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My 2026 Sydney Marathon Recap: From Sickness To Finish Line · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I show up and I do hard things and that
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: is a fact. I am someone who is capable of
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: crushing it. I am someone who doesn't just do hard things,
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  Speaker 1: but she does them well. Hey, everybody. Emily Abadi here.
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  Speaker 1: You are listening to another episode of Hurdle, a podcast
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  Speaker 1: featuring the mindset secrets and true stories of the most
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  Speaker 1: inspiring women in sports and wellness, empowering you to live
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  Speaker 1: a healthier, happier, more motivated life, and of course, conquer
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: your own hurdles. You have made it to the Sydney
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  Speaker 1: Marathon Recap. episode. We're getting into it today. We're getting
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  Speaker 1: into all of it, actually, from when I knew that
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  Speaker 1: I was going to run this race, how the training
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  Speaker 1: for this race went, and everything that went into towing
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  Speaker 1: the starting line for my 16th marathon, which is wild.
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  Speaker 1: They talk about The unexpected hurdles, and there were many
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  Speaker 1: of them, specifically the most troublesome, the food poisoning I
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  Speaker 1: got 48 hours before the race. And how the marathon felt,
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  Speaker 1: the highs, the lows, and there were a lot of
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  Speaker 1: highs considering this is the hilliest world marathon major. I'll
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  Speaker 1: tell you what I wore, the gear that I used,
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  Speaker 1: how I felt, my mindset before, during, which during I'm
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  Speaker 1: so proud, so, so proud. And after the race and
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  Speaker 1: how we celebrated what's next, everything you could want from
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  Speaker 1: a marathon recap episode. Coming in hot and coming to
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  Speaker 1: you live from Melbourne, where I am right now. I
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  Speaker 1: am in Australia for a better part of the next, gosh,
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  Speaker 1: until September 28th. And I have been really loving my
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  Speaker 1: time here. You're going to travel this far. You might
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  Speaker 1: as well do it right, right? So... Uh, lots, lots
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  Speaker 1: of goodness to come today. Make sure you're following along
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: with hurdle over on social. It's over at hurdle podcast.
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  Speaker 1: You can also find me over at Emily body and
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: don't forget. I heart woman sports over at I heart
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: woman sports. Listen to hurdle with Emily body over on
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  Speaker 1: the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: get your podcasts. And with that, let's get to it.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Let's get to hurtling. I'm recording this marathon recap in Melbourne.
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  Speaker 1: It has been just over a week since I ran
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  Speaker 1: my 16th marathon, my seventh world major. And I feel
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  Speaker 1: so grateful, so lucky, so happy. I've been in Melbourne since... Gosh,
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, what day is it? What time is it?
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  Speaker 1: I'm in the future technically right now. I've been in
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  Speaker 1: Melbourne for... three nights so far. And it has been
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  Speaker 1: really lovely, a really much needed reset. Up until this
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  Speaker 1: point in my trip, I'd been traveling with friends and
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  Speaker 1: as part of another group. And so to now have
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  Speaker 1: some time on my own to really digest what just
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  Speaker 1: happened and take a deep breath and do some reflection.
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  Speaker 1: I have so many notes in front of me of
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  Speaker 1: things that I want to cover in this recap. So
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  Speaker 1: it's been really nice. Sydney Marathon. absolutely wild. Time of
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  Speaker 1: the marathon, 335.30. Super happy with that. Before we talk
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: about the day itself, I think it's probably important for
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  Speaker 1: us to bring it back. I knew that I was
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  Speaker 1: going to run this marathon in December of 2025. So
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  Speaker 1: A6 is the headline sponsor, is that how we say it,
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  Speaker 1: of this race. And I have a great relationship with
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  Speaker 1: a ton of people that work at ASICS. And their
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  Speaker 1: team asked if it would be something that I would
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  Speaker 1: be interested in checking off of my list. And I said,
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  Speaker 1: absolutely no brainer, over tacos with a good friend of mine, Karen,
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  Speaker 1: who's on their communications team back last December. And so
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  Speaker 1: I've been looking forward to this. I mean, this is
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  Speaker 1: my first time ever coming to Australia. And it's such
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  Speaker 1: an epic trip. And to do it with the support
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  Speaker 1: of ASICS. And when I say support of ASICS, so
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  Speaker 1: ASICS helped to cover my travel over here. But after
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  Speaker 1: the race, everything I've been doing has been completely on
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  Speaker 1: my own dime. But the bib was courtesy of ASICS.
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  Speaker 1: And again, I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I've had...
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  Speaker 1: the chance to work with them a lot, a lot over,
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  Speaker 1: you know, gosh, I mean, I've been doing this journalism
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  Speaker 1: thing for a while now. Actually, Asics used to be
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  Speaker 1: the token sponsor of the New York City Marathon. And
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  Speaker 1: so back in what I believe was 2015, the year
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  Speaker 1: that I did the double, aka the Dublin Marathon, followed
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  Speaker 1: by the New York City Marathon, both of those were
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  Speaker 1: Asics races. And that's how I ran both of those
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  Speaker 1: back to back. And I think something that's helpful for
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  Speaker 1: context is that the sponsors of any major marathon are
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  Speaker 1: given a handful of bibs as a part of that partnership, right?
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  Speaker 1: And so oftentimes, they will distribute those bibs to either
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  Speaker 1: members of the media, partners, influencers, friends of the brand.
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  Speaker 1: The flip side of that is, for instance, NYRR... has
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  Speaker 1: a number of media bibs that they offer, but those
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  Speaker 1: bibs are non-complementary guaranteed entry. So they may say, hey,
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  Speaker 1: we have a spot for you in the marathon. Are
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  Speaker 1: you interested? And then if you're interested, you'll pay for
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  Speaker 1: that bib. I recognize the privilege in this. And I
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  Speaker 1: do hope that through doing this and then covering my experience,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: whether that be writing it back in the days when
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  Speaker 1: I worked at other major publications or for the Weekly
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Hurdle newsletter, talking about this on the podcast. It allows
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  Speaker 1: me to shed light on some of the ins and
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: outs of these moments and then encourages other people maybe
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  Speaker 1: to do something a little bit crazy like me. So
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  Speaker 1: that is the context. I've known about this for some time.
