Latest / The People Run Podcast / #34 D1 HYROX Athlete: What It Really Takes | Eric Zalewski

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#34 D1 HYROX Athlete: What It Really Takes | Eric Zalewski · The People Run Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Station four rates one hundred seventy.
0:03
SPEAKER_01: You gotta still keep going.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: What goes through your mind when you're like, Whoa, look at my heart rate.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: I still got a couple more stations.
0:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm halfway into this race.
0:11
SPEAKER_01: What what are you thinking?
0:13
SPEAKER_04: I'm making my heart beat with that question, man.
0:15
SPEAKER_04: I'm just I'm putting myself in that position.
0:17
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, oh, that's a pain cave right there.
0:20
SPEAKER_04: I in that moment I'm thinking just get to the end of the station.
0:24
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
0:24
SPEAKER_04: And pull off the run if you need it a little bit and manage it.
0:28
SPEAKER_04: Like I think the race.
0:34
SPEAKER_01: Welcome everyone to the People Run Podcast.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: Today's guest here I have Eric.
0:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, Eric is someone who is balancing a lot, man.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: He wakes up early, got a day job, he teaches two classes before work.
0:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, and he trains himself in the world and growing community of high rocks.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: Eric, thank you for coming to the People Podcast.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: How are you doing, man?
0:54
SPEAKER_04: Hey Fitz, I'm really excited to be here.
0:56
SPEAKER_04: Um I'm doing well.
0:57
SPEAKER_04: Doing well.
0:58
SPEAKER_04: It's Sunday, so having a good day.
1:00
SPEAKER_04: Can't complain.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
1:02
SPEAKER_01: We get to recover a little bit before we go into work tomorrow.
1:05
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, exactly.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: Wanna roll right into it.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: So, like for you, I kind of hinted at it just a few seconds ago.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: Your typical day during the week, you wake up super early.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: It's New York City, 5 a.m.
1:19
SPEAKER_01: You go out the door.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: You, you know, for those of who lived in New York, you gotta ride in the train.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: It's not as easy as just let me go hop in the car and go.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: You gotta go walk to the train station, get on the train, do a whole bunch of steps, and then you go teach two classes.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: In the midst of that, then you go to work, and then you go train yourself.
1:34
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you balance all that?
1:36
SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah.
1:37
SPEAKER_04: Well, when you put it that way, when you lay it all out like that, it's you know, I'm I'm thinking, yeah, dang, I don't I don't know, man.
1:43
SPEAKER_04: Those days are long.
1:44
SPEAKER_04: Like, there's no way around it.
1:45
SPEAKER_04: Um, in my case, I'm a city biker.
1:48
SPEAKER_04: I uh actually I'm a I'm a recent Lyft Pink uh member.
1:52
SPEAKER_04: They're they're not paying me to say this.
1:54
SPEAKER_04: I uh I'm a Lyft Pink member, um, which has come uh like in huge handy because it's it's just a lot cheaper.
2:02
SPEAKER_04: So I city bike everywhere, but that's my life with with transportation.
2:06
SPEAKER_04: But I will say when I first started out doing that, I usually Mondays I have to wake up at like 4:30 to 445, usually, um, because I gotta get to the studio early to like set up the workout and put out the equipment.
2:20
SPEAKER_04: Um and then Thursdays I'll I'll wake up at like five flat.
2:24
SPEAKER_04: So I'll get an extra 30, 15 minutes of sleep.
2:27
SPEAKER_04: Um, but those days took a lot of getting used to.
2:33
SPEAKER_04: I'm not a morning person in the slightest.
2:35
SPEAKER_04: So, like, bro, getting out of bed, I was like, am I am I in a dream right now?
2:40
SPEAKER_04: Because like no matter what, it's always gonna be dark.
2:42
SPEAKER_04: When you get up at that hour, it daylight savings doesn't do anything.
2:45
SPEAKER_04: Like it's gonna be dark.
2:46
SPEAKER_04: And so, you know, uh just getting used to that sort of like fogginess was probably like the first two to three weeks.
2:55
SPEAKER_04: Um, because then it really hits once it's like 11 or 12 and you're at work and you're sitting at the desk and you're like typing into Excel, some like complicated formula or like writing for me.
3:05
SPEAKER_04: It's like I I work in Excel and SQL, like I'm a very normal corporate job, and um, you know, it's just coffee.
3:14
SPEAKER_04: Coffee helps me uh get through that because like my 11 or 12, if I were waking up at 8, that would be like my 4 p.m., 3 p.m.
3:22
SPEAKER_04: So it's like uh that feeling just hits earlier.
3:25
SPEAKER_04: So I yeah, I've I've gotten a lot more into um you know caffeine to help adjust for that.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
3:33
SPEAKER_01: For those listening, what kind of classes do you teach in the morning?
3:36
SPEAKER_01: And you know, how do you uh prep stay awake for that?
3:38
SPEAKER_01: Because is there all obviously early they're at the studio beforehand?
3:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
3:42
SPEAKER_04: I so I coach two strength and conditioning classes on Monday and Thursday mornings, and those classes are at 545 and 640.
3:51
SPEAKER_04: Um for those for those listeners who might be in New York, it's called the Athletic Clubs, um, where I will be coaching um the same people at the same time for those classes.
4:02
SPEAKER_04: And so like it's really cool because I get to know the members that I'm working with every single week, um, and I get to see their progress and like form that relationship.
4:10
SPEAKER_04: And then it also builds a cool community for them uh because they're making friends during the workout classes, and so it's a good situation.
4:18
SPEAKER_04: Um, and and I love coaching those classes.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: That sounds dope, man.
4:23
SPEAKER_01: Like, what's the what's the most fun part of teaching the classes?
4:26
SPEAKER_04: Like um, I would say getting to know the members, honestly.
4:31
SPEAKER_04: Like a little bit more background on me is I I started coaching at a powerlifting gym called JDI Barbell in Tribeca, which is a great gym.
4:41
SPEAKER_04: They're actually like a high-rox affiliate gym as well, but there I was coaching smaller groups of people who are new to barbell movements, so like the bench, deadlift, and squat, those were like the bread and butter.
4:54
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so going from those classes were anywhere from like two to eight people.
4:58
SPEAKER_04: And now the classes that I coach now are around 20.
5:01
SPEAKER_04: And so there's a lot more people to like engage with, um, and it's a little bit more fast-paced, and I really enjoy that part of it.
5:08
SPEAKER_04: Um, but then also like you get such a wide range of people in the class, which is awesome, um, because you have people who really haven't done those compound movements, so it's very similar to what I was doing before that.
5:19
SPEAKER_04: But then you also have studs who are like better than me at some of the exercises.
5:24
SPEAKER_04: And then I have to like remind myself, you know what, you you're still in a position to like be able to coach, and like it's not always about the numbers that you're putting up, sometimes it's just how you present the information.
5:33
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so yeah, you have a whole wide range of things and and people coming from a lot of different backgrounds.
5:40
SPEAKER_04: And so, like the style of workout is like we have three 12-minute blocks, and two of the blocks are strength things.
5:47
SPEAKER_04: So you're just doing normal lifts, and then uh one of the blocks is a pure conditioning, so you're gonna go through a circuit like working with ergs, doing burpees, stuff like that.
