Latest / The People Run Podcast / #8: The Hard Road to the Olympic Trials - Karis Myers on Injury & Redemption

Transcript

#8: The Hard Road to the Olympic Trials - Karis Myers on Injury & Redemption · The People Run Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Would you uh or are you going to try to Olympic qualify again?
0:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
0:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, I missed I missed 2024 um due to many, many injuries, as I alluded to.
0:12
SPEAKER_02: So the last time I qualified for the Olympic trials was 2020.
0:16
SPEAKER_02: And so for sure, 2028 trials um are on my radar.
0:20
SPEAKER_02: I would love to qualify for the marathon again, and I'm gonna try.
0:24
SPEAKER_02: It's faith keep you, faith um energy here.
0:27
SPEAKER_02: I dare to try.
0:28
SPEAKER_02: And if I don't make it, that's totally okay.
0:31
SPEAKER_02: That's like not why I'm doing it.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's that's definitely on the radar.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the People Run podcast.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh, thanks for joining.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Today I have a special guest, uh Karis, who is an Olympic marathon qualifier.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: She's also a data scientist, so I'm hella curious how she fits both of these two in.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, if you've ever been curious on what an Olympic qualifier trains like or what it's like to be that while managing work and just overall life, uh this one's for you.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Uh welcome, Karis.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining and um looking forward to speaking to you.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: How are you doing today?
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Doing great.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for having me.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: Super excited about this conversation.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I really appreciate you hopping on and and giving uh you know the podcast some time here.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: Um but getting right into it, like um when did running become a thing for you?
1:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I guess running has always been a thing because I grew up just doing all the sports.
1:35
SPEAKER_02: Um, was a soccer player, was my main gig growing up.
1:39
SPEAKER_02: And then uh I hit puberty at a normal age.
1:42
SPEAKER_02: And so I was always like very normal sized, but then I hit puberty and like I'm still the same height that I was when I was 12 years old.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: And so um I just started get as everyone else continued growing, I started getting pushed around the soccer field and just wasn't able to like keep up and at the same time was running cross-country to stay in shape for soccer and was just having so much success there naturally that I kind of just got attracted to where I was successful and got bit by the bug in high school and totally switched over from soccer to running whenever um at the end of my sophomore year of high school.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: So you ran uh was it cross-country if I heard that right in high school?
2:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I ran cross country and track in high school.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: Oh, and track, okay.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: What what kind of distances for for track and uh when did you get into marathoning?
2:40
SPEAKER_02: So, oh, this is a fun question.
2:42
SPEAKER_02: So in track, the only the longest distance was mile and two mile.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: I was uh I grew up in Texas, I was a two-time state champion for cross country.
2:52
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so cross country is definitely my love.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: But then just the longer the better.
2:58
SPEAKER_02: And so mile two mile was always my gig in track.
3:03
SPEAKER_02: And then uh to answer your question about when did I get into marathoning?
3:08
SPEAKER_02: So I actually haven't run a marathon.
3:11
SPEAKER_02: Um I qualified for the Olympic trials with a half marathon time.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's dope.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: That's interesting.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: Uh we'll get into that in just a second, but I'm also curious.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: So from high school, um did you continue this journey and running with track in college?
3:30
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
3:31
SPEAKER_02: So I went to uh Texas AM, um, where I ran on the cross country and track team there.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Texas.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: I was in uh, well, I used to go often a lot to Texas, and I I passed by AM on my last trip, I want to say a year, year and a half ago, and some event was going on because it was crazy.
3:52
SPEAKER_03: I mean, Hoggies are like super, super, super nuts.
3:56
SPEAKER_03: There's a there's a lot of spirit, a lot of pride in being in college.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: I I did notice it.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: I felt like I might have been uh accidentally stepped into New Orleans or something, or or there was just a party going on.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm just like, this is the right time.
4:11
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, it's a cool energy for sure.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, so do you prefer track or you like the longer distances now?
4:21
SPEAKER_02: I I like the longer distances.
4:23
SPEAKER_02: There's a special, I think that's one of the coolest things about running, is there's a lot of different ways to pursue it.
4:29
SPEAKER_02: And so there are um, there's definitely an allure to track for me.
4:36
SPEAKER_02: But in my current journey, I'm really loving just the long road races.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: I think that those are so fun.
4:44
SPEAKER_02: And they it feels a little bit more like play to me and reminds me a little bit more of like cross-country style racing, where it's actually racing versus track, it feels very much more time trial-y, and I just enjoy the competitive and the strategical piece of actual racing.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, as we chopped it up a little before this, I know more of the longer distances than track.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: I I might have to on another non-episode ping you for some tips to get some turnover.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: But um, what's your training like?
5:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm curious.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we'll get into Olympic qualifying all in a little bit, but you know, saying that from track to to not longer distance, and and you mentioned um, you know, there's some strategy, of course, involved into it.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: What's your training?
5:32
SPEAKER_00: How do you train um for these distances?
5:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that so to answer that question, I appropriately I feel like um I have to give a little bit more background information and that where I'm currently at with my training is so different than I've ever been before, which is another thing that's very cool about running, is I'm trying to take a very like student-oriented mindset into my running journey and realize that okay, just because something worked for me in the past doesn't mean that that's the best thing for me right now.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: And just and what's right for me right now doesn't mean that's what I'm gonna be doing a year from now.
6:15
SPEAKER_02: And so I just want to give that context because that's also one of the best things about running, is like we're constantly evolving and um just learning about ourselves through this thing that we do.
6:29
SPEAKER_02: So in college, I feel like it was very standard Tuesday workout, Friday workout, Sunday long run.
6:37
SPEAKER_02: Um for me, no days off.
6:40
SPEAKER_02: College me had no days off.
6:43
SPEAKER_02: That was not allowed.
6:44
SPEAKER_02: And I do not endorse that now.
6:47
SPEAKER_02: Now I take a minimum a weekly rest day, but college me was not mentally prepared for that weekly rest day.
6:54
SPEAKER_02: And I ran anywhere from 100 to 115 miles a week in college, and that was a ton.
7:02
SPEAKER_02: I and at that season of my life, the only way I knew how to get better was just was to just grind as hard as possible.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: And it took quite a journey to learn that that was that working the hardest is not the best for performance.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: Just because you can do something doesn't mean like you should do something.
7:25
SPEAKER_02: So that's kind of uh been a journey and a learning lesson for me to get to where I currently am, where I went through years of injury and unhealthy, and probably a lot of it was like trauma from pushing my body way too hard in college.
7:43
SPEAKER_02: And it took a long time of doing the right thing day after day after day, month after month after year, before my body even like responded to doing the right thing.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: So you think about how long it takes for your body to break down, and it takes unfortunately an equal amount of time and sometimes longer of you doing the right thing before your body like trusts you again to build back up.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: And so I'm actually so much more conservative with my training now.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: I only run five days a week, and that is the m the most I've run in months.
8:23
SPEAKER_02: I six months ago I was only running three three days a week.
8:27
SPEAKER_02: So I was coming back from an injury, and I stuck at three days a week for about six months, and then I moved up to four days a week, and now I'm up to five.
8:36
SPEAKER_02: And will I ever go up to seven?
8:39
SPEAKER_02: I don't know, maybe there will be a week or two, but maybe not.
8:42
SPEAKER_02: And like staying a student of the sport and a student of my own body is um a super important um framework for me to think about whenever I'm thinking about my own training.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's amazing.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: I I'm kind of glad to hear that.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: I I um I feel like that's a big misconception often.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, not that high mileage and every day is wrong.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's just what works for you.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, Kears as you know, someone who went from 100, 115 miles a week.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, you touched on it a little bit, but what kind of uh it sounded like maybe, but was there like a breakdown period you had where maybe you had to take a break?
