Latest / The People Run Podcast / #50 The Secret Behind an OTQ and Elite 15 Hyrox Athlete | Alyssa McElheny

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#50 The Secret Behind an OTQ and Elite 15 Hyrox Athlete | Alyssa McElheny · The People Run Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: What is the secret?
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a big question.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: The secret, meaning like, how are you Olympic qualifying?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Very obviously you gotta run fast, you gotta train hard, but you also elite on the other side now on high rocks.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: How are you pulling this off and making it happen?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's such a good question.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Such a good question.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: I have I think I've always been like a stronger athlete.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've always had a good amount of muscle on me.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'll line up on like your average marathon start line, and I'm generally like taller and more muscular than like I don't know, 95% of the other women that are also on that line.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so this like high rocks advent journey, whatever, has been such a perfect fit for me in my body and my brain and like what I think I'm supposed to be doing athletically in life.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, I don't know if that's really a secret.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think it's crazy that someone out there or two people out there, whatever, invented a sport that like is exactly what I meant to do, and it like happened at the right time and like I found it at the right time, and yeah, it's pretty wild.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: No, it does.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously, it speaks to your story and how you're able to accomplish it.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know when I first saw and reached out to you, I was like, what in the juxtaposition is going on here?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so that makes sense.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: You kind of were always like bigger into muscular and lifting, and you know, combine that with running.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: So uh when you started high rocks, did you ever picture this like one of the fastest debuts ever?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, sub-56, I mean, elite right away, like people are going like, what the hell?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I again I've I've got a good amount of self-confidence.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think based on like some workouts and some sims leading up to, I guess my first um competition was in Las Vegas in end of January, maybe, or early I think it was early February.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um like I had an idea.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think that I thought I could be in that Elite 15 um Stockholm.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um didn't know how far up in the Elite 15 third at Warsaw was definitely I'm not gonna say it was a surprise, um, but it was definitely like uh like an affirmation of like what um I thought I could do and like my belief in myself.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, that was yeah, surprise, but not a surprise.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think I I think I knew I could be there.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: The confidence in the training sounds like was on point.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that's I I mean that's a huge part of it.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you have the the ability and the talent and you, you know, don't have the guts and the like belief to put yourself out there, um, yeah, it's never gonna happen.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: So it's gotta be all the things coming together.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very curious as to your mindset.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: You go to Indy, November.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Most of us either go, okay, I'm tired, I'm gonna take a little break, or we go crazy, I'm gonna sign up for another marathon or something.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, you OTQ on top of this.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: You go, you know what?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go try to be a leader at Hyrux.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how does that happen mentally, or you're just like, I'm gonna give it a shot, and it just happens.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was pretty it was kind of a fluke.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um definitely like indie and OTQing was my priority for the past like you know, decade of my life.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so leading up to indie, that was like the only focus.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: There was no high-rax in my brain, that was not happening.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I had a friend from the run club I lead in Michigan every Monday night.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: His name is Noah.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And when he started to come to Run Club like last spring, so this was like spring of 25, um, he would just tell me all about his Hyrax races.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I had never heard of Hyrax before.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, just like loved to chat about it and I loved to listen to it.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then eventually in the summer, he was like, we should do a doubles.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I have I'm training for the Olympic trials marathon, like I'm this is not happening.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: He was like, I was like, sure, I'm not gonna train for it.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like you realize I'm just gonna go into it like cold turkey.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be tired two weeks post-marathon, like my body's not gonna be in a good spot.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to do it, I'll do it.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So he signed us up for Dallas.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then yeah, so really just kind of fell into it that way.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like it wasn't something I really focused on or trained for.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I spent, I think, two days before the competition, he and I went into the gym we trained at, eighth day gym in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and we like went through all the stations, like really bare minimum.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like that was it.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Spent like an hour and then cold turkey to Dallas, and it it gave me the idea that like, oh, this like this could be my sport.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's so badass to think.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, you would think OTQ, like, hey, I'm very good at running, I'm gonna stick to running.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not gonna say yes to this to like maybe not risk an injury, but for you to go, yeah, it's only two weeks later, sure, let's go, let's do this.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people just say, like, so yeah, you OTQ, and then you like find this new side quest, like high rocks, like, like, what is it?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: What's your you you did your thing and now you're moving on?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what in the world?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, ultimately, like kind of what I talked about earlier.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my I think my body's meant to be in this like strength endurance kind of a sport, like high rocks.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, marathoning, again, I'm going to run at the Olympic trials and I'm gonna give it a great shot, but I am under no illusions that I'm like making that team.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not, you know, in the top few marathoners in the US.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, this is definitely I could be in the top, you know, 100 marathoners in the US, or I could be in the top few high rocksers in the world.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: To me, that's a pretty easy, like maybe this is where we should be going.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's cool when you, you know, at some point later down the road, you're gonna be on some beach or some nice mountain view house, and you'll be like, Yeah, you know, I did this.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's like side quests and achievements showing and which is really cool.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's been it's been a whirlwind so far, but it's been so fun.