5:55
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so there is a lot of downtime because doing regular lifts, you need to rest.
6:00
SPEAKER_04: And so then I'll be able to talk with my members, see how they're um talk with my squad.
6:03
SPEAKER_04: I call them we call them squads, so I'll talk with my squad about like how their weekend's going, anything anything exciting coming up, and like everyone's good people there, man.
6:11
SPEAKER_04: It's uh it's it's fun.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: No, I love that, man.
6:15
SPEAKER_01: The squads versus you know, client or uh, you know, trainee.
6:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
6:21
SPEAKER_04: It's good because like you then you can actually form a relationship and like they have people to talk to and lean on and learn from too.
6:28
SPEAKER_04: And you know, it's that team, it's that team vibe, you know, like it feels like a lift in college where you're going through the sets with your boys and you guys are all suffering, but like you're doing it at the same time and you feel the need to you know keep pushing and like that matters.
6:45
SPEAKER_01: How do you it sounds like from when you wake up, you're giving a lot.
6:49
SPEAKER_01: What I mean by that is you're waking up, you go teach others, you go to work, you do your job, and then you gotta come home and train.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: Because right, you train for yourself, you compete in higher ups as well.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you find the energy after 10, 12 plus hours of giving to everyone else coffee, right?
7:06
SPEAKER_01: You probably don't want to have coffee too late.
7:09
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I do you don't, you don't to like train, you know.
7:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, um it's a really good question.
7:18
SPEAKER_04: I think it's very true when people say you make the time for what you prioritize and you kind of always have the time.
7:26
SPEAKER_04: It's just something else is gonna have to take a hike, you know?
7:31
SPEAKER_04: And so for me, it's it's all about planning the whole week ahead.
7:35
SPEAKER_04: Like I I can't really afford to look at a day in isolation because if something comes up, if there's an event that's atypical, if uh I don't know, just life kind of happens, then I have to be able to adjust my workouts to a different day.
7:52
SPEAKER_04: So like there have been days where I'm supposed to do a workout on a Monday night and it's like 7:30 and I've I'm exhausted and I'm just like, you know what, maybe it's better for me to get a little bit of rest here.
8:06
SPEAKER_04: Like I that happens, you know.
8:08
SPEAKER_04: Um but I will say, like, on the whole, it takes it, it takes a little bit of getting used to.
8:17
SPEAKER_04: I think there's that muscle memory.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if I don't know if there's any science behind this actually, but I will say you get used to putting in that amount of energy and that amount of hours the more you do it, you know.
8:30
SPEAKER_04: So it is something that I I do feel like I can I can get tired, but I I am confident in like the fact that I I think I do have a little bit more energy than the average person to give.
8:43
SPEAKER_04: And I think that's because I've like built up the capacity to do it.
8:47
SPEAKER_04: Um and like the same way you train, you know, if you if you're getting your body used to that type of schedule, then it hopefully will adapt.
8:55
SPEAKER_04: And for me it has.
8:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: No, I I don't know what the science is called, but I think you said it best there, like the body eventually adapts to that environment.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: Um you said some things you know often have to give.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: What are some of the things you've sacrificed, you know.
9:09
SPEAKER_04: Um you know, I'm not proud of it, but one of one of it, you're like, what is he gonna say right now?
9:16
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
9:17
SPEAKER_04: Um no uh sleep.
9:19
SPEAKER_04: Sleep has unfortunately been one.
9:22
SPEAKER_04: And I know that is that is so important, and it is like recovery thing number one.
9:28
SPEAKER_04: And I would never recommend to somebody to like the track the amount of sleep that they're getting, but for me, it's it's like gone down from eight to around like six and a half.
9:38
SPEAKER_04: You know, I'm usually averaging six and a half to seven hours of sleep, any less than six, and like I can do maybe one day of less than six hours, but then I I got I feel like I'm about to crash out at any moment.
9:50
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
9:51
SPEAKER_04: Um, but sleep is one of them.
9:54
SPEAKER_04: Um, social life, I guess, is another one where I used to just go out and drink a lot more.
10:01
SPEAKER_04: Um, and naturally gravitating towards this lifestyle, uh, there's less wiggle room to do that.
10:09
SPEAKER_04: And so that's definitely something that has kind of happened less.
10:14
SPEAKER_04: Um, not to say that I never like enjoy myself every now and then, but that's something that happens less.
10:19
SPEAKER_04: Um and then I would honestly say downtime, like just having time to yourself and like sit on the couch and watch a TV show or watch a movie, that so rarely happens for me nowadays.
10:34
SPEAKER_04: Um, and you know, it kind of it kind of just is what it is.
10:38
SPEAKER_04: On the bright side, I'm gonna have a lot of content to consume whenever I'm like able to maybe chill a little bit more.
10:43
SPEAKER_04: I'll go back to all these shows that are being made right now.
10:46
SPEAKER_04: Like, wow, why didn't I watch that when it was coming out?
10:48
SPEAKER_04: But um yeah, I would say those are the top three things that I've like have kind of sat down.
10:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I personally relate to that.
10:57
SPEAKER_01: I feel like for sure, you know, once you get on the whole fitness wave and you you start seeking, at least on the performance side, like obviously you want to get better and things start to fall off the wayside and Netflix and TV and some of social stuff falls off for sure.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: Um would you trade it though for for more Netflix shows or the way I see it, it's always gonna be there, you know?
11:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we got content, we got content so down now with all the streaming.
11:24
SPEAKER_04: Like, um yeah, I think it's it's going to be harder the longer I wait to try things.
11:33
SPEAKER_04: And so I gotta try them now.
11:35
SPEAKER_04: And so that's kind of where my sense of urgency just in life kind of comes from, is like I look at people who are you know, maybe starting a family or they're they're nine to five, has more responsibility, um anything like that.
11:52
SPEAKER_04: It it's like kind of life just kind of gets harder.
11:55
SPEAKER_04: Um so being in my being in my upper 20s, I'm 27 now.
11:59
SPEAKER_04: I just turned 27, so I can't I can't claim mid-20s anymore, which is horrifying.
12:03
SPEAKER_04: But but being in my upper 20s now, I feel like I have, you know, I'm on my own responsibility.
12:09
SPEAKER_04: Like the only responsibility I have is to myself, and I have a lot of energy, so let's go for it.
12:15
SPEAKER_04: And so that's also kind of something that I anchor to when I when I'm feeling a little bit tired, is like, dude, it's only gonna get harder.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
12:22
SPEAKER_04: And so, like, put push now and get used to it because like there will be situations that come up in life that are gonna require this amount of energy, if not more, and like you're gonna have to hold it together.
12:35
SPEAKER_04: And so um, yeah, that's kind of like my mindset with it all.
12:40
SPEAKER_01: I asked you that because this is a conversation I have with myself often as well, where it's like like you said at best, you gotta do it now because later you might not be able to.
12:47
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, responsibilities, things increase and whatnot, and the time for you to race and do these events or lift XYZ weight, that's not always gonna be there.
12:56
SPEAKER_01: I want to take it back a bit, some of your background, right?
12:58
SPEAKER_01: So, like you were uh D1 basketball at Northwestern.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: What was that like?