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Uh what kind of injuries did you suffer from it?
9:25
SPEAKER_00: And what helped you transition to like, okay, I'm gonna run less.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: And um it sounds like maybe more efficiently and smarter.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: How did that transition happen and what kind of breakdowns and injuries did you you receive during the, you know, just go, go, go?
9:39
SPEAKER_03: Let me send you the portfolio of MRI.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: Yikes, MRIs.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so so my my last year of college, I dealt with pretty bad hamstring tendinopathy to the point where I was seeing my athletic trainer once a day, twice a day, every single day, just to like get through track um regionals and conference and everything.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: And um hamstring tend tendinopathy is really hard because you can run through it, but then it's like at what expense?
10:14
SPEAKER_02: Because it just gets worse and worse.
10:16
SPEAKER_02: And so after graduating college, I took about eight months completely off of running just because it wouldn't heal.
10:24
SPEAKER_02: And tendons are super tricky because you can't like like running through them doesn't help, but also 100% rest doesn't help either.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: There's like a certain amount of stimulus needed for it to heal, and it's not it, it's not an easy like seesaw to to figure out, and so it took me eight months to even start running again from that hamstring injury, and then I ran healthy for about a year, and then my hamstring tendon actually snapped on a long run, and so it was in like the grand scheme of my journey.
11:01
SPEAKER_02: I had just qualified for the Olympic trials with my half marathon, and then before getting to actually run the trials, my hamstring tendon snapped.
11:10
SPEAKER_02: So I ended up having surgery from that.
11:13
SPEAKER_02: Um, coming back from that surgery, I then went through about a three, three and a half year cycle of pelvis bone stress injuries.
11:26
SPEAKER_02: And those are my first bone injuries I had ever had.
11:31
SPEAKER_02: So I was in my mid-20s and realized had never had like a DEXA scan or anything.
11:38
SPEAKER_02: And in my mid-20s, I realized that I had gone years without having a menstrual cycle with underfueling and just relapsing really hard into uh an old eating disorder, and it had like done severe damage to my bones.
11:57
SPEAKER_02: And so I made decisions for my health at that time, but kind of like I said, it doesn't happen overnight.
12:06
SPEAKER_02: Like it took years for my bones to break down, and it took years of treating my body right before I actually was able to string a year of healthy running together.
12:17
SPEAKER_02: And so I think like that's a huge message that I'm passionate about is like let's not let like let's teach the generation, like, don't even get to that point because it's it's a really tough battle to come back through from.
12:32
SPEAKER_02: So to summarize the answer to your question, it was a tendon injury and then um kind of through that I loss of identity, um, realized that I've been had been treating my body pretty poorly and went through several years of bone stress injuries.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, well, one, thanks for sharing that.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: Um that that's a lot there.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, it it sounds like you're also though in a good uh place, I want to say, with running now.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: And you've gotten there and solved a lot of those injuries, thankfully.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, what would you say helped the truth?
13:07
SPEAKER_00: I think of eight months of no running, and it's probably crazier for you and drives me nuts.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: I want to go back outside.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh how did you get back to in love with it?
13:18
SPEAKER_00: And I love that you said student of running.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh, that's how I feel about it myself.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, totally.
13:23
SPEAKER_02: Um, I think like so I your question was what has helped me?
13:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:29
SPEAKER_02: I don't I I will never say that like my injuries were like a blessing.
13:36
SPEAKER_02: Like I'm never gonna, I'm never gonna tell you I'm glad that they happened.
13:40
SPEAKER_02: I wish I hadn't had to learn those lessons, but I do think that I can extract meaning and blessings from the injuries.
13:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, and honestly, like I am in a the best place I've ever been mentally with running right now.
13:58
SPEAKER_02: And I'm so thankful for that.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: Like it is such a joy to go on a run.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: It is such a joy to go on a workout and have a crappy workout.
14:08
SPEAKER_02: What a privilege to be able to have a crappy workout.
14:12
SPEAKER_02: And like I, as I've just like celebrated my one year running anniversary, running healthy, which is amazing.
14:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
14:22
SPEAKER_02: Um, and me six years ago would have been like, what?
14:26
SPEAKER_02: That's not a big deal at all.
14:28
SPEAKER_02: And now I'm like, wow, this is amazing.
14:31
SPEAKER_02: Um, and let's keep this going.
14:33
SPEAKER_02: And so I think that losing something that you love really just gives you that much more appreciation.
14:39
SPEAKER_02: And then also just in that process, I think I really learned to embrace my own humanity.
14:45
SPEAKER_02: Before I, before all these injuries, I I think I thought my body was just like a machine.
14:53
SPEAKER_02: And I needed kind of talking about that college mindset of like grinding through everything.
14:59
SPEAKER_02: It was both like a physical grind and a mental grind.
15:02
SPEAKER_02: Like if I was not dead tired at the end of the day, I did not do enough.
15:07
SPEAKER_02: And every single day.
15:09
SPEAKER_02: And now there are days when I train super hard and I'm very tired.
15:13
SPEAKER_02: There are days when work and stress and all that, like I'm super tired, but that's not every day.
15:19
SPEAKER_02: And I have no problem pulling back on something if it ever gets to that point because I don't, I don't think I'm a machine anymore.
15:28
SPEAKER_02: I know that I'm a human and that if I don't take care of myself and my body, my body's not gonna take care of me.
15:35
SPEAKER_02: And so I think a lot of that comes down to like, I don't really have an ego anymore.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: I'm not like my body has to do this to be worthy.
15:44
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, my body is human and it can break.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: And so I need to respect it.
15:49
SPEAKER_02: And so I I definitely think that I respect the process and I respect my body's boundaries a lot.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: And um, congratulations.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: Again.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Party to the one year.
16:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm curious to ask you, based on that, like I'm gonna go off on a little uh some some insight, I guess, and maybe a tangent here.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: How do you feel about the sport currently?
16:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, I feel like it's a good and you know, there's there's some downsides to each coin.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: What I'm getting at is like now it feels like hopefully uh maybe it's just me understanding this.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: People are feeling maybe a little bit better than a few years ago.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: People are taking recovery more seriously, um, breath work, meditation, um, rest days, uh training smarter.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: Um that said, um, I guess as a preface to the question is where do you feel a sport one is heading uh if in the right direction?
16:44
SPEAKER_00: Also, what message would you share for someone who maybe is in college right now as well and probably just running themselves to the ground but wants to like achieve great things?
16:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I I would agree with your assessment.
16:58
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, like I only know my own perception of what I see.
17:03
SPEAKER_02: And so I'm not a college kid walking in their shoes, so I don't know for sure, or like a high school kid.
17:11
SPEAKER_02: But I and there's some downsides to social media for sure, but I think that there are also a lot of really good voices on social media who are trying to share the lessons that they've learned, whether it's like through breakdown and through mistakes that they've made and trying to build a better generation.
17:32
SPEAKER_02: And that's super inspiring.
17:35
SPEAKER_02: And I just think and I do think that there's a lot more knowledge and um strong women voices, like speaking about issues, not that like eating disorders and fueling is not a woman's issue alone, but whenever talking about the menstrual cycle, women are super fortunate that we have that flag to understand like what signals our body is telling us.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: And it's an important like data marker, and that was not something that was talked about at all during high school or college.
18:09
SPEAKER_02: And I did not understand until I was 26 years old that estrogen is an important part of bone health until I was 26 years old.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: And by that time, I had osteoporosis, and then I find out that estrogen is super important.