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: I I part of me misses like the marathon life and training for it, but overall I think this has been a much healthier fit for me and my body.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's something I want to ask you.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: How do you stay like like you would think hey, you train for an OCQ, it's very hard, it's very tough on the body.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you stay healthy and not burnt out, if you will?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like off often when you go for a PR and like a marathon, you could burn out because you're going all the way in.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then you can do both.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I will say that I mean, oh boy, so let's see, 20 the spring of I'm gonna get these dates mixed up.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, I've been training for this Olympic trials marathon 237 goal for a long time.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there was a chunk of time when I did think I I did overtrain, um, and it led to like an overuse injury.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: I had some hand strength tendinopathy, had to take yeah, fun, fun.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Had to get some PRP done and take um, it was ultimately about 12 weeks off of running.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, slow build to get back into it.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then yeah, kind of this current cycle training for indie.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was running a hundred mile weeks very consistently.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I I found that I think looking back, especially, I can see that it wasn't the healthiest thing for me.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, whether it was too much mileage or maybe not fueling correctly or whatever it was, um, yeah, I just I was having to nap all the time.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: I was tired, I was a little more irritable, like my nails were getting like brittle.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just like my body was giving me signs that like this is not sustainable.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it worked.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I qualified, I was in really good shape.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was a great race, but um, yeah, there were just signs that my body was like, let's please stop.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, can we do something else?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Can we please stop?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Please stop.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think it it came.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: This like kind of change in sport came at a really um good time.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: What kept you going through those years of trying to knock on that door of OTQ in and did you ever think of stopping?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been shooting for this goal for since 2014, like for some like in some way or shape or form.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um in 2016, the time we had to hit was 245, couldn't get it done.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: In 2020, the time we had to hit was 245, couldn't get it done.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then they dropped the standard to 237, which at that point I was like, well, if I can't hit 245, like you I think I can run eight minutes faster?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's no way.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's not happening.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think I kind of had that moment when they dropped the standard and then literally the next morning woke up and was like, nah, like I gotta I gotta go for it.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just I'm stubborn, I'm definitely stubborn, I'm competitive, but it's also realizing that the marathon as well as high rocks um has so many like different pieces and like uh like sides to it that there's just like a billion things you could do to change the outcome of the race.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: So whether it's like finding a new coach, trying a new fueling system, different shoes, um, getting in better training, like something with sleep, something with recovery, and something with nutrition, um, there's just a million things you could do to take that number from 245 to 243 to 240, you know, like these little incremental drops.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're willing to do those things and like try and put the puzzle together in different ways, um the outcome, like ultimately I found can be pretty favorable.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Do you feel those subsequent races and knocking and knocking led up to to finally hitting it along with training a little different?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think, I mean, I'm sure you agree, like it takes practice.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, especially for me, it was a lot with um increase in mileage was really helpful.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, having a coach that you know thought through a training plan and you know, put something together for a whole build was really helpful.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then yeah, the to me the fueling was a huge piece of it.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've I had to learn that like you can do a long run on little or no fuel, but you're gonna be worse off afterwards.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like you if you don't take fuel, you're putting that your body in that hole.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's harder to get out of that hole.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: The next days of training are like suffering because of it.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I found that you know taking those those gels or that um that bottle like during your long run multiple times can be a huge deal.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then also during the race, you know.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I think honing out the fueling was a big part of that, like success and that drop-in time as well.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Saw your picture at the finish line of indie.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think the emotions say a lot in that picture, but what what did it feel like when you crossed and maybe you look back at the timer or you look at your watch and you go, Holy snap, I finally did it.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Is that real?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like that time is accurate, we're sure.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that um I think I knew during the race.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta, you know, you can check your splits on your watch.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's not your official time, but um I knew probably with five or six miles to go that like it was gonna happen that day, barring any strange circumstances.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I got to do it with uh my teammate Gabby Henteman.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that was incredible.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like to get to run the whole race with someone and achieve that altogether.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: She is she's incre she's a like a whole different athlete than me.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um so she's younger.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think she's 10 years younger than me.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and this was her first marathon, and she hit the OTQ on her first go.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, just this the ceiling for her is so so high.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to see what she's doing.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: She's running grandma's marathon this summer.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it's summer, but um, so yeah, it was a joy to do it with somebody else.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then also, like my coach Sam was there, um, my husband Daniel was there, my mom was there, um, two of my best friends, Paul and Julia, were there, my friend Brooke was like, it was just a huge community of people that like came down and out to support me.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: My cousin Emery, I'm just there's more people, they're just coming out of the world.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, that was what like crossed my mind first when I finished is like I mean, instant tears.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an emotional person.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the goal that's been like so long and hard fought for um just brings those tears like right to the surface.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I think my first instinct was like, where's my mom?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Where's Daniel?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Where's Paul?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Where's Julia?
