a gel every 30 minutes.

00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:39.119
So yeah, that's what I did on race day, it was just a gel every 30 minutes.

00:39:39.199 --> 00:39:43.119
Yeah, that's a pretty, pretty good, you know, gauge.

00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:47.199
But yeah, I don't really it seems like everyone kind of says the same thing for nutrition.

00:39:47.280 --> 00:39:54.639
It's like make sure you get carbs if it's hot and you're sweating, make sure you're you know you replenish your electrolytes and then take a gel every 30 to 40 minutes.

00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:55.920
That's what it seems like everyone says.

00:39:56.079 --> 00:40:06.320
Yeah, so I don't I don't really know what other fueling strategy there'd be because that seems like the general consensus of fueling, but yeah, I I hear up to race day there's a lot of things I could have done different too.

00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:12.480
Yeah, I did, you know, talking about nothing new on race day and like how it's not a huge deal all the time.

00:40:12.639 --> 00:40:15.599
I did something two marathons ago.

00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:18.719
I do you know what the ketone IQ bottles are?

00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:19.519
Yes.

00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:27.039
So I got one at the race expo, and I was like, I've always wanted to try this, and this could ruin my entire race.

00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:32.800
Like, I'm well aware of that, but I'm gonna just like toss it back at the halfway point and see what happens.

00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:39.760
And so at mile 13, I opened it up and threw it back, and I was like, like I was wired after that.

00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:46.239
The the energy level went like sky high, and that second half actually felt better than the first half.

00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:53.679
So if you want to try ketones, yeah, I was like, yeah, this is uh not an advertisement for ketones, but I I thought they were pretty good.

00:40:53.840 --> 00:40:54.159
Yeah.

00:40:54.719 --> 00:40:56.880
Well, yeah, no, I I I will try that.

00:40:56.960 --> 00:41:02.480
I don't even know what the concept isn't the concept of it, it's you start using like fat for fuel instead of carbs.

00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:03.440
Yeah, that's like what it does.

00:41:03.599 --> 00:41:07.360
Yeah, and so I still used carbohydrates, like I still took carbs after that.

00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:12.719
So I think maybe it was like balancing my system a little bit of using carbs and fat a little bit more efficiently.

00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:13.280
I don't know.

00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:16.159
I don't know the science behind it, but it worked great.

00:41:16.320 --> 00:41:17.440
So yep.

00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:19.679
Yeah, that's exactly yeah, that's how I am.

00:41:19.760 --> 00:41:20.639
I don't know the science behind it.

00:41:20.719 --> 00:41:22.239
Someone told me if it's good enough for them, it's good enough.

00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:23.039
Exactly.

00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:23.920
Well, cool.

00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:24.800
Well, I'm excited.

00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:28.559
And are you gonna continue posting like daily for this journey as well?

00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:31.840
Or is it gonna be more of a weekly post, or what what are you doing?

00:41:32.079 --> 00:41:36.000
I think I'll post like every few days and just kind of like by feel.

00:41:36.159 --> 00:41:37.679
It won't be daily this time around.

00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:39.679
I want to focus a little bit more on training.

00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:45.039
Just and I don't think everyone needs to see my run every day, they just need to see my progress that I'm making.

00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:47.199
So, yeah, I'll probably do one every three to four days.

00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:48.719
That's my plan going forward.

00:41:48.960 --> 00:41:52.800
Nice, but I have some momentum right now, so I want to build off the momentum.

00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:53.519
No, for sure.

00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:56.159
Yeah, I think hopefully this podcast helps.

00:41:56.239 --> 00:41:58.159
That's gonna be the yeah, exactly.

00:41:58.400 --> 00:42:05.280
I but yeah, I'm gonna definitely keep following your journey, and I would love to have you on again in six months just to see what the progress is.

00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:07.599
So if you're if you're willing, I'd love to.

00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:08.400
Yeah, I'd love to.

00:42:08.559 --> 00:42:08.880
Awesome.

00:42:09.280 --> 00:42:11.760
It'll be a lot better than it the second time around when I actually do it.

00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:17.119
Yeah, and before I let you go, uh talking to people about like chasing ambitious goals.

00:42:17.280 --> 00:42:22.320
Some people may thank a goal is ambitious and they're like, I think I can do it, I'm not sure.

00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:25.119
And they're kind of on the fence of jumping into it.

00:42:25.280 --> 00:42:26.559
What would you tell them?

00:42:26.960 --> 00:42:32.239
Of course, do it because number one thing that I've learned is failure's feedback.

00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:38.079
Failure doesn't exist, it's just feedback, it tells you where you went wrong and what you need to change to be better.

00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:38.480
Yeah.

00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:47.440
And I would say, like it's gonna sound uh maybe like just don't listen to anyone.

00:42:47.519 --> 00:42:53.039
Yeah, like listen to the advice that they have to give, but don't listen to what uh they tell you you can't do that.

00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:53.360
Right.

00:42:54.079 --> 00:42:59.519
So the advice is great, but when they're telling you what you can't do, don't listen.

00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:02.639
Because like you you again, it goes back to that thing that we talked about.

00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:08.400
I really am a firm believer that it's like a spiritual thing, your body does respond to what you tell it.

00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:20.320
Yeah, like it knows the story that you give it, it feels it, and so when you listen to outside noise, that's gonna affect the story, which is gonna affect your body and your performance.

00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:24.639
So listen to the good stuff, kick out the negative stuff, yeah, and go for it.

00:43:24.719 --> 00:43:29.280
And who cares if you fail because you never know what that failure may bring.

00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:29.920
Exactly.

00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:31.920
And you have a lifetime to do it again.

00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:35.119
So, like try again, try again the next time.

00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:36.800
So there's no hurt in trying.

00:43:37.039 --> 00:43:37.519
Exactly.

00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:38.400
Awesome.

00:43:38.480 --> 00:43:40.639
Well, McKay, thank you so much for coming on.

00:43:40.800 --> 00:43:44.800
And where can people find you if they want to continue following your running journey?

00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:47.119
Yeah, Instagram and TikTok.

00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:54.800
My Instagram is MCK Nelson underscore seven or just McKay Nelson, and then TikTok, just the same same username, same thing.

00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:55.280
Awesome.

00:43:55.440 --> 00:43:55.760
Well, cool.

00:43:55.840 --> 00:43:56.159
Well, thank you.

00:43:56.400 --> 00:43:57.199
That's where I'll be putting.

00:43:57.519 --> 00:43:59.679
Yeah, thank you so much, and I I look forward.

00:44:00.320 --> 00:44:01.920
To continue following your journey.

00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:02.800
Thanks, man.

00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:03.679
It was nice to meet you.

00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:12.000
McKay came into this with nothing but heart, a deadline, and a goal that most people would have laughed off before even lacing up their shoes.

00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:19.760
And whether the clock said what he wanted it to or not, what he did over those 90 days is something most people will never do.

00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:25.679
He showed up every single day and he learned what he's truly made of in the process.

00:44:25.920 --> 00:44:27.519
And that's what this show is all about.

00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:30.800
Not just the finish line, but everything it takes to get there.

00:44:31.039 --> 00:44:36.320
If McKay's story moved you or challenged you in any way, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:42.239
And if you're sitting on a goal of your own that feels just out of reach, let this be your nudge.

00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:45.760
Thanks for spending time with us today, and we'll see you on the next one.