Latest / C Tolle Run / 447: Acer Iverson - I’m Having Fun Competing
Transcript
- Carrie Tollefson: Hey everyone, I'm Olympian Carrie Tullifson and welcome to the C Tally Run podcast. This weekend, I had the privilege of calling Minnesota's very own Acer Iverson win the Gary Bjorkland Half Marathon in Duluth. Yep, we were up there for the Grandma's Marathon and Gary Bjorkland half marathon, and it was so much fun. He ran his debut, I say it in air quotations, half marathon this weekend as a professional runner for Union Athletics Club. Sir, you got after it this weekend, didn't you? You won the Gary Bjorkland half in your quote unquote debut half marathon. Congrats. Acer: Right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Carrie Tollefson: I mean, I was so excited for you. I know that I'm not supposed to like show favoritism on the broadcast, but to be honest, I was kind of like, okay, he's here. But then we didn't have splits for the first like five miles or something crazy like that, it seemed like. And so it was sort of like, ⁓ my gosh, he is definitely up there. So I was a little surprised. I'm sure you won't. You weren't, but let's hear all about it. How'd it feel? Acer went to high school in Roseville, Minnesota, where he was a state champion. He then went and attended Harvard University and finished up his collegiate career at the University of Washington. He is now in his first year as a pro and has already run 13-18 this season for the 5K and ran 101 for the half marathon. Acer and I go way back, but I haven't had a nice catch up with him lately. So I thought I'd bring you along for the ride. So let's get after it. Acer: Yeah, I mean, like you said, it's kind of a debut. so ⁓ you know, I was just out there, I was like, Well, there's some good guys, some fellow Coloradoans and people with Minnesota roots, Joe Clecker. you know, great guys out there. I was like, key off of them and see how we feel. and felt better than maybe I expected to feel and ⁓ by the time we got up Lemon Drop, ⁓ Carrie Tollefson: Yes. Yeah, yeah. Thanks so much for joining me today on CTolyron. My guest was Acer Iverson. You can find him on social media at Acer Iverson. Before we go, big shout out to Rundot for supporting the show and to Andrew Harley and Sarah Burney, the amazing producers behind not only CTolyron, but the Try Dot and Rundot Podcasts. And if you're listening to this pod and you love it, please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or go to ctolyron.com/slash review and let us know what you think about the show. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, Acer: a chance to to cross the tape first. And that's what we did. So a little surprised myself, but obviously you have to bet on yourself. So ⁓ you know I can't say I was out of nowhere, but ⁓ yeah just super and super enthused, super happy with the weekend. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. For sure. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I don't think that you're out of nowhere either. I mean like and those of us who know you know how talented you are, but I actually think on air I said, he's not such a stud. Facebook, X, and Instagram at CTolyrun or at Carrie Tullifson. And you can visit us anytime at ctolerun.com. Thank you so much for joining us today. And don't forget to get after it. So I got a kick out of that. I that's like the and what we used to say like in the 80s. Like everyone was a stud back in the day, but nobody really says that anymore. So it's a compliment. But I what I meant was you can do so much. Like, you know, you ran so well on the track this year. You ran 1318, right? For a new PR. And you ran the 10K. Your 10K has always been solid, but like, I don't know. I just feel like that 5K, but also now seeing you maybe move to the roads, it's just it's super exciting to see what your distance. Acer: Well yeah. Thank you. That's right. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Acer: Definitely, yeah. yeah, we got a big PR in the 5K like four weeks ago out at the the Sound Running, the Track Fest. ⁓ we had an opportunity, got a small PR in the 10K at the 10 ⁓ a couple months ago, but I think I left that, my coach and I, we kind of agreed there's still something on the table. and so when we sent it here for the half marathon, Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yep. For sure. Acer: You know, I think that fitness was there and maybe we just have to express it in some other events ⁓ going forward. