Ep. 34: Snagging an OTQ in Her First Marathon: Gabby Hentemann

SPEAKER_05 0:00

I don't know if it's a coping mechanism or if it's a way of connection or a combination, but for me, humor and keeping things light is just like my my reflex go-to. I think in hard and and really yeah, really traumatic areas in my life, or whatever word you want to use, even in those moments, if you obviously you're not gonna crack a joke in the moment, but if you can just keep a little lightheartedness, like, well, you know, I'm gonna look back on this and laugh at the fact that you know I spilled ketchup on my pants while this horrible thing was happening, or whatever it is, if you can find some sliver of humor to me, it's hope.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Um welcome back to Through Their Strike. I'm your host, Samuel Sutton, and today I'm joined by Gabby Hinteman. Gabby made waves last fall when she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, her first ever mop marathon, and she ran it alongside her friend Alyssa McElhanney, where they finished hand in hand together, fourth and fifth place, respectively. A former standout from Oklahoma State, Gabby has carved her own path in the distance running scene, both as a competitor and as a person. She's open about the challenges she faced in college, including her recovery from an eating disorder, and she's learned to approach running and life with a refreshing motto. It's not that serious. Gabby brings an energy that reminds us all to find joy and humor in the grind. And I'm excited to dive into her story today. So without further ado, let's welcome Gabby to the show. Welcome back to Through Their Stride. I'm your host, Sam Sutton, and today I'm joined by Gabby Hintemann. So, Gabby, welcome to the show. And I love the uh confetti on the back of your wall. I've seen that in a lot of podcasts, and it's like my favorite thing.

SPEAKER_05 2:14

Thank you. I I know I always sit in the same spot and same thing on my Zoom calls for work. Sometimes people are like, I can tell you're at home because I can see the confetti.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

That's funny. Well, what was what inspired that? Are you just kind of like a confetti style person?

SPEAKER_05 2:31

Or it was supposed to be like a mosaic wall, but I just spread it out more and it's it feels very whimsical.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Awesome. Yeah, that's great. I need to do something like with the with some sort of cool background. Oops, uh, fun background on mine because I mean I just have my living room, but um yeah, that'd be that'd be fun. Um, so Gabby, so you are a Olympic trials qualifier uh in your very first marathon, is that correct?

SPEAKER_05 2:59

Yes, yeah. Um in November I ran the Indy Mondum Monumental Marathon and hit the OTQ right off the bat. So that was really exciting.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yeah, so uh and you ran that with uh with somebody, with Alyssa and McElhoney, right? Is that how you say her last name?

SPEAKER_05 3:19

Yes, I mecklehone. I'm still slightly unsure, but thankfully now that she's like world champion in high rocks or whatever, we don't have to worry about it. So yeah, I saw that.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

I saw uh because I looked at her profile and like one of her top three was uh first place in high rocks, and I was like, that is insane.

SPEAKER_05 3:40

I know. I'm like, hey, some of us can only qualify for the Olympic trials in one event, but she's just going off on these side quests. It's it's so awesome.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yeah, so that was pretty sweet. But uh, but let's uh talk about you a little bit. So um I wanted to kind of ask you and kind of go all the way back to the very beginning of your running life and your and and how you got into running. So uh I saw that you're from uh Michigan originally. So uh how how did you grow up and and how did you get into running?

SPEAKER_05 4:11

Yeah, growing up, my mom she didn't run in college, and then after college, she started running just for mental health, enjoyed it, and decided to train for a marathon and eventually qualified for Boston and ran Boston. Wow. Way back when, yeah. So growing up, she would go for runs and bring me along in the stroller, but it was never you need to do track or cross country. It was just seeing how much joy it brought her was really cool. And then when I was old enough to run up and down the block, I'd do that with her and then maybe go for a two-mile run. And I think that was the best way to get into it because you just learned how refreshing it can be to get out the door, and that's still my favorite part of running.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Yeah. Um, that's really cool. My um my mom was actually the one who got me into running as well. Um wow. Yeah, so she was um was running, she was a runner, you know, like track runner in high school, and then um did some uh she started running for her just for like mental health and um did the Boston Marathon twice. And uh I remember Oh wow! Yeah, so I I remember why I would like wake up at like I was always an early morning person, and I'd wake up at like 4 a.m. and she'd already be out on her long run, and then like I'd be like eating yogurt and watching TV, and then she'd come in around six and like we would talk about running. So that was uh yeah, that's kind of cool. We have that in common.

SPEAKER_05 5:58

Did you so did you ever like go on runs with her when you were younger too?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I did. So um the first run, like real run that I ever did was um when I was six years old. Um, I ran a 5K because uh I played hooky from school. That's kind of far for six. That's impressive. Yeah, I played hooky from school, and uh mom was doing this this 5k, and I was like, Oh, I want to come. And she was like, You're not sick, but it's already too late to like get you back to school, so why don't you come run this with me? And so I think I like ran walked it, you know, like but had a blast as a six-year-old, and uh my name made the local paper and like oh, that's so sweet.

SPEAKER_05 6:43

So, and you're from you live in Texas. Are you from Texas?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah, so I'm from Keller, Texas.

SPEAKER_05 6:48

Uh oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Yeah, so up, you're uh you're you're in Dallas, is that right?

SPEAKER_05 6:52

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Yeah, so kind of up in that area. My brother still lives in Fort Worth, so Oh wow.

SPEAKER_05 6:58

Well, that's nice. Finally, someone uh I can talk to that understands the like insane weather that Texas experiences.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

It's like high humidity literally anywhere you live in Texas.

SPEAKER_05 7:10

Yes, and being from Michigan, people don't they think of Texas as the South, which it is, but to me it's still Midwest.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 7:21

So you get the wind and you get the humidity and you get all of that. To me, now South is like, I don't know, Louisiana.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Alabama.

SPEAKER_05 7:31

Yeah, Alabama. And we're we're like the Midwest, and and people think it just gets hot here. I'm like, no, we get the humidity, we get the wind.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

It's crazy. I saw a video you had posted. You like walked out in the wind once and your hair was like blowing, and you're like, oh my god, it's so heavy.

SPEAKER_05 7:51

It's serious, it's not even funny sometimes. Like, I have been on runs, I am not that weak. Like I'm distance runner weak, but I'm not like like just so weak. And I have had gusts of wind knock my foot into do you know what I'm talking about? Into my other foot, and I almost trip and fall. It is so humbling.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Yeah, I live out in uh now in the Texas Hill Country, and um, you know, it's very hilly, and all my runs are like 600 foot plus feet of elevation, but um there was one long run where it was like 17 mile an hour winds, and I took a right onto a hill in a headwind, and I was just like that's that's the combo for me where I'm like it takes like 30 seconds of that where you're just like what am I doing?