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  Speaker 1: I did a proper 16-week training plan for this. And
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  Speaker 1: for that training plan, I used RUNNA. This is, I think,
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  Speaker 1: the maybe third or fourth race that I have used
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  Speaker 1: RUNNA for. And when I say I used RUNNA, I
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: fully used RUNNA. I am very fortunate in that I
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: am a certified run coach. I have a lot of
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: friends that are also run coaches. So if I'm ever
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  Speaker 1: questioning something or I want to bounce a thought off
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  Speaker 1: of someone else, I will do that. But I'm not
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  Speaker 1: one of those people that says that I'm using Runa
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: and offers you a code and then isn't actually using
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: the product. I think the product is phenomenal. And I
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: think the product is phenomenal... considering my level of knowledge.
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  Speaker 1: So what I mean by that is that I am
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: someone who, because I have this foundational education, I can
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: look at the information that Rana is giving me take
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  Speaker 1: my thoughts, feelings, what's happening with my body into account,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: and then interpret it. And for that, for the way
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: that I am capable of doing that, I think it
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: is perfect. I think it's fun. For me, Rana's giving
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: me workouts and just... ideas that I've never had before
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  Speaker 1: from another coach that I've worked with. And I've also
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: worked with some really great coaches. But for me, it's
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  Speaker 1: been a really great training tool. It's been super easy
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  Speaker 1: to modify and adapt with as I'm on the road
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  Speaker 1: and traveling and with work and wherever I might be.
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  Speaker 1: And so I I've had a lot of fun using Runa.
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  Speaker 1: Although I am not a Runa ambassador, I'm not on
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  Speaker 1: regular payroll with Runa in any capacity. I do have
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: a code that I don't know off the top of
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  Speaker 1: my head, but I can put that in the show notes.
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  Speaker 1: So if you're interested, I think it gives you two
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: weeks or a month free. And I would definitely say
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: it's certainly worth you... Give me an URL and see
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: if you feel as great about the app as I do. Anyway,
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: the plug for RUNA is now over. I used a
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  Speaker 1: 16-week marathon training plan from RUNA. I think my peak
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: week mileage, I can look it up in my Strava,
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  Speaker 1: but I think my peak week mileage was something around
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  Speaker 1: 35 miles per week at peak. That was the most
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  Speaker 1: I ever ran in one week. Oh, we've got 38
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  Speaker 1: miles in one week. But I, over the last few
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  Speaker 1: marathon training cycles, have just come to realize that I
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  Speaker 1: am the type of runner who really benefits from quality
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  Speaker 1: instead of quantity. I don't, at this point in my life,
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  Speaker 1: feel super stellar stacking up a ton of extra miles.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm complementing my running sometimes with other cross training.
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  Speaker 1: I love to strength train. So for this particular marathon build,
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  Speaker 1: the way that it worked for me was that I
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  Speaker 1: was running four days a week. Monday would be base mileage.
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  Speaker 1: Tuesday would usually be some sort of interval. Thursday would
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  Speaker 1: be some sort of tempo work maybe, or a base
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  Speaker 1: mileage depending on where I was in my cycle. And
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  Speaker 1: then Saturday would be long run. In the last few years, years,
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  Speaker 1: I started having a few, not every, but a few
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  Speaker 1: long run workouts throughout the cycle that included a workout.
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  Speaker 1: So there could be one Saturday long run where it's
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  Speaker 1: conversational pace. So whatever feels good on the day. And
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  Speaker 1: then another Saturday long run where maybe it's a two
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  Speaker 1: or three mile warmup and then a workout effort, say
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  Speaker 1: maybe it's seven, eight miles at goal marathon pace. And
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  Speaker 1: then it's back to conversational miles. So I am someone
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  Speaker 1: that I feel strongly. It really depends on your goal.
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  Speaker 1: When we talk about the kind of training that you're
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  Speaker 1: going to do. I ran my first, I mean, five,
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  Speaker 1: six marathons, maybe seven, with just conversational pace training. And
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  Speaker 1: there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I, at the time,
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  Speaker 1: my only goal was to finish the marathon, right? And
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  Speaker 1: so that's what felt good for me. Now, if your
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  Speaker 1: goal is to get faster or to do something in
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  Speaker 1: a certain amount of time, then you're going to need
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  Speaker 1: to incorporate fast training into your program. You're going to
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  Speaker 1: need to stick to the program. So I have never
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  Speaker 1: been the kind of runner that can just pull some
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  Speaker 1: magic out of a hat on race day. For me,
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  Speaker 1: the training and sticking to the training is so, so important.
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  Speaker 1: I just want to reiterate that. So four days a
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  Speaker 1: week of running. And then I was doing three days
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  Speaker 1: a week of strength training. So Monday run, Tuesday run,
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  Speaker 1: Wednesday strength, Thursday run, Friday strength, Saturday run, Sunday strength.
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  Speaker 1: For me, my strength training, which I do through the
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Future app, has been... really focused on barbell and Olympic-style lifting.
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  Speaker 1: And so some folks may hear that and ask, understandably so,
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  Speaker 1: no recovery day. And for me, Sundays really did feel
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  Speaker 1: in this marathon training block like a nice recovery day.
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  Speaker 1: I believe the lift on that day for a majority
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  Speaker 1: of my training cycle was like focus, so something like
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  Speaker 1: a deadlift. And for me to go to the gym anyway...
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  Speaker 1: to do maybe a 35-minute strength workout and then be
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  Speaker 1: there to focus on things like foam rolling and mobility
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: work and also using the sauna and the amenities. It
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: just really rounded it out nicely for me. Again, you
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: know your body best. That's what felt best for me
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: and my body during this training block. And I know,
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  Speaker 1: I can say without a doubt, that the strength training
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: really teed me up well. I really felt like it
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  Speaker 1: complimented me. I felt like it helped me stave off
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: injury during this training cycle. We'll talk about injury in
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: just a little bit for the most part. And yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I just felt really good in my body throughout that
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: 16-week period. So let's talk about the prep that is
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: required for going... 24 hours of travel to run a marathon.