18:27
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, oh shoot, I don't have my natural cycle.
18:30
SPEAKER_02: This is kind of a problem.
18:32
SPEAKER_02: Like, that shouldn't happen.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: And this is not to blame society.
18:36
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, would I have been perceptive?
18:38
SPEAKER_02: You never know.
18:39
SPEAKER_02: But I think we are trying to build a better generation and say, like, your period is your superpower.
18:46
SPEAKER_02: Like, let's um, let's embrace our bodies.
18:49
SPEAKER_02: You have to fuel, you have to recover.
18:52
SPEAKER_02: Like, you cannot evolve if you don't equally balance out the stress with rest.
18:58
SPEAKER_02: So I think we are trying to build a better generation and um empower both females and males who are younger than us to honor their bodies to allow it to reach their potential.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: Um agreed.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I was just curious of your take, but I'm glad you you shared a lot more than I could have there.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: So for those listening, you know, take take that in.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: Um I I agree with you.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: I've had some injuries myself and other things and outside the sport where it's like, you know, you're grateful for non-modernization and and social media at times for putting a light on on it where like others can maybe learn that lesson sooner than we did.
19:39
SPEAKER_03: For sure.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: On that note, uh what what kind of things do you do or favor for say recovering and and and fueling?
19:47
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I would say just in general, recovery, the two things I try and make like non-negotiables are sleep and fuel.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: Like that is the uh I the most like unsexy way to get better at running, but it's also the most productive way to get better at running.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: Make sure you fuel and make sure you sleep well.
20:12
SPEAKER_02: And so I I definitely I focus on that.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: Other than that, it's um not getting greedy with my miles and with when training is going well, um like I I think that a past version of me kind of if training's going well, oh, let's run another day.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: We don't need this rest day.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: But like remembering, it's almost like um dancing with the person who brought you there to the dance or something, whatever that saying is.
20:43
SPEAKER_02: Like if you've been taking rest days and you're doing well, okay, so something's working.
20:49
SPEAKER_02: So this is not the time to just like take away your rest days and get greedy.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's one thing that I also try and remember just in terms of recovery, is like, all right, let's not get greedy here.
21:00
SPEAKER_02: Um consistency over any one single day.
21:05
SPEAKER_02: That's something, oh, that's something I also try and really think about is I would not say I've had like any A plus workouts in years and years and years, but I've had a lot of A minus workouts, and that and that's all, and that's all we're looking for.
21:24
SPEAKER_02: Like we just need to be able to like stack brick on brick on brick, and um, we don't need any superhero days, but let's just like continue showing up and show I think we discount how beneficial showing up is.
21:41
SPEAKER_02: And so that kind of like I feel like I went on a tangent there, but yeah, the mindset around training is I think is super important to recovery.
21:52
SPEAKER_02: At least for me it has been, because um, as most runners, as most of your listeners are.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: We're very goal-oriented.
22:01
SPEAKER_02: We love the feeling of working hard.
22:04
SPEAKER_02: And so I think a big part of recovering is just giving yourself grace and having the confidence to rest.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, I I've been guilty, and many who I've spoken to and friends and colleagues, we all have them.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I feel great.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: Let's just throw another 45 minutes an hour.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: You know what?
22:23
SPEAKER_00: I had a long one yesterday.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: I think I could do another today.
22:25
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: Not the best idea.
22:28
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, totally.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, messing up super compensation and and all that stuff, and you know, enjoy the rest day.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: Um I want to touch on two things you said there, right?
22:39
SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like it's a hard lesson that well it doesn't have to be a hard lesson better said, but it's one I've learned and I come across many runners who I feel it becomes a hard lesson.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: But one is you said sleep, right?
22:49
SPEAKER_00: And I feel like often nowadays rest recovery can be uh understood as I'll be quite frank, supplementation or an external source.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Uh nothing wrong with these.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm not knocking it, but like, hey, I need to just ice here or take this supplement.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: And sleep was what I'm getting at.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: I used to ignore sleep myself.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Would you say that's one of the biggest recovery methods we have is sleep?
23:13
SPEAKER_00: And if you can, why?
23:16
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
23:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean uh I think it's um debatable whether fuel or sleep is more important, but those are the top two.
23:24
SPEAKER_02: Like if you do those right, then um, or I would say those are the foundation, those are the pillars.
23:32
SPEAKER_02: If you are not doing those right, it doesn't matter how many um supplements you're taking, like you're not you're not gonna reach your potential.
23:41
SPEAKER_02: And I think that the not reaching your potential is even like the the best case scenario.
23:48
SPEAKER_02: Worst case scenario, you're gonna completely break down and like burn out.
23:53
SPEAKER_02: So, oh okay, so why sleep?
23:55
SPEAKER_02: I mean, uh I'm not a human physiologist or a biologist, but I mean, that's when your body regenerates, that's when your mind regenerates.
24:07
SPEAKER_02: And um you I mean, there's so many studies that have looked at like just perception, like pain perception, and how that changes based on this sleep that you've done.
24:18
SPEAKER_02: And that's just pain perception.
24:20
SPEAKER_02: Like we are more sensitive to pain whenever we haven't gotten enough sleep.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you can look at like surgeons, and it is alarming to look at how the quality of their surgical work goes down whenever they're sleep deprived.
24:37
SPEAKER_02: And so, um, yeah, your body, that's whenever your body's regenerating.
24:42
SPEAKER_02: That's when your cells are regenerating.
24:44
SPEAKER_02: It's when neural pathways in your brain are being formed.
24:48
SPEAKER_02: Um, I think even as like a student trying to learn, I would I worked very hard in school, but I never stayed up past 10 p.m.
24:59
SPEAKER_02: And I was a 4.0 student.
25:01
SPEAKER_02: And I I just decided I was like, I will study until 10 p.m.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: and then I'll go to sleep.
25:07
SPEAKER_02: And so I never pulled in all nighter in college, but the little that I did study, which I did study a lot, but like the amount I did, I think I absorbed a lot because I actually slept.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: No, that's amazing.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you often hear the opposite hey, all nighter or like study, you know, cram uh sensitive or whatnot.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's into the like grind culture, which I guess I guess I'm fortunate.
25:36
SPEAKER_02: Like obviously I have been susceptible to grind culture.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: I like talked about running way too much in the past, but I think I always knew that I needed to sleep.
25:46
SPEAKER_02: Like I've just always been a baby about my sleep pre-running days.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh sleep is important.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: I just, you know, I figured you might be able to tell it a lot better for me.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: And you know, for the listener listening, um, there was a lot of nuggets there on sleep.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, we didn't say anything else but sleep there.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to just highlight sleep is very important on there and one of the best tool resources, not only for running, but uh as Kara said, 4.0 GPA.
26:12
SPEAKER_03: So also just for relationships.
26:16
SPEAKER_03: A sleep-deprived person is not a very nice person.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: No, um uh that's for another podcast.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: But uh do not sleep deprive your partner.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Uh make sure they're well fed.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, PSA there for for all those listening.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Um you know, we talked about doctors and studying.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: I I want to touch on that, right?
26:37
SPEAKER_00: Um, you're a data scientist, correct me if I'm wrong.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, tell us a little bit about that and how do you balance and juggle you know, your running passion, um, family partner and all that with work.
26:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
26:51
SPEAKER_02: Um, yes, I'm a data scientist, engineer.
26:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I I I wow, I love it.
27:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, it's a super fun job.