SPEAKER_05 8:39

Uh into the wind. People are looking at you like you're like Tom and Jerry. So it's unreal.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Yeah, so yeah, it it's Texas, Texas is not for the faint of heart for runners. No, no. Um, so going back to you, so uh how you got into running as a kid, so uh your your mom kind of um inspired you, it sounds like and then uh did you you ran obviously probably in high school. So what was what was high school running like?

SPEAKER_05 9:09

Yeah, high school running was great for me. I had really amazing coaches. I'm really lucky to have had coaches that knew what they were doing and wanted to help me reach the success that I wanted, but not at the cost of longevity, which I do I feel for kids these days where all kids are super motivated and want to climb the ladder as quick as they can. But when an adult isn't holding you back, I think that can be sometimes dangerous. So I feel very fortunate that I had coaches that yeah, we'll we'll increase your mileage this year by five miles a week, but we're not going to put you at 60 miles per week or look what other athletes are doing. Um so yeah, I I train mostly low mileage, in my opinion. 1T to 30 miles a week. I think I hit 40 miles a week one time my senior year, but I was running the 800 and the mile. Um and yeah, it was a great experience. I fell in love with the team atmosphere, the girls and the boys all having their little rivalries and going on runs together, pranking each other, hiding in the woods when you didn't want to do a long run. That was just so much fun. And then started getting recruited a little bit my junior year and ended up at Oklahoma State, sorry.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Yeah. Awesome. Oklahoma uh in Oklahoma State, and that's a big school. That's like that's Big 12. So um, was that one of your top schools, or how did you find OSU?

SPEAKER_05 11:06

Yeah, it's super random, to be honest. I did a few unofficial visits my junior year because that's back when it wasn't the wild, wild west that it is now. You actually had to wait until your senior year.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:23

And then my senior year, I did three official visits. I visited Michigan State, Georgetown, and Oklahoma State. And I got off the plane in Stillwater and I just fell in love with the warm weather, the team. Everyone had a very easy-going attitude. But there was also this sense of taking it very seriously when you needed to.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:56

And Dave Smith just like sold me on still water. I fell in love with it.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Awesome. Yeah, the running, I mean, I would say Oklahoma, like, especially in the fall, like for cross-country, the the running weather can get really nice there too. Um, I ran, I I ran a few runs in Oklahoma on like a trip one time, and I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_05 12:20

It is, and the sunrises and sunsets are unmatched, I will say.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:26

Is that because it's like flat, or uh is it just uh I always wonder that if it's because it's flat or if there's some weird. I have this theory that God was like, we gotta give them something. So he was like, sunsets, sunrises, that's what you get.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

You go, that's hilarious. I um I asked because I I lived in San Angelo, Texas for a little bit, and you know, that's like desert, like super flat. And um one time my mom and I went there for uh to move me like to San Angelo, and like we were sitting at our hotel, and the sunset just in the window was like gorgeous, and the whole yeah, yeah, and there's nothing blocking it. Exactly. But she was like, It's beautiful, and I was like, Yeah, you can literally see it all.

SPEAKER_05 13:16

Like, yeah, you can see to the end of the earth where where the uh the end of the rainbow would be. Exactly. Yeah, oh that's so funny.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yeah, so and then going into your uh into college, so like what were kind of your thoughts and fears and expectations that you had for yourself? Um, you know, jumping from high school to D1 college uh can get scary, can get like, you know, intense, it seems. So what was that experience like for you?

SPEAKER_05 13:46

It was a pretty easy transition for me. I think partly because I naively had set a very low bar for myself. I in my own head thought it was an appropriate goal to think maybe by my fifth year, if I do a fifth year, I'll be on the cross country team. And just going in with that attitude brought only positive surprises of hey, you're actually you made the squad this year, and you're gonna race at Big 12s, and then that following through in the indoor season, and then outdoor season was COVID 2020, so that didn't happen. Yes, but it was a very positive experience for me because I was not in a lazy way, but I was going into it thinking, okay, I'm gonna be the runt of the team, but I'll work really hard, and over four or five years I could be on the on the top half of the team. So it was really fun for me. Yeah, it was to be honest, it wasn't that bad. In Oklahoma specifically, people like didn't hear that COVID happened. Like masks were like not a thing. Uh, it's such a small town, too. There's this to me is like such a funny story. But the city of Stillwater in maybe May or June of 2020 announced that starting whatever day they said it, starting tomorrow at 8 a.m., we have a mask mandate for all grocery stores and restaurants and all of that stuff. And before noon that first day, they announced they were taking it away because somebody walked into Walmart, didn't have a mask, was told, hey, head back, you can come back with a mask. And they went, okay, walked out to their car, came right back in with a gun. And we're just like, no. Um, so if you don't know what Stillwater, Oklahoma is like, that's kind of a good in a nutshell. Yes. Um, and then the mask mandate eventually uh actually came came more so in the fall when all the students were coming back for classes. But it was, I feel really bad saying this because it was a really horrible time for a lot of people. But COVID summer was really fun for me. Um, my now boyfriend, who's Canadian, couldn't fly home. Or I guess I could, but it was still like if I go home, will I be able to come back? So I stayed in Stillwater for the summer because Michigan had locked down so horribly, and I didn't want to be just fly home and be cooped up in my room, not able to see anyone. So I stayed down in Stillwater, and when my boyfriend and a few other teammates decided to stay, it was like, okay, so now this guy I have a crush on, and all these like people are stuck here, and all we can do is run and drink beers at night. This is awesome. That's great. Yeah, I was like, this is my dream. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I actually got really fit that summer going to my sophomore year because there was nothing to do.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Yeah, nothing to do but focus on running.

SPEAKER_05 17:57

Yes, which I feel like a lot of people during COVID summer had either a really positive impact on their life, weather, fitness, entrepreneurship, relationships, or a really negative impact. So I was on the positive side of it, thankfully. But counteracting that was my eating disorder kind of spiraled out of control because there was really no one to keep me accountable.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Yeah. Yeah, that can be, I mean, like, isolation is tough, like for any sort of mental health issue, like the thing that you're struggling with, it it it can get pretty pretty hard. So yeah, I I wanted to ask a little bit about your eating disorder. So uh how did that kind of start? And um what what um what what what was that like and then and how did that process start, I guess?