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  Speaker 1: I would say I started putting things aside for this
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  Speaker 1: marathon maybe a week before. And I also made sure
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  Speaker 1: to get a few things, which is ironic, and you'll
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: see why. Those were a couple of just-in-case medications. So
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: something like antibiotic. I am basically away for the exception
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: of four days from the United States for a month.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: I've been talking about this on the show lately. So
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: all of that travel meant that I just wanted to
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: have everything I could need if something went wrong. And
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: so I started packing a little bit, maybe a week before,
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  Speaker 1: but the entire weekend before I left was dedicated to
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: just being in my apartment and organizing things. For a while,
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: I was hopeful that I was going to sublet my place.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: That didn't come to fruition. And honestly, it was probably
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: for the best because I think that would have stressed
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: me out trying to really get the apartment ready. But
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: cleaning everything, getting everything organized, felt really good about that,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: and started packing. And so in order to prep for this,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: I made a list of everything that I would need
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: marathon related. So in the Wednesday to Monday block that
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: I would first be in Sydney, and then my separate
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: list for everything that I would need after that. And
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: after that, I went to Fiji, now I'm in Melbourne,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: and then I'll be in Sydney for about 12 days
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: after this stint as well. So a lot of time here,
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: a lot of things that I wanted to make sure
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: I didn't forget. I can say without a doubt that
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I probably should have packed some warmer clothing. This time
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: of year is Sydney's winter. And although their winter is
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: dramatically warmer than winter in New York City, it is
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: not as warm as I had anticipated. The high some
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: days can be like between range from 70 to 85 degrees,
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  Speaker 1: but the lows can be quite chilly. The low temperatures
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  Speaker 1: in Sydney while I was there was I believe 50 degrees,
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: but in Melbourne this morning, it was like 42 degrees.
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  Speaker 1: And all I brought was like a very big oversized
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: leather jacket. And I bought an extra hooded sweatshirt while
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: I was here in addition to the one that I
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: ended up throwing away. So throwing away because of the
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: marathon throwaway layer. I could have brought some warmer clothes.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: I also only brought like one fancy, in air quotes, shoe.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: And that's like a two-inch heeled sandal. So yeah, I
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: could have just thought about the temperature just a little bit.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Like a little bit more? Packing, though, for me, I
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: brought one checked bag. It's the Away Large size. And
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: then I brought one Away... I think it's the bigger
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: that Ne'er Quotes carry on. And then I also brought
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: a Dagny Dover Landon carry-all. And I think it's a size...
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: large or extra large. I'm not sure. The Landon Dagny
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Dover bag is my personal item. So every time I
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: got on the plane, I would have the Away suitcase
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: and the Dagny tote, and then I would check one bag.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: And the reason that I didn't check my other Away
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: bag is because in that bag, I'm also traveling with
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: a fair amount of podcasting equipment because I'm doing some
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: recording while I'm on the road, as you can hear
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: me right now. So... Lots of moving parts again. And
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: that has been really good for me. I've been able
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: to bring that bag combo on every airline that I've
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: taken so far. So I flew to Australia on Delta.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: I flew to Fiji on Virgin Australia. And then I
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: flew Qantas from Sydney to Melbourne. And all of those,
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: I haven't had any issues. I am taking... a puddle jumper,
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: like a small airline that I think you would compare
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: it to like Spirit in the United States. I'm taking
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: that up to the Sunshine Coast to go running with
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: my girl Lydia O'Donnell in a couple of weekends. And
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: I've been told that they are very strict. So I
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: will get to bring a tote bag. I'm going for
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: two nights. So I'll literally need a pair of sneakers
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: and some running clothes and that's it. But I think
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: the bag cannot weigh more than 15 kilograms and they...
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: weigh it when you get on the plane. So anyway, interesting.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Interesting logistics. I flew to Australia on a Monday night
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: at 5pm. I left from JFK. I was lucky enough
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: to fly first class because I used a global upgrade certificate.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: So I bought a premium economy ticket and then upgraded
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: using my status and a global upgrade certificate. It is
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: wild to me that a global upgrade certificate can literally
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: cover a cost of up to like $ 10, 000. I mean,
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: that's a rough estimate of what it did for this
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: trip for me. It is such a privilege to have
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: status on an airline. I have status on an for
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: work and also because I committed to Delta. So that
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: is something that before the pandemic, I had never done before.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: And what happened was the airline for a number of
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: years rolled over its loyalty program because people weren't flying
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: as much and they wanted to give travelers the opportunity
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: to accrue mileage and status. And so back during the pandemic,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: I accrued enough mileage over, I to get the top status.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: And I've been able to hold on to the top
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: status every year since because I've been doing so much
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: more traveling for hosting and events and things like that.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: And a lot of it, including the Olympic year, has
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: been international. So I was able to use a global
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: upgrade certificate on all of the long haul parts of
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: this experience, which was such a gift. It was so
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: nice to get on the plane and have that room.
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  Speaker 1: My first leg was from New York to LAX and
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: then from LAX to Sydney, I was on the plane.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: And when I boarded the plane, there were actually, uh,
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: the flight to LAX, there were actually a number of
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: us that were going to Australia, um, on that plane.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: And so I was telling the flight attendant when I
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: got settled in and she brought my little Prosecco, um,
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: that I was what I was doing. And the woman
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: in front of me, Laura, shout out to you. If
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: you're listening to this, she turns around, she's like, I'm
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: running the marathon too. Yeah. And so we became fast friends.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: So such a sweet, sweet human. And we ended up
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: leaving that first flight, going to the Delta One Lounge together.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: She gave me some Z-Quil to take on the second flight.