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Where's everybody?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna go hug them.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I thankfully found them super quickly after the finish, probably within like a minute or two.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so those hugs I have there's a woman standing next to us, um, didn't know her, and she was just recording the whole thing.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: So she sent me all the photos and um videos from afterwards, and like those are some of my favorite moments to go back um and look at and relive.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it was it's about the people, whether it's uh high rocks or marathoning, like without the people there that can share that experience with you, like it really means way less.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like those pictures when you're not watching or looking are like the most real ones because it's like, oh god, you got me, but like the emotions there.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: So thankful for again, I I I have her name somewhere saved on my phone, but like to have someone that was present enough to be like, oh, like these people might want this moment, like you know, to be remembered.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I feel like I want to do that more in life now.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: See something happening and like just do the little creepy one in the corner with the phone.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: When you think back of when like running started for you, like what comes to mind now with OTQ sire relief or what comes to mind?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I've I never could have imagined running what I've run.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you had told middle school Alyssa, high school Alyssa, college Alyssa, even like so I graduated college in like 2013, or even like 2016 Alyssa, 2018 Alyssa, if you had told her like you'll be able to run a marathon and you'll run like 558 per mile and like not have to stop and actually get done and be like, okay, that felt pretty good.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like there was never really this like dark pain cave moment.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like I would have been so shocked.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think that's if I coached high schoolers and middle schoolers, I think that's one of my favorite things to talk about.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like they see me as the athlete I am today.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Olympic trials qualifying, and like, oh, you know, Coach Alyssa can run really fast, and that's all great, but like they don't they don't know like truthfully where I started.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some of our girls, like, you know, they'll talk about what they you know, their middle school times or their high school times, and to most of them I can say like you are faster than I ever was.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I was a good athlete in middle school and high school.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um the I was I was a fast runner, but like so many of these girls are faster than I ever was, and they just they don't see that or know that.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um like I like my message is just to you know stick with things over time, and if you stick with it and you keep stacking, you know, miles and days on weeks on months on years, like things can change and happen, and um it's really exciting.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, just it's it's hard to see when it's just the the package that I am like now today.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, like I've come a long way.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean it's kind of how we are, unfortunately.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we like see the end result and we gravitate to that, but like it's kind of why the show started, like, okay, what's behind that?
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: To show people, especially like someone that is you know running at a high level or OTQ'd, um, to like be honest and to allow people to see what was behind that and that it wasn't always you know easy and it wasn't always what was in the cards.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, just the the story of like like diligence and hard work and like persistence.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think that's probably the most important message in terms of like where I've come.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: Take it to High Rocks Vegas.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Boy.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: Good.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: You feel confident you shared, right?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: But what's it like walking in the building the first day?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Are you nervous?
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, I'm kind of unknown, but you already know what you got in you.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have no idea.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's a tough like um know it think like thinking and knowing what I'm capable of, but having no one else be aware of that.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was so fun, like to be an unknown and to kind of surprise people.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that was like such a joy.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I and I had already been to a high rocks competition, so I'd already been to like a doubles in Vegas, not Vegas, Dallas, which was super helpful.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, coming into Vegas, like it was clear it was still my first like pro solo race, but it wasn't like it was this completely new environment.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I had already, you know, done a doubles race and had my hand held through it and kind of like had someone there to guide me and teach me how to do all the stations and you know what not to do and things to look for.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that was super helpful to have done that with Noah before um competing in Vegas.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, Vegas was I'm again, I'm used to like elite race scenes.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: So like being on a start line doesn't really phase me too much.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's something I've done for years and I'm really accustomed to.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but something that I found really helpful is um so in the start tunnel in the Red Bull tunnel in Vegas, I did this there, and then I also ended up doing it in Glasgow and Toulouse, um, not in Warsaw because this is different, but um, I let the field go for like 10 or 15 seconds and then I started um just to get like Yeah, hell yeah.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe think about that one.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, because it's it's chip time.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: So whenever you cross the mat is when your time starts.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um and to me it was just really helpful to get out of the crazy, like everyone books it off the starting line, whether or not they're a really like skilled runner, they're sprinting.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, um, and I just didn't want to be a part of that energy or that chaos.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: So to me, just giving everyone a 10-second head start and then just being able to like calmly step on the line and then just do my own thing and feel really in myself and present was super helpful.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that I think that start in Vegas really allowed me to like take a deep breath and not get caught up in the crazy.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, wait a minute, you just dropped the nugget on there on me.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I have to ask.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: After you wait a few seconds and you let everyone go crazy like typical marathon, everyone starts running world record pace for 10 seconds or so.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Do you feel because it's really like what a 1k and then do you have to bob and weave a lot or like it spreads out enough?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I feel like it totally depends on the race.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've I think for me, Vegas was pretty crowded and busy with bodies.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then like later on to me, Glasgow and Toulouse were not quite as wild.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: But then yeah, I mean, there's courses that like have the fast lane really like open and distinguished, and some people respect it, and then there's courses that don't.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that makes a big difference too.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, to me, that that like 10 seconds of just pausing and taking another breath and letting people go.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um people will still come back to you.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's not you're not really losing anything by giving yourself a little bit of space.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I would I would recommend that to everyone.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: But then now we're gonna get like 12 people waiting on the line.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's not gonna actually work.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, put this out after world.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Keep our secret safe till then.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll we'll put it out later, but I will do that because I am one of those people that likes to when I start a race, be in the calm, if you will, as much as I can.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: So that's like music to my ears right there.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So little secret.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Alyssa, you mentioned you feel like this is where you belong officially now with high rocks, and you know, we'll I'm sure there'll be some other marathons, but like when did that moment become true for you and what what does that mean for you?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, yeah, when did that when did that become true?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think that it took me till maybe to lose.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I competed in Vegas and ran um one hour 55 seconds um and got a really hard sled lane.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I do feel like my time in Vegas was not disappointing, but I knew that I had a lot more in me.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um so then yeah, went on to compete in Glasgow, um, Scotland, and I another another little nugget for you.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Don't spit when you face it.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, did not know that rule.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I spit during wobbles and ended up getting a two-minute penalty there.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: That time was also like not one that I was like proud of, or I knew I was capable of way more.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: So still kind of felt that like not imposter syndrome, but I knew that I had a lot more to prove and a lot left in me.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: So then four days later I raced in Toulouse, France, um, and ran a 58, I think 58, 26, something like that, um, which at the time was the fourth fastest, um, made me the fourth fastest woman in high rocks.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that moment was like, okay, I knew this is what I was capable of.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: I knew I was gonna run, I knew I could run in the 58s, um, but to finally like have that time set and like on the books and on record, um, just felt really good.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what made me feel like, okay, I belong with these women, I'm in the Elite 15, like I belong here, I don't feel like an imposter.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: I I know that I can put myself up with these the best and you know give them a good fight.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: So the first one, like you feel eyes on you, like, hey, I'm no longer the underdog here, everyone kind of knows what's up, like I love that about Warsaw.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, um, I was like an unknown, and I think I was either the only rookie in the field or one of two, I think I was one of two.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so yeah, I I loved that little piece of unknown, just like Vegas.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I love being a little bit of like a an unknown or an outsider.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, I don't have that same luxury anymore.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like I'm not an unknown.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I think I'd still be a little bit of a wild card though.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um in Warsaw, I actually ended up a race plan was kind of to take the runs really easy and then you know, really focus on being able to hammer the stations pretty hard.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um so in Stockholm that might be a little different.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm excited to see um where that can put me in the field.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um excited to hopefully surprise some people again.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I got I got a lot of big dreams.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, on big dreams, like I look at these trips like marathons cool, let me be wrong.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I love.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: But these trips in Toulouse, uh Warsaw, like these pictures you're taking, like, is that part of the fun and ambition too?