SPEAKER_05 18:59

Yeah, I like I said, in high school I was very lucky not to struggle with that at all. And I think a huge part of that was being in a very positive environment. Food was the super power thing that you needed, it was never deemed evil or bad. So around my indoor season of my freshman year, coming from a place of the best intentions, I think it started with me wanting to cut out dessert, like just very oh, I heard some of the best runners in the NCAA don't eat a cookie, and it helped them run, or just you hear these things, but no bad intentions, just oh, you don't need sugar, I'll cut it out, and slowly started spiraling, and I remember one indoor meet putting on my kit, and for the first time it was kind of loose and being like, Well, that's kind of weird. And then thankfully my coach pulled me aside after that meet and was like, Hey, what's going on? And that's when I really unidentified, oh, this is now something I feel like I'm not able to fix because I'm stuck in this cycle.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yeah. And it's crazy how something that like like that. I mean, I have I've never personally dealt with with some with an eating disorder, but there are a lot of things in life that you like they start out pretty harmless. Like you just want to cut out cake or like cut out the cookie, you know what I mean? Or maybe like, oh, I don't want to drink beer or something, you know what I mean? Like it's something that is like trying to help, but then you're like, okay, but like I'm seeing weight loss, so like maybe I'll just not eat less at lunch or not eat lunch or something. And then it's like, oh no, like now we're in a now we're in a problem.

SPEAKER_05 21:05

Now we're in a problem, and now I'm the other thing is in society today, you're getting complimented. You're being told you look so, oh my gosh, your cheekbones look great. What are what have you been doing? Wow, you must be training really hard at college, Gabby. You look so fit.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:27

And I think that's extra hard. And with a lot of addictions, you can try and avoid it completely, but you can't avoid eating.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

No. Yeah. It's and and one of the things that you had touched on uh on a previous podcast about the eating disorder was like you had some people said, like, oh, it could it could hurt your running long term. But you were like, Well, actually, my running is going really well, so that doesn't make sense to me. So I guess I'll just keep. going forward. So like what were some things that people told you and what were some things that like um that you could you know some I guess some lessons that you could give to people who might be experiencing you know what what they should listen to or and like clear the air a little bit I guess.

SPEAKER_05 22:18

Yes. No, that's a great question. And I'll try not to harp on it's so easy to list off all the bad interactions you have.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:27

So I I'll try and talk more about the messaging I got that help me. But I will say for anyone that's struggling or is thinking about asking for help, shame will keep you in the worst places ever, whether it's an eating disorder, mental health, anything when you feel ashamed about it, it's just this evil thing that will keep you not wanting to ask for help. Don't ever feel ashamed about anything you're going through. Always ask for help. So I will say that but the messaging that helped me which is what I try and kind of replicate whether it's on the internet or to the people I talk to in person is it doesn't have to affect you forever. It doesn't have to be something you fix only because there's this threat, this there's just impending doom of you're never going to have kids, your career is ruined, your people don't want to be around you. Instead it's like hey let's talk about this like it's any other injury. Here's where we're at, here's where we want to get to and if you have an Achilles that's always going to bug you but you learn how to manage that it's actually not that bad. So this idea of false hope that you're gonna switch on one day and it's never going to be an issue I don't want to sell that like oh I'm cured I'm healed I never have body image issues or think about food because everyone on earth has bad body image days or thinks about what they're eating or here's a comment that makes them overthink what they should look like or whatever. So I think it's really important to know there's a place down the road if you ask for help now where those thoughts are still maybe gonna come in but you're gonna be so much better at deflecting them that it's like swatting a fly away. And I think that was I had certain people talk to me that said hey I really struggled postcollegiately with this or in college or whatever and it's never going to be perfect but you can get really good at fighting that. And I think that motivated me more than anything because it's like telling somebody hey you ran a three hour marathon I think you could run 245. It's still gonna be hard running still hurts but I think you could get fit enough to do it. That's kind of how I think of it. And when someone tells you that you go yeah that I think I could do that.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Yeah that's awesome. I I love that I mean like it's like meeting someone with hope like realism in that like like you said like treat it like an it like an injury like if you dislocated your knee or something like you're gonna have knee pain going you know going on for the rest of your life just like if you've had a disorder you're gonna have issues with it for like and think about it for the rest of your life but like you can you can manage it and you can like it doesn't have to control your life anymore. Exactly. Okay welcome back to Through Their Stride and we had a little bit of a uh hiccup our from our last meeting my I think my software was out of date or something so we got a new software and we're back now.

SPEAKER_05 26:14

So welcome back we are back we had to take a little um three day delay but despite all odds.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Yeah so we were talking back back then um about um the eating disorder but we pretty well covered that um and so I was just gonna kind of jump back into your uh your college and your racing so um I looked at your times previously and you're kind you were kind of like a more it seemed like you were like the longer distances were kind of your um your fancy would would you agree?

SPEAKER_05 26:48

Yeah yeah I definitely was surprised coming from high school how well I transitioned to the longer distances but being more 800 mile focused in high school I was used to doing lower mileage and then in college when we bumped up I just found success pretty quickly in cross country and thought well this is 6K why not try 10K but yeah I like it I like the very patient approach I think it transitioned me well over for the marathon as well.

SPEAKER_00 27:27

Yeah so the 6K is an interesting distance I'm uh kind of new to like the college running scene is that a pretty normal like distance for cross country in college or what's the what's the I guess the specialties there yeah so I I can't speak on all divisions but for D1 I know women run 6K the entire year of cross country I mean you could sprinkle in a 5k but the the race distance for conference regionals and nationals is 6K for women and then for men it's kind of strange it's 8K through conference and then they run a regional 10K cross country race and then nationals is a 10K as well.

SPEAKER_05 28:11

So yeah I'm a big there's a big push though in recent years to have equal distance for men and women in the NCAA because even if you go to world cross country everyone runs 10K so whether everyone runs 10K in college or 8K or whatever they decide I do think it should be the same distance. It seems kind of outdated to me that the men and women aren't just running the same distance but I don't know there's there's definitely I could see where you'd push back if you're a coach of a program that succeeds with middle distance women um on your squad but I'm like come on we gotta it's it's 2026.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Yeah it's interesting because um even in in high school right they run like a three mile for the men and there's like a two mile or something for the women um and I thought Oh in Texas really yeah I know back down where we are because the our our kids are the team that I coach runs three miles for the men and two miles for the women so it's kind of interesting. Oh that's strange in Michigan it was all 5k I didn't know that yeah maybe it's just like the division that we're that we were in and we're just like a one yeah that's so strange though and that's you're not really setting up the girls as well for college then yeah it's weird it's odd I I found that out last year and I was like this is weird like women can't girls can run a five day like we're not gonna die what come on yeah so that was funny but um so transitioning from college um you transitioned it seemed like right into the marathon what was that like um and and how did you did you immediately want to do a marathon was that kind of something that you wanted to chase or what was that trans yeah so really all of my college career I was told by people on the team or ex-teammates that were a bit older that and my coach that I would probably find success in the marathon beyond any other distance but I was like oh I don't know I love running so much I love I loved my college experience but when I'm done I want to just be a normal person.