27:03
SPEAKER_02: It I'm obviously a very numbers-oriented person, almost to a fault, but I but I love that data science and data engineering kind of surprising to most people, I feel like has a lot of like art to it because it's not just numbers crunching.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: I'm actually like terrible at mental math because I'm building like I'm building like machine learning models and feeding it data that is supposed to predict different stuff and like understand the users that our app is working with.
27:36
SPEAKER_02: And so there's actually a lot of like art and like human psychology to think about um what does this data actually represent?
27:44
SPEAKER_02: It's using data to tell a story, and so I think that's why I love my job is because it definitely touches the data side of my mind, but it allows me a little bit more creativity and to tell a story with the numbers.
28:02
SPEAKER_02: So that's what I do.
28:04
SPEAKER_02: How do I balance it?
28:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, as best I can day by day.
28:09
SPEAKER_02: Um, but also like I have tried to go 100% all in.
28:18
SPEAKER_02: There's been seasons of my life, I think it was, I can think of like during COVID, I was working for a startup and lost my job just because startup money um funding went out.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: And so I got the opportunity to see what 100% running day on and day out, like what that would look like.
28:39
SPEAKER_02: And I was not able to do it in a very mentally healthy place.
28:46
SPEAKER_02: And having other pieces of my identity, like running is such a huge piece of my identity.
28:53
SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm not gonna lie about all, but it is not the only piece about my identity.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: And during seasons of life, whenever I think I like over-emphasized running, um, I wasn't able to handle the mental pressure I put on myself.
29:08
SPEAKER_02: It was all self-imposed pressure.
29:10
SPEAKER_02: But I've realized that having other things that I care about makes me such a happier and more fulfilled person.
29:18
SPEAKER_02: And so I think like that's the this is again more talking about the mental side of things versus like day-to-day logistics, which I'm happy to talk about.
29:29
SPEAKER_02: But the mental side is so important to me because I think it really is all about how you approach it mentally.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: Like some days I have super early meetings, and so I take a meeting and then I go out for a training run.
29:43
SPEAKER_02: Or some days um I had a something, I had a training piece on my schedule, and then someone puts a meeting on my calendar, or I have to meet a deadline.
29:53
SPEAKER_02: And so I move it around and having that grace for my training and realizing, okay, like this actually, we can move the training, and it doesn't um, it doesn't make you care about running any less, it doesn't make your goals for running any different.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: Um, just realizing that I'm a more holistic person, I think that they balance each other out super well.
30:21
SPEAKER_02: And also, uh, I take care of myself so much better when I have so many things going on because whenever I only had running, it would be I would be like staying up until midnight, waking up at 10 a.m.
30:35
SPEAKER_02: I have nothing else to do today but run.
30:38
SPEAKER_02: So then I run at two, and it was just a vicious cycle.
30:40
SPEAKER_02: Whereas today, I don't have time to procrastinate my run.
30:44
SPEAKER_02: I don't have time to just um like fiddle around and not go to sleep because I have to be up at a certain time.
30:52
SPEAKER_02: And so I also think it like forces you to take care of yourself better whenever um you have less flexibility.
31:01
SPEAKER_02: You have to be more efficient with your time and your energy.
31:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I agree on that point.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: And I'm I mean, I'm similar myself, is better said.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's it's discipline for me, right?
31:12
SPEAKER_00: It's better than having sometimes we think freedom, at least for me, and it sounds similar for you, it could be different, you know, and that's okay as well.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes we can have all day, and you know, you go on your wrong at two.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: I run at two, and then you know, we're in summer, we're both in Colorado, and now it's 90 degrees at two o'clock, where I could have gotten in early in the morning and and then got to work and got all my meetings done, you know, and maybe go to sleep on time because I have so much to do that I am gonna go to sleep early.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: Um so I agreed on that point.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to ask you, um better yet, I want to run a scenario by you.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: You kind of touched on it, but I I want to do this for both the listener and also to get some insight on how you do this.
31:50
SPEAKER_00: Um and it's a work scenario for a bit.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: So today is um let's say Monday, right?
31:55
SPEAKER_00: You're at work and um Yeah, let's go with that.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: Monday, you're at work, you have a meeting, you're in the meeting, you know you're gonna get your your long run in.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: It just happens that you're gonna do it on Monday, let's say, for example, uh I didn't pre-prepare this, but um you're gonna get your long run in, say 11 a.m., but another meeting comes in, and now you have to jump on that meeting at 11:30.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: What do you normally do now to adjust that run?
32:24
SPEAKER_00: Do you adjust that run?
32:26
SPEAKER_00: You know, what's your usual process like that?
32:27
SPEAKER_00: I hope that kind of makes sense where I'm going with this.
32:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: I think um this kind of gets I the first thing that comes to my mind is uh again, like a mental framework that I try and think about my training and just how I live my life nowadays, which is like there are no rules to this because every situation is different.
32:50
SPEAKER_02: And so I cannot tell you like this meeting pops up on my calendar at 11 a.m.
32:55
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna tell you like, oh, for sure I'm gonna accept it and just do my run later.
33:00
SPEAKER_02: And I'm also not gonna tell you, like, oh, for sure, I'm just gonna tell them I'm busy and go do my run.
33:06
SPEAKER_02: Cause it's gonna be very context dependent.
33:09
SPEAKER_02: I'm very aware of meetings that pop up on my calendar that I need to be there, that this is an important, this is a work stream I'm responsible for, or I'm a pivotal or uh an important person on it, and it's important that my voice is there, versus meetings where this is an educational opportunity, um, someone's just including me, but I'm not actually required, versus like, oh, I can tell them to record it and I I'll come back later.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: And then also who scheduled it with me?
33:43
SPEAKER_02: Is it someone on my level or is it my manager?
33:46
SPEAKER_02: Because that that makes a huge difference.
33:48
SPEAKER_02: And so I would say um it's very dependent, but let's say for this example that it's my manager, then I'm gonna have to do my run later.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: And then I have as soon as I make that decision, I have to think about, okay, well, maybe I fueled in such a way this morning that I was gonna run at 11 a.m.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: And now I need to look at my calendar because maybe the rest of my day is um is filled until after work at five, and I need to do it at five.
34:23
SPEAKER_02: Well, now I need to address my fueling for the rest of the day to make sure that I'm well fueled.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: Now I need to think about um what do I have anything that I was supposed to do after work?
34:34
SPEAKER_02: And so, but like I have to be able to give myself that freedom because I've decided that the way that I'm living my life is running does not come first.
34:45
SPEAKER_02: And knowing that and keeping that thought for at the forefront, like it's important to me for sure.
34:52
SPEAKER_02: But like I'm fitting it in with other things that are important to me as well.
34:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:58
SPEAKER_00: And you touched on it, that's kind of where I want to go with it.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: It's it's having, you know, the making these those adjustments, you know.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you feeled right, and and sometimes I feel we we may feel guilty, like, oh, I have to get this speed work in day, but like is one speed workout in the scheme of a three, four-month training block really going to affect you?
35:17
SPEAKER_00: Can you not move it to say Thursday or something like that?
35:20
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of where I was going with this, and and to kind of have you share like your process on how that works.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like you have a a uh like you said, like a mindset and framework where you work upon um where like, hey, I you know, I can maneuver things and I'm in this for maybe like the long haul versus like, hey, this is not gonna make or break me.
35:37
SPEAKER_00: I can eat more later and get in later or switch it to another day.
35:40
SPEAKER_02: Totally.
35:41
SPEAKER_02: And I think like this kind of gets uh something that I touched on earlier, which is like I'm not looking for any A plus days.
35:48
SPEAKER_02: I'm just looking for like a string of like A minus days kind of thing.