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, hey, look, I'm competitive as hell, but like I'm going to the country and enjoying the views.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I my like big actually two of my biggest passions in life would be like movement, running, high rocks, all the above, and then travel.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: So add food in there too.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Food is also part of it.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a such a gift to have this sport um be able to take me to places I've never been um and continue to do that in the future.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um I again just so excited to see like where majors end up being next year.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: That hasn't been announced yet and I'm just like I'm just waiting with faded breath to see where they end up being.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I you know would love to be able to travel as much as possible um with this sport and see where it takes me.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah that's a huge that's a huge perk.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I think that's what attracted me a little bit more now towards this side of the field.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Because these trips are insane.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: These are like really cool places to go visit.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah you can honestly kind of especially with how popular Hyrax is becoming you can kind of pick a country that you like are interested in and find a high rax there.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean obviously they're not in every country in the world but there are a lot there are a lot of places.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: There was a new one announced today at a like a beach in China forget saying something uh and I'm just like this is China no way I'll go yeah I was like do we need to plan a trip to China um does Denver have a high rax competition?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know it's coming November uh 12 13 or something I'm signing up I put it that way you if you if there's one in your home city you gotta do it.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah it was uh it was announced a lot of your friends and family be able to come and watch and that makes it even better.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I'm looking forward to it because it'll be my second and then I'll be like okay now let's see what we can do after the first one and you know friends family uh I live at altitude already so I feel like there's an advantage potentially there.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: For sure yeah that is a huge advantage um but yeah like to to be able to do your first one now in New York and then kind of like hone in have a summer to like train fix things that you needed to fix like change a race strategy if you need to um yeah Denver should be great.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say New York too because I'm from New York originally so I'll have family there versus this one no you do have it you do have a Yankees hat on that doesn't make sense.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is the the signature hat right here.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: How are you uh training wise marathon you mentioned hundred miles uh when you do high rocks are you still running high mileage um obviously I'm sure you tune it down but what was training like yeah I bet I'm still higher mileage at least higher running mileage than most high rocks athletes yeah we're not doing hundreds anymore um I think originally my intent was to try and stay around like 70 miles a week pretty quickly found that currently at least that might not be super sustainable.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've been hovering around like 55 to 60 miles a week unless it's a week where I'm competing then it's lower.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Most days it'll be like a high ROX training session and then followed by a run at some point.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's like maybe two one or two days a week right now where I'm not training high rocks.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm running seven days a week so yeah like to me there's certain days where I still want to prioritize the run and make sure my body is feeling really good and fresh for that.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: So like if I have a track workout or something that might be a day I don't do high rocks.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just focus on the run.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Also still trying to get in a really long run every week for me right now that's like 16 or 17 miles.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like a marathon long run, but it's still enough to like I'm on my feet for two hours and I think when you're racing for an hour during high rocks practicing being under stress um for two hours is super helpful.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: It makes makes the high rocks feel way shorter right like to I mean same with you you've run a marathon like you're used to being pain for a lot longer than so it's super helpful to be able to you know be at minute you know 55 of a high rox and be like if I was marathoning I'd really get started you know like I'm almost done here and if this is a marathon I'd still be going for like a couple more hours.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know I think that's a like a big advantage and something that's really helpful when it comes to high roxing is having that that long running distance background.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah volume is definitely lower.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well I won't say that overall volume is higher when you combine like the high rox work plus the running but run volume has definitely dropped quite a bit you have a fear of letting go a little bit more of the mileage?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh 100% I don't know I don't feel that way too but um yeah as a marathoner you take a lot of uh confidence you put a lot of value in that mileage number um and to have that kind of stripped away from you by by choice or not by choice um is hard but I think I've I it's very clear to me that you know doing both is not sustainable.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like 100 mile weeks plus high rock work is just not going to work.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: And for me right now too I think I've really had to realize that um my primary sport right now is high rocks and it will be for the next couple years.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah to be at peace with a little bit of that mileage break knowing that like high rocks in the next you know little bit can turn into like my livelihood and like what I do for a job and um yeah like that's so worth a little bit of like mental strife when it comes to dropping my how do you manage the the like fatigue levels like sounds like you're doing maybe four or five if I got that right high rock sessions.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: No Sims as we discussed earlier.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: We probably will do one this week though so okay yeah so it's um I I don't know I've I think I've done a little bit better job of like intentionally fueling before and after sessions.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that's something I was always good at but especially when you're trying to do a high rock session in the morning and then come back and either do a run like immediately after or later in the afternoon I think having that you know those that protein and those carbs in your body pretty quickly post-run or post-high rocks um to get you ready and set up for that next session is really critical.