SPEAKER_05 30:32

I don't want to try and especially it's really really tough if you have the mindset that you want to run professionally as your sole career. I think that can put a lot of stress on people and I was excited to I love running but I was excited to have a job and and a 401 and a stable paycheck and help and exactly and to not have so much emotional tie up in if I have a bad run or if my foot starts hurting or whatever it be that it's not affecting my if I'm paying rent. That's really stressful. So I graduated in 2024 and I went home to Michigan for a few weeks to stay with my mom before moving back down to Dallas for my job. And I was jogging around town and my now coach Sam Butler saw me or I don't know if someone saw me and and he found my Instagram and reached out to me and we texted a bit and he basically said we would love to support you as a remote athlete you can still move to Dallas have your job and all of that and I said okay let me think about it and after about a week I texted and said thank you so much. It means so much but I really I think I just need I want to step away from the sport I'm it's not any hard feelings towards I hate running but I just want I want to say yes to happy hours and I want to be in my 20s in a city and actually get to know people and not have to leave to go double at least for the time being and he said okay well if anything changes you have my number and I kind of rolled my ass like okay I know what I want's gonna change. And then that following spring so about nine months later in 2025 I was listening to a podcast actually and it was the week that the OTQ times had been announced and the big excitement was that the women's time had not moved up from 237. And I just remember hearing the way these women were talking about it and how exciting it was not just that they knew they were going to run it but more so what a fun journey it would be and and it just it unites all these women all across the country on this similar journey. And I got for the first time in nine months I actually got that FOMO feeling like wait no wait I want to be in that I want to be a part of that. So I texted Sam my now coach and said hey can you call and that kind of started the process of getting back into training and and all of that.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Awesome what do you so outside of uh running what do you do for for work for for a living?

SPEAKER_05 33:40

Yeah I'm in tech sales so it's a lot of AI deployments and networking services for different companies um it's interesting I'm I'm a year and a half in um I've learned a lot and I love the people I work with am I the is is tech sales like my deepest passion and do I think I'll do it for the rest of my life? No but it's really it's been really fun. I I love the company I love the people I work with and sometimes you gotta learn what you're maybe not super passionate about by doing it.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

Yeah no I totally get that I um I started out um as a like out right out of college as a breaking news reporter um no way wait what yeah for a newspaper here a daily newspaper in West Texas in San Angelo and uh I was like man like the grind of a of a breaking news reporter at a daily newspaper I was like daily that's a lot what do you so what do you do now? So now I work in communications um so I worked for um I so after that I worked three and a half years at uh the newspaper here in Fredericksburg um and I did and that was a weekly paper so it was like okay a little a lot yeah smoother so um did was a reporter there for a bit and then a managing editor and then I'm now in communications uh for an electric co-op here in oh that's awesome yeah so are you liking that I am I do uh I like the people that I work with um and that's what matters the most yeah is it what did you go to school for uh I just did business management I have been the same way since birth which is I don't know what I want to do like growing up when people what do you want to be when you grow up I at age five even when people are like I want to be an astronaut I was like I don't know it just doesn't like nothing really fueled my fire but I also am like I don't I'm down to try anything I was just like there there's no I want to be a lawyer I want to be in an emergency room I want to like uh I don't know I like work I love talking I like working with people so I'm kind of trying to shift more communications marketing route because I do feel like I have that marketing brain a little more than the sales brain which is very um hi nice to meet you hi nice to meet you and I'm like uh yeah I can't put on the face yeah yeah well I gotta say as far as like creation and marketing like I feel like you do have that right brain um thank you yeah I that's why I'm like I keep being told that I'm like you know what maybe I should seek this out yeah because like your content like is is so creative and it's like sometimes I'll see it and be like how does like even as a creator myself like how does she come up with these like hilarious running ideas so what thank you yeah so where does that passion for you come from to uh to keep it light and keep it fun I think I don't know if it's a coping mechanism or if it's a way of connection or a combination but for me humor and keeping things light is just like my my reflex go-to I think in hard and and really yeah really traumatic areas in my life or whatever word you want to use even in those moments if you obviously you're not gonna crack a joke in the moment but if you can just keep a little lightheartedness like well you know I'm gonna look back on this and laugh at the fact that you know I spilled ketchup on my pants while this horrible thing was happening or whatever it is if you can find some sliver of humor to me it's hope.

SPEAKER_05 37:53

And then on the other side of that when it's not something horrible when it's something exciting I think humor connects people and I think also specifically on social media I don't know about you but I open my phone and a lot of it's really negative.

SPEAKER_00 38:09

It's yeah the state of the world it's someone picking on another creator they did this this is wrong this is what you're doing wrong with this and it's nice to just open something up the the best messages I ever get are the ones that are like this just I just laughed in the middle of of my office job like good it if that was 15 seconds of your day that you were like this is so stupid but like what is she that's that's all I want like that connects people in a way that I think other I don't know that that's my go-to yeah no for sure I think um and I I like the the number one video that's like um pinned on your uh on your Instagram is like it's not that serious and it's like I do have to remind myself of that sometimes like when I'm like I'm you know not like elite runner fast but like I'll try to get it doesn't matter though does it I mean yeah every I'm sure it's it doesn't like I'm saying this and there's some Olympian being like well it's not that serious for you it's serious everyone loves to be like well I'm not that good but no it it means it is serious it means a lot when you're the one doing it but sometimes that's why you have to remind yourself like oh my gosh it's just running yeah it's supposed to be fun like you're in the outdoors like you're you know you're doing something cool for yourself like it's all for fun it's all for like for yourself so exactly are you training for anything right now um so I'm training currently for a 5k so uh oh yay yeah so my white whale has been um uh a sub 25k and so like I've gotten I think the closest I've gotten is 2059 um which was at like a turkey trot a couple years ago and I almost got hit by a truck on that race because the roads weren't like no blocked off and it was the final stretch of the race and I was like that is come on I was running and I saw I looked down at my watch and I was like I'm gonna freaking do it. I was like here we go and then this big old truck just comes through a two-way intersection doesn't stop and I like have to like stop on the on my brakes and like all your momentum's gone to yeah and then I yeah then I have to pick up and back and then of course when you stop your heart rate like everything's all weird and and then like one of my friends who had just started running he's like super fast but um he passed me at the last second of the finish line and I was like so that was that was brutal and then um I tried again we have this thing in uh Fredericksburg uh during Oktoberfest called the Kraut Run and they do uh it's a they do a 5k and an 8k and um I did a 2113 um out of the 5k this year but it's like one of the hilliest routes that you can oh dude you're ready then you've like you've been through the trenches do you have a a race picked out yes so I um I'm actually partnered with our local like gym uh wellness center for the uh they have the the wildflower run on April 25th and it's uh okay coming up yeah five and 10k so I'm in the last like stretch of it so what day is that a Saturday? Yes and it's the day after it's the day after I'm um coaching my kids during their state qualifier meet and so I told them on Friday Are they coming to watch? I think some of them are going to but I told them I was like if one of you guys qualify for state like I will break this 20 this 5k because I'm gonna be so amped up that like oh that's so fun.

