Below the Zone: Finding Your Pace

From the starting line to overcoming obstacles, we explore how running movies inspire us to push our limits and discover the power within. With a nod to the Rich Roll Podcast, we dive into the themes of transformation and human drive to keep moving forward. We hope you find this conversation entertaining and meaningful.

Peace + Plants

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Episode Transcript

(00:08):
Be inspired to do things differently.
Hey everyone, welcome back to the show.
This is below the Zone podcast brought to you by The Running
Rejects. I'm Dylan.
And I'm Jesse, welcome to the show.
Hey, yo, hey, yo, Chat. You want to hear something?
Come closer. Right here.

(00:29):
A little bit closer. Hey yo, fuck movies.
We are now officially a running podcast.
Below the line. What?
No, below the zone. Motherfucking.
Anyways. That's right.
Which means this episode is sponsored by none other than I
Can't do that. Sorry guys, but you know, you
know where that joke was going, Yes.

(00:51):
We just could have complete it because, you know, for legal
reasons. But yeah.
Here we are. Episode 123-456-1919.
Wow. 19 We are fast approaching another milestone episode.
Yup, like Chad. Look it up.
How many podcasts make it to like episode 19?
Not a lot. No.
No, but also not a lot of podcasts, you know, switch up on

(01:15):
episode 19 to another genre. Versatility is our strength
here. Yes, it is so running.
It's a great sport and I'm by the end of these 90 minutes I'm
going to convince you why if you're still here with us.

(01:35):
We hope you join the conversation because this might
be a little different, but oh, Ican promise you it's going to be
impassioned. Yes, very impassioned.
So Dylan, yes last week when we when we met up for like the pod,
you mentioned that you had did adid a race earlier last week.

(01:57):
Yeah, talk about it. What was the race about?
Was it like your full marathon now?
So this race was just a 5K, it was a local 1.
So, you know, it's not like there was world beating
competition, but that's not the point.
The point is that if you've beenfollowing us since episode. 11.

(02:19):
Somewhere. Around there.
Episode 11 you know that I have been injured for about 5 to 6
weeks and unfortunately that hasbasically sent me off the deep
end. I keep this comedic because I'm
trying to hide how dark it actually is.

(02:41):
Like The Batman. Exactly.
Anyways, so there was this local5K and I only recently got back
into running. Prior to the race I had been
running for 9 days right? So the race was my 10th day
getting back to running. Right, because you don't believe
in breaks or taking days off once it started, right?

(03:03):
Fuck that, right? I run every single day.
I do. I think I've learned that the
hard way. You know, I think when I look
back at my habits, I, I kind of think, oh, oh, I should have
seen this coming, right? Yeah.
Well, to be fair, I think you have like this like deep

(03:25):
obsession with running. Like there are runners and then
there are like people who are like really, really, really into
it. You're that person you are like
I, I run occasionally, chat occasionally.
I do run. Yesterday I ran 3 miles.
So get off my Dick. But like Dylan, like Dylan will
run 20 miles every single day, no joke.

(03:49):
And then you still do a full body workout.
Yeah, like you are. You are obsessed with running.
Yeah, I am. So like, you know, you're like
the perfect person to like charter this conversation and
this new direction of the podcast because you are like the
guy that we turn to when it comes to like whenever I have
like if I need running advice orI need tips on running.

(04:10):
I go to you and I'm so happy to answer that.
Like no joke, I nothing makes meand you know, I'm being serious
because I never use this word. Nothing makes me happier than
when people like ask me about running.
Yeah, no, you asked him the question about running.
Oh my God. He starts to nerd out about it.
Yeah, we were at a party. Or it's.

(04:30):
Like one of the few times I light up.
Yeah, we were at a kickback, small kickback, small, small
group of people. Everyone was just talking about
like, you know, like the concertor whatever's going to go happen
down at our local fair. That was a few months ago.
I talked to, I mentioned, I asked him a question about
running. Oh my God, his taste lit up.
He educated me about like, you know, running form recovery

(04:54):
afterwards, the like the people that eat those little jellos or
whatever. Like what if you're like a
runner? You shouldn't have to like Dylan
like brought point this out to me.
But I remember my running coach mentioned it.
If you're a runner, but if you're if you're not doing like
super long distances, you don't need to be drinking Gatorade.
No, water's fine. No.