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm able to you know take a brief half hour hour nap in the afternoon if I have two big sessions, that's helpful as well.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I think the recovery and fueling piece really do allow for that to um be a possibility I I try and be good with sleep at night like really try and get that eight hours um especially going to try and lock into that a lot in these few weeks leading up to worlds.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah I think that's a huge part of it too in terms of leaving your legs feeling a little bit better and ready to go for the next day.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah I've I've found a few tricks and tips and I I do my best.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah no for sure and obviously you have a lot of base endurance going into it as well like you just mentioned so that that helps a long way for sure.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I think a lot of um I mean traditionally from what I've like been able to like glean and understand um high rocks used to be a little bit more of like just strict crossfitters coming into the sport and trying to add in running.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're seeing a lot more of those like endurance athletes coming into the sport um with a little bit of a strength background and trying to hone in on that and I think that endurance running background is so helpful to me um to have that engine that I've built up for you know 22 years now that's something you can't fake and it's something that you can't rush to build.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that really does take time and I have an advantage in that way.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: So really grateful for that.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: Do you feel the combo with your endurance background and not high rocks makes you overall better athlete?
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah shocking um so yeah I'm under like no illusion that I could run like I if I tried to run a marathon you know next weekend I would not run 234 I would not run my PR I know that for a fact just because I haven't been I haven't been doing the volume I haven't been doing the you know specific yeah yeah like three hour long runs that just hasn't been in my in my like wheelhouse right now which is totally fine.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say I think I'm a much like more powerful um poppy athletic runner currently um I just did a 10k in my hometown and saw that yeah so ran you know two sub-175ks in a row so ran like three 3358 which is a 10k PR for me um and felt great the whole time.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't been training for a 10K I haven't been training for any running race um specifically at all.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Have been obviously running um and doing workouts but I do think that that high ROX work has really like changed the sort of athlete I am in a really positive way.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah I would be really curious to see if I were to delve back into like a solid marathon training cycle right now what would be possible.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: I yeah just again any any runner that um wants to have a long career in the sport um I hope that they're considering doing some sort of strength work um just to you know take care of some of those overuse injuries um just having a strong frame and like a strain that a frame that can hold up and hold your body where it should be um having musculature that can keep you where you need to be during that you know mile 20 of a marathon when everyone's breaking down is really helpful.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah get your strength training in wait so this 10k you ran I saw it was like 3334 correct me if I'm wrong.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah 33 33 3358.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: And you didn't train for it so it's just basically all the volume you've been doing through your just your normal running and strength and you do a speed session from what I gathered earlier uh once a week.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah that's amazing.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah it was a complete shock I don't know that I I I had no goals going in.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think I took out the first mile in like a 521 and was like oh no like that's too fast.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: Especially I hadn't I hadn't tapered at all for the race.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'd you know had been high rex training all the days of the week leading up to the race um so I was already like feeling it in my quads.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was like if I'm already a little bit like uh at mile one like this is gonna be rough and then I was actually really consistent the rest of the way um yeah I think that just speaks volumes to like cross training and getting in strength work.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah go do it.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious to ask you like maybe we'll find this out later but you think all the high rocks threshold since we're constantly at threshold while you're trading for high rocks that eventually leads to doing a 10k in 34 33 marathon later.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah you're 100% right like I didn't really think about that till you just said it right now but um essentially like that's what like a big high rock session is if I have like a you know 40 minute 30 minute class workout um like that is it's not like it's not like you're going for a run but in terms of what your heart rate is doing it's similar to what you'd be doing on like a run workout.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that makes a lot of sense like doing a lot of volume in terms of like that higher heart rate threshold kind of work.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: I figured I'd ask you someone who's elite 15 and very fast.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: But it's something I've been noticing now that I'm training for mine and it's like I feel like my threshold's improving because when I go do speed work like you I can't let the running go.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah you're so getting easier 100% right and I had never really thought about that but that high rocks work is essentially like a whole hour yeah you're not running but your your heart rate's doing what it should do so yeah what's harder for you uh right now elite high rocks or you know OTU just marathon in general yeah I I have to say every every part of me says the marathon I don't know if you agree but you you'll find out once you do high rocks you've done sims but um yeah I think I think it honestly just boils down to how much time you're under strain.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like that high rox for me is 55 minutes um and then the marathon is two and a half hours.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah so I just the time that you're like in that discomfort for is just so much greater in a marathon that it's hard to like fully compare the two.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: I do think my ideal sport would be a double high rox.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: So you you do the high rox and then you do it again.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think to me like it itself to like my strengths and my like aerobic engine.