SPEAKER_05 41:54

Oh my gosh. Yay I'll have to check in and see how it went.

SPEAKER_00 41:58

That's so exciting. And and you are training for something too right you're training for did I see grandma's is that correct?

SPEAKER_05 42:04

Yes yeah grandma's June 20 and then I'll actually go back to Michigan uh Grand Rapids on May 9th and run the riverbank run which is the 25k okay I think it's the US championship for that distance but as you know the road racing they have US championships for like 24.3k tournament so we'll we'll see how how popular it is um I'm excited though nice um and running in Michigan in in like in May is probably the prettiest time to to be up there oh my gosh it is a it will be a treat to there everyone's oh it's getting it's gonna be so humid it's gonna be so hot that's gonna be like the equivalent of coming down to sea level for me.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

Yeah my uh um my wife went to a uh they do like a what's it called like at their school it's the day that they take all of their new teachers and they have an orientation and they'll go to different schools in their like franchise um because they're a private school and they there's one up in Michigan and they went up last year and like the locals were like apologizing to them for how hot it's been this year.

SPEAKER_05 43:22

And she's like it's like 84 degrees like that's my mom I called my mom while I was on my run yesterday and she's like oh you inspired me I'm gonna go for a run right now and I was like okay and I think maybe four or five minutes went by and she goes I'm gonna turn back um and go to the house just to to grab a bottle of water and I go how warm is it there she goes it's 60 degrees out oh it's 60 degrees and like I won't be rude but I'm like hmm okay yeah it's toasty I would kill for 60 I know. I'm like 60 degrees. I like I have gloves on.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Yeah. It's it's uh that's like perfect running weather for me.

SPEAKER_05 44:09

So oh my gosh. I will when people talk about even talking about marathons where oh I saw it's gonna be 58 degrees at the start. I don't know. I'm thinking 50, I would not even take water. I'd be like, what?

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Well cool. So and then going back to your Olympic trials uh race, so you uh you had raced it with uh Alyssa McMackaney and you guys kind of trained together, like apart together. So um what was the training like? Did you think you would get the OTQ in your very first race, or what was that process like?

SPEAKER_05 44:47

Yeah, so because when I had approached Sam, that was my main goal. I was expecting, I was like, okay, let's train for a year and then maybe try a marathon. And he was like, I was indie monumental. I was like, that's in six months. Wait, what? Huh? Um, but he had he had faith in me and he said, All right, well, let's just see how it goes. Let's do the block. And then he literally that day sent me, how do these flights look? I was like, okay, I go, so we're doing this. We're going, okay. Exactly. Yeah. Um, so I was I was keeping that in my mind the entire block, which was good. I think it's better the whole time being like, okay, I need to get really comfortable at this 557 pace. And also on the days that doesn't feel comfortable in a workout, don't panic and don't freak out because as you know, some days you're just gonna feel crappy. So by the time we got to Indy, I was feeling pretty confident. Alyssa had run a 235 that spring before, but the window for OTQ wasn't open. So I truly didn't know if she was wanting to go in and just pedal to the metal to PR or play it safe and run an OTQ. And we had talked the night before and kind of had this moment where we were like, Do you want to run the whole thing together? And she was we were both like, oh, thank God, I was hoping you'd say that. So yeah, we we went out with the plan to run 555s, which is safely under 237. And we ended up picking it up a little bit at the end, but nothing crazy. So our time was a few minutes quicker, but it was really, really fun having somebody, especially a teammate, the entire time. Yeah. I she's 10 years older than me. So I just felt I felt like I was the passenger of this wise, like, just come with me under my wing. I got you. And I don't know for her if it was helpful, like physically more so than emotionally. I think just having somebody to talk to and I don't know, bounce ideas off of like, okay, should we should we go up here? Should we you grab your bottle first? Um yeah, it was one of my favorite experiences ever. And that's something I will never forget. Getting to run my first marathon ever. And not only OTQ, but to do it with somebody who has such a also such a unique story. Her I don't want to tell her whole story, but her dad passed away a few years ago. Oh man. And yeah, and it was she she had so many family members there on the course, and just seeing what it meant to them and what it meant to her, and crossing the line, and she's just breaking down in tears because of the journey she's been on. I felt to to witness and to be a part of that means so much to me.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

Yeah. I mean, it's kind of like, you know, not only did you get to OTQ in your first marathon, but it's like you got to give somebody an experience and give someone like help give something to somebody um who like and make it make it more special, you know. So I think it's one of those things like, man, like I really got to, I really got to do something.

SPEAKER_05 48:32

Yeah, I that's what I'm saying. I'm look- I feel like I was front row of this, like it was already special to me, and it was special to do it with her, but then in addition, I see these videos and she's these pictures she's posting, and it's like, wow, I'm so grateful that I got to literally have a front row seat to that. Such an amazing example of just, I don't know, the human spirit.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

Yeah, and I've seen like some pictures and videos of it, and like, you know, y'all are like beaming with smiles, like the whole way. And like I it kind of reminded me of the 2023 uh Olympic trials when um Connor and Clayton finished together, and I was like, I was like, this is like this is just like that. That's so cool.

SPEAKER_03 49:20

Oh, I didn't even think about that. Yeah, that's oh that's a cute comparison.

SPEAKER_00 49:25

Yeah, so that was neat. And uh, but for you, so first marathon experience, what did you what was kind of like in your head going into the marathon? What were you kind of expecting to feel? And uh, and how did the marathon feel?