13:04
SPEAKER_04: That was fun, man.
13:05
SPEAKER_04: It was it's such a cool, um, it's such a cool experience.
13:10
SPEAKER_04: I was actually a manager before I was a player on the team.
13:15
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so for anyone who's not familiar, that's like you're picking up the towels, you're wiping off the sweat off the ground, you're handing water bottles to everybody doing all the nitty-gritty work.
13:24
SPEAKER_04: And so I was doing that for two years.
13:26
SPEAKER_04: And then I kind of got lucky.
13:28
SPEAKER_04: I grew up around Northwestern.
13:30
SPEAKER_04: I grew up in the Chicago suburbs.
13:31
SPEAKER_04: And one day when I was a freshman, a high school coach came in.
13:36
SPEAKER_04: And sometimes like high school coaches will do that.
13:38
SPEAKER_04: They'll go to whatever college practice and like maybe take some drills, just learn.
13:43
SPEAKER_04: And he mentioned to my coach, Coach Collins at Northwestern, that I played basketball in high school and that I was actually pretty good.
13:53
SPEAKER_04: And so that was the first thing that kind of led to me being able to practice with them, do scout team, hop in drills, was because he had heard that I could play basketball, that I could hoop.
14:07
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so from there, it was just like little moments here and there of like building equity in the program and building trust with drills and like my basketball ability.
14:18
SPEAKER_04: And um, then junior year I walked on, and that's a whole separate story.
14:22
SPEAKER_04: But um yeah, it's playing division one, playing division one basketball, and honestly, like any level of college athletics, it's just such a it's such a mental challenge to go from being exhausted during your practice and lifts and then trying to study and like learn.
14:45
SPEAKER_04: It's it's hard because you you really are like a professional athlete.
14:49
SPEAKER_04: They treat you like a professional athlete.
14:51
SPEAKER_04: You make billions of dollars for the institutions that you're playing for.
14:54
SPEAKER_04: And so, like, yeah, they're gonna make you practice like a professional athlete.
14:58
SPEAKER_04: Um and it's it's uh not for the faint, but I will say with that kind of like came such cool experiences, you know, like traveling across the country, taking charter flights, like that.
15:10
SPEAKER_04: I'm I don't know when the next time I'm gonna take a charter flight is if ever.
15:14
SPEAKER_04: Um, like just being able to go and walk on to a plane without going through security, kind of a cool feeling.
15:20
SPEAKER_04: Um but yeah, and then also like you're in class and you're like, yeah, I'm gonna get on a plane and we're gonna go to New Jersey in a couple hours and then we're gonna go play uh a game tomorrow night.
15:32
SPEAKER_04: But I mean for me, like I wasn't really playing, I was a glorified practice player as a walk-on, but um, you're still like there putting it into the hours and stuff.
15:39
SPEAKER_04: Um, I don't mean like I I loved it, but um, yeah, it was a little bit of a different experience than like a scholarship player, but super fun all in all.
15:51
SPEAKER_04: I was a point guard.
15:52
SPEAKER_04: Um, so yeah, yeah.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: Based on what you described, did you think basketball was potentially gonna be like the future, or it was kind of like, hey, I'm happy to be here, I gotta walk on?
16:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
16:04
SPEAKER_04: Actually, I mean, for me, it was it was kind of that mindset where it's like, yeah, I walked on, like this was my goal.
16:10
SPEAKER_04: You know, I'm I'm six feet and I'm half Asian and I don't uh my athletics are aren't like top tier.
16:17
SPEAKER_04: Um I'm I'm decent.
16:20
SPEAKER_04: I'm decent, but like I I know I'm not going to the league or anything like that, you know.
16:23
SPEAKER_04: And so for me, it was like if I could if I could get on a roster of a high major basketball program, dad is like my dream.
16:31
SPEAKER_04: And so like once that happened, yeah, um, you know, I I was like, yeah, I made it.
16:36
SPEAKER_04: This is cool.
16:37
SPEAKER_04: This is cool.
16:38
SPEAKER_04: Like it growing up in my in my wildest dreams, like being able to play at a division one program was yeah, that was it.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: No, cake and gravy, you know?
16:48
SPEAKER_04: Right, right, right.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: I thought you was gonna ask this one, but to make it even funnier, why is it on your bio that you call yourself a Wash D1 bench warmer?
16:59
SPEAKER_04: Bro, it's because it's because if you came to any of my rec league basketball games, man, you would sell you would be like, that that guy played on a divisional roster?
17:08
SPEAKER_04: Like, that guy, no, not a shot.
17:11
SPEAKER_04: It's yeah, and it's funny because like me and my friends from college will play in a basketball league at this place called Basketball City in the Lower East Side.
17:21
SPEAKER_04: And it's a massive field house.
17:24
SPEAKER_04: There's like six to eight courts, and it's all just whenever we play, it's all just like dudes in their mid-20s to like mid-40s reliving their glory days.
17:34
SPEAKER_04: And like you feel you feel your age, you're like, this is sick, but also holy cow, I can't move how I used to be able to.
17:40
SPEAKER_04: Um that's why I call that's why I call myself Wash, is because like, oh, I'm I'm truly wash.
17:46
SPEAKER_04: But um, basketball-wise, I still have endurance sports.
17:49
SPEAKER_04: I can I can maybe peak when I'm in my mid-30s.
17:52
SPEAKER_04: Uh yeah, so I got time for that maybe, but um, that's why I call myself that.
17:57
SPEAKER_04: And then bench warmer is like, yeah, I I was there cheering on in college, you know.
18:02
SPEAKER_04: So um that was my role, but I loved it.
18:04
SPEAKER_04: It's a good role.
18:05
SPEAKER_01: That's funny and cool that you still play, uh, even if not the same to your thought and opinion, but like it's cool you still play and give some people the business.
18:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, it's fun.
18:14
SPEAKER_04: I mean, yeah, some days more than others that I give people the business.
18:17
SPEAKER_04: Sometimes the business gets brought to me, you know.
18:19
SPEAKER_04: So um, but it's also uh such a good way to like move your body differently.
18:27
SPEAKER_04: I think I was actually just talking about this with somebody today, how a lot of high rocks and these endurance sports is training you to go like back and forth really well.
18:38
SPEAKER_04: But there's not a lot of things that really challenge you to move multiplanarly in a multiplanar fashion, I'll just say it that way, and move laterally.
18:48
SPEAKER_04: And so, like, basketball is a sport that will force you to do that and force you to do that at a high level.
18:53
SPEAKER_04: And so, like, I want to be able to do that as long as I can because there's different translations to like areas of life that it helps out with and just that whole idea of cross-training.
19:02
SPEAKER_04: And so, like, yeah, it's super fun, but it is also, I think, important for people to get out and move their bodies in that way.
19:08
SPEAKER_01: No, 100%.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: That's a very smart way to put it.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: How did you go from basketball to high rocks?
19:13
SPEAKER_01: You know, we're talking about an audio and the endurance space now and having a lot of fun with it.
19:17
SPEAKER_01: How'd you go for basketball like, hey, this is where I'm going now?
19:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
19:22
SPEAKER_04: Um, the whole story is kind of long.