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: And we did the whole travel together. So then when
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: we landed in Sydney, we both then took a car
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: together to our hotels. We were staying like a five-minute
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: drive from one another there. She also came in the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: clutch later when we talk about the entire food poisoning debacle,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: but more on that soon. So flight to LA, super easy.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Ate on that flight, got off the flight, got to
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: go to the Delta One Lounge in LA. I had
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: never been before. It is stunning. There's massages and amenities
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: and there's a sushi chef. I had the most delicious
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: yellowtail crudo in the airport lounge and It was fantastic. Also,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: a really delicious sundae. And I got in my pajamas
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: and we went to the second flight. And so I
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: have looked at the time shifter app. Everyone's talking about
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: the time shifter app. I looked at it and it
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: didn't want me to go to bed for five hours
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: of the flight right when I got on. And then
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: it was like, shut it down for hours 6 to 14.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: I was like, there's no way that's going to work
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: for me. So... I got on my second flight and immediately,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: like within 20 minutes, I was like, I need to crash.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: It was at 11 p.m. LA time, which is 2 a.m.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: New York time. And considering I typically go to bed
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: at like 8.39 o'clock New York time, I was exhausted.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: So I got on the plane. I probably slept for
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: about five hours straight and then was on and off
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: between watching movies, reading, going back to sleep. for I
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: would say the next five hours. At hour 10, I
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: had a snack. The flight attendant brought me something. And then, gosh,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: by the time we were an hour and a half left,
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: we had another meal. And then we landed and we
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: were in Sydney. I had a coffee and made every effort.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: I was like, I'm going to stay awake now. So
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Laura and I took our cars to our hotel, our
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: car to the hotel. I dropped her off. I went
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: to mine, got in. Shortly after I got in, Karen
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: from Asics got in. And so Karen and I made
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: the decision to be in it together. And so we
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: were awake and we went and we got breakfast at Bill's.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: Shout out, Bill's. If you're ever in Australia, you need
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: to get their ricotta pancakes. They will be the best
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: pancakes you ever have. Went to Bill's and then went
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: and got a manicure, which I'm laughing about now because
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: the manicure that I got originally was a blue tipped
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: cat eye French manicure. Very specific. Felt very Sydney considering
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: the blue highlights in the marathon medal. Now the marathon,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: the marathon. Now the manicure looks like a silver tipped
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: manicure because the sun in Fiji was so strong that
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: it changed the color of my polish. We got a manicure.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: We came back. And I then was like, okay, I'm
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: going to nap for an hour and a half. Now
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: on the flight, I wore these headphones. They're called Oslo headphones.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: And I love them because they sit flush. So when
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: you lay on your side on like an air pod,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: which like juts out and then kind of like pushes
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: into your ear, this Oslo bud doesn't do that. And
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: so I used this headphone. I set an alarm. When
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: I go to take my nap, the alarm and my
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: phone via Bluetooth are still connected to the headphone. And
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: so I get into bed at 3.15. Y'all, I woke
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: up at 7.15 and I was so upset. I was
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: so upset because I was so nervous about what this
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: was going to do for my sleep. And thankfully, after
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: I wake up and I let go of the things
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: that I cannot control, I slept for five hours. Three, four, five, six, seven.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: I slept for four hours. I think I might've gone
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: to bed at 2.15, honestly. I slept for a long
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: time and I got up and I had all these
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: missed texts from Karen because we were going to go
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: to dinner together. She's finishing dinner as I am getting
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: out of bed. I get up, I go to the
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: place that we were originally going to go to dinner.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: I have a really amazing chicken and orzo meal. I
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: come back to the hotel and I am so determined
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: to get to sleep. I accidentally didn't take the Z-Quil
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: that Laura gave me on that first flight. So thankfully,
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: I took the Z-Quil when I got back to the
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: hotel and was able to knock out again from like
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: 9.15pm until I want to say like 4.15 or 4.30.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: I was so thankful. I was so thankful because I
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: was so nervous. And from that point forward, that was
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: over a week and a half ago. That's almost two
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: weeks ago now. I have been at zero sleep debt
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: on my Oura Ring. This literally feels like a small
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: act of God that I have been able to get
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: the sleep that I have here in Australia and also
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: in Fiji. I've been getting like no less than six
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: and a half hours per night. I felt really lucky
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: in that regard. Um, For me, the way that jet
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: lag usually hits is I get really tired around like
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: 4 p.m. in the afternoon. But other than that, I've
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: been getting up early. At home, I probably wake up
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: around 5.30. Here, I'm waking up around 4.30 maybe. But
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: I do the best that I can to go to
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: sleep earlier to accommodate for the fact that I'm getting
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: up so early. So yeah, I got in Wednesday morning.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: I sleep solid Wednesday night. Thursday, I have some more
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: friends that get in. We're all part of this group
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: that's traveling together with ASICS. We have a really great lunch.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: We go to Manny Beach. And we have... I get
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: so tired that I'm like, I think I need to
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: skip dinner. I'm just really exhausted. I go to bed
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: early that night and I wake up the next morning
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: and I am not feeling well. I want to go
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: see a friend that's leading a run out of the
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Nike store down the street. I use the bathroom before
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: I go to the run and I get there and
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I think I need to go back to
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: the hotel. I'm feeling a little nervous. And I was like,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: maybe it's just nerves. Maybe I'm anxious. This is Friday, right?
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: The race is on Sunday. This is on Friday. So
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: on Friday... Morning, I am at a loss. I go
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: back to my room. I start to feel awful. Like
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: it's not just that like I'm not well and I
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: need to use the bathroom. It's like I just do
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: not feel like myself. I feel warm, but we don't
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: think that I really had a fever. And at this point,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: like trying to drink water. I had some toast. That
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: was all okay. But all I knew was that I
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: needed to get my bib from the expo. And I
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: didn't want to put it off in case it got
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: even worse than how I felt then. So I told
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: the group to go without me. I didn't want to
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: be around anyone in too close proximity because I didn't
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: know really what I was dealing with. Took an Uber
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: to and from the expo. They made us wait in
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: this crazy line. So the expo is probably like a
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: 25-30 minute drive outside of the center of the city
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: where we are staying. For context, I stayed at the
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: Intercontinental Expo. In Sydney, I cannot recommend it enough. It
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: was absolutely stunning. They were so friendly there and such
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: great proximity to the finish to finish this race and
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: like walk out and be right there was excellent. About
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: a 30 minute drive from the Intercontinental to get to
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: the Expo. You get to the Expo and you have
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: to wait in a line that's like probably about 20
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: minutes long to get in. I would liken this a
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: little bit to the line that you wait in at
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: the Boston marathon. But the thing is, is that the
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: Boston marathon line, and I'm saying that in air quotes,
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: you get in it and you have to walk pretty far,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: but you never really have to wait to get in.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: You just have to walk through the process to get
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: to where you need to go. You have to wait
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: in the Sydney marathon line. And so I probably waited
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: about 20 minutes and the sun is At this point,
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: glaring down, I do not feel well. I am so warm.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: I am... Yeah, I'm not in my best... I'm not
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: my best self. But I get my bib and I
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: take my cute little picture. And I buy a random
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: pair of socks that I've yet to wear. But I
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: wanted to wear black Bomba socks for the marathon. And
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I ordered them before I left, but they didn't get
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: to me in time. And so when I was at
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: the expo, I was like, what sock can I wear?