SPEAKER_05 49:41

Yeah, it was thankfully, I am like when I say I'm the student of the sport, I I consume every podcast out there with professional marathoners. Like I feel like a lot of runners are like this, where it's like you're such a nerd that you you listen to the podcast of the retired professionals, of the up-and-comers, of the current professionals, of people who just like to talk about running. So I had all these, I I almost felt like I had this library of knowledge about the marathon, not in a not in a cocky way of like, oh, I know what I'm doing, but all these little things, even within training where I would be, you know, you're having a tough day or a tough moment. You go, well, Des Linden always says, or you just have these little snippets, oh, well, Kara Gaucher always says you gotta ride the wave and blah, blah, blah. So it helped to have all this knowledge and it felt like you get to live these experiences through other people and learn from it, which is amazing. That's also why I love podcasts. So going into it, the main thing I was telling myself, which I had heard so many times, and I had somewhat experienced just in some of my long runs and in training, is this phenomenon that the mile you're in does not determine how you're gonna feel a mile from now. No. And you hear that and you're like, no, you'll probably if you feel bad, you're only gonna feel worse. But it is so weird how true that is, where I was in the marathon and there were certain miles very early where I was like, oh, this is like, I'm not feeling good. This isn't gonna, no way I'm gonna make it. And then 15 minutes later, you're oh my gosh, I kind of want to pick it up. And it and you have to keep reminding yourself that. And I do think that's something I've carried with me in training too, even in workouts where you go, you're feeling good, and then you have a rep where you go, oh, I might need to really back off or shut it down. Yeah. And 10 minutes later, you're like, oh, wait, why I feel good? This is so weird. So that was completely accurate. Anyone who's ever said that, they are spot on because it is the weirdest thing.

SPEAKER_00 52:07

Yeah. Well, and especially in a marathon, because it's like it's 26 hold miles. So, like, you know, the first three miles of your race, you can be like, Oh, I'm just groggy, like uh, you know, I'm just still a little tired, didn't really have enough time to wake up. But then, like miles like four through eight, you're like, I'm in it now. Like, if you if you stick to your plan and maybe go a little even a little slower than your plan for those first three miles, you're like, okay, I'm like, I'm warmed up, my head's in the game. Like, and then you can take off. And then, of course, you're probably gonna have something like down later on, but it's it's ebbs and flows in a marathon, so yeah, it's strange, it's the strangest distance. Yeah, it's it's fun. I uh explained it to my mother-in-law. I was like, you know, like I was because I ran Austin back in February, and I'm like, you know, the Austin course is like it's so hilly, and I was like, and it's so hot a lot of the times. It was it was hot this year, and I was like, but like with the heat and the hills, and like you know, the beauty of the day, and the like, you know, it's almost like euphoric, like nostalgic, like you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_05 53:10

Like, no, I totally got what you were saying, yeah. And I was like, it's almost like drugs sometimes, it is the and and doing like these masks, these groups of people, too. There's this weird, unexplainable energy between you and all these strangers, where it that's literally it. Like, you'll be having moments where you're like, I wanna die, I hate this so much, and then 10 minutes later you'll turn to someone, you'll be like, How's it going? This is so fun.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

Yeah, it's it's a weird phenomenon. So going forward for you, um you so you you qualify for the Olympic trials, so you're gonna you're probably gonna, I mean, you're definitely gonna run, I assume, in 2028. Um, but before then, what's kind of the goals for you? Are you hoping to kind of get that time further down? And uh are you trying gonna do anything other than the marathon before then? What's kind of your on your radar?

SPEAKER_05 54:07

No, that's a great question. I am a big believer of the compounding effect. So I think just the more years and marathon builds I can do healthy and in a smart way, feeling good. I don't want to put a ceiling on myself for 2028. And for me, I'm I turn 25 next week. I'm like, guys, what about 2032? Like, let's let's not zone in too much on I'm pumped about 2028, but another four years, I don't I just think your aerobic system can build so much and the experiences that you get over and over. I don't want to put a ceiling on myself. So I definitely I don't have a goal time right now, like, oh, if I can get down to 220, whatever or two whatever by 2028, I'll be happy. Yeah, I'm more like, let's keep building, do a marathon, keep building, do a marathon, and just see where you end up. I think that long-term compounding effect actually weirdly excites me more than anything I think I can do short term. So that's kind of a horrible answer because it doesn't really answer your question.

SPEAKER_00 55:25

But no, not at all. I think um, you know, the compounding effect and running is so real. And then also like there's all this science coming out now that like once you get like into your 30s and like like late 30s, early 40s, your aerobic system actually like continues to peak. And so, I mean, you could be running pro marathons well into your 40s.

SPEAKER_05 55:46

So, like, which is like that's so exciting to me. Uh like I'd I could never, no, I could never, I think it's very stressful to be a high-level track athlete where you're 27 and people are like, uh, you're gonna retire soon. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I I don't even I don't have savings yet.

SPEAKER_00 56:10

Yeah, right. And like you know, I compare it to like a lot of like contact sports, you know, like basketball, football, and you know, like once you're in your 30s in football, like it's you're done. You can pretty well speak the side of the sport. Like, um, but then in running, you can go. I mean, distance running, you can go for a long time.

SPEAKER_05 56:31

So oh, I'm gonna be like Joni Benoit Samuelson. I'm gonna be out there hobbling marathons when I'm 80. I I know I will.

SPEAKER_00 56:41

Yeah. Um, and so uh going back, so why grandmas? How did you choose that race? And um, what were some options at that time?

SPEAKER_05 56:51

Yeah, to be honest, Sam asked me about it. We did a call, I think the week after Indy, to have a little time where you can emotionally come down. Because as you know, as soon as you finish the marathon, you're like, that was so fun. No, it wasn't. Yeah, sometimes you need the adrenaline so high, you're like, I could do a marathon next month. I'm the best. And then a week later, when you're still like hurting to stand up, you're like, Yeah, no, that was great. But yeah, we should probably be a little downtime. Yeah. Um, but yeah, he called and we were talking through goals and ideas for this next training block, which is I'm I'm very grateful to have a coach that's works with me so much. Like, what do you want to get out of this? What do you want to add? Was there anything you didn't like?

SPEAKER_02 57:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:42

And I was saying one of the things that I just enjoy is a lot of weeks of high mileage. And he said, Okay, well then let's maybe aim for something that's not so early, like a Boston.