35:53
SPEAKER_02: And the the thing that I keep thinking about during the season of running is like the only way to win the game is to stay in the game.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: And I and that's super important for me to remember because I've spent so much of the past five years out of the game.
36:14
SPEAKER_02: Like I was not, um, I was not on starting lines.
36:18
SPEAKER_02: I was not even at the trailhead running with my friends, I was on the sidelines.
36:23
SPEAKER_02: And now, whenever I'm like presented an opportunity before between like, do I push this to another day or do I try and squeeze it in?
36:34
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna think about like what do I need a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.
36:40
SPEAKER_02: Which op which choice is going to guarantee that I'm still in the game a year from now?
36:47
SPEAKER_02: Because that's ultimately gonna be the way that you get better at running.
36:50
SPEAKER_02: It's like you gotta stay in the game.
36:52
SPEAKER_02: And if that means that you're working less hard or grinding a little bit less, I mean, come back to me a year from now and you'll and you'll see like who's still in the game, and you'll make be able to like look at the scoreboard and see like what decisions are made leading up until that.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: I love that as a sport fan, stay in the game.
37:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, just it's all you gotta do is show up.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, it's it's definitely much better to string a whole year of running versus like going hard and then falling off for two months or yeah, totally.
37:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to ask you because you've hinted at a little bit, what other things other than running and work do you enjoy?
37:30
SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, you used to balance and enjoy life and whatnot outside of identity of running and work data science.
37:37
SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
37:38
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so much.
37:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, so I mean, so fortunate to be here in Colorado.
37:45
SPEAKER_02: It's gorgeous.
37:46
SPEAKER_02: There's all many, there's almost like too many things to do, especially in the summer.
37:50
SPEAKER_02: I actually love hiking, which is kind of which is kind of hard for me because not a lot of my running friends love hiking.
37:59
SPEAKER_02: Like I can tell you so many of my friends like have not explored the gorgeous mountains in Colorado, but I love hiking the 14ers.
38:08
SPEAKER_02: And so definitely I try and get up high.
38:11
SPEAKER_02: Um, because that really brings a lot of peace to my soul during the summer.
38:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh, other than that, I am a huge nerd.
38:21
SPEAKER_02: So I listen to so many podcasts.
38:23
SPEAKER_02: I just binge podcasts all the time.
38:26
SPEAKER_02: Like if I'm just like walking 10 minutes somewhere, I'm listening to a podcast about something, just a range of genres.
38:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm just such a lifelong learner.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: So along with that, I love reading.
38:38
SPEAKER_02: Um, huge reader.
38:40
SPEAKER_02: I love writing.
38:41
SPEAKER_02: That's something that I'm trying to get more into in 2025, is I've always loved writing, but it's kind of like a muscle that if you don't practice, it becomes super daunting to um flex.
38:55
SPEAKER_02: And so I told myself in 2025 that I would flex that muscle more often.
39:00
SPEAKER_02: So I've been writing a lot.
39:03
SPEAKER_02: Um, other than that, a lot of just like quality time with people.
39:07
SPEAKER_02: Um, my husband and I love just like walking around mountain towns, just walking around, um, going on walks together and spending time with people I love, like whether it's like with coffee or walks.
39:20
SPEAKER_02: I'm a big like coffee or walk person because I think like one-on-one interactions where you get to like really touch on someone's soul, um, that gives me a lot of peace.
39:30
SPEAKER_02: So that's what I would say is running and work definitely take the majority, but other than that, it's a lot of just like being, like human being and like reading, writing, spending time with people, like quality time.
39:45
SPEAKER_02: Um, I would say those are my go-to's.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, no, I I have a lot of those in common as well, and I'm sure the listeners too.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: I want to touch on a few.
39:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, first off, what kind of writing?
39:57
SPEAKER_00: Are we talking scripts here, poems, journaling?
40:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm curious.
40:02
SPEAKER_02: Well, I it's a good question.
40:05
SPEAKER_02: I I love all types of writing just because I love all uh such a wide range of genres.
40:14
SPEAKER_02: Like I read a lot of different genres.
40:17
SPEAKER_02: Um I would say that so far it's been more blog post style.
40:23
SPEAKER_02: So I have a Substack where I've been trying to write more about just like my day-to-day experience.
40:29
SPEAKER_02: So a lot of it is running in what I've learned and like lessons I've learned through trial and error and the journey that I've come from.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: That's been on my heart so far, most recently in 2025.
40:42
SPEAKER_02: I did do a poem recently, but that's not usually my jam.
40:45
SPEAKER_02: It just kind of came to me.
40:48
SPEAKER_02: So um, that's where I'm at right now.
40:50
SPEAKER_02: But I loved fantasy fiction growing up.
40:53
SPEAKER_02: And so I have dreams of like maybe one day I'll try and do a fantasy fiction thing, but that's super hard.
41:00
SPEAKER_02: And so that's where I'm at right now is like just trying to follow my curiosity.
41:04
SPEAKER_02: And right now it's been more blog, personal anecdote, story, kind of mental health versus running mindset.
41:13
SPEAKER_02: But come back to me in two years and maybe it'll be something different.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: No, that's cool.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, following the journey and and passions and see where they lead and whatnot.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, we will share the substack in the description here.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: So for those of you that want to check it out.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: You touched on fantasy books, which is what I had an inkling it was.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: I went down that rabbit hole, let's say a year and a half and haven't turned that corner.
41:38
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah.
41:42
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I guess we can share a few books, just a few books.
41:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh, what are some of your favorites, I guess, reads or either all-time or just recent?
41:49
SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
41:50
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
41:50
SPEAKER_02: Well, this could be such a long conversation.
41:53
SPEAKER_02: So I will try and give the reader's digest.
41:56
SPEAKER_02: Harry Potter, hands down, best book series has ever been written.
42:00
SPEAKER_02: I'm the biggest Harry Potter nerd.
42:03
SPEAKER_02: Um, other high, high-ranked fantasy fiction series.
42:08
SPEAKER_02: Um, the Aragon series, if anyone grew up with those, those are the dragon books.
42:13
SPEAKER_02: And I swear there's not been a better dragon book written since then.
42:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, Lord of the Rings is a classic.
42:22
SPEAKER_02: Um I also really liked Hunger Games.
42:25
SPEAKER_02: That's not fantasy fiction, but that's kind of like more dystopian.
42:29
SPEAKER_02: Um let's see.
42:33
SPEAKER_02: What are what are I I've read, I've read a couple, I've read others, but I don't feel like they're like worthy.
42:41
SPEAKER_02: Like the Court of Thorns and Roses is like the the popular one of the past.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: I see that.
42:48
SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
42:49
SPEAKER_03: I had a feeling that was gonna come up.
42:51
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you don't even need to go there.
42:53
SPEAKER_03: Um that one's not worthy, in my opinion.
42:56
SPEAKER_03: Um, but yes.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: I had a feeling that was gonna come up uh for some reason after a few of them, but you did name some like classic classics.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: Um you know, I'll I'll share a few of mine here, more recent.
43:07
SPEAKER_00: Um funny you mentioned Aragon.
43:09
SPEAKER_00: I've been debating whether to read that or not.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: I didn't grow up reading it and I keep seeing it on shelves everywhere I go, and I know it's like a classic, but then I don't know.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: I feel like maybe I'm a little old now for Aragon.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't I may still read it.
43:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
43:20
SPEAKER_02: It's a good one.
43:21
SPEAKER_02: It's an investment, though.
43:22
SPEAKER_02: They're definitely huge books, but they're very good.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that that's fine by me.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm looking at a stack of books as we speak, and uh actually I'm reading a series right now.