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: You know, the first rule of race day is wear
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: nothing new on race day. But for me, I was like,
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: I really want to wear black socks with my black sneakers.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: And so I bought this. random pair of socks from Runderwear.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: They feel a little thick for my taste, but they
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: were like perfect Goldilocks height. So I was like, okay,
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: I'm going to buy them. Guys, I hardly remember buying
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: those socks. I was like so out of it in
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: that expo. But I got everything I needed. I called
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: an Uber. I went back to the hotel. And when
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: I got back to the hotel, I am in the mindset,
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: like if you're sick and not feeling well, like, okay,
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: you're going to do the bare minimum, right? So I'm like, okay.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Usually like I would just eat crackers and maybe like,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: you know, the electrolytes, but I'm starting to get really
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: worried because I'm now like 36 hours from supposedly running
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: a marathon. And I'm like, I am like not doing
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: well here. Like I've lost so much fluid at this point.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: I'm looking into IV drips and thinking about, okay, well,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: I guess I'm going to spend $ 300 US to get
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: one of these and just getting a little bit stressed,
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: which is not the ideal. And so finally, I'm like, okay, well,
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: maybe I should try eating a banana. And banana is
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: one of those foods that when your stomach's not doing
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: that well, it's on the list of like, okay, this
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: is tame. And I'm like, potassium, let's Let's do this.
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Let's get the nutrients up. Well, I eat the banana
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: and I'm not even kidding. Within like 15, 20 minutes,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: I get sick. I throw up for the first time.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: And at this point, I'm getting really nervous. At this point,
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: I'm like getting really sad and scared. I mean, it's
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: always unsettling to be sick. It's very unsettling to be
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: unwell so far away from home. And also then add
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: on the fact that I've worked so hard. I've traveled
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: so far. Um, I kept thinking like you didn't come
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: this far to only come this far, but like I
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: might've come that far to only come that far. And, uh,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: having run 15 marathons before this one, I had never
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: dealt with anything like this. And it was just so
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: heartbreaking to think like, the best decision for me might
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: be to not do this on Sunday. And so I
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: call my mom, who's a registered nurse, and we're talking.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: And she's like, I just want you to do the
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: best that you can, relax, get some more crackers. Thankfully,
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: Karen and my friend Ashley... came to me with like
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: a grocery bag of so many electrolytes, Pocari Sweat for
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: the win and crackers and everything. Karen gave me Ritz crackers.
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: I haven't had a Ritz cracker in years. Oh my gosh,
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: they're delightful. I probably ate an entire sleeve that afternoon.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: And then that night I ordered chicken broth and white
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: rice for dinner and was able to keep that down.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: And so I just kept thinking to myself like 24 hours,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: like just give this thing 24 hours. I kept telling
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: myself like, Tomorrow is a new day. You will wake
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: up and do the best you can with what you have.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: Like we will not doomsday this. You will just wake
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: up and deal with it. And so I did. I
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: woke up the next day. I slept through the night
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: and I woke up at 4 a.m. And I felt
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: like myself again. I felt dehydrated, but I felt like
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: myself again. And so it was small steps. I woke up.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: I had an entire bottle of Pocari Sweat And then
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: I was like, I'm going to do the shakeout after
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: I had some toast. So I had some toast. I
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: went to the shakeout. I jogged. I felt solid. I
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: was like, okay, this is a completely different human than
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: 24 hours ago. And then post-shakeout, there was a gathering
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: at this pop-up that the A6 team had put together.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: And so I got there and I had a soft
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: pretzel in the shape of the A6A. Okay. And then
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: I also had a croissant and like both of those
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: things were great. I had another bottle of Powerade. And
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: so now I'm in like the mode of like, it
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: is go time. My mission right now is truly like
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: just get down as many electrolytes and carbs as possible.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: So before lunch, I probably drank one more bottle of electrolytes,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: an element. And then for lunch, we had ramen noodles,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: which were so good. And I was just like, the
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: noodles and the broth. Like that's all I wanted to
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: have again. Like I'm trying to be as safe as
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: possible because I didn't want to get halfway through the
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: day and feel like I was going to get sick again. Um,
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: but yeah, like probably gosh, two to three more full
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: bottles of electrolytes that day. So I don't know if
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: I've ever consumed this many electrolytes ever in one day.
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: I was just so determined to hydrate as much as possible.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: And then that night for dinner, this wasn't exactly ideal.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: I probably had another sleeve of Ritz crackers and some
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: apple juice. And then I went to a pasta party,
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: but I was getting really tired. And we weren't served
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: dinner just yet before maybe 7.15. And I was like,
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: I am so tired. It's been such a day. I'm
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: going to go home and make a peanut butter and
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: jelly sandwich and go to bed. So I went back
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: to the hotel. I had a peanut butter and jelly
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: sandwich and probably drank some more fluids and then called
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: it a night. went to bed at 7.30 and was
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: up at 3.30. Like, let's do this thing. Vibes were high.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: It was feeling really good. All things considered, it was
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: probably the best case scenario that I could have been
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: on considering what I had been through and the travel
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: and everything. Waking up that morning, the target for me
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: to get to the restart, which was about like 20
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: minutes from... my hotel using their public transportation. I wanted
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: to get there for like 545. The corral, I say
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: that in air quotes, I think like the village was open.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: And then my corral opened at six and my race
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: time start was 650. I had some friends who had
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: a race start time of 630. Shout out to the Megs.