SPEAKER_01 57:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:58

He also said Dallas having no hills is gonna would make Boston build quite challenging. Yeah. I said, Yeah, let's let's maybe think about a training camp if we ever do Boston, because there's there's just no hills here. Yeah. But he threw out grandma's and I said, sounds good to me. I've heard of it. I know it's hot and it's humid, which I love.

SPEAKER_01 58:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 58:23

And I know that Kara Gaucher is from Duluth, Minnesota, so I'm sold.

SPEAKER_00 58:29

There you go. Yeah. I um grandma's is a bucketless one for me because um who I think I saw somebody run it on like Instagram one day, and then I like looked more into it. I was like, man, that course is beautiful.

SPEAKER_05 58:40

I was it's gorgeous. That's love, right?

SPEAKER_00 58:43

Yeah.

unknown 58:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 58:45

I'm like, okay, if I'm gonna have a bad day anywhere, you at least want it to be pretty.

SPEAKER_00 58:51

Yeah, for sure. Um I uh what so I was gonna also gonna ask. So it do you have any like marathons in the state of Texas that you would love to run or try out?

SPEAKER_05 59:02

Ooh, that's a good question. See, the Austin one does intrigue me. Dallas has a marathon in December, and I I watched last year, I had a few friends run it. The Dallas one, the only thing is it well, it gets very cold, which is fine, but it it can be. I don't know if they're and this is where like the snobbiness comes out. I don't know if their elite athlete accommodations have a whole lot of okay, like, am I gonna be standing in 30 degrees for two hours before?

SPEAKER_02 59:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 59:41

Um, but no, that's a good question. I I've I've heard good things about really the three I've heard of are Austin, Dallas, and Houston. And I've heard great things about all of them.

SPEAKER_00 59:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 59:52

So have you run Houston?

SPEAKER_00 59:54

I've not run Houston. Um I've run Austin and I've run uh Dallas. And okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:01

How'd you get Dallas?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:03

Okay, I didn't like it at all.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:05

So I didn't want to say that. That's what I had heard.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:08

Yeah. No offense to Dallas. Like, um, I was actually as far as the day itself, it was great because um that was the day, the race when my mom qualified for Boston for the first time. And uh way. Yeah, so she joined me on the uh uh at the weekend of race day, like uh came and you know, watched, and so that was like kind of nostalgic. We found a uh poster from 1998 when she or 97, I can't remember, when she qualified and like she like posed next to it, and so that is so special.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:39

I didn't know that. Yeah, wait, do you know what the time was back then?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:44

What the qualifying time was? Yeah, I don't remember, but I do know that she ran it and she was 32. Okay, and she ran it in 3357, I believe. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:58

Oh, that is so sweet. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:01

So that was uh that was kind of fun. But as far as the race itself, it it's really pretty going all the way to the lake. The lake to run around the White Rock Lake, and then um the bridges at the lake are really weird. They're bouncy, they're bouncy, and they don't look bouncy, and then you know, and I I long run there.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:25

I'm already you've already sold me on not running it because I hate that.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:29

It they bounce, yeah, and they're concrete, so like you're you're like, oh, this is just a regular concrete, and then you and you're like, whoa, you know what I mean? So you start to kind of jumble and you're like, Oh, I don't like that.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:41

No, that's it, it reminds me of if you've ever been on a trampoline as a kid with like 10 other kids, yes, where sometimes it like goes up when you're stepping and you almost fall. That's how that whole thing feels.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:55

And I I think it was the third bridge that I was crossing over, and I was like, I'm gonna throw up. I was like between like the dehydration, like the smell, probably. I'm sure that was uh I was using um you can at the time and like okay, thought I liked it, didn't really like it that much, and it like hurt my stomach. So that plus like the jostling I was like, this is terrible.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:20

That that sounds honestly, I should run the course one day just to I want to see everywhere else it goes, but that sounds horrible.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:29

Yeah, and then as far as Austin, um, I actually really like Austin. I I actually like how hilly it is, um, because the challenge is just a lot of fun, um, and the city is pretty. So that's my main thing. If I can give you a recommendation for a fun, like, you know, may not be like a goal race, but just like a race to do is marathon to marathon um out in West Texas. So it's um yeah, I hype this race up a lot because it's like um it's they literally bust you out to a highway sign that says marathon 26, and then you run from the highway sign back to the like this little small town. Um and that's so interesting. Yeah, it's so remote. I think there's only like 50 runners who run it, and um it's like they they don't have you done it. I have. I did it, I did the whole um in 2024. No, 2023, and um really liked it. And then I did the half in 2024. Um, and so the that's so fun.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:37

I like West Texas, I like hot, so that's good.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:40

It's it's it's funny because it starts really cold um because like you're in the desert, so it's like um it's like low 50s, like high 40s, and you're like, ooh, this is like brisk, but then the sun comes up on the uh on the east on the horizon and just like bakes you the entire half second half.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:01

Wait, this sounds this sounds like fun. I would do this for like a training day or something. This sounds fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:07

Yeah, so if you're looking for a fun race, uh it's not like Big Bend area. Um okay. So yeah. What time of year? It's October. So it's October. Like you typically, I believe it's I don't know if it's the last weekend or second to last weekend, but it's uh late October.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:23

Uh okay, that sounds so fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:25

Yeah. So um I'm thinking about doing it again at some point, probably not this year, but um at some point. Um, so yeah. Uh ask you about high mileage too. So as someone who is like pretty new to like marathon training, I've only done like a few years worth, but um, you do a lot of high mileage. And as far as like base building and aerobic building, what does that give you? What do you like about high mileage?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:56

Oh, I've always loved high mileage. I I part of the reason we went straight into that is because Sam trusted me. I I had done enough high mileage, in my opinion, high mileage in college that I felt comfortable with it. And I I wasn't someone who was super knock on wood injury prone due to it. I love it. I think just outside of training, I love being out there and just being out in nature. I like trying new routes, listening to podcasts, can calling people.

unknown 1:05:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:35

Um my boyfriend finally just moved here from Canada, but we were doing distance for a few years. So we would that was, I mean, a two hour run is a two hour phone call. Um yeah, but for from the training aspect, I do think I don't think everybody necessarily needs to do high mileage. I think you gotta find what works for you, but building the The aerobic base, especially when we're quote unquote a bit younger, I think is very important for marathon training. Yeah. I think it's also really good to just some of the longer workouts and the longer runs. I think you get to know some of those demons you're going to meet on marathon day.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:22

And I think that's can be pretty valuable too. How do you deal with that in the moment? How do you figure out what's hurting enough that you need to back off in a workout or hurting enough that you can ride it out? I think all those things are very valuable. And then adding the compounding fatigue from the rest of the week. I don't know. I I do like it. It I feel like it calluses my brain and my body a lot.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:51

Yeah. And then you had also talked about, and this is kind of a selfish question for me as a track new track coach. Um and you talked about doing like relatively high mileage, and then in college or in high school, uh like 50 around 50 miles a week. Um, not even 50. Not even, okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:09

So um uh what like because you know, when when we cut when I coach my track kids, we're just meeting like three times a week, and I'm hoping to like get them into more running and more running on their own to to build that base. But um why would you say it's important to run like outside of just your your weekly practices?