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: So um high rocks if you're listening try maybe we do a double sometime I feel like you just came up with something like in the tri world like you know how try you do three things you might just do a double a 1.5 high rocks there's gonna be bumper stickers going around like I'm a 1.5 high rocks a two high rocks yeah catch me at the end of a high rocks like at wall balls and tell me that I'm doing again I might feel very differently I might be like whose idea was this this is terrible yeah I don't want to go around again I don't want to push a sled again I don't want to burpee again that might be my biggest one.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have a least favorite station for now and this is probably a newbie thing sleds I don't dislike it I will say this I feel like some people say it's my worst and dislike it I feel like I'm maybe a little sadistic with the sport where I love the pain but it also is my worst uh right now for now sleds for sure the place where you could have the most room to grow yeah I'll put it that way yeah because I don't hate it I just want to get better at it but I'm good with broad jumps which was I found that was weird.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I would suck at that so uh I don't know where that comes from that that'll be to be determined but I special a special gift you have yeah when I do the classes and whatnot I started going recently to uh the yard oh great I've done a lot yeah okay I've been enjoying it when they do their classes in the burpees I'm like usually pretty quick compared to most even though it's like 30 40 minutes in and then the station will kill me yeah put the sled out there and then you're like please yeah that that's where I'm uh but we'll get there you have not done a high rox yet like you've got so much room to change and grow and figure things out what's yours uh is is wall balls like or the broad jumps you're oh man yeah I would say um it kind of has depended on the race like I've only I've only done like five races so not a lot but um for me I think I've learned that taking fuel during like kind of the middle of the race has really changed how I feel about wall balls.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um when I didn't fuel during um I'd get to wall balls and just kind of immediately just be like oh no like I'm already at a wall like what are we doing?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: But taking like half a gel I I have done it like right after the row traditionally traditionally I've done it a few times whatever um but yeah I find that that extra little bit of like energy makes it so wall balls are actually not my least favorite.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: I quite enjoyed them in Wellersaw.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like I you know I went unbroken and I feel like I could have kept going um I think my biggest weakness and the station I dislike the most right now is burpee broad jumps.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm limmy like I have long legs and arms I'm 5'10 so like I just have a lot of a lot of body to throw around for that like you see some of the women who are um maybe a little bit shorter and more compact you know 5'5 5'4 something like that um there's just a little bit less body to have to get up get down get up get down all those times um so I think that's a little bit of a disadvantage and something that I'm having to work on is keeping my tempo a little bit faster for burpee broad jumps.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um I also like tend to land um forward on my foot so a little more towards the toe instead of the heel and that kind of like leads me to having to brace and then fall into like a deeper squat which is a big waste of energy.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: So burpee broad jumps are currently my nemesis and we are working on them.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay we could we could meet in the middle and probably be a really good high rocks athlete yeah well that that would be would have sleds downpacked and then broad jumps downpacked I mean what else you need the sleds yeah running back running amazing yeah sleds are my favorite we're both good runners I'll do the sleds you do the burpee broad jumps will be great yeah for sure I feel like it's anyone that intimidates me to be honest with you right now uh because of all the cardio stuff but your Instagram page we we kind of joked about this a little bit but it feels like a James Bomb meets vintage 80s like I love the artwork like which makes me want to ask you who takes these pictures yeah it's I I mean a lot of the high rex ones I'm super fortunate to have like like high rex has great media presence um that's really nice um I will make my husband Daniel be um my Instagram hus Instagram husband sometimes he loves it loves it um that's definitely not serious definitely kidding there but he's a good sport um yeah and I mean everything else is stuff I take I like I've I've been a photographer for years that's been my line of work for 13 years I think um so yeah it's definitely something I'm passionate about like I I care about how the grid looks for better or for worse no one else cares but I do um so yeah it's it's it's been a little challenge to add in like all this athletic stuff now um it's not been something I've traditionally had a lot of a presence of on my page so yeah it's been fun no you guys blend it well shout out to you and husband for being the sport you blend uh the architecture and like food very well like what's been your favorite experience abroad in some of these high rocks events like food wise or architecture wise like something that made you go wow this is like really on earth yeah yeah it's it's all been um so far like older European cities um yeah I I don't know I the US is great like I I love living where I live because of you know my family's here and that means a lot to me but yeah um I would definitely take the feel of like an old European city over um downtown Grand Rapids Michigan or Denver or wherever it may be um yeah I'm a very visual person so yeah I just walking around and getting to take things in is um has been really fun.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: Any favorite city so far?
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Of the ones I've competed in I will go with probably Toulouse France.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was just kind of the older a little more of an old city a little more charming um Poland was great um just a little more like colder modern or um yeah you could yeah also it surprisingly loved it but yeah I think Toulouse so far takes the cake but yeah hopefully money to come so we'll see what's the food been like great yeah I'm a again I'm a big foodie I'll like do no no matter where I'm traveling or why I'm traveling I'll do a lot of um food research um my youngest sister Carly um she is like a chef she is okay also takes photos loves food knows way more about food than I do so I'll ask for her help sometimes as well um we'll kind of do deep dives on like finding going down Instagram rabbit holes and she has tons of websites she checks and um so yeah it's definitely like a hobby and passion of mine wherever I travel um is finding finding food and um making that a part of any trip I'm on okay you got your personal review uh person yeah it's helpful to not do it alone too like to have somebody else in my family that also really enjoys that has been fun.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: She's actually real life Yelp.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah real life she's been traveling Europe for the last like month or so um and yeah just constant food posts and makes me want to be there again.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: So Stockholm can't come soon enough.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_01: Do you feel these trips uh change your perspective a lot like just on life in general?