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: And so I decided that I was going to go
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: there with them because I just like would feel better
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: to know people around me on race morning. I'm happy
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: that I went with them, but I did not bring
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: enough layers to be there for that long. And I
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: was super chilly. I had like a throwaway sweatshirt, but
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: I didn't bring sweatpants. And that was an error on
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: my part. So the feet were cold, got to the
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: starting village that morning. I brought with me in a
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: Ziploc bag, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: bottle of water and I ate that 90 minutes before
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: the start and I showed up. Let's talk about what
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: I was wearing. I was wearing the Bandit Stamina Race
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: Crop in printed cacao. I was wearing the Asics Mega
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: Blast shoe. It is not a super shoe. And I'll
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: talk about that in just a second. I bought a
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: go-to sock, which I should have thought about at the
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: Marathon Expo before I bought the Wonder Under Ones, the
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: Lululemon Power Stride sock. And then I wore... a Garmin Forerunner.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: I think it's the 570. And Oakley Sutro lights. And
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: I wore the Bose open ear headphones. The Bose open
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: ears are so great because I wasn't concerned about the
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: battery life at all. I didn't even bring the charging
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: case with me. So really big fan of those. Also
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: because they hook on your ear like a cuff. And
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: so you can listen to your music while also hearing
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: everything that's going on around you, which is super good
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: for hearing the crowd and feeling that motivation and being
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: able to exchange the energy. So if you are someone
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: that likes to run with music during a race, I
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: would say this is a really great option to use.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: I know a lot of people feel the same way
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: about the Shox open ear headphones for that reason. So
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: I am pro open ear headphone on race day. I
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: am shivering. I wait in a bathroom line for like, gosh,
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: at least 30 minutes. And then I get ready to
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: start the race. I go into the corral. I ditch
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: my long sleeve or my sweatshirt. And then we are off.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: My goal going into this race. So I don't feel
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: as though I am a runner that excels at hills.
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: I don't particularly love running hills. Some people are like,
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: I love hills. I am not that person. Now I
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: will sit here and consciously not say I am not
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: good at running hills. I will say I feel as
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: though I don't love running hills or I feel as
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: though I'm not good at running hills because that at
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: least opens it up for interpretation. But I will be
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: the first person to say that I had a solid
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: training block. I got really lucky with my travel this
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: summer in that it put me in places often when
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: it was just beyond hot in New York that enabled
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: me to do runs probably better than if I was
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: in 90 degrees in humidity at home. So, you know,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: some of my first long runs were in Portland, Oregon,
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: when I was traveling there for work. I did a
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: long run, you know, a Thursday before I went down
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: to Miami on a Friday after my birthday. And that
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: actually really served me because it was really nice in
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: New York on Thursday versus very hot in New York
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: on the weekend and also obviously hot in Miami. I
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: just really played my training very well. And I was
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: feeling really strong as a result of that. And so
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: I didn't want to go into this race and be like,
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: this isn't going to be your race because it's so hilly.
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: Like I said, it's the hilliest marathon major. The statistic
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: on that is it has 313 meters of elevation gain,
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: which is more than any other major marathon. Another fun
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: Sydney statistic is that it also had 35,000 registered athletes.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: Fun fact. I didn't want to think that it couldn't
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: be my race, but I also wanted to be realistic
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: about what I knew. And so knowing that, coupling that
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: with the fact that it is such a journey to
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: get to, I didn't go into this race saying, I
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: am going to run my fastest marathon ever. But I
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: also wanted to be realistic about the possibility that what
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: if it goes better than I thought it could? What
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: if it is my day? And this is something I've
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: been thinking a lot about lately is knowing the difference
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: between toxic positivity and being open to positivity, being open
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: to the best case scenario. You can be in a
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: circumstance and believe good things can happen for me and
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: not say the best thing is going to happen, period, right?
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: I understand the power of manifestation. I know a lot
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: of people that are really big manifestors. It's just never
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: really been my thing. But I am someone who is
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: open to the best case scenario happening at any given moment.
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: Because I believe that when you're in a place where
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: you are open to possibility, then you are allowing possibility
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: to find you. Energy attracts like energy. And so I
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: showed up to that race morning with the attitude that
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: this could be my day, period. Even with everything that
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: had happened, even with the food poisoning, even with traveling
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: 24 hours to get there, even with insert other hurdles here,
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: it's like, maybe it could be a good day anyway.
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: And just being open to that is something that I
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: would encourage you. And I'm not just saying like, in
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: the case of running a marathon, just be open to
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: the fact that good things could happen in your life.
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: That's it. That's all I'm asking of you. I'm not
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: saying that you need to sit there and say that like,
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: I'm going to be the next president of the United States.
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know many people that have that goal,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: but I'm going to be the next president of the
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: United States or I'm going to, you know, run a
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: BQ marathon when my personal best time is, you know,
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: an hour and a half slower than that, which there's
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that. But
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: just be open to the fact that good things can
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: happen for you instead of thinking the worst thing all
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: the time. Okay. Stepping off of my soapbox. So all
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: things considered, I was realistic about what my capabilities are.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: I know that I can hold on to an eight-minute mile.
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: That feels doable for me. I ran a half marathon, Seaweez, about...
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: I mean, that was like three weeks before race day.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: And the effort at Seaweeds was to hold marathon pace.
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: And we ended up going a bit faster than that.
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: And it felt good. So I went into this race thinking, okay,
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: I'm going to just try to hold eight minute miles.
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: And that was the goal. And I was going to
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: have grace with myself knowing what I had been through.
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: And I was just going to allow the day to
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: unfold as it would. And so I went in being
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: open to possibility. And I think I started a little hot,
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: but not too hot, like maybe 755. Right when you
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: start this race, and we were cautioned so many times,
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: the beginning is a bit downhill. And so just don't
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: go out too hot is what everyone was saying to
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: the group that I was with. I really cautiously tried
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: to keep my legs under me to be aware of
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: the pace and to hold on to it. And so
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: I believe the first mile was 7.55 and the second
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: mile was 7.50. And in that second mile, I felt
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: really good and in control. And I said, okay, so
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: maybe the pace for this marathon is going to be 7.50,
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: around 7.50. And so that's what I was holding for
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: a really long time. I'm going to go pull up
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: the marathon right now on Strava just to give some
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: context as we talk through all of this. The Marathon.
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: Here I am scrolling. TCS, Sydney Marathon. The pacing here.
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: Let me debrief it for you. 759, 751, 741, 755, 748, 745, 741, 751, 753, 756, 741, 749,
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: eight minutes. This is mile 13, okay? 752, eight minutes, 802, 758, 809, 802, 726, 820, 815, 844, 826, 913, 943,
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: kick it in at 746. So give or take for
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: about 22 of 26 miles, I am running between a
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: 740 and 815. Yeah, ish. I felt really good. I,
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: around mile 13, as I'm like clicking off between 745
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: and 755, like just over and over and over like
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: a metronome. the mantra that comes to me that I've
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: never used before in a marathon is steady is it.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: And I was so nervous about the hype over the
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: hills that I wanted just to maintain steady. I wanted
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: to stay in control. And that control for me felt
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: really empowering because again, I went in knowing that I
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: feel as though I'm not the strongest hill runner, but was,
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: showing myself that I was capable of doing this hard
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: thing and I was capable of doing it well. And
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: so when we think about takeaways from this race, for me,
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: that really feels resonant with the season that I'm in
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: of life right now. Sometimes I feel as though all
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: I can do is just stay steady. There are going
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: to be highs and there are going to be lows.