43:31
SPEAKER_00: I I gotta get to the third book.
43:33
SPEAKER_00: The third book is 900 something pages.
43:35
SPEAKER_00: He I may butcher this name, but it's the Lacinist or Licinus trilogy.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: Ames Islington, he's an author I found early last year.
43:43
SPEAKER_00: He wrote The Will of the Many, which is like uh funny enough, kind of Game of Thrones, Hunger Games mixed with uh Greek philosophy, Roman times kind of fantasy, which is dope.
43:55
SPEAKER_00: Uh Red Rising, which is a classic.
43:58
SPEAKER_00: Uh I love that.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: One uh read that one.
44:01
SPEAKER_00: I want to read it again.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: That was an amazing series.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh, what else have I read recently?
44:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, funny mentioned Lord of the Rings.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: I am reading The Name of the Wind, but that one is a slow read for me, which is one of his other Tolkien's other books.
44:14
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yes, I have not read his other ones, but that reminds me of like C.S.
44:18
SPEAKER_02: Lewis, like the um all of all of his books.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't would you call classify those?
44:25
SPEAKER_02: I feel like those are fantasy fiction, but like The Line, the Witch in the Wardrobe and the other Nar Narnia Chronicles, those are so good.
44:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
44:35
SPEAKER_00: Before we go on that rabbit hole, but yeah, I wanted to share some of those books.
44:38
SPEAKER_00: And uh I I'm gonna have to pay you for some book shares and stuff.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, so want to ask you then.
44:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, talking about that, you know, we spoke about some work and a little bit of how you enjoy outside of work.
44:50
SPEAKER_00: What is your uh day-to-day like?
44:51
SPEAKER_00: You know, balancing that all together and enjoying life as is and you know, running everything and that sort.
44:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I uh um, you know, I feel very fortunate where it's always been super important to me that like whatever my day-to-day looks like, um, that that feels fulfilling, that I don't get to Sunday and I'm dreading my Mondays.
45:15
SPEAKER_02: I actually really enjoy my work.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: There are days that are for sure stressful and I get stressed about work, but like my day-to-day, um, I tried very hard to build like a day-to-day grind, I will say, um, that is like fulfilling and balanced.
45:35
SPEAKER_02: And balance looks different, but like feels like balanced in my heart.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: Um, I would say day-to-day looks like wake up early, um, is relative.
45:46
SPEAKER_02: There are some days when if I can sleep in, I will like sleep in until seven.
45:51
SPEAKER_02: But some days, like I'm waking up before six to get something done.
45:55
SPEAKER_02: Um, but then I'll generally get to go on whatever training I have for that day, unless it's a rest day, but we'll go on my um my run.
46:05
SPEAKER_02: I'll be like eating breakfast as I'm getting ready.
46:08
SPEAKER_02: Maybe that's like doing my mobility and eating breakfast.
46:12
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes if it's a workout day, I like to um eat breakfast while I work because I generally have a bigger breakfast.
46:21
SPEAKER_02: And so I'll like get a couple hours in before anyone else is logged on, and then I'll go and then I'll go work.
46:28
SPEAKER_02: So that's one way that I've incorporated like my balance between training and work is like maybe I'm actually working very early and then running midday because that allows me to have more fuel on board for to support my workout.
46:42
SPEAKER_02: Um and then I'll typically come back and work until five.
46:48
SPEAKER_02: Um, some days that's pretty meaty heavy, but I'm fortunate that I'm in a technical role.
46:55
SPEAKER_02: And so a lot of this stuff that I do, I work from home, which makes um training and balancing everything a lot easier.
47:04
SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh a lot of the stuff I do is like independent and I can talk to my teammates asynchronously over soccer or whatever, and we're working on stuff and then we meet together whenever it's time to build it together.
47:20
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so that independence is super important to me because I think that my it was always important to me that I align with a company culture that trusts me and like gives me that independence because they know I'm gonna get my stuff done.
47:34
SPEAKER_02: I typically work until 5, 5:30.
47:37
SPEAKER_02: Every once in a while, I'll work until six.
47:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then I'll go on a walk or um make dinner with my husband, we'll um read a book or something, something relaxing.
47:52
SPEAKER_02: And then a lot of times I work um at night for an hour or two, and that's the season of life I'm in where I work at night, and I I don't see that as being like a season where I have to be in forever, but like that's where I'm at right now, and it allows me a little bit more flexibility in my mornings to get my training done.
48:17
SPEAKER_02: The fact that I can come back and get some hours in at night, and so I think that's an overwhelming theme of like how I try and approach my day-to-day is thinking about like, am I taking care of myself?
48:30
SPEAKER_02: That's the first priority.
48:32
SPEAKER_02: Second is like, am I meeting everything I need to do in terms of like work and training and sleep and like relationships?
48:40
SPEAKER_02: And then third is where's your curiosity?
48:43
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes my curiosity is like, I really want to write this blog post, and so I'll take an hour out of my evening to like write a blog post.
48:52
SPEAKER_02: But then sometimes I'll be like super excited about um a work project I'm on.
48:57
SPEAKER_02: So at night I'll work on a work project, and then like tonight, the third season of Squid Game just came on and said my husband and I have a Squid Game date tonight.
49:08
SPEAKER_02: So it's um yeah, really like following my curiosity.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: It's cool.
49:13
SPEAKER_00: Did you move here uh for work, like Colorado or or training or both?
49:18
SPEAKER_02: Um so I moved I moved to Boulder right after college in 2018.
49:25
SPEAKER_02: Um obviously at the time the dream was just to be in like the training mecca um growing up in Texas, going to college in Texas, really was just curious about what the Colorado life looked like because I had never been to Boulder, but I was also very practical and knew I wasn't gonna just like move here and like rely on my parents financially after college.
49:50
SPEAKER_02: I had a degree in finance.
49:52
SPEAKER_02: Um, that was my undergrad.
49:54
SPEAKER_02: And so I got a during my senior year, I was reaching out to companies and I got a job offer in Boulder with a finance company.
50:02
SPEAKER_02: And so I moved here, but I like with a job, but I sought out a job in Boulder.
50:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, got it.
50:11
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
50:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, I want to ask you that.
50:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think most of the world now knows that the running mechas are Boulder, Flagstaff, Kenya.
50:20
SPEAKER_00: Those are the top three that come to my mind, but I'm sure there's more.
50:23
SPEAKER_00: Cycling has pain.
50:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, what's your take on, let's say, Boulder as the running Mecca?
50:29
SPEAKER_00: What kind of things have you uncovered?
50:30
SPEAKER_00: Any myths you would say?
50:32
SPEAKER_00: Um myths.
50:33
SPEAKER_02: Ooh, that's a good one.
50:34
SPEAKER_02: I don't think so.
50:35
SPEAKER_00: Misconceptions.
50:36
unknown: Yeah.
50:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, Boulder is such a special place.
50:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, there's it's not perfect by any means.
50:45
SPEAKER_02: Like there's a lot of things about Boulder that are not perfect.
50:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, my husband and I actually just got on an adventure where we moved in North Carolina for six months, like randomly.
50:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, super random.
50:59
SPEAKER_02: But it like gave us a lot of perspective and we learned a lot about like what we did appreciate about Boulder.
51:05
SPEAKER_02: Because I think that before that, there were a few things where we were like, oh, not sure we love this about Boulder.
51:12
SPEAKER_02: And maybe um, and we move someplace else and we realized like no place is perfect.
51:18
SPEAKER_02: And when it came down to it, we realized like Boulder is our home, and there's endless areas to train in, which I never thought was like super important to me because I'm not someone who needs a ton of diversity, like I'm perfectly content with like monotony, which I think is important as a distance runner.