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I've always been a big traveler like my um my job wedding photography has always allowed me to travel um but yeah seeing it like in a sport perspective um is definitely different.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's different priorities when traveling um it's not fully about especially leading up to the competition um I feel like there's just a lot of nerves like um you're able to like take in the city but not fully um because yeah there's just this competition that's kind of like looming over your head and um hard to fully focus on traveling and being in a place when there's you know a big competition with a lot on the line.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because yeah every time I've competed there's been quite a bit at stake.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: It hasn't been just I mean it's been very fun it's been very joyful but there's also been you know consequences and you know hopes and dreams like in I mean Glasgow spit and got a two minute penalty and was besides myself for a good day.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like you know took this trip and then you know it was a I won't say it was a waste but it felt like that in some ways you know to to go this far to go to Glasgow and then to come away with a time that was two minutes slower than what I wanted or needed.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah it's just it's not just a trip.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of emotion and a lot at stake um tied to these these events so far.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_01: How do you find yourself like dealing with that pressure at times like you know you you got I'm traveling it's great but I'm also here to do business to get this race in.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just fun.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah to like especially that Glasgow um race to to get done get that penalty and then just yeah to try and spin it as you know this yeah it it wasn't a waste like I know it was it was still worth it and everything but to to have that frustration was really hard.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then for that for that trip specifically um I think within I don't know eight hours of the race I was already trying to find a ticket to Toulouse that was in four days and I was able to spin it really quickly um to not just like wallow in that grief for too long.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I was very fortunate to be able to make that happen.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise I think that would have been a much harder pill to swallow to come home and to be like yeah I went out there and this one little spit was like what cost me this entire you know future in the sport this year.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah it was wild too like I the time I if I hadn't spit in Glasgow the time I would have run I think was like an hour fifty Really similar to what I ran in Vegas and actually wouldn't have been fast enough to get me into the Elite 15 in Warsaw.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it really ended up being like I needed to spit and get that penalty to force myself to go run and Toulouse to get that time that I needed to run in Warsaw.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: So like it happened for a reason and I wouldn't take it back, which is if you had told me that after the race, I would have been like, no, I'll take it back.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: But ultimately I ended up needing that to happen in order to end up where I ended up.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: So kind of cool.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: Things happen for a reason.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have a chip on your shoulder from that day on Toulouse?
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I again like I realized it was it was a rule and it was in the rule book, and I I it was my fault for not knowing.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, coming into Toulouse, it was like, all right, I got something to prove.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm gonna keep all my bodily fluids in my body and like show them what I know I can do.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that was yeah, definitely coming into Toulouse.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was a good little like fire that was lit underneath me.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, it turned out all right.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, better than all right.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: How's the family been through all this?
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned a couple family visits in Indy and through the race.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned husband a few times taking pictures.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure he travels too as well on some of these.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: He's our photographer as well.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been it's been like I said earlier, like to share this experience with people um is just changes everything.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um I can whether it's like a trip or whether it's a competition, like having that success or having that experience um solo, it's like it's not the same.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like to be able to have people uh back home, you know, watching Warsaw live was incredible.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, the support I felt from whether it's my family or my friends here or gym community or teammates on my running team.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, the the people in my life are so invested and so on my team, and I will never take that for granted.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, it's been such a blessing.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious now, I just thought of this as you said this.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: You run indie, you OTQ, then you go and do high rocks.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_01: What's the racing team texting you like?
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like what Oh yeah, they gave me so much crap.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um I coach Sam.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, his name's Sam Butler.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: He coaches um I'm on Gazelle Elite, which is our local run specialty store here in Michigan.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I have I think seven teammates.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's eight of us.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_00: It might be nine, eight or nine.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I think I I came to him maybe in late December, early January and said, like, hey, so I know we're a marathon team.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like let me let me propose this to you.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, HyROX is a booming sport.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's still like it's still a running sport.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's still 8K of running, it's massive.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I had so I work on the floor for about five hours at Gazelle Sports.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: I sell shoes five hours a month, it's not a lot, but I have already seen a big uptick in the number of people coming in looking specifically for a high-rox shoe.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I kind of shot this to him like, hey, like high rocks is growing.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what if I were to do a high-rox and still be on the team?
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, would that work?
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: So he took that to um our ownership, Jen and Kara, and they were super on board and super excited about it.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it was instantly felt that like support and encouragement to get into a new sport.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, responses from teammates were definitely super sensitive as well.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: But what are you doing?
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you just aren't teaching like what we're trying something different now?
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, okay.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you, eighth day gym, tell me a little bit about it.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: It seems fun as hell from everything I've seen.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm just being frank, like what was how helpful has that been to you and your training?