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: But if I can stay even keeled, if I can...
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: recognize my emotions and understand that I have the opportunity
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: to respond to those emotions and I can handle myself
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: with a certain level of grace and dignity as I
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: move forward through the things that are challenging through the hurdles.
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: And damn, that's the best that I can do. And
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: this marathon really felt appropriate for where I'm at right now.
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: And so there were hills. There were a lot of hills.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: And they were really challenging, but I kept thinking to myself,
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: what goes up comes down. And every hill that I
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: went up and I was like, it's got to come
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: down again. It's got to come down again. There were
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: also a lot of out and backs. Transparently, I felt
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: like I was just so focused on feeling my feelings
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: and like being in my body that although I did
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: some recon on what I was going to get into
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: with this marathon, I was just like, what will be
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: will be. I knew that some of the most challenging
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: miles were between 10 and 15 K and And as
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: I ran through 10 and 15 K and I didn't
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: think it was all too bad, I was like, Oh,
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: well maybe the hardest part is behind me. But I
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: would say that this marathon, what was challenging is that
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: there were a lot of steady, long uphills and they
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: weren't super steep incline. They just like went for a
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: really long time. And that became pretty monotonous. Uh, And
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: you were just on a lot of the same streets
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: for a long time. So the crowds and the energy,
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: they were excellent props to Sydney. I would say that
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: next to New York, this is probably my second favorite
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: major in terms of vibe. But I then would just
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: get a little bit bored. We were in the park,
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: Centennial Park, for what felt like forever. I was really
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: impressed with the crowds that showed up for Centennial Park,
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: but it just felt really long. And so I... as
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: I had read out those times so that you heard them,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: I think like after 22, I started to really like
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: lose some steam as one does in the marathon. And
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: I was so proud of how consistent and steady I
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: was up until that point. But this is when I
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: do think that like a lot of the factors just
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: started to catch up with me. Again, I hydrated as
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: best as I could the day before, but who knows
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: like how that played into everything? Who knows how the
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: travel played into everything? Like I'm not here to make
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: excuses for myself. That's just like how the day started
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: to meet me at that point. And what I'm so
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: proud of is how my mindset met that point. So
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: in Chicago last year, I got to 22 and I
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: really felt depleted. And I was really bummed about that.
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: And in the moment, I remember being really upset about that.
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: And I actually, I cried during that marathon. And I...
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: thought to myself in Sydney, as my legs started to
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: feel heavy, and I felt like I didn't have a
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: lot left to give. I thought a couple of things.
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: The first thing was you didn't come this far to
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: only come this far. There was a moment less than
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: 48 hours before where you were wondering if you were
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: going to be able to show up and run this
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: marathon at all. And so you can't get down on
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: the fact that you're not feeling 100% 22 miles into
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: a marathon. That's not an option right now. And then
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: the other thing was find the fun. Again, I didn't
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: come that far to only come that far. I was
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: so ready... To just like look around me and look
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: at where I'm at and embrace this opportunity and like
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: feed off of the crowd. And I remember there was
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: this turn going into the final park within the last
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: two miles. And I like did that thing where you
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: like pump up the crowd turning into the park. And
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: I was like, this is this is it. Like I
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: am in Sydney, freaking Australia right now. And I may
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: not feel how I did at mile one, but what
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: a privilege it is to do this thing. What an
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: opportunity it is. You know how many people would kill
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: for this opportunity? I just felt so lucky. I felt
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: so lucky and so tired. And I was running next
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: to this man in an American flag Speedo. And I
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: was just like, we're almost done with this thing. And
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: I had heard that there was an uphill before the
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: final and like not to put it all out there.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: And yes, there were hills in that final park, but like,
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: I just, I think I expected it to be more,
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: to be steeper than it was. And so you start
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: running down what is the final downhill. And I think
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: it maybe lasts like a half mile or at least
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: 600 meters, but I'm not sold that there's not another
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: hill that I have to conquer before I can finish.
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: And so I think by the time I got to
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: like there being 600 meters left, ultimately, I was like,
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: there's no way there's another hill. So then I let
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: it go. And when I tell you the quads, the quads,
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: the quads hurt so much. The quads hurt so much.
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: But I was like, you just got to lay it
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: out there. And so that's where that, you know, speedy
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: last 400 meters, 746 kicker to that finish. And you
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: run and it's the most beautiful finish. Like you're running
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: down and you... The opera house is in front of
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: you and everything is just absolutely stunning. And it feels
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: so surreal. And you turn the corner and you're there
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: and you did the thing. I did the thing. Yeah. Like,
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: I mean, it is definitely number two major for me
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: next to New York. It was outstanding. The crowds were awesome.
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: The course is challenging, but I don't think that it's
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: harder than Boston or New York. Uh, I thought that
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: I'm so proud of myself. I am so proud of
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: how I met that marathon. I'm proud of how I
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: rallied despite the unknown. I had a great time while
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: chasing my potential and like, that's what it's all about.
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter how fast you run a marathon. The
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: fact that you're showing up to do it at all
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: is such an accomplishment. And what I've learned over the
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: last few years specifically is that the journey is the destination.
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: And I had such a good training block. I had
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: such a fun time preparing for this victory lap in Australia.
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: And despite the uncontrollable, like what a victory lap it was. Yeah. Like,
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: I just feel, I feel so lucky and I feel
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: so proud and I had such a great experience. And
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: so it's such a great experience. Again, the mantra from
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: the race for me, steady is it. And also just,
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: I didn't come this far to only come this far.
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: And it sounds a little cliche and I know that
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: we've heard it so many times now. But when it
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: came to getting all the way to Australia, like this
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: is something that younger Emily never could have imagined in
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: her wildest dreams. I never, ever, ever, ever would have
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: thought that running could take me to Australia. And, or
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: that I'd be running my 16th marathon. Like, just not
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: on the vision board when I was younger. And so
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: I feel so grateful for not only what running has
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: given me in terms of opportunity and adventure and community.