51:38
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, um, yeah, I I think it makes both like the diversity and like the number of people to run and train with, and then also the the endless opportunities, whether it's um trails or dirt roads or cement roads or tracks or whatever.
51:57
SPEAKER_02: It's like pick your playground today.
52:00
SPEAKER_02: I think there's a lot of freedom for me and that where I'm like, okay, this is the season of life I'm at with my running and like with my career.
52:08
SPEAKER_02: But like that's not the that doesn't mean I'm stuck here.
52:12
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of opportunity to like pivot in Boulder.
52:15
SPEAKER_02: I um like our I think about this all the time.
52:19
SPEAKER_02: Like we talk about Boulder as if it's a running mecca.
52:22
SPEAKER_02: I think it's a cycling mecca.
52:24
SPEAKER_02: There's so many cyclists here.
52:27
SPEAKER_02: And um, I'm like, I think cyclists rule boulder.
52:30
SPEAKER_02: And not that I'm gonna get into cycling, but that's absolutely yeah, no, that's an example of like I think it's very humbling that there are everyone in boulder is like chasing some type of dream.
52:46
SPEAKER_02: And for me, that gives me the freedom to realize like my dream is not any more important than your dream, and to almost like respect each other's like dreams and say, like, look, we are all like chasing something that is very important to us, and to have the humility that I can like chase and full send and acknowledge that like you're also chasing and full sending, and I don't even have to like know your credentials or whatever, but your cred your full send is just as important as mine.
53:21
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's one thing I really appreciate is like it's inspiring that um everyone here is chasing a dream, and it's not all athletic, too.
53:30
SPEAKER_02: Like there's a ton of like people and um career-oriented people and entrepreneurs, and I love going like my husband is in an industry where I get to talk to different people who I could tell them I run a 408 mile and they would be like, wow, that's amazing! Like it means nothing to them.
53:52
SPEAKER_02: And that's a second off-of-the-world record.
53:55
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's not my mile PR, but it's just like really humbling to realize like there's so many people in Boulder all chasing different dreams.
54:03
SPEAKER_00: I love how you instantly went to uh a second off-the-world record that just happened.
54:08
SPEAKER_02: Well, that whole story is like someone yesterday at work, we we were watching the four the breaking four, and they were like, Karis, you're a runner.
54:19
SPEAKER_02: What's your mile PR?
54:20
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, fuck 408, like obviously a joke.
54:24
SPEAKER_02: And they were like, Yeah, wow, that's amazing.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, no, that's not my OPR.
54:30
SPEAKER_02: And someone and one of my husband's co one of my husband's co-workers texted him and they were like, Is your wife's mile PR really 408?
54:40
SPEAKER_03: And he was like, No, she you think she would be working if her mile PR was 408.
54:47
SPEAKER_01: It's funny, yeah.
54:49
SPEAKER_02: But it's it's humbling, it's so great to realize like, wow, we think our little running circles the entire world, but it's not like um, yeah, it's it's humbling.
55:01
SPEAKER_00: No, for sure.
55:02
SPEAKER_00: There's there's a whole world out there, and uh her story, Faith, is is also very humbling and amazing from where she came from to be doing these endeavors now.
55:10
SPEAKER_00: And I just read, funny enough, before we started this, she's next week going at it again at the 1500.
55:16
SPEAKER_02: I did not know that.
55:19
SPEAKER_00: Apparently she was on pace uh for it while doing the breaking force, so she's gonna um oh man, it's right before us.
55:27
SPEAKER_00: I read it right before we started, but I believe it might be Portland, Oregon.
55:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, wherever there's like a 1500 event next week, uh next weekend, and she's doing that, which is insane.
55:36
SPEAKER_00: I want to ask you, um, what's your uh training and philosophy like nowadays?
55:40
SPEAKER_02: Training and philosophy.
55:43
SPEAKER_02: Well, I feel like I've touched on a lot of philosophy.
55:46
SPEAKER_02: I'm a big mental person.
55:48
SPEAKER_02: Um logistically, training looks like running five days a week.
55:53
SPEAKER_02: I cross-train a six day, and then a seventh day is completely off.
55:59
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
56:00
SPEAKER_00: One off.
56:01
SPEAKER_00: And what's your mileage currently now?
56:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, within the five days?
56:04
SPEAKER_00: Do you strive for something or you just go by feel?
56:08
SPEAKER_02: So I've I wanna give numbers really make me nervous to like um say out there because I I don't want someone to like compare a single spot in time.
56:22
SPEAKER_02: Um, so I just want to give like the full disclaimers and context, like history historically ran 100 to 115 miles a week.
56:30
SPEAKER_02: So like have a ton of miles my legs, and then it took many years off.
56:36
SPEAKER_02: And coming back, um, really had to be conscientious about the number of miles I run.
56:42
SPEAKER_02: And so right now I'm at like typically high 60s over those five days, but I built up to this over a year.
56:54
SPEAKER_02: It's taken me a year to get back to like high 60s, and so just want to give that full text.
57:01
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm I'm glad you explained like the context behind that.
57:04
SPEAKER_00: I think often nowadays, you know, it's easy to just look online.
57:06
SPEAKER_00: Oh, 60 seven, let me strive for that and do it in two months versus like building up to it and building a good foundation.
57:12
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, very key important.
57:15
SPEAKER_00: So let's talk Olympic trials.
57:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
57:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, so you did it in the half.
57:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh, how did that come about?
57:23
SPEAKER_00: Was it were you striving for it?
57:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, was there a goal you've always wanted to do?
57:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, so I think that coming out of college, I didn't accomplish everything that I wanted to.
57:36
SPEAKER_02: And we've touched on my college career.
57:38
SPEAKER_02: I running as many miles as possible became a safety blanket for me in college, where whenever I was not accomplishing the goals I had set out for myself, it almost became like a probably I would say a toxic spiral where okay, if I can't like run the times I want, at least I can like run the most miles kind of thing.
58:00
SPEAKER_02: And that obviously didn't serve my training or my racing either.
58:04
SPEAKER_02: And so coming out of college, I would say I was also dealing with my hamstring, not sure where that was gonna go, um, was pretty lost in my running journey.
58:15
SPEAKER_02: And so that was a time whenever I was again just kind of like curious of what could I get back to.
58:22
SPEAKER_02: Um, and running has just always felt like a part of my soul to the point where my goals almost don't matter.
58:35
SPEAKER_02: Like I have I've always had these goals and I always have like visions and hopes and dreams in the running sphere, but that's almost like the cherry on top of the cake because I just love like the process of running and what it teaches me about myself and others.
58:56
SPEAKER_02: And so, yes, there was the goal of reaching the Olympic trials, but it was never a goal where it was like Olympic trials are bust, or after the Olympic trials, then what?
59:09
SPEAKER_02: What then what's the next care I'm gonna chase?
59:11
SPEAKER_02: It was almost just like this is another stepping stone on like my life of running.
59:18
SPEAKER_02: Let's see if we can.
59:20
SPEAKER_02: And at the time, I had not run a marathon and was really just straight up.
59:27
SPEAKER_02: I was out of college, I was a year out of college, and so even the half marathon was a jump for me.
59:33
SPEAKER_02: And so it kind of was just like, oh, let's see how fast we can run the half marathon, and it ended up being an Olympic qualifying time.
59:42
SPEAKER_00: What was the qualifying time and and your time um for that?
59:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so this is fun.
59:48
SPEAKER_02: Um so this was 2020.
59:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so this was 2020.