(05:15):
You only need to drink Gatorade once you hit like a certain
threshold. Dylan pointed that out.
I was like, oh shit. Yeah, nothing, man.
We're coming in hot, aren't we? Nothing pisses Dylan off more
than fucking gearheads. Nothing annoys me more than when
I see people on TikTok who are going for like 4 mile runs and

(05:37):
they're decked out in their hydration vests.
They have gels, they have electrolyte things, they have
water. And then you know, they're,
they're wearing like Nike Zoomfly sixes.
Oh my God, it's too much yes, guys, but it's been upon the the
Nike thing later, but. Yeah, you're doing too much
like, OK, I do want to be fair. Everybody has a different

(06:03):
baseline. Everybody has a different easy
pace. Like for me, that's, you know,
that's, it's like it's like 8 minutes to 740.
Like that's my range. And I can say that because I can
run at that pace and by the timeI'm finished, I don't feel like
I've exerted myself too much at all.

(06:27):
So I want to be fair in acknowledging that.
Yeah, of course, everybody has different fitness levels.
Everybody has a different easy pace, but if you were seriously
going out for a three, four milerun, you should be proud of
yourself because most people won't even do that.
But you don't need the electrolytes.
You don't even need the the water realistically, and you

(06:48):
definitely don't need the hydration vest.
Just go out there and run. And honestly, I would really
encourage you to run without your phone.
Don't listen to music, don't listen to podcasts.
Learn to be alone with your thoughts because we're talking
about 3-4 miles here. That's not a long time.

(07:08):
Just go out there and be present, not just with the
exercise itself, but with your mind.
That is such a crucial aspect not just to running but in life,
and this is such an easy way to train that skill.
I cannot stress this enough. If you're going for these short

(07:32):
runs, you don't need all this. By all means, drink some water
before the run, drink some waterafter the run.
Of course you want to hydrate properly, but unless you are
running I honestly I would say over 10 miles you don't need
electrolytes. That's pretty solid advice,

(07:55):
especially about the park with like don't run music, bro.
I'm guilty of that. Like I run.
Oh no, I got my I got my Airpodsin.
I'm like listen to my my my podcast or audiobook or music
current currently like listeningor like I already read it, but
now I'm listening to it. The which is funny because you
mentioned this like running without anything, but I've been

(08:18):
listening to like David Goggins.Which one can't?
Hurt me, Can't hurt me in his first book because I remember I
read it a few years ago. Great book and fantastic.
I started running. I started running more like
frequently in like the past couple weeks and I've started to
like the audio book. So it's just ironic because like

(08:39):
you're getting up this advice like, Hey, you know, be present
with your thoughts. Like no, not, don't, don't push
it in your ear. Like, which is like, it's, it's
like honestly like solid advice because when I did cross
country, we didn't run with headphones or anything.
Even when we compete, we you didn't run with that.
It's like you really are like just, it's just you versus you
like in your head and like you music.

(08:59):
It does like I'm going to it makes it easier to like get
through the process of running because you just like you're you
can zone out cancel now when you're like not listening to
anything. Well, I'll be honest, when I
lift weights, I am a big podcastand audiobook person, but that's
because I don't like lifting weights.
I mean, I, I, I do it, but like kind of the way you opened the

(09:23):
show. I genuinely love running.
Like I think about it almost allthe time.
Lifting weights is something I do because it's necessary.
It's not because I'm like one ofthese dude Bros that, you know,
like drinks whey protein and, and, and takes creatine
supplements and does all this like, no, I don't do that.

(09:46):
I do it because you need strength to be a good runner.
So yeah, I listen to podcasts and audiobooks when I lift
weights, but running, absolutelynot.
That is a cardinal sin. And I do realize too, when as
you were sort of reflecting thatadvice back to me, it did sort

(10:07):
of occur to me that me saying this, I say that kind of
operating under the assumption that you're going to run a race
that you want to compete in. And you know, you don't need,
you don't need to compete against like the top of that
field. You competing means that you're
going out there for you like you're trying to run the best
time because you're, you have some sort of intrinsic

(10:29):
motivation. And I honestly believe that the,
the most important skill you canhave for accomplishing that is
learning how to be with your ownthoughts.
Because if you do a race, especially a long distance race,
there's going to be a moment in that race where you think you

(10:50):
cannot do this right, You doubt yourself and you have to find it
within yourself to keep going. Because this has to be a, a, a
just a microsecond decision. Because, and this isn't me
putting down other sports, but guys, this isn't football, This