19:26
SPEAKER_04: So I'll I'll give you the spark notes, but pretty much I wanted something to train for.
19:32
SPEAKER_04: And it was 2023 that I signed up for the Chicago Marathon to run it that year.
19:38
SPEAKER_04: And that was the that was the year I was moving from Chicago to New York.
19:41
SPEAKER_04: And so I trained for that horribly.
19:44
SPEAKER_04: It was a disaster.
19:46
SPEAKER_04: I I literally cramped up halfway through the marathon.
19:49
SPEAKER_04: I kid you not, an 80-year-old dude passed me.
19:52
SPEAKER_04: Um when I was on maybe like mile 22, all I saw was M80 plus, and I was like, damn.
19:58
SPEAKER_04: Maybe I gotta rethink things.
20:00
SPEAKER_04: But that was my first experience of like endurance sports.
20:04
SPEAKER_04: Um I just threw myself in there into the deep egg because I was like, you know what, I'll just figure it out.
20:08
SPEAKER_04: Um after that, I was like, okay, I actually really like I need to train for this because I cannot just uh some people can, I couldn't.
20:17
SPEAKER_04: Um and so then I did the Austin Marathon in 2024.
20:21
SPEAKER_04: Um, and that went a little bit better.
20:22
SPEAKER_04: I still think I could have trained for it a lot better in a lot of different ways, but uh that one I did a 352, only cramped up a mile 22.
20:31
SPEAKER_04: So pushed that back nine miles, which was good.
20:34
SPEAKER_04: And then um I saw high rocks just pop it started popping up on my Instagram, and I had kind of built that aerobic base of like training for the marathon, doing a lot of zone two work.
20:44
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so I also like lifted a fair amount and I enjoy lifting, and so it was like a perfect combination between the two because for those who haven't heard about high rocks, it's just uh it's mostly a running race, but it combines your ability to move heavy things.
21:03
SPEAKER_04: You have to sled push, uh, I think in the men's open, it's like 335.
21:07
SPEAKER_04: Um, and then you have to sled pull 225 pounds.
21:10
SPEAKER_04: And so, like if you aren't able to do that, you're you're not able to finish the race.
21:15
SPEAKER_04: Um, but then there's a lot of running involved, and so it seemed like a good fit.
21:18
SPEAKER_04: And I did my first race in Boston six months ago.
21:23
SPEAKER_04: Um, and that was a lot of fun.
21:25
SPEAKER_04: And ever since then, I've kind of been hooked because it's I it's a way that I enjoy training.
21:30
SPEAKER_04: I love training that way.
21:31
SPEAKER_04: I think like being able to move heavy things and like and lift and then also um have certain goals for running is just the most fun for me.
21:40
SPEAKER_04: And it's also, in my opinion, the most practical.
21:43
SPEAKER_04: I think most people should be able to do both or at least strive to do both.
21:48
SPEAKER_04: And um, yeah, it's been it's been a good experience.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: That's what uh attracting me to the sport.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: You get to do both, right?
21:55
SPEAKER_01: And still be functional and fast, but also strong.
21:58
SPEAKER_01: Um Like so it's pretty cool that you went from, hey, look, I'm a dabble in marathon in, but I lift a lot, like running, want to be fit, you know, get some circuit training and doing that.
22:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, walk me through that first race.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: What what was that experience like at Boston?
22:12
SPEAKER_01: Your first high rocks, you signed up, you know, you did you train for it?
22:16
SPEAKER_01: Like, how'd it go?
22:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:18
SPEAKER_04: So I I don't think I I wouldn't really say I trained specifically for it.
22:24
SPEAKER_04: It happened a month after I ran this race called Hood to Coast with some friends from college.
22:28
SPEAKER_04: I uh was training for running for that.
22:31
SPEAKER_04: And then like, you know, HIROX has a lot of running and I was already, you know, functionally fairly strong.
22:38
SPEAKER_04: And so I went in and tried that.
22:40
SPEAKER_04: And holy cow, that's it.
22:42
SPEAKER_04: Kicked my butt because I again I crammed up halfway through.
22:48
SPEAKER_04: I completely underestimated the amount of like exertion that would happen with my legs.
22:53
SPEAKER_04: You could say that I was, you could say that I'm just weak or whatever, but like it's not I think I think it's it's hard.
23:01
SPEAKER_04: And I was one of the people that like looked at looked at high rocks and I was like, yeah, I'll be fine.
23:05
SPEAKER_04: Like what it's a kilometer in between.
23:07
SPEAKER_04: I was doing the math.
23:08
SPEAKER_04: I was like, yeah, I'll do like uh I'll do like a 105.
23:11
SPEAKER_04: And and then I ended up doing a 119 because I cramped up halfway through and like, yeah, it was awful.
23:17
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so that was my first experience.
23:20
SPEAKER_04: However, I will say I was hooked on it because one, I saw an ability to get a lot better.
23:26
SPEAKER_04: I was like, okay, well, as long as I don't cramp up, like I'll shave off five minutes right there.
23:31
SPEAKER_04: Um, but then the other thing is like my parents uh and brother were watching that race, and the cool thing about HIROX is you are able to follow your person like the entire time.
23:41
SPEAKER_04: And so um all the runs, I saw them, all the stations, they were right there cheering me on, and I was able to like make quips to them, funny quips, be like, guys, I'm literally dying, or like got my my cramp, like my calf.
23:53
SPEAKER_04: Guys, my calf is a knot right now.
23:55
SPEAKER_04: Like, you can say that to them, but like in a marathon, you see them maybe like twice a race, like because you're running, and then they gotta go to the next spot.
24:04
SPEAKER_04: So, from like a spectator athlete perspective, it's a lot more fun.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know that about the spectating, you know.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: I can follow you around, and I can think of some funny moments.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: You and the family, like, guys, help give me something.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, what should I do, guys?
24:22
SPEAKER_04: Help me out here.
24:23
SPEAKER_04: Can you run the next leg for me, please?
24:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, take the chip, take the chip off my ankle.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: What would you say on the first one surprised you the most?
24:31
SPEAKER_01: What was the shocker?
24:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
24:33
SPEAKER_04: Oh, that's a good question.
24:37
SPEAKER_04: I think for me, it was how I was gonna feel after doing the 80 meters and burpee bra jumps.
24:43
SPEAKER_04: I because I had trained, I had done burpee like plate jumps before, and I had tried doing some burpee bra jumps just to get a feel for it, but I had never done it in the amount of volume.
24:56
SPEAKER_04: And I was thinking, like, you know, you just keep on going, like you can keep doing it, it's just another burpee, uh, not that big of a deal.
25:03
SPEAKER_04: But after finishing it, like my legs just felt like so filled with lactic acid.
25:09
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I was so cast.
25:13
SPEAKER_04: And I think the thing about high rocks and how I view it is the first the first half of the race, you just have to weather the storm because you have the sled push, the sled pull, and the burpees, and those will cash your legs like no other.
25:28
SPEAKER_04: And so after that, you have the row, the farmers carry, the lunges, and the wall balls, and like the wall balls are pretty brutal, but like it's your last thing, and so from a mental hurdle, it can be a little bit better, right?