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm talking to you on a podcast right
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: now that is completely focused on running at the moment.
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: I feel so grateful for all of that. And I
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: feel so grateful for what it's taught me about myself.
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: And you ask any person who completes a marathon what
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: it is that they love about running. running. And I
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: guarantee you that 99% of the time they will tell
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: you that I love that it reminds me how capable
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: that I am. And I know I said something like
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: this in my Chicago Marathon recap. Everyone feels so strongly
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: that about the gifts that running gives them if they're
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: in my shoes, if they are someone that does this
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: over and over and over again. And for me, it
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: just really rings true in this chapter of my life
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: as a 38-year-old woman who is single and living on
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: her own. I show up and I do hard things,
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: and that is a fact. I am someone who does
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: hard things. I am someone who is capable of crushing it.
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: I am someone who doesn't just do hard things, but
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: she does them well. And I know that like that
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: can be relevant for anyone, regardless of whether you are
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: single or in a relationship. But like, I'm just so
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: proud of myself for standing on my own two feet
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: in every aspect of my life. And for me, there's
• 55:03
  Speaker 1: just this empowering part of showing up and running a
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: marathon and training for a marathon because like this is
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: who I am and I wouldn't change it for a
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: damn second. I wouldn't change it for a second. I
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: do hard things. I do hard things and I do
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: them well. And I am good on my own. My
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: two legs, my two feet, they can carry me to
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: really great places. Now that doesn't mean that I am
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: not open to doing these things with another person. Although
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: I always say this, my friends and I, they ask
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: me all the time, like, what are you looking for
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: in a partner? And I don't need a partner, just
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: for the record, that wants to do these crazy things. Like,
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: I don't need you to be a marathon runner. I
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: really don't need you to be much of a runner
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: at all. But you do need to be able to
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: run the turkey trot. That's it. That's all I'm asking.
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: A little Thanksgiving turkey trot. We don't even need to
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: do the five-miler from my hometown. We can do... We
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: can find a 5K. We can find a 5K. Oh, man.
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: Got to meet the moment. And I'm at the moment.
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: Marathon number 16, conquered. What's next? It's a good question.
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: So after the marathon, we celebrated French fries, martinis. The
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: next day, Ashley and I got up and we went
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: to Fiji. Fiji was absolutely phenomenal. I talked about that
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: in our recent 5-Minute Friday. If you're interested in, I
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: would definitely recommend. And in terms of what's next for me...
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: I am now on the After Dark Tour circuit, like
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: I said in that intro. So I'm going to be
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: running After Dark Tour LA. I'm also going to be
• 56:38
  Speaker 1: running After Dark Tour Mumbai in December and traveling there
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: for work as well. I've spoken about the work that
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: I'm doing with Coach Bennett and the Nike team as
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: a celebration of this marathon effort for them. And it's
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: just been this race series effort. It's been so rewarding
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: and so fun. And so I'm really looking forward to that.
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: I will not be in Chicago for the marathon this year.
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: I will be doing so many things around New York Marathon.
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: So stay tuned for that. But I'm feeling really good
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: in my body. I did my first workout today. This
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: is recorded. It's Tuesday morning. So it's nine days after
• 57:18
  Speaker 1: the marathon. I did a couple of fast Ks today
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: and I felt good. So all things considered, like I'm
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: feeling really solid. Oh, closing the loop on this. I
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: said I wore the Mega Blast, the A6 Mega Blast
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: for the run. And that's because I didn't want to
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: wear a carbon plated sneaker. My planter's talking a little
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: bit in my right heel. I'm acknowledging it. I am
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: working on it. It is nowhere near the sensation or
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: what I dealt with back in 2021 when it was really,
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: really gnarly, but it is speaking up a little bit.
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: And so I just wanted to be as careful as
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: possible during the marathon effort and and wear a sneaker
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: that I felt like really could support me for all
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: 26.2 miles. So that's why I went with the Mega Blast.
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: But I'm keeping an eye on and working with this planter.
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: I did get some work done on it before heading
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: out to Australia, but I'm cognizant of it. And I
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: know that if I don't take care of it, then
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: we cannot neglect these things. We got to take care
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: of our bodies. So Although, uh, after dark tour, LA
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: is on my radar. I don't anticipate famous last words
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: that I'm going to really be racing it, just going
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: there for vibes and the vibes will be had. Um,
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: and that's kind of where I'm at right now. I
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: don't know what I'm going to do next year. Uh,
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: candidly like chasing all eight stars as they stand right
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: now for the Abbott world marathon majors. Uh, this opportunity
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: for Sydney came up and I was so excited for it,
• 58:43
  Speaker 1: but I wasn't necessarily like, I need to get all eight.
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: Once I got my six star in Tokyo, like I
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: felt really satisfied with that. Would I run, uh, in
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: South Africa? Of course, of course I would run in
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: South Africa, but I'm not too sure if I want
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: to get into another training cycle at the top of 2027.
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: So we will see, we will see. I am open
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: to it. I'm open to it, but I don't know if,
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: it's on. I don't know if it's on my 2027
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: bingo card. Other than that, just want to keep feeling
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: good in my body. Keep feeling strong. And keep being
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: proud of me. Always here to answer your questions. So
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: if you have them, feel free to hit me up
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: in the DMs over at Emily Abadi. If you're watching
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: this on YouTube, you can hit me up over there
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: in the comments. Make sure you are liking and subscribing
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: and commenting and leaving all of your reviews as you do,
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: because that means the world to me. And I'm always
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: here to answer your questions and I'm always here to
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: be in your corner. Like I said earlier, I never
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: anticipated that I would be someone that was going to
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: run 16 marathons. And I can promise you that that
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: wasn't my last. So the limit does not exist. And
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: sometimes you've got to just believe that you can. And
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: so for me, that journey started with running a half
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: mile every day in a summer back in 2008, I believe.
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: And fast forward almost 20 years now, I'm a 16-time marathoner.
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: And that is pretty awesome stuff. Over at Emily Abadi
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: at Hurdle Podcast. Sydney Marathon, another hurdle conquered. Catch you
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: guys next time.