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. I liked what you said ⁓ in your post race interview after the half this weekend. You said, Why not you? That's what your coach said to you. Why not you? And I love that he said that. Like let's talk a little bit about the conversation coming into the race and and then what you were thinking during. Acer: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. So ⁓ Pete Julian, my coach, called me. We were driving up to Duluth. ⁓ me and my family's ⁓ my family still lives down in the cities, so we're driving up. and you know he wasn't super familiar with the course. and he's basically like, Hey, I've got a nice estimate for what I think you could run on a flat day, you know, if you go to Houston or something like that. so like Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Acer: key off those guys. If they're going, you know, a couple seconds per K faster than you'd like to go, maybe just tuck in and see what happens. but, you know, otherwise run your own race and you know, closing it out, as always, you know, why not you? There's no reason why it couldn't be. So Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ Right. I mean, you talk about Pete Julian. Like let's hear a little bit about your situation now. You are in Boulder. You said the cities, so obviously the cities are the twin cities, folks who don't know what you're referring to. But you're in Boulder now training with Pete Julian and the United or the Union Athletics Club. So when did that all happen? Acer: That's right, yeah. So I finished up my NCAA eligibility just about a year ago, ⁓ 2025. ⁓ finished up at the University of Washington and then ⁓ managed to get a job that was based out of Denver. and so you know, as most people leave college, there's kind of an inflection point about what they're gonna do next. ⁓ for me I wanted to start building a bit of a career, but I also really wanted to be able to continue running. ⁓ You know, don't know what my life would look like if I wasn't training, wasn't competing. ⁓ and so this was a perfect fit where I could be living in Boulder, ⁓ training with some of the most elite athletes in the country and in the world, while still pursuing that career and the other things that I want to do with my life. ⁓ so I was coaching myself for a couple months. Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Acer: Yeah, I I was in my undergrad, I was with Alex Gibby and then Andy Powell at Washington. So two of the best coaches in the NCAA. ⁓ so I felt like I had a lot of experience. I could kind of figure it out myself. ⁓ but a couple months in, I got a call from Pete. ⁓ he says, Hey, do wanna join us for a long run? ⁓ you know, do you wanna join us for a workout next week? ⁓ I hear you're in town, you have some decent PRs. You know, if you fit in with the team, this could be a a good relationship. ⁓ but kind of almost as a ⁓ like a developmental candidate. I mean, we're talking about national record holders, you know, medalists on the world stage ⁓ at Union Athletics Club. This is a a serious group. And ⁓ but I was like, Well, when Pete Julian calls you, you ha you pick up. ⁓ and ⁓ yeah, very quickly just fit in with the rest of the guys on the team. Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. For sure. Acer: And said, you know what, let's commit full time on training with this group. And ⁓ this is now my first real you know, past six months, first real season with them, and it's been going better than I could have imagined. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah, really, really nice ⁓ I guess progression into your pro career. When you guys decided on grandma's or ge grandma's weekend, the Gary Bjorklin half, why? Why was it like, Okay, I wanna do a half now and, you know, why here back in Minnesota? I mean, I think I know some of this, but I gotta hear it from you. Acer: Yeah. Yeah, to to people like us I think it's pretty obvious why you would come up for grandma's weekend. but kind of the bigger story around it, I've been meaning to do this race for years now. And obviously when you're in college you're you know, finishing up your track season, you gotta get back into it for cross country season. You don't really have time to go Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Acer: race a really good half marathon in June. So we've been putting it off ⁓ I've been waiting for the opportunity to do it. And so you know about a year ago when ⁓ maybe it was October or so when the the ⁓ entries opened up for the race, my dad went and put my name in. ⁓ you know, I'm like, well okay ⁓ so was that Carrie Tollefson: Nice. Did you know? Did you know that he did that? Acer: ⁓ yeah, I get I got the email from, you know, the registration website. And it's like, well, okay, I mean, why not? This is in like ten months. Sure. ⁓ and then ⁓ things are going really well here with training and ⁓ a few months back the the elite kind of athlete window opens up and I'm like, I'll reach out and you know, it'd be nice if I could get to the start of a starting line, you know, be in in the corral and I get wait listed for a hotel. Carrie Tollefson: Hilarious. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Acer: Which wasn't a big deal, like I think I mentioned a few times this weekend, tons of family in Superior. I have no problem staying in their guest bedroom. but yeah, we get the off the wait list, get put into the, you know, elite field with the hotel. and so I go into my relationship with Pete and I'm like, We're we're gonna run a track season. but I have a race in June. ⁓ Carrie Tollefson: Sure. Yeah. Acer: And I have some obligation both, you know, signing up with the elite field and the rest of my family. My mom and dad both ran the half as well, coming in behind me. So ⁓ yeah, this just been on my radar for years and I'm super glad that we could fit it in with the rest of the schedule. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. That's so cool. I I said in the early part of the podcast that it was your debut. ⁓ the whole time on the show I thought it was your debut. And then after in your interview you were like, Actually no, it wasn't my debut. Tell us that story. Acer: Yeah, so ten years ago, twenty sixteen, ⁓ I was a sophomore in high school and similar story, my mom signed me up for a half marathon. ⁓ she wanted to run it herself. she's like, why don't you why don't we see what you can do? ⁓ so there's you know little Acer. The furthest I'd ever even run at that point was maybe eleven miles in one go. So Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Acer: We just get out there, I'm wearing my trainers, I'm in probably basketball shorts, you know. but you know, I ended up running fairly well. I think I ran about an hour and twenty minutes. and I had a fantastic time. same story, all my family was there cheering me on down Superior Street. great weekend to get the family together. So that was technically my debut. And you know, not the first this wasn't the first time I'd run the half marathon course. Carrie Tollefson: Mm. Yeah. So cool. Yeah. Ha ha ha. Yeah. Acer: ⁓ but I figured it was easier to get into the elite field saying debut than saying hour twenty for PR. Carrie Tollefson: well it is your debut as a pro. And that's that's how I'm introducing you to. So I mean that but that was a cool story and it was fun that you brought it up. I wondered if your mom and dad were a little bit like, dang, I should have been on the sidelines watching rather than running it, but how cool is that that your folks still run and that they enjoyed that weekend with you as a competitor, not just as a spectator. Acer: That's right. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ it w it was fun to share the weekend with them. ⁓ my dad was saying he as he was coming down superior, ⁓ some some of our friends and family were telling him, Acer one. You know, so he got to he got to celebrate as he was coming in. ⁓ and then my mom, ⁓ I got to meet her at the finish line holding my champion ⁓ you know, award. ⁓ and so I got to surprise her with that. So I think ⁓ Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Cool. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Acer: Maybe it would have been fun to be able to hug them at the line, but we got to celebrate together right there anyways. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. That's really cool. I mean it was there was a really good field. ⁓ but I think the big storyline there was Joe Clecker was back in town. Joe grew up here a little bit older than you are. So you guys never really overlapped, did you, when you were in high school? Yeah. Acer: No, I don't think we've got the opportunity to race. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, I think you were, you know, just a little bit younger. But obviously probably looked up to Joe, followed his career. He's an Olympian on the track and he's done great things now. Just ran two ⁓ five in Boston. He is also a ⁓ half marathoner, is down close to breaking sixty minutes, like an hour twelve, hour seventeen, something like that. But he was saying that he was interested in trying to break an hour on that course. It's not American record legal because it's point to point. But he was thinking, you know, maybe I can get close to that American record time. So I think that was kind of what stole the thunder and he unfortunately didn't quite have the day that he thought. But I mean, how like, did you feel like you had a lot left in you? 'Cause when you went by us, you looked so good, like so fresh, and didn't have anyone around you at that time. Acer: Yeah, thank you. Yeah. yeah, like I said, you know, debuting at this distance, it's hard to know, you know, like how am I supposed to be feeling right now? ⁓ it's hard to gauge what you have in the tank. ⁓ so I was keying off of Joe for the first probably half the race, about 10k, and then at that point, ⁓ it was pretty clear he didn't want to lead anymore. And ⁓ Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Okay. Acer: So things started slowing down a little bit, and I thought in the back of my head, I'm like, well, I can at least run a 62, I think. I think I can run 62 minutes. So I take the lead, ⁓ you know, bring us up up Lemon Drop. and at that point, I was like, I was I just wanted to get to 16.1k. I wanted to have 5k left. And I'm like, I know I can finish in about a 15-minute 5k if I have to. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Okay. ⁓ huh. Acer: And so I wanna see forty seven minutes on the clock. I wanna see I wanna finish in a sixty two. We get through and I've got like a thirty second buffer. I've got time in the bank. Carrie Tollefson: Nice. That's good. Acer: Right, and I'm like, Okay, I can run a fifteen thirty and then Aiden Reed comes, ⁓ takes the lead from me. And I think that's kind of the you know, a little bit of a killer instinct, like, well, I still wanna fight here. ⁓ I'm having fun competing, so I might as well go with him. ⁓ and then the two of us just kinda battled it out the last couple of miles before I was able to take the lead for the last time. and that that whole time, you know, I was Carrie Tollefson: Hm. Yeah. Yeah. Acer: Keeping my head on a swivel, looking for the people I knew. ⁓ I got to see you as I was coming around the deck. Yes. Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Did you? I yelled on I yelled. I couldn't help myself. So sorry. Acer: Yep, 'cause it right about there I could hear the your voice on the like announcements coming through the air. And I looked to my left and I see you. and you know, at that point looked like you're so close to being finished. I knew I had about a ten second gap in front of the next guy, so you know, a little bit of me was like, I just gotta stay composed, I gotta look good for the cameras, ⁓ we just gotta bring it home. Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ Yeah. Mm-hmm. I love that you thought of that. You gotta look good for the cameras. I had a moment, Acer, I gotta just tell this story on on air because it was so fun. Kara and I died laughing. Kara Goucher was on the broadcast with me along with Dick Beardsley and he laughed the he laughs the whole time. But there's like broadcast 101 is don't touch your hair or your face on TV. I know things are a little looser than they were back when I learned all this. But I was talking to Kara and we weren't on air a time or like on camera the a lot of the time. So I'm looking at her and my hair had gotten stuck sort of in my Earphones? I totally come around. Both hands are in the air. I'm playing with my hair and I am on camera. It was like right after you went by. I think I had you know like went to look at you and cheer for you. So I have in and the one picture that was sent to Kara wasn't they didn't even realize that was the something that I did wrong, but that was the one picture she got where My hands were in the air and I looked like I was like trying to like fluff it for the camera when I totally was not. It was so funny. And I I kinda blame you because I think it was about that time that it happened. So we had a good time. But ⁓ I wanna just ask a little bit more about this half marathon business because when anyone runs a half like you just did, ⁓ there comes a point where you start to think about Acer: Yeah. Yes. Carrie Tollefson: The big one, right? The twenty six point two. So is that on your mind? I mean, you're still pretty young, but I know that that's kind of the glitz and glamour now. I mean, that's really where everyone wants to be. That's where the money is. That's where the contracts start to build from. So what are you thinking about the marathon? Acer: Yeah, that is that is a big question, the big one. ⁓ Carrie Tollefson: I know. And you're young, so I don't wanna put it on you, but I gotta ask. Acer: Course, of course. Yeah, so the big the big thing in my mind with how I'm shaping the training, the season and everything is we wanna run the trials in twenty-eight, marathon trials. ⁓ technically you could qualify with the half marathon, but you do want to put your I think you want some practice in the event, so that probably means a marathon in twenty seven next year. the big question that Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Hm. Acer: Is really kind of in the air is fall or spring. We gotta decide. but this is kind of the the conversation I have with my coaches like all of this running business, this is kind of my cherry on top. This is what I do for fun. we just wanna take it as it comes, have fun with it. And I'm having a lot of fun on the track. Found out we can have a lot of fun on the roads. Carrie Tollefson: I see. Yep. Mm. Yeah. Yeah. Acer: You know, we're just we're still ⁓ kinda just looking at what the opportunities look like, ⁓ see where things line up with training and everything. I can promise next year, can't tell you when. That's the answer. Carrie Tollefson: Mm. Okay. Okay. And I love this. On on camera the other day we talked a bit about remember when you came to so you were a counselor at my camp. How many years? Was it just one year that you were a counselor or were you two? ⁓ it was so fun. You were so good with the kids. Like it was amazing. Yeah, we did have fun. I need to have it again, but it's just been wild. Ever since the pandemic, we haven't had it. ⁓ but Acer: ⁓ that was twenty nineteen, so One year, yep. Had a blast. Yes. Carrie Tollefson: You got on you were like, I'll do a VO2 max test. Like, who wants to do those? You totally did. Acer: Yeah. Carrie Tollefson: And blew I mean, blew everybody out of the water. Like everyone that had done it, but also just our exercise physiologist was like, ⁓ my goodness. And I remember telling him, like, I'll coach you. Like, yeah, if you ever want to come back, I'll coach you. Cause we knew it. We knew that you have this engine that is amazing and you're so efficient. And I think most of us thought that even in college, like I loved watching you at Harvard. I loved watching you Washington, you weren't there for very long at Washington, but you know, you put your nose and things. You are such a great teammate and person to have around. And, you know, you got to train with Graham Blank's for years. I mean, that's amazing, you know, you too. And he he would talk so highly of you. Every time I would get to see him or his parents, they would say such nice things about Acer, which I always said, you know, it's kinda like my little brother type type thing. But I think everyone knew that you have this engine that really You've you've had a lot of success, but I'm just wondering what what is next. And maybe that marathon is where you're gonna be. Acer: Yeah, like I said, twenty eight trials is is the big you know that's the one thing I know that I wanna do. ⁓ and so we're just gonna start building the next year and a half towards that and and figure it out as it comes. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Are you big mileage guy still? I mean you you did like to push the envelope a little bit and you ran very fast all the time. Acer: Yeah, so yeah, back in my undergrad days, ⁓ definitely we emphasized maintenance pace, maintenance pace always, which is about six minutes per mile. and then Yeah. Yep. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Even when you're back home, running on this around here, we'd see it. Acer: That's right, I got a lot of segments on the river road. yeah. ⁓ but this this has been interesting over the past ⁓ you know a couple years now, as I've moved to Andy Powell's training and then picked up Pete Julian's training. ⁓ they're all very different in how they prescribe things, what the workouts, the importance of different workouts. and so Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, you did. Mm-hmm. Acer: I still run a little bit faster now. It's a little bit of muscle memory. but being at altitude, it's slowed down to six twenties, six thirties. and mileage is a Carrie Tollefson: Which totally makes sense, right? Like that's just where your body's gonna fall. Acer: Right. ⁓ and yeah, mileage is nineties, a couple hundred mile weeks, pretty standard stuff, but I think the the the thing that has been pretty sp awesome ⁓ moving with Pete is in ⁓ in a lot of ways, this is almost the easiest I've ever trained. ⁓ interestingly. ⁓ you know we're we're Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Yep. Really? Yeah. Acer: Taking lactate measurements. ⁓ we're very conscientious of being at altitude. we move workouts around the week wherever they need to be. We're not beholden to a Tuesday, Friday or whatever. and this kind of flexibility and this like individuality I think is really what I needed to kind of just start unlocking those next couple keys as we've seen the season. Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Yeah. Yeah, and you're feeling good. Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about your d day to day. So software engineer, full time. That's right. That's not it. Wow. Acer: That's right. That's right, full time. Sometimes I joke full time on the side when I'm traveling and training and all that. But yeah, the ⁓ the career thing is important to me. ⁓ I think even if I wasn't working this job, you know, say I was running full time, like I would need something ⁓ to keep my mind Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Acer: working, I I love to be able to build things, ⁓ that kind of stuff. That's an itch I have to have to satisfy. so I love having the career. I'm really thankful for the flexibility that Pete gives me, ⁓ the flexibility I have at work to be able to do this training at the same time. like I think a lot of people have to make the decision of when they leave college, it's do I join the workforce or do I chase the dream, you know, which which is running. And I really feel right now that Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Acer: I am doing both. I am living the dream that I that I could have dreamed for myself, ⁓ but still able to do both. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, I love that. Before I let you go, I just want to hear a little bit about you getting into the sport, you know, talk about being in Minnesota and then how being out at you got out to h you went to Harvard, all that fun stuff, just so some of the athletes or some of our listeners might not know how you got into it. Acer: That's right. yeah, I was ⁓ I was a soccer player growing up. ⁓ I think I think a lot of top runners, Graham Blanks himself, ⁓ you know, were pretty serious soccer competitors. but the high school track coach, I was in eighth grade in middle school still, ⁓ the high school track coach said he'll take me to one JV race to race some high schoolers because I was shown a little bit of potential on the track. Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Sure. Acer: ⁓ and he made a deal with me. He said, if you break five minutes in the mile, you have to come to captain's practice for cross-country in two starting in two weeks. And I was like, ⁓ eighth grade. Eighth grade. Yep. And I was like, well, I kinda wanna do soccer still. But you know what? Sure. If I somehow PR break five minutes, I'll give this thing a go. And I come across the line. Carrie Tollefson: Okay. And that was what year? How old were you? Eighth grade. Okay. Acer: The time on the stopwatch, 459. Right? And I didn't believe him. I was like, You're making this up. All right. Like you really want me to join your team. But you know, the the sheet gets posted and 459. So two weeks later I was running with the cross country team and you know, I just found a group of guys that I love to hang out with. Practice was so much fun. We would just go and run for thirty minutes, talk to each other, you know. Carrie Tollefson: Right there. Yeah. Mm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Acer: just hang out pretty much. and really ran from there, just worked my way, yeah, as any developmental athlete does, from five minutes down to four tens. and I think my my cross country performance, making NXN twice as an individual and then winning ⁓ a state title in Minnesota was enough to catch the eye of a few college coaches. And Carrie Tollefson: Mm. Acer: I wasn't really su like the whole Ivy League thing was bit of a foreign concept ⁓ to me. But when I think it was maybe Cornell was the first school to reach out, it kinda like flipped a switch in my head. I'm like I think Yes. Carrie Tollefson: You know why? Hendo, was he there? Was Mike Henderson there? Haha, he helped with camp too. Uh-huh. Acer: Exactly. Yep. Mike Hendo. I'd run at Malacca. I think he maybe had the former course record there and I think I may have taken it from him so he that caught his eye. but that really did yeah flip a switch about ⁓ you know, I can achieve academically the highest level of stuff and find a team where I can also perform and improve the running side of things. ⁓ which you know had a great four or five ish years, depending on how you count COVID, ⁓ at Harvard and then Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ funny. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Acer: I said let's keep it going, let's do a year at Washington. you know, Big Ten, ⁓ which is strange, but Big Ten, ⁓ training with NCAA champions, ⁓ you know, I already had Graham, obviously, but and NCAA champions in the mile. and then finished up at Washington and said, well let's keep it going. And that what that's what brought us here. Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Yes. It is strange. Mm-hmm. It's interesting. It seems like at Washington that's kind of where I don't know, maybe not. Maybe I'm just reading into this because I think of them as more as a middle distance school than Harvard. ⁓ but it d is that where your wheels kinda came around again? 'Cause you're what are you a three fifty well, you've well you're under four minutes for the mile. What is it? Three fifty what? Acer: That is right. Mm-hmm. I think it's three fifty-six high, I think. But who's counting? When you're at Washington, it's yeah. Carrie Tollefson: I think it is too. So I mean I well, but when you have a you know, like you were coming off of this big base at Harvard and then you drop down and then now you're not that far removed and you're hitting that thirteen eighteen and like I don't know. It's just you d you had a really good trajectory into the professional world of running. Acer: Yeah, I really do appreciate the coaches I had in college. ⁓ I still talk with Gibby, still talk with Andy all the time. And Gibby likes to joke that I took a year of aerobic vacation as at Washington. I s I promise you we do plenty of threshold work there at at Washington, but ⁓ definitely I think it unlocked some some wheels. ⁓ I'm thrown into workouts with people like Sam Ellis, Sam Prekel. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Nice. I love that. Ha ha it's body you. There. Sure, sure. Yes, yeah. Acer: Nathan Green, Joe Wosk, like you're gonna either, you know, adapt or die trying. And so Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. And then perfect to come to Pete Julian now because he definitely s does a little bit of both. Acer: That's right. I think we we landed right in a perfect middle zone. ⁓ a ton of emphasis on the threshold, but we're still getting ⁓ enough of every other kind of category of training that you need to hit and it is really paying off for me. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Okay, so you mentioned now, you know, maybe next year you'll figure out when you're gonna do this the marathon. What does this summer look like for you? Acer: Yeah, so the big thing we're targeting is the USATF track and field championships. out in New York this year, yep, late July. I've got the B standard in both the five and the 10K, so a little bit influx about ⁓ you know which event I'll compete in and you know which ones I'll hopefully qualify. but yeah, things are looking pretty good. so we're just kind of targeting that back on the track. Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Late July. Hm. Acer: And and right now the kind of MO is just getting my legs back underneath me recovering from that hour effort on Saturday. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Are you feeling pretty good or do you feel like, ⁓ I ran longer than I ever have? Very, very fast. Acer: You know, the the worst part about that course is the downhill coming around the deck. I was not prepared. You know, my toes have a little bit of bruising on them and the quads are kind of feeling it. but ⁓ we did a light just 5k yesterday to work out, a little off day today, and then we'll start building back just kind of take it day to day individually as we need it. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Really, yeah. Yeah. I love it. Well, we wish you all the best of luck. Before you go, you know I'm you know I love my rapid fire. You had to do that in front of all the kids at camp. So we're gonna do it here. They're the run dot rapid fire questions. So, first question, and I've heard this throughout the entire conversation, but do you judge your runs off of Ks or Miles? Acer: Perfect. Okay, so I train in miles, I race in Ks. Carrie Tollefson: Really, has this changed over the years? Is this new? Acer: ⁓ particularly on the roads. What I like about it is in my head, I don't really know what Ks per mo per minute or K's per minutes per K means. I don't really know. So I look down at my watch, I see 250. That doesn't scare me. If I saw, you know, 430 pace, I might be a little hesitant. Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ Yeah, okay. You see you're on pace. Okay. I see. Like, ⁓ I'm going fast. Cause that's what you were running. You were running four thirties, right? Acer: Yeah, so yeah, that's why I racing case. I think our our average was just four forty on the dot ⁓ average, yep. Carrie Tollefson: 440s, 430s. Okay. I can I understand that, especially as you're getting into the half marathon and stuff. You gotta like train your brain to be able to calm when you see 430, 430, 430, 430. Okay, good. I like it. Euros or burritos? Acer: Mm-hmm. ⁓ my gosh. It's gotta be Euros. It's gotta be. And you know what my ⁓ Carrie Tollefson: I I saw it on your your pic I saw it on your Instagram. Acer: Yes, my that's good. ⁓ the RB Zero. That is my like hill I'll die on. Yes. Carrie Tollefson: Arby's I haven't been to an I think I've been to Arby's once because I almost threw up after eating that roast beef, whatever it is. Acer: I promise you everyone listening needs to go out and try it today. Carrie Tollefson: Acer, we need to get you a sponsorship from Arby's like come on. Okay. How about this? What's worse? Skunks or pigs? What smells worse? Acer: That's right. ⁓ my gosh. It's gotta be pigs. Doing that drive between Colorado and Minnesota, you're going through Nebraska, the pigs are the worst. Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ yeah. And it's just stagnant right now. Also, are you gonna stay in Colorado? Are you like a Coloridian now? Is that how you say it? Or are you still Minnesotan at heart? Acer: I've got a Colorado ID, which was a big it was a pain to to let them clip my Minnesota ID. ⁓ but similar to you know targeting the twenty eight trials, that's kind of the goal and whatever happens after that, we'll see. Carrie Tollefson: Mm. Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. I mean, we'll accept it, but we like to have you back home. Okay. Go canoeing or tubing? Acer: ⁓ man. Can I throw a curveball and say kayaking? Yes. That's that's my activity. Carrie Tollefson: Mm. Okay, you can do that. Trying to get a workout in at the same time. Okay, blizzards or McFlurries? Maybe it's the frosty. Acer: ⁓ my gosh, it's a good Yeah, the frosties. Yes. ⁓ you know, I d I do love a blizzard because I can never get the the ice cream machine's always broken. I can't get a McFleury anymore. Carrie Tollefson: Ha ha ha. ⁓ true They are And do they have DQs in Colorado though? I don't I mean DQ headquarters are here in Minnesota, so you know, I'm just saying. Okay, altitude or sea level? Acer: I don't know. That is right. Yeah. ⁓ man. I like being at altitude because I can slow down my workouts. Get the same benefit but a little bit slower. It's nice. Carrie Tollefson: No ⁓ okay, that's a good reason. Yeah. Okay, land of ten thousand lakes or live close to the mile high city. Acer: in my heart it's the land of ten thousand lakes. That's the thing. Carrie Tollefson: Yay! Okay, and then last but not least, what would you prefer, tracks or now the roads? Acer: The roads are nice. The roads are very nice. Carrie Tollefson: They are. Just a different feel, isn't it? And you make more money. Acer: There's track meets don't pay for my hotels, but road races do, so Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ I have a feeling they're gonna start paying for your hotels. So anyway, congratulations, Acer. This it was so fun and I know that you have your family there, so tell them thank you for letting you have some time with me. But I'm pumped. It's gonna be a fun fun few years to see where you land and what you do. Acer: That would be the ⁓ thank you, Carrie. Yeah. And again, thanks for all the announcing over the years, calling the races. ⁓ it's glad to it's it's the best part about running. I get to see you in Winston-Salem, see you back in Minnesota. ⁓ yeah, so thanks again. Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yes. I know. Well, you know you're part of the CTTC family, so you're you're one of mine. Alright, Acer, take it easy, okay? Keep getting after it. Acer: That's right. You too.