25:41
SPEAKER_04: You can push, but like when you're on that sled push and sled pull, and you're like, oh my gosh, this is station two, station three out of eight.
25:50
SPEAKER_04: I gotta be on this thing for another like 40 minutes, I'm cooked.
25:54
SPEAKER_04: Um, so I would say, like, that, yeah, that's what surprised me the most is like that really hit me like a wall.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: So it wasn't even the running, because you were kind of used to that, I guess, and like some of the other later stations.
26:07
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, but then that the running got affected by it, you know.
26:10
SPEAKER_04: So um that was a lot worse than if I was just doing normal running.
26:16
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
26:17
SPEAKER_01: How do uh you train for them now with a little bit more experience?
26:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you've done a few now.
26:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I prioritize running on compromised legs a lot more.
26:30
SPEAKER_04: So it'll be like I when I'm in a proper training block, and this is what I'll be doing for um New York as a part of my training program, like I aim to run on compromised legs at least twice a week.
26:43
SPEAKER_04: So whether that's a high ROCs type of workout where you're going from functional station to run, a functional station to run, or if it's like I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go on a run after a heavy leg day, um that's important to do.
26:58
SPEAKER_04: And so that's what that's a big thing that's changed about my training.
27:02
SPEAKER_04: And then the other thing is like running a lot more because at the end of the day, like I think what a lot of people don't realize about high-rex unless if you've done it, is that it's a running race.
27:15
SPEAKER_04: Flat out, it's a running race, and you have a baseline level of strength that you need.
27:21
SPEAKER_04: And so the people who are the best in the world are running like 545s to like 530s for every single segment.
27:29
SPEAKER_04: And they're able to do it.
27:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and they're able to do it after like caching their legs, after like doing it for 30 to 40 minutes.
27:39
SPEAKER_04: They're still on that 530, 545 minute pace.
27:42
SPEAKER_04: Actually, I did a mile time today as a part of uh this thing called the Hyrex project that I'm doing that um my girlfriend is starting, which is it's really cool.
27:52
SPEAKER_04: It's like uh 12 of us are gonna be training together for three months uh leading up to New York.
27:58
SPEAKER_04: And so today we had baseline testing.
28:00
SPEAKER_04: I got a six-minute mile, and I don't think I pace myself.
28:04
SPEAKER_04: I I know I know I'm a lot more capable of running faster than a six-minute mile flat.
28:09
SPEAKER_04: Not to say that it's a bad time at all, like I'll take it, but like to put it into perspective is just these dudes are doing it time after time in a faster clip, you know.
28:20
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, I was pretty gassed to be fair.
28:22
SPEAKER_04: I was still pretty gassed after the six-minute mile.
28:25
SPEAKER_04: Um, but it's it's just crazy um how fit the top people are in the sport.
28:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: Just seeing some of these guys, like, man, that you know, they got muscle, they're they're doing these stations and super fast times, and then they go run uh to your point, a five minute per mile pace, you know, and just speedroll into like, okay, I'm just gonna sled pole now.
28:48
SPEAKER_01: Like, what?
28:49
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, bro.
28:50
SPEAKER_04: And the thing is too, is like there's this thing called the rock zone, um, where you have the areas in between the stations.
28:58
SPEAKER_04: So you get in there after your run, and then you need to run to your station, and then you need to run out of your station.
29:02
SPEAKER_04: So like that time matters, it's part of the race.
29:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, um, but it's just not that kilometer that a lot of people think of.
29:08
SPEAKER_04: And so um what's so shocking to me is how quickly they finish the workout to then immediately getting back at the pace uh for the next run.
29:17
SPEAKER_04: It's like, dude, I I need to like give me a sec, I need to shake out my legs.
29:22
SPEAKER_04: I've gotten better at it, but it that's one of the hardest feelings to get over to is like you just gotta start moving your legs and trust your training that the lactic acid will flush out and like you'll get back into it and you'll be fine.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: What's your uh strongest station you would say, um, or even like strain if you run better?
29:41
SPEAKER_04: Um I mean, right now I guess I have to say my farmers carry is probably the strongest, which is kind of lame.
29:47
SPEAKER_04: But I did finish nine out of uh I forget however however many people participated in DC last week or two weekends ago.
29:57
SPEAKER_04: So purely based on numbers, I would say that farmers farmers carry is my best station.
30:01
SPEAKER_04: But then after that, I would say uh probably the sandbag lunches.
30:08
SPEAKER_04: I I think I can like keep those moving pretty well when I'm tired at the end.
30:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:14
SPEAKER_04: I think I'm my I'm my own harshest critic.
30:17
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so I'm hesitant to say that like I have any of them that are my best station.
30:22
SPEAKER_04: Um, but that's what I would answer.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: For those listening, right?
30:25
SPEAKER_01: How rocks is growing.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of people know about it, but just throw some weights out there.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: Like, for example, how much is it on a sled push?
30:32
SPEAKER_01: How much you have in a sandbag for lunges?
30:34
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to go through all of them, just a few just for those listening to kind of get an idea, if you will.
30:38
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:38
SPEAKER_04: The sled push, there's 335 pounds on there.
30:42
SPEAKER_04: For the sled pull, it's 225 pounds.
30:45
SPEAKER_04: For the sandbag lunges, it's like 60 pounds.
30:49
SPEAKER_04: No, sorry, 50 for open.
30:51
SPEAKER_04: But then you jump all the way up to 70 for pro.
30:54
SPEAKER_04: Um farmers carry is like you're carrying 52 pounds, 53.
30:58
SPEAKER_04: It's hard because they're all in kilograms.
30:59
SPEAKER_04: So it's like I'm also working on my conversions.
31:02
SPEAKER_04: Um, but yeah, those are those are the weights.
31:04
SPEAKER_04: And then it does get crazy once you get up to pro, is like 445 for the sled push, 335 for the sled pull.
31:11
SPEAKER_04: Um, you're doing the farmer's carry with 70 pounds each.
31:15
SPEAKER_04: So it's yeah, it's just it's a lot.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: Wild.
31:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: You've done a few now.
31:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, like what's been your favorite high rock so far?
31:25
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's such a tough question.
31:29
SPEAKER_04: They're all they're all kind of fun and special in their own in their own way.
31:35
SPEAKER_04: I guess uh, I don't know if it's recency bias, but I'll say DC.
31:39
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
31:39
SPEAKER_04: Um just because that whole weekend on a whole was so fun.
31:44
SPEAKER_04: And I think the way that I raced it was very satisfying for myself because I actually the best part of my race was that whole second half of the race.
31:54
SPEAKER_04: And so, you know, I've been sitting here telling you that I've been cramping up halfway through every single time, which is absolutely true.
31:59
SPEAKER_04: But this time, for whatever reason, I I didn't.
32:02
SPEAKER_04: I think I it's a part of like how I hydrated for it, and also maybe some of my training is is starting to pay off, but that was a lot of fun, and then also my girlfriend was doing the Saturday and Sunday.
32:17
SPEAKER_04: She did Saturday solos and then Sunday with uh doubles partner and her solos, she finished third uh out of everybody and she podiumed, which was great.
32:27
SPEAKER_04: And then her doubles race, she met the person the day or she raced against her on Saturday.