SPEAKER_05 1:07:32

Yeah, I think it's I so my c my opinion on mileage for high school versus post-collegiate is pretty much flipped. I think when I hear that high schoolers are doing 60 miles a week, I knew girls who were doing that in high school and they have all either quit or were injured all of college.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:55

And that's so that's it doesn't sound like the kids you're coaching are at that extreme. But yeah, if you're trying to get them to stick to 20 miles a week, but in order to do that, you need to be running outside of the three practices a week. I would tell them, yeah, that's so it's important to get to know your body. First of all, you said you meet Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:21

Uh Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:23

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. Just running three days in a row and knowing what that feels like on your body is really good because you get to be a lot more familiar with what's an injury and what's just me being tired. So I think that's really specifically for high school kids. When I was running 20, 30 miles a week, it wasn't building my aerobic system to this insane capacity, but I at least got to know, okay, what's the difference between a sore muscle and a muscle where something might be wrong? So I think if the younger you can learn that, the better. And I do think at that age, even adding one or two days a week that you're running, your aerobic capacity goes from like here to here. Like the graph is so so it is like, oh it's hard talking to kids where you're like, you're skipping over the you could just you could drop a minute from your 5k if you ran on Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:27

Yeah, yeah, because they recover so fast. Like at that age, like uh your body is always just springing back. So yeah. And then also, like like what you touched on, like a lot of high school sports is really just learning how to work your body, like how to get to its full capacity, what it things are supposed to feel like. So yeah, I totally agree with that. It's it's an interesting dynamic because like you know, with a 30 some odd year old training for a marathon, they can handle the 80 to 100 something miles a week. Uh-huh. Whereas like a 14-year-old, I'm like, that's a lot on someone who's still growing.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:06

Oh no. And like that's why I wanted to make sure because there are a lot of kids. I uh not a lot of kids, that sounds like I'm talking to kids all the time. There are a lot of you hear about a lot of these kids that are doing so much in high school and they're having that immediate success. And then maybe their freshman year of college lighting the world on fire. But I do think you want to be careful not to be doing we shouldn't be training a 15-year-old like a professional athlete.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:39

Yeah, for sure. Um, well, cool. Well, um, my uh a few last like rapid fire questions that I was going to ask you.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:49

I I'm bad at rapid fire because I want to talk too much, but I'll try.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:53

Yeah. So my first question is what is your favorite training run in Dallas? Training like route.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:02

I'll say North Haven Trail. I really for an easy run. I really like the North Haven Trail.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:09

Yeah. I I I've been on that one a couple of times. Oh, you have? Okay. Yeah, that's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:14

Um it's nice for easy runs too, because there's like every mile alight. So you have a good excuse to stop a lot, too.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:22

Yeah, for sure. And then what is your favorite style of speed workout?

SPEAKER_05 1:11:29

Ooh. Can you give me some examples? What do you mean by style?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:34

Like uh interval run, tempo run, hill repeats, uh mile repeats, whatever you know comes to mind.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:42

If we're going speed, I'd say 400 repeats.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:48

That's fun.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:49

Mm-hmm. It's just one lap. It's very mentally like, okay, I can do a lap.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:53

Yeah. I I love 400 repeats. Yeah. Like you because like you can sprint as hard as you can for like 400 meters, and then you're like, okay, two minutes off exactly and do it again. You know? Yeah. Um, my coach had me do it. Um, it was like a ladder workout the other day, and this just made me think of it. And she had me do a mile at like 650, and then like 1200 at like 610, 800 at like 6 flat, and then 400 at like 554. Um, oh, I kind of like that. Yeah, and it was fun, but it was hard. Like after the mile, I was like, oh, this is work. Like, I was like, I still have a lot to go.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:38

Some of those that's so that's so true. Because some of those workouts where they cut down, yeah. You look at it and you're like, oh, like an 800 or whatever, that'll feel easy. And by the time you get there, you're like, I'm kind of hurting. Like, oh my god. Like this kind of actually hard now that I'm thinking about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:56

Yeah, it was. I still had my fastest at the 400, and I was able to rip that. Oh, nice. But my 800 was like awful. I she wanted me to do like a sub-six, and that I think I ran like a 640 at that one like per mile because I was like, I'm so di.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:13

That's it's also something about 800, or my least favorite distance for a rep is 1200, where you're just like you come around that second lap and you're like, Oh my god, I have to go again. But but you don't even get the satisfaction of it being a mile.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:30

That's the worst. See, my least favorite is a kilometer, a thousand meters, because it's like if you're doing it, if you're doing it on the track, you know that two laps is half a mile. You know that that's so true.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:42

Then you have to go.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:43

You're like halfway through a lap and you're like done, and you're like, okay, it's hard to do the influence.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:50

Yeah. Also, if there's people walking around, it looks like you quit halfway, and you're like, no, that was part, that was where I had to stop.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:58

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, and then what um if you had to give advice for anyone as to why they should go for a run today, what would you say?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:09

Oh, that's so sweet.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:10

I love that. Um I would say connecting with nature and being in the outdoors is always good for you. If you need to go slow, go slow. But being outside is just the best.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:29

Yeah. Awesome. And then my last question is if you could recommend any uh runner in Texas to be on the uh pod, who would you who would you recommend?

SPEAKER_05 1:14:39

Ooh, in Texas. Oh my goodness, let me think. I'll say my does it count if they're not physically in Texas right now? Yeah, it counts. I would say my old teammate from Oklahoma State, Ryan Choppy. Okay, I've heard of him. Yeah, he's from LaPort, like Houston area. Yeah. Yeah, but he's Texas, so that's who I would say.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:08

I will reach out, Ryan. If you're listening to this, I'm I'm I will be reaching out soon. So awesome. Well, cool. Thank you so much for this, and thank you for being willing to uh to come for a part two or a second half after the technical difficulty.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:24

Of course. Thanks for having me on.