59:54
SPEAKER_02: Um the the qualifying time at the time for the half marathon was 73 minutes, so you had to run under it.
1:00:02
SPEAKER_02: Now for this next cycle, it's just disclaimer, it's 72 minutes, so it's a minute faster.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_02: Um, but for 2020, it was sub 73.
1:00:11
SPEAKER_02: And if you look at the qualifying list of the qualifiers for 2020, I'm the very last person in because I ran 72.55 on the last day that you could qualify for that Olympic trials.
1:00:26
SPEAKER_02: So they have like a cutoff date.
1:00:27
SPEAKER_02: It's it was like January 6th or whatever.
1:00:30
SPEAKER_02: And on January 6th, I ran five seconds under the time.
1:00:33
SPEAKER_02: So it was like I just slid under right there.
1:00:37
SPEAKER_00: Hey, you qualified um, you know, I want to kudos and congrats.
1:00:44
SPEAKER_00: Um what what did it well first off, let me back.
1:00:47
SPEAKER_00: Where did you uh do it?
1:00:48
SPEAKER_00: What race?
1:00:50
SPEAKER_02: It was it was Houston.
1:00:51
SPEAKER_02: So I think the the race directors, like they set that.
1:00:54
SPEAKER_02: I mean, Houston's so fast.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_02: So they set the the deadline as like Houston is the last race, like knowing that was gonna be the last race.
1:01:02
SPEAKER_00: What did it feel like for you when you crossed that finish line, looked at your watch or at the clock?
1:01:07
SPEAKER_02: Oh man, it was it was one of the most, it was one of the happiest days of my life.
1:01:12
SPEAKER_02: Um, I was so proud.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I but I was also just like so relieved at that time.
1:01:19
SPEAKER_02: I was running on fumes.
1:01:21
SPEAKER_02: Like it was at the end of a very, very long season.
1:01:25
SPEAKER_02: And we had like we had had Houston as like this goal race of mine.
1:01:30
SPEAKER_02: And that last month before Houston, it was one of those races where I was like, you know, you've overcooked it.
1:01:38
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, I have a month left.
1:01:40
SPEAKER_02: I just gotta make it like a month of like not breaking down or anything.
1:01:45
SPEAKER_02: And then coming down, and so I didn't, I obviously knew I I had been in that fitness, but I didn't know if if like my energy levels, I mean, I was not treating my body very nicely at that time either.
1:01:58
SPEAKER_02: So that played a huge role, but I wasn't sure I was gonna make it, and so I was so relieved.
1:02:04
SPEAKER_02: And then coming down that finish line, like I was seeing the clock.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_02: It was like 7250, and I'm on the going down the finish line, and I'm like absolutely dead legged, and I'm like, I am either going to slip right under, or this is about to be the hardest finish line of my life if it's like 7302.
1:02:24
SPEAKER_02: And so I swear I was like Usain bolting it to the finish line, but it probably looked awful.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_02: Um, so it was just it was such a huge relief, and like my whole family was there because they're in Texas, and so it was quite a celebration.
1:02:40
SPEAKER_02: It just like meant a lot.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_00: That's dope to have the family there too.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_00: What's the support like from family partners around, you know, with running and even now?
1:02:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, I am so fortunate for the support of my family and my husband.
1:02:55
SPEAKER_02: Uh it's they would not care if I hung up my running shoes and like never ran again.
1:03:02
SPEAKER_02: I mean, the past five years, I was barely a runner, um, just like healing from different injuries.
1:03:08
SPEAKER_02: And that was during um the first two years of marriage.
1:03:12
SPEAKER_02: That was during my engagement.
1:03:14
SPEAKER_02: Um, my husband has been with me through every single stress fracture.
1:03:18
SPEAKER_02: He's seen me try to come back from running, and my body tell me it's not ready over and over again.
1:03:25
SPEAKER_02: And every single time I've like said I want to continue trying to do this crazy little dream, he's supported me and said like he believes in me.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_02: And it just like means so much to me.
1:03:39
SPEAKER_02: And same thing with my parents.
1:03:41
SPEAKER_02: Like, my god, my parents have been supporting this crazy dream since I was 15 years old, and they're still and they're still like my mom texted me the other day because I was nervous for a track workout.
1:03:53
SPEAKER_02: My mom in Texas, I'm 30 years old.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_02: She was like, Good luck on your track workout this morning.
1:03:58
SPEAKER_02: I was like, this meant so much.
1:04:00
SPEAKER_02: So they're just like simultaneously so supportive, but it's because they know how it's in how important it is to me.
1:04:08
SPEAKER_02: If I decided that um when I text them about a work thing, I'm excited about, they're excited for me.
1:04:14
SPEAKER_02: And um that's that's super inspiring and something I try and remember is like it's only important because it's important to you.
1:04:23
SPEAKER_00: Correct, yeah.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_00: No, I agree.
1:04:25
SPEAKER_00: And I love I love well, shout out to uh husband and the family and mom and dad.
1:04:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm pretty sure if I got a text pre-track workout from like mom or something, I I'm ripping a lot faster.
1:04:37
SPEAKER_00: Like, let's go.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_03: All the energy I needed.
1:04:40
SPEAKER_00: Would you uh or or are you going to try to Olympic qualify again?
1:04:44
SPEAKER_00: And what's next for you?
1:04:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
1:04:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, I missed I missed 2024 um due to many, many injuries, as I alluded to.
1:04:54
SPEAKER_02: So the last time I qualified for the Olympic trials was 2020.
1:04:58
SPEAKER_02: And so for sure, 2028 trials um are on my radar.
1:05:03
SPEAKER_02: I would love to qualify for the marathon again, and I'm gonna try.
1:05:06
SPEAKER_02: It's faith kip you, faith um energy here.
1:05:09
SPEAKER_02: I dare to try.
1:05:11
SPEAKER_02: Um, and if I don't make it, that's totally okay.
1:05:13
SPEAKER_02: That's like not why I'm doing it.
1:05:16
SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's that's definitely on the radar.
1:05:20
SPEAKER_02: I I want to do some 5K's, 10K's, half marathons the rest of the year.
1:05:27
SPEAKER_02: This just being like my first year racing since 2020.
1:05:32
SPEAKER_02: Um I'm really learning how to be a racer again.
1:05:35
SPEAKER_02: Like I think that that's something that I did not realize is like there's running fitness, but then there's also just like learning how to race and like being okay going into that pain cave and knowing that you're not gonna die.
1:05:49
SPEAKER_02: And so this year is really focused on just learning how to like embrace that racing mindset again.
1:05:55
SPEAKER_00: It's something I want to learn, you know, to just you gotta learn racing.
1:05:59
SPEAKER_00: There's running and there's also racing, and there's also fun that comes with it, and and getting used to the differences of of racing.
1:06:06
SPEAKER_00: Uh but on that note, um, that's amazing.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm looking forward to the journey.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I look forward to seeing you racing out there again.
1:06:14
SPEAKER_00: And and now that we're acquainted, you know, we'll see more of what's to come.
1:06:18
SPEAKER_00: A big thank you, uh, Karis, for hopping on.
1:06:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, for those of you out there running or training, whether it's a little bit qualifier, your first race, your first few miles, your first long block, or your third fourth star.
1:06:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, I hope you got some inspiration from this.
1:06:32
SPEAKER_00: And uh share it if you liked it.
1:06:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh big thanks again to Karis.
1:06:36
SPEAKER_00: Just keep showing up and uh see you guys next time.
1:06:38
SPEAKER_00: This has been the People Run.
1:06:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, take it easy, guys.
1:06:42
SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much.