32:35
SPEAKER_04: So that's when they actually met, was in their warm-up.
32:37
SPEAKER_04: And then they raced together on Sunday because she was her partner was supposed to race with her mom that didn't uh end up working out.
32:45
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so then she raced with my girlfriend and they got first out of the whole thing.
32:50
SPEAKER_04: And like following them was so much fun, and they they got their age group world record, and so like the whole thing was just pretty electrifying.
33:00
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so that was that was a lot of fun too.
33:03
SPEAKER_01: No, that that's dope, man.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to the girlfriend.
33:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
33:07
SPEAKER_04: I I had to give her a shout out.
33:09
SPEAKER_01: That's really cool, man.
33:10
SPEAKER_01: Uh, watch that.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm just thinking of how training-wise, legs are fried, and then you go back and do it another day.
33:16
SPEAKER_01: Oof.
33:17
SPEAKER_01: I know.
33:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's tough.
33:19
SPEAKER_04: It's tough.
33:20
SPEAKER_01: Would you guys ever do a double you two guys together?
33:23
SPEAKER_04: Hopefully, if I catch up to her, I gotta get faster, man.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: You gotta get faster.
33:27
SPEAKER_04: She she is the she is those people running.
33:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh, I think they average a 540 mile for their runs.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
33:33
SPEAKER_04: And that's not me right now.
33:35
SPEAKER_04: That's not me at all.
33:36
SPEAKER_04: So I I'm working towards it.
33:37
SPEAKER_04: I'm working towards it.
33:38
SPEAKER_04: Give me, give me a few months.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
33:41
unknown: Yeah.
33:42
SPEAKER_01: I saw you shave the round eight minutes your like somewhat recent times on high rocks.
33:46
SPEAKER_01: What do you attribute that to?
33:47
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that was just though that I attribute to how I was training for it.
33:51
SPEAKER_04: And so those two changes of like running on compromised legs and doing more running and doing specifically like speed workouts.
33:58
SPEAKER_04: Like, I I needed to get faster, and I still knew do need to get faster.
34:01
SPEAKER_04: But doing those smaller track workouts where you're doing 400s, um, you're doing 400 repeats, you're doing 800 repeats, you're doing 1k repeats, like that type of running um matters a lot.
34:12
SPEAKER_04: And so I started doing that as well.
34:14
SPEAKER_04: So those two things I would say.
34:16
SPEAKER_01: A lot of speed work there, yeah, for sure.
34:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
34:21
SPEAKER_04: But made me feel like I was back on my uh sixth grade track team doing the four by one hundred running around the track.
34:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I see a lot of the content out there and stuff, people doing 400.
34:32
SPEAKER_01: Uh, funny enough, myself, I'm doing a lot of 400s right now.
34:35
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I 400s like are so sneaky, man.
34:38
SPEAKER_04: Because I remember when I first started doing it, as if everything is harder when you're actually doing it than what it sounds like.
34:46
SPEAKER_04: And like a 400-meter run sounds so short.
34:50
SPEAKER_04: It's one lap around the track.
34:52
SPEAKER_04: But you get you get halfway through, you're done with the 200, and you're like, oh my gosh, like I am cooked.
34:58
SPEAKER_04: Run legs run, and I start feeling in my hamstrings too.
35:01
SPEAKER_04: Um, but I'm also like, you know what, that's good.
35:04
SPEAKER_04: I'm glad I'm working on this because clearly I need it.
35:07
SPEAKER_04: And so 400s have been uh a great workout for me.
35:12
SPEAKER_01: It always feels good after, like right after you're done, you get like, yes, I'm good.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: I ran fast today.
35:18
SPEAKER_04: Right, right, right.
35:20
SPEAKER_04: 100%.
35:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it makes you feel accomplished, you know.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: On these high rocks, I see a lot of stuff about like runners and and grip on shoes.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, is that really a thing?
35:29
SPEAKER_01: Like wearing the right shoes, getting the proper grip.
35:31
SPEAKER_01: Like, what do you favor?
35:32
SPEAKER_04: What do you use?
35:34
SPEAKER_04: Yes, dude.
35:34
SPEAKER_04: It could be a nightmare if you don't have the right shoes.
35:37
SPEAKER_04: Actually, I don't know if you saw on my Instagram that, and I don't know if this is why you're asking the question, but like my buddy who I raced with in Vegas, he wasn't wearing the right shoes, and it was his first time doing a high rocks, and I probably should have given him a little bit more guidance on like the shoes you need to wear because it really is tough on the sled push specifically.
35:55
SPEAKER_04: Okay, everything else you can kind of get away with.
35:57
SPEAKER_04: Sled pull might be a little tough because you do use a lot of your legs.
36:01
SPEAKER_04: So if you're slipping, that traction is gonna take away energy.
36:03
SPEAKER_04: But the sled push, like if your shoes slip, you're you're cooked because like it's gonna take you so much more effort to move the sled than for somebody who has the right shoes.
36:13
SPEAKER_04: So I wear DV8 twos, Puma's DV8 twos, which are the older versions of like now they have DV83, and I think they actually just came out with the DV84, which they're branding as like the first shoe ever specifically made for high rocks.
36:26
SPEAKER_04: Um, which I I guess that must be true if they're saying it, but at the same time, like, what were you doing with the first two ones?
36:32
SPEAKER_04: Like those feel like pretty those feel pretty designed for high rocks, too.
36:36
SPEAKER_04: Um, but those shoes I would say are the best.
36:39
SPEAKER_04: And I do know that other companies are starting to come out with high rock shoes, like Nike signing high rox athletes, Adidas is signing higher arcs athletes, so it's coming.
36:50
SPEAKER_04: Um, we'll see.
36:51
SPEAKER_04: It'll be it'll be cool.
36:52
SPEAKER_04: I'm glad that people are gonna have more options because like the pumas sell out quick.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
36:58
SPEAKER_01: Um I missed that about your buddy.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: No, I didn't see that.
37:01
SPEAKER_01: He had a uh race day shoe hiccup, I guess.
37:04
SPEAKER_04: He he did, and it literally popped off.
37:06
SPEAKER_04: It popped off on the sled push.
37:08
SPEAKER_04: We we got lucky we got a video of it, and so he was moving, and then I was right behind him, and I just had to take his shoe and throw it between my legs and then keep the sled pusher moving while he pushed it, while he put it back on.
37:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's a pretty funny video.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: That's wild and funny, man.
37:23
SPEAKER_01: You're doing New York soon.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: I want to paint a scenario for you.
37:28
SPEAKER_01: You're at station four, heart rate's 170.
37:32
SPEAKER_01: You gotta still keep going.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: What goes through your mind when you're like, whoa, look at my heart rate.
37:37
SPEAKER_01: I still got a couple more stations.
37:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm halfway into this race.
37:41
SPEAKER_01: What are you thinking?
37:43
SPEAKER_04: Are you making my heart beat with that question?
37:44
SPEAKER_04: Man, I'm just I'm putting myself in that position.
37:46
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, oh, that's a pain cave right there.
37:50
SPEAKER_04: Um what am I thinking in that moment?
37:58
SPEAKER_04: I in that moment I'm thinking, just get to the end of the station and you like pull off the run if you need it a little bit and manage it.