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think I saw you even said it's made you a faster runner.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it has.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like um, the gym has a like a massive high-rack space, which opened right when I started high-rax, which is kind of wild.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, like tons of center equipment, tons of C2 equipment.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's classes four times every Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_00: And like oftentimes it's like, you know, between 18, 20, up to 30 people in a class.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely like you can tell it's a growing sport and that there's like some momentum and excitement around it.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, it's really incredible to be able to not have to do all my workout solo, to be able to be in a class um and have like dudes that I can compete with and that can push me on like on a pretty much a daily basis.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_00: So that's been incredible.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like to not have to do this all solo um has been such a gift.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: All the center equipment just got me jealous right now.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: We've got all the stuff that um you would see in competitions, that makes it really helpful.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_01: Lys, how do you keep showing up for these hard things?
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: It seems like you seem to enjoy them.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: Someone out there is going, like, I don't know if I can do this.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like yeah, I something something in me is broken.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's my explanation.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: I I must.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I I think it's just that I have a lot of belief in myself.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: I have big goals that I'm not willing to part with.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I'm 35 right now, and I don't see this being something I stop doing um until my body says no.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I I truly enjoy movement.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: I truly enjoy the feeling of maybe not in the middle of a hard workout, but getting done with a hard workout, um, I'm sure you feel this way too, like after a really long, long run or a big high rocks training session.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like there are not a lot of better feelings, like to just like sit and be like totally spent, but to know that you like push yourself and that um yeah, I I don't know.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: I I think I'm pretty addicted to that feeling.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I I don't know.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: I I truly every part of this so far, whether it's marathoning um or high rocks, has been such a joy.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I think again, I'm gonna go back to the people, like the fact that you're able to do that with a community, um, whether it's um your training partners when you're running or your people in a class in high rocks, um, but yeah, like you're able to suffer and do this together, and that's bonding, and um it's all been such a joy.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_01: Agreed on the feeling that especially when the sessions go good.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a difference.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like it has to go well to have it be like a fully like yeah, yeah.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean it can hurt, which is fine.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: It actually has to, I think, for that feeling for sure.
• 50:22
  unknown: Right.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm with you on that.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_01: Alyssa, I I see you talk a lot about gratitude.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_01: How do you find gratitude in such a competitive sport?
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_01: Both fans, obviously, marathons very competitive at your level, and then high rocks at your level is very competitive as well.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you find that like gratitude and peace in these sports?
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that so first of all, we choose to do these things.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no one's forcing me to run a high rox, no one's forcing me to run a marathon.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think I have to pause and think about that some days if I'm not in the mood to work out to be like, this is a choice, like do your best, like make it count.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then yeah, just the fact that we have like bodies that are able to be out there and competing and running and training.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think it takes something like an injury, like sidelining you for 12 weeks, like I had a couple years back, to make you fully um aware of that fact that um yeah, you you could be in ab you could be unable to run and you could be unable to compete in high rocks.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that I think like to me completely flips the script and um helps me realize that like it's a gift.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm choosing to do this, like not everyone's able to be out there moving the way I am.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um so to be able to not take it for granted, I think um helps with the pain and the moments of discomfort um when you're in those to kind of take a step back and see the bigger picture.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love your energy and like passion behind it.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, you're very competitive, but you humility and have fun with it.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm sure you're excited about High Rock's worlds coming up.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_01: What's your thoughts around Sweden uh coming up?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_01: How are you feeling about that?
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm truly currently just very excited.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm sure as I get closer, the nerves will pop in.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that is to me, I'm those are welcome.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I know that like ultimately nerves are just your body's way of getting you ready to run fast.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I'm really excited to be in Europe.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to, you know, go through the whole, like I'm excited to meet people on the course, I'm excited to meet more Elite 15 women.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um ultimately just super excited for the actual competition.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like in Warsaw, the crowd was amazing.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so fun to like interact with people and meet people post-race.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm super excited to do that again.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, again, I I feel like I'm a little bit of a broken record, but like it's all just been such a joy so far.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_01: So no, that's awesome.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_01: Any changes on the training or you know, proven at this point?
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, yeah, really just trying to hone in on a couple stations.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like the training has been pretty, pretty similar.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: I've tried to up the run volume a little bit in the last few weeks to kind of get back to that, like get back to the basics for me.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, really working a lot on burpee broad jump, working a lot on sandbag lunges and just upping that tempo as well.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, training has been pretty, I won't say status quo, but pretty consistent.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, again, trying to get in a sim in the next couple weeks just to like stretch and flex that muscle a little bit again.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I'm very curious to see how um taking the runs a little faster will impact how the race goes in Stockholm.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um really, really excited to compete there.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_00: I want to put myself in it and give myself the best chance of finishing as high as I possibly can, which I don't know where my ceiling is right now.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um we'll find out.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: So early.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_01: You said five, so this would be six.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_00: So kind of a baby.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's still my first half a year in the sport.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, very exciting, but also very excited to um really dial in and like have a full season next year, you know, get summer to kind of build that base and build some strength and maybe work on a little bit of uh upper body uh weaknesses that I have currently.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_02: Is that an arm check?
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of a more cross fitty workout in class last week on Friday, and um there were pull-ups and push-ups, and you didn't need to see me doing those.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_00: They are not my friends, yeah.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we work on a little bit of that.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, Alyssa.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited for you what's coming next, you know, with Sweden and fun and the journey.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, thank you for coming on.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you having coming and talking with us on the People Run podcast.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: This has been uh a pleasure and a joy for sure.
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, likewise.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um excited for you in New York as well.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, best of luck.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_01: Guys, thanks for tuning in.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_01: People run podcasts.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time.