(11:11):
isn't basketball. Like you can't take yourself out
and say, Hey, coach, you know, Igot, you know, give me a few
minutes. I got to get my mind right.
You pull yourself out of a run, that's it.
And then you go home. Guess what?
I guarantee you're going to regret it.
Yep. Yeah, no, back when I did cross
country in high school, there I there were some races where like

(11:32):
there's only three miles and there have been a few races
where I 1st 2 miles solid like the next half mile also solid
last half mile of the race. I'm a bit tired.
I don't know if I want to like, you know, at this point I don't
even care about time. I just want to finish.
Yeah. And whenever I did that and I

(11:53):
just finished and lifted my timeon the bus ride home, I'd be
like, damn. Like if I just like, you know,
just just put, I'm already relaxing.
I'm on the bus, I'm chilling. If I had just put like, you
know, like the pedal to the metal and like really like just,
you know, like when all out, yes, I would have been so

(12:13):
fucking tired. But like that would have only
been like, you know, in those like in those two to three
minutes of like that like that last like portion of the race.
Yeah, but because, you know, I was like, I just, I'm just going
to finish. Like I slowed myself down and I
I went like, you know, not an easy pace, but like, yeah, like
let's. Just like a steady.
Yeah, just like a steady pace, like not even like, you know,

(12:34):
final to the finish line like no, let's just, let's just jog
it out type of thing. Every time I got on the bus and
going home and like, you know, I've I've recovered, I have some
energy. I'm always like fuck, I really
should just like, you know, wentall out, just gas out, you know,
finish the race, fucking gasp for air, like try and get and,
you know, as you're breathing like yeah.

(12:56):
And then, you know, like 5 minutes later, like you're chill
and it's like, all right, like at the end of the day, 3 miles,
whatever. Like your pace is like it's
never going to be more than an hour of your time of your days.
And so it's like realistically when you're running, you're only
exerting yourself for like a relatively short period of time
relative to, you know, whatever the fuck you do with your day.

(13:19):
Like I guarantee that you you spend more time when I use
specifically dinner, I'm talkingto like chat, talking to chat.
But like, you know, endearingly I love you chat, but I guarantee
you spend more time scrolling your phone on the toilet than
you do running cumulative TV throughout the day.
Like I bet you are on the toiletthroughout the day more times

(13:39):
than 20 minutes. And at that time you could have
run a mile. Yeah, absolutely, because it's
statistically proven that like 97% of people scroll their phone
when they go to the. Bathroom, bro, I wake up like I
say like like today I woke up like at 6:30.
I just scroll to my phone for like the next hour to like 7:30.
I was like, you know what, I'm in bed, I'm comfortable.

(14:00):
I'm just going to let you know let's let's see what's going on
on the on the Internet. Bro.
In that hour, I could have got my ass up, put on my running
shoes, ran 3 miles, came back cooled down, and I still would
have had time to make my coffee before I shower.
But I didn't. Yeah, I I was, I was lazy
yesterday I I fucked up. But yesterday I did good.

(14:21):
Yesterday I ran. So Chad can't come and come on
me for that. Well, to grant you some grace, I
think they're going to be races where at the the objective is
just going to be to finish. Oh yeah, that's any with the
marathon, Yeah. Because similar to what I said
about having those moments of feeling like you're unable to do

(14:44):
the race, sometimes you might not have that much left to give,
like your goal, your time goal that you've set for yourself, It
might be out of reach. That's just an unfortunate
truth. But what's not out of your reach
is just finishing the race because you're still going to
find more pride and more reward in just finishing the race than

(15:12):
not not running it at all. Right.
There's, I have a, a great storyabout this, but you know, let me
circle back to what we were supposed to open with.
So I've been injured and it has taken a toll on me mentally

(15:33):
because running just does so much for me.
It's not about, it's not just about the exercise, because if
it was then swimming and liftingweights, hypothetically, you
know, it should have held me over.
It did not. So I went into this race and I
signed up like spur of the moment, like I did not plan this

(15:56):
out. So I signed up very last minute
and I basically told myself I'm probably not going to win.
So what I need to do is I need to go out there and I need to
run this race for myself becausethe past month and 1/2 or

(16:16):
whatever has been incredibly difficult for me.
And what I need out of this raceis to to take the power back.
I need to remind myself that I'mresilient and I need to just
connect with this love of running that you mentioned.
So. You need to remember that you