38:09
SPEAKER_04: Like, I think the race is all about managing your legs, at least it is for me.
38:14
SPEAKER_04: People manage their heart rate.
38:15
SPEAKER_04: I kind of manage my legs because I can feel it if my legs are feeling tight and they're f feeling like full of that blood and then lactic acid, and I need to shake it out.
38:25
SPEAKER_04: I I might sacrifice a run and run that 10 to 15 seconds slower to like get that feel back.
38:33
SPEAKER_04: Um but also at the same time, specifically station four, it's like I know the back half of the race is going to be easier station wise.
38:42
SPEAKER_04: Like you get rid of all of the hard ones earlier and out the way.
38:45
SPEAKER_04: And so that's why it's like, okay, get to that, get to that end of the line on these burpees, which is station four, and then you can, you know, shake out your light, and the rest of the you'll be fine.
38:56
SPEAKER_04: And it's like you'll be fine.
38:57
SPEAKER_04: Um I wish I had like a mantra that I say to myself or something, but I it's just taking just finish that station and figure it out on the run.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: Very smartly in the moment, like hi, let me back off here, save some time here, bring the heart rate back down.
39:12
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, yeah.
39:14
SPEAKER_04: Which is what I that's what I would say too, is like I took off two and a half minutes from my Phoenix time to the DC time, and that month uh was just a nightmare, schedule-wise.
39:28
SPEAKER_04: Um and so I taking off two minutes in a month with that, I think I can only attribute that to running the race a little bit smarter and like running it a little bit more strategically, and that I did know when to not push myself.
39:45
SPEAKER_04: I came out much slower in the back half, I picked it up.
39:48
SPEAKER_04: And um there are little things that you pick up just by doing it, which is why I'm a proponent of throwing yourself in there and figuring it out.
39:58
SPEAKER_04: I think sometimes people wait for the right moment to like try a race like this or to sign up for something.
40:05
SPEAKER_04: And I'm just like, just do it, you know, like then you're you're forced to you're forced to train for it.
40:11
SPEAKER_04: You're forced to show up when the day comes, you're forced to do it.
40:15
SPEAKER_04: You get that feeling, you understand it.
40:17
SPEAKER_04: Even if you don't train for it well, you understand how hard it is, it makes you respect it a little bit more, a lot more, honestly, because then you know like what to train for and how to do it.
40:27
SPEAKER_04: And so, and hopefully you still have fun along the way.
40:30
SPEAKER_04: And I think it's hard to make progress if you don't just like throw yourself into things and try it.
40:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:41
SPEAKER_01: No, I love that.
40:42
SPEAKER_01: That that reminds me of one of a favorite quote.
40:44
SPEAKER_01: I forget where I get this from, but it's just like just say yes, figure it out later.
40:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh figure out the details and all the work later.
40:51
SPEAKER_01: Just just do it.
40:53
SPEAKER_04: Right.
40:55
SPEAKER_04: 100%.
40:56
SPEAKER_01: You talked about fun.
40:57
SPEAKER_01: Like, what's the most fun for you?
40:58
SPEAKER_01: Is it the training?
40:59
SPEAKER_01: Is it the race?
41:00
SPEAKER_01: Family at the race.
41:01
SPEAKER_01: I think the I think the race itself is the most fun.
41:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
41:04
SPEAKER_04: But I that's not to say that I don't enjoy the process, but I do think like the race is just a culmination of your training.
41:14
SPEAKER_04: And so, like, if you really train hard and you train properly for it, then you'll be prepared on race day, and like that is a celebration of your efforts.
41:25
SPEAKER_04: Um, I that's kind of how I view it.
41:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh granted, like you can st I still get nervous on race day because you like you never know how your body's really gonna feel on a given day.
41:35
SPEAKER_04: And I think that's another thing that I've learned just by following the sport a little bit more, too, is like you would assume that people at the top of the game are if they're the most fit, they're the most fit and they're gonna destroy every single time.
41:49
SPEAKER_04: But like that's not the case.
41:50
SPEAKER_04: Like, you could have people that win randomly, and then next time the person who finished 12th in one race finishes first in the next, and it's it's just like there is variables that like maybe you can't really control with how your body's feeling that day.
42:05
SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm not a scientist.
42:06
SPEAKER_04: All that to say, the race day itself is the most fun.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: Race day, you cross the finish line.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: What's that experience like when you go through high rocks and you just destroyed yourself and then you see the end, you see the finish line, you're about to go see the time.
42:22
SPEAKER_01: What's that like?
42:28
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, when I raced in DC, it was very I was nervous because I really wanted to get sub 110, and I knew on my watch, I was like, okay, I'm like right there, I'm like right there.
42:41
SPEAKER_04: And I kind of knew the time that I needed to finish on wall balls in order to do it.
42:45
SPEAKER_04: But like, like you said, when you run through the gate, you don't know what your time is gonna be exactly, and then it just flashes up on the screen.
42:51
SPEAKER_04: And so for that particular race, I was like, ah, like what's it gonna be?
42:55
SPEAKER_04: And I felt pretty good about it.
42:56
SPEAKER_04: And then when it showed, I was like, yes, like that is great.
42:59
SPEAKER_04: Um, but I think it's mostly exhaustion.
43:04
SPEAKER_04: I'm mostly like, yes, that's over.
43:07
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
43:08
SPEAKER_04: Okay, and it's also like I did that, like that's great.
43:12
SPEAKER_04: Um, I think to add on to like this question a little bit with my experience doing marathons versus the high rocks, I do definitely think that there is uh more of a sense of like big accomplishment, like finishing the line and a marathon.
43:27
SPEAKER_04: Um, I remember when I finished through the awesome marathon, I was like, wow, that was awesome.
43:32
SPEAKER_04: Like I ran for a lot of that.
43:35
SPEAKER_04: And I finished in my goal time, I finished under four hours, which is all I was looking for.
43:41
SPEAKER_04: Um and like that as a feat felt a lot more.
43:46
SPEAKER_04: But I'm sure like as I'm taking this high rock thing a little bit more seriously and just like trying to like train for it for myself and just have that be my personal goal.
43:57
SPEAKER_04: Um, I think that that except And feeling of accomplishment will get a little bit better because, like, yes, I do it for fun, but the more time and thought and energy that I put into how I can cut off my like high rocks race, uh, the more sense of accomplishment that I'll feel once I actually get it.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: Is the goal uh now that you're like really hooked into it, pro?
44:19
SPEAKER_04: Uh the goal for me, I think a fun long-term goal that I have would be to qualify for world someday.
44:27
SPEAKER_04: Um I I understand I have a long way to go for that though.
44:32
SPEAKER_04: And that is something that is not an easy thing to do.
44:35
SPEAKER_04: And I think uh there can I I don't know.
44:39
SPEAKER_04: So it's hierarchs is a weird thing because you kind of see you see a lot of negativity around it.
44:44
SPEAKER_04: You see a lot of positivity, but you also see a lot of negativity around it, which I guess isn't the most profound thing to say because that's the deal with a lot of things.
44:51
SPEAKER_04: But um I go with you know, yeah, yeah.
44:54
SPEAKER_04: Like you see it, you see people like going out of their way to like bash higherx when it's like, all right, first of all, relax.
45:00
SPEAKER_04: Like in all, we're just like all trying to have fun.
45:03
SPEAKER_04: Um, but like it it is something that I think is is harder than than people would say, um, or it's harder than people would think, and you only know about it until like you do it, because I like I was one of those people who I just really I didn't I didn't think it was gonna be that hard, and it is.
45:22
SPEAKER_04: And um, I'm not saying I'm the most fit person out there, but I think I like I do work out a fair amount.
45:27
SPEAKER_04: And so um it's yeah, I'm gonna stick with the pro field and see how it goes.
45:34
SPEAKER_04: Um and it's it's it is like that goal that I'm just having for myself to you know keep me accountable.
45:42
SPEAKER_04: It's like you you gotta be able to do the pro weights, you gotta be able to run on the pro weights um and all that good stuff.
45:49
SPEAKER_01: Eric, if someone out there is trying to do their first higher rocks, what should they be thinking about doing leading up to the race?
45:57
SPEAKER_04: Running is number one.
45:59
SPEAKER_04: Like don't worry about the don't worry about the stations as much as I would worry about the running and running on legs that are heavy because that is like all the that's all it is.
46:10
SPEAKER_04: Um I think it's very, very easy to focus all of your time on the stations because that feels more fun and it feels more special, uh specified, special towards um the race.
46:27
SPEAKER_04: But like it's just not that's not where you're gonna get the most bang for your buck.
46:33
SPEAKER_04: So if I were to like do it over again, I would really focus on those two things, running and running on heavy legs.
46:40
SPEAKER_04: Um, I mean, station work is so important, but it definitely takes the back seat.
46:47
SPEAKER_01: Running on heavy legs, okay.
46:49
SPEAKER_01: What about fueling and stuff?
46:50
SPEAKER_01: Like uh you mentioned you even joked about it on your page on Olive Garden being the win.
46:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah.
46:56
SPEAKER_04: You see, they responded to my comment, they responded, uh, they commented on my post.
47:00
SPEAKER_04: I was like, shoot, I can I can die happy now that I got olive garden on the commercial now.
47:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
47:07
SPEAKER_01: Like big carbs, uh little carbs, or just just eat right fuel for the race.
47:12
SPEAKER_01: Can you even take like sodium and stuff on the course?
47:16
SPEAKER_04: You can, yeah.
47:17
SPEAKER_04: It's a little, it's kind of like a marathon where you can bring your gels with you and you can bring snacks with you, um, as long as you can fit it in your pockets and then you throw it out and all that good stuff.
47:28
SPEAKER_04: But uh it's a lot of carbs leading up to it.
47:33
SPEAKER_04: And for me, it's a lot of electrolytes.
47:35
SPEAKER_04: Like I gotta start, I start drinking electrolytes, like electrolyte drinks three days, four days in advance.
47:43
SPEAKER_04: Okay so that like I never have I never am deficient in electromarines.
47:48
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
47:48
SPEAKER_04: Um, and actually I I'm curious, uh it's something that I've been trying to figure out.
47:53
SPEAKER_04: I'm trying trying to figure out with ChatGPT.
47:55
SPEAKER_04: Uh like what do I need to do differently so that I don't cramp?
48:00
SPEAKER_04: In this past race, I was taking electrolytes that were more potassium heavy than I've previously done.
48:06
SPEAKER_04: And it was first forms daily electrolytes.
48:11
SPEAKER_04: Um and I think that might have helped.
48:16
SPEAKER_04: I also had coconut water, which is also potassium heavy.
48:20
SPEAKER_04: So maybe a combination of those two ended up being a good thing.
48:24
SPEAKER_04: I'm definitely gonna do it next race, because it worked this race.
48:26
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
48:27
SPEAKER_01: So what's the goal for New York?
48:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, New York High Rocks.
48:31
SPEAKER_04: Uh I know, home city.
48:35
SPEAKER_04: Have to show out, right?
48:37
SPEAKER_04: I would uh my goal time is sub-115 pro, and then a stretch goal is getting down to that 111.
48:46
SPEAKER_04: I think if I could get so I guess sub 112.
48:48
SPEAKER_04: A stretch goal would be sub-112.
48:50
SPEAKER_04: If I could get around there, I think I'd be pretty happy with that.
48:55
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
48:56
SPEAKER_04: Actually, it popped up on my Instagram news feed the other the other day of Hunter McIntyre talking about um high rox times.
49:04
SPEAKER_04: And he was like, people don't call themselves an athlete until um you get a sub 110 pro HIROX.
49:13
SPEAKER_04: Other, otherwise, you're just a participant.
49:16
SPEAKER_04: Which he's he's harsh about it, but like he's he's a personality and like that's his thing.
49:20
SPEAKER_04: And um, I I thought it was funny, but now I'm like, ooh, I gotta I gotta get there for no other reason than like silly pride.
49:27
SPEAKER_04: You know, it's not that big, it's not that deep.
49:29
SPEAKER_04: He said it.
49:30
SPEAKER_04: It's yeah, yeah.
49:31
SPEAKER_04: But um, I thought that was funny.
49:33
SPEAKER_04: So in my head, I'm like, okay, maybe work towards that.
49:36
SPEAKER_04: Let's try and get to there.
49:38
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like the uh, I mean, maybe not as harsh as this, but the whole, hey, I qualified for Boston and the marathon, okay, I'm an actual runner kind of thing.
49:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, exactly.
49:47
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
49:48
SPEAKER_04: Like there's yeah, there's levels to it where you wanna, you know, it's the whole thing about just having that goal, you know.
49:54
SPEAKER_04: And does that goal really matter in the grand scheme of things?
49:57
SPEAKER_04: Like, no, but it matters to you who's doing it.
49:59
SPEAKER_04: You know, it's like I'm not, I'm not getting paid to I'm paying a lot of money to do the high rocks races.
50:05
SPEAKER_04: They're not paying me.
50:06
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's like all about your personal journey and like everybody has their own paces that they work at, their own goals that they work out at or that they work towards, and that's good.
50:17
SPEAKER_04: That's how it should be.
50:17
SPEAKER_04: And so like I that's why I don't I don't really like when I just hate the negativity.
50:23
SPEAKER_04: Like, I there's just everyone's on their own journey.
50:26
SPEAKER_04: Like, leave them be and and cheer them on along the way.
50:30
SPEAKER_04: And like, what what's the worst that can happen when you do that?
50:32
SPEAKER_04: Like you make somebody's day, you know, but like if you're just bashing what other people are doing, then it just I don't know.
50:41
SPEAKER_04: There's just there's so many better things you could do than bash people, so yeah, for sure.
50:46
SPEAKER_01: And everyone's out there moving.
50:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, Eric, thank you for uh sharing, man.
50:50
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you.
50:51
SPEAKER_01: Uh the world of high rocks, and you got some great tips on here.
50:54
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, everyone.
50:55
SPEAKER_01: This has been the People Run podcast, guys.
50:57
SPEAKER_01: Until next time.
50:59
SPEAKER_04: Thank you for having me.
51:00
SPEAKER_01: This is great.
51:01
SPEAKER_01: Of course, anytime.