(16:38):
are him, yeah. Sure, let's go with that.
As a kid, say. So I showed up at this race and
you know, sure enough there are a bunch of track kids there and
I'm like, fuck me. You know, like this.
You know, I was like, I know I said that I probably wasn't

(17:01):
going to win, but of course I wanted to, to try.
I want to compete, right? I saw these kids and I'm like,
fuck, I ran down five of them. You want you want to tell Chad
how the how they rescinded. It ended with me winning because
technically, because technicallythat for whatever reason, as far

(17:25):
as how they allocate the prizes,they only do it for adults and
everyone 18 and up. I somehow with five weeks of no
running was good enough to win. Bro, shut the fuck up.

(17:46):
This guy, look at this guy. So humble.
What was your time? My time was 2047.
Chat, that's a fucking great time.
That's like, no, it's not for three miles.
It's not a good time. For three miles, what was your
like your average mile pace? 630 chat If you can run a mile
faster than 630 for three miles straight, leave a comment below.

(18:08):
But if you can't, hey, you'll give this man some praise
because like, you know, he just think he thinks that's like, you
know, that's him on an off day. Well, that's me with five weeks
of not running and me basically being equipped like a robot.
Like, you can't see it, but you can see the brace.
And I had a bunch of tape running up the back of my leg,

(18:32):
so I was like, really trying to stabilize it, right?
But that's still like a really good time.
Yeah. Like, if for all those like the
circumstances that you were in, even without the circumstances
that you were in, that's a pretty, like decent time.
Is it competitive to like, you know, the Olympics?
Of course not. But that's not what that's not
what you were trying to do. No, like I did, like I said, I

(18:53):
really did want the race to be this personal reclamation for
me. But you know, it was good enough
to win. And despite the fact that I know
I am physically capable of running much, much faster than
that, I had a race just earlier this year where I ran faster

(19:14):
than that by several minutes. This race was in all the races
I've done after the pandemic, because I've done quite a few.
This honestly, even though it was just a local 5K, was
probably one of the most meaningful.

(19:35):
And I know that sounds crazy, but this injury has been tough,
right? Like, I don't think people
realize the mental toll this kind of stuff can take on
runners. Right.
Not just any type of runner. The obsessive kind of runners.

(19:55):
The Dillons of the world. No, but that's really great like
that. That's great that you were able
to put yourself out there, compete, you know, prove to
yourself that you are him. And of course, I'm assuming like
the day after you went for a run.
No. I.
I pulled back and decided to rest because.

(20:17):
Shit that does that doesn't happen.
I I am prioritizing the long term goals here.
I know we kind of foreshadowed possibly running an event as as
a as a pot representing the pod in the fall.
T-shirts and everything. So I am basically what I'm doing

(20:39):
is I am approaching this with a lot of caution.
Like right now I'm taking it extremely easy.
What does? Extremely easy look like in the
world of Dylan. To me, the lowest, the slowest
I've run since I've started running is 8 minutes per mile.
And how many miles? 4.

(21:00):
All right, so pretty good, good job.
I'm surprised, like I'm good, you know, good, good job.
Like I, I would have thought like you would have like, you
know, like pushed it and like tried to go on for more.
But good job like, you know, like keeping it like, you know,
holding it down the very I know you want to run more than 4
miles. The very first day I started
running again it, it was the dayafter we recorded the the Top

(21:22):
Gun episode. Believe me, dude, I was around
like mile 3 and I'm like, you know what?
I'm not in a lot of pain. Like there's kind of a nagging
sensation in my leg right in thetendon there.
But I'm not in pain. And trust me, there was a big
part of my brain saying just do the six, right?

(21:42):
Like you can handle it. Like you, you know, you can
handle this, right? But I'm like, OK, I can.
I probably can. But do I risk not being able to
run that a race possibly with you in the fall?
Or do I, you know, just let my ego take control and hammer out

(22:04):
six miles so I look like, look at me on Strava.
I came back after five weeks of no running, and I ran 6 miles.
And I was like, no, I'm going toopt for restraint.
Good, good for you. Like this is this is like the
kind of role model you get an example of five for chat because

(22:24):
you know, like they're going to start running maybe and like
they're going to take after you and they're they're probably
going to be like, you know what?If Dylan's going to run 6 miles
on a broken leg, I'm going to run 6 miles on a broken leg.
And you know we don't condone. That no, do not do that, no.
And I should make it clear, my doctor has said or told me the

(22:46):
tendon is not torn because the mobility I have is just too good
to indicate that it's it's torn or ruptured.
So that's why I was like, you know what, I'm just going to go
for a run. I got to try this because the
the whole not running, swimming,whatever the hell I was doing

(23:08):
for the past five weeks, which is not working for me.
So yeah, you know, I, I, I had some medical guidance in terms
of like the, it's, you know, with tendons, it's kind of like
anything else. Like, yeah, you need to rest

(23:30):
them, but you you don't want to over rest them because if you
do, they're just going to weaken.
So you need to sort of progressively overload them.
And I was doing a lot of rehab exercises with like resistance
bands and stuff like that. But and I was walking, but
obviously that's not going to give me the same high as

(23:51):
running. So, you know, at some point I
was like progressive overload means I need to run.
Like I need to put the actual strain of running on the tendon,
but in that sort of spirit of progressive overload, that means

(24:13):
I need to rein it in a little bit, right?
So yeah. And you did good job because I
know like I think, I think a younger you a more reckless you
would have pushed for that 6 miles.
Yeah, absolutely. But.
You know, like the mature, the the the the, the, the slow down,

(24:34):
you know, like the more, the more.
The Zone 2. The zone 2 Dylan the the below
the zone Dylan, you know, he knows he knows what's best for
him. Even if he does, even if it goes
against what he wants to do. He knows what the long term like
this provide him the most happiness because God forbid,
like, oh man, if you're out for another 5 weeks, oh, he might

(24:54):
have to cancel the pod guys. Yeah, like Dylan, like he if
Dylan can't run again, like if he injuries himself like that
might be it. Below the Zone podcast might be
over, Matthew, just bring back the other one.
The other one. That was a good one.
Yeah. Hey, Chad.

(25:15):
Chad, you still here? A younger me?
Are you referring to the me thathad appendicitis and ran 10
miles? Bro what?
Yeah, yeah. Shit.
Well, how old was this? How old were you when you did
this? This was 2019, but it was, it
was early in the year, so I was 24.
It was February. I remember because it was

(25:36):
Presidents Day weekend. I got up, I did have some
abdominal pain, right? But it wasn't bad.
And I thought, you know what, this is nothing like this is
nothing to worry about. Like I was like, so I'm just
going to go for a run and go about my day.

(25:57):
Right. Went out, ran 10 miles.
I was like awesome. Day keeps going on, the pain
doesn't go away. I'm starting to think this is a
little weird. And the more and more the day
goes on, the pain curiously starts to radiate down to the
lower right quadrant, which if any of you have had the

(26:17):
unfortunate experience of appendicitis, you know, it's a
very localized pain. And at that point I was like, I
think I'm in trouble, right? So yeah, I was in.
Bro 10 miles. I got to the ER like 7:30 in the
evening. But yeah, technically I ran 10

(26:39):
miles the same day that I had appendicitis.
What? Did the doctor tell you?
You know, I don't think he approved of it much, but I told
him I honestly didn't know. Interesting.
Yeah. Like did did you know that you
had the appendicitis before? Like you were on it or like,
were you feeling abdominal pain?Like, I mean, honestly, you you

(27:01):
felt someone comfort or discomfort, but it wasn't until
like after the 10 hour run we'relike, ow, this this was weird.
I should go to the ER. Yeah.
So looking back the week leadingup to that weekend, I actually
was experiencing some abdominal pain.
But let me just say, let me justsay something though, like I'm a

(27:25):
very unfortunately, I am a very like high revving individual in
the sense that like autonomic nervous system, mine just runs
unfortunately very high. And part of that means that I
experience a lot of uncomfortable physical

(27:47):
sensations, which is why that's just one reason why I run
because it actually really weakens those, the the intensity
of those sensations. But so the week leading up to
it, I was just thinking like, this is kind of just normal
anxiety symptoms. That's why I probably wasn't

(28:09):
thinking much of it. But yeah, it wasn't until the
day actually went on and on thatSaturday that the pain was not
only getting worse, but it it was sort of migrating from my
belly button, like down to the lower right quadrant.
And I'm like OK, this is not good.

(28:29):
Right. Well, I'm glad you've come a
long way since that because that, that does not sound fun.
I've never experienced that likethat type of fit that that type
of pain, but it does not sound fun whatsoever.
It wasn't fun, but. The only pain I've experienced

(28:50):
from running is shit splints, and I don't think that compares
to appendicitis. No the the craziest part is I
refuse morphine. I just white knuckled it until
they got me into surgery the next morning.
That's crazy. Yeah.
Why you don't want to get digitsof morphine like all the other
kids? It was partially that, yeah, it

(29:12):
was partially that I didn't wantthe opioid high because in the
past when I've had less serious medical procedures done and
they've sedated me, Oh my God, when they start that IV, I'm
like, I get it. Like I'm like.

(29:36):
OK, how's Junior? I'm like, damn, I'm like, I
actually feel at peace right now.
Right. So yeah, I part of it was I did
not want the opioid high becauseI was like, right, this is
dangerous territory. But then part of it was just

(29:57):
opioids come with shitty side effects and I did not want that
either. So I was like, I can handle it
because they basically told me they were going to do surgery
first thing in the morning. So I was like, by the time they
got me into the room, it was already 10 something and I knew
I wasn't going to sleep. I'm having surgery, who the
Hell's going to sleep? So I was like, I'm not going to

(30:19):
sleep. I'm just.
But man, they fucking loaded me up with Ativan to try and keep
me calm. Like every like 4-6 hours they
were like shooting Ativan into my IV.
Damn. Yeah.

(30:40):
I'm glad you've like, I'm glad you've recovered from that,
first of all, but like, also like, I'm glad that you've
learned from that experience of not pushing your body to, you
know, past its limit. Mr. David Goggins, Junior.
Yeah, well, you know, I, I honestly didn't know.
So that's my, that's my defense,right?

(31:01):
But now, you know, and like thatnow you're a better runner for
it. And now like, I bet you're like
you kind of think you're, you're, you run faster today.
I mean, like, you know, before your before your injury, but
like you run faster like today than you did six years ago,
right? Yes, absolutely, which is?
Crazy because like, you know, people deteriorate as they get

(31:22):
older usually. Like you're kind of at your peak
in your mid 20s or whatever, Like you're 30 and you're
running faster than you did before.
Dude, I'm so glad you brought this.
Up you're running faster than I did in high school.
Granted, it's not a high bar to pass because you know, like I
think in high school you might have like what?
What was your fastest mile in high school?
Maybe like low 5 like 550? Yeah, so like you, so you

(31:46):
already had like a faster mile pace than I did for like still
like you're faster today than you were in high school, which
is crazy because I'm not as fastas I was in high school.
I'm doing everything I can to just cross the finish line.
That's that's one of the things I love about long distance
running is you can push your limits, not in a reckless way

(32:09):
like I just talked about, but you can push your limits in the
sense of pace and distance as you get older.
Long distance running is probably the only sport on the
planet where you get better as you age.
And of course you do lose speed as you age.

(32:29):
The the key difference though isthat as you age when doing long
distance running, what you lose in speed, you make up for in
experience and just your inherent wisdom and knowledge of
the sport. And people don't realize how far
that will carry you. Right?

(32:50):
Because what you just said is true.
Like I was very much one of those people who assumed that
the quote UN quote, physical peak of my life was 25, you
know, and, and obviously I know,you know, that the pandemic year
was, was tough for me, Like it was tough for everybody.

(33:11):
But you know, there was just some personal stuff for me that
made it a disaster. And the following year, 2021, I
kind of assumed that I was like washed up, like not just as a
runner, but I thought like both physically and mentally, my best
days are behind me. And because there were still

(33:35):
some restrictions in 2021, I dida virtual race at the end of the
year. And you know, they, they kind of
had to, you had to sync your watch with their like I was
going. To ask like how did they do?
That, yeah, OK. They had a a website that was a
tracker, but you had to sync basically whatever fitness watch

(33:59):
and account with their system. So that's how they timed it.
And obviously since I wasn't running against anybody, I just
ran at the park. The one that this was when I was
still running at the park, right?
I thought because I wasn't running against anybody, it
wasn't going to be anything special.
It was just kind of something I did.
I'm going to be honest for the medal because I thought the

(34:21):
medal was fucking cool. Yes.
So I ended up placing 4th in that race and I was like, that's
pretty good. Yeah, that is.
Yeah, Out of how many runners? Approximately a couple thousand.
Yeah. That's pretty.
Yeah, that's really pretty. Fucking good, yeah.
And then the next year, there's this race.

(34:42):
What was the 5K, Right? Point is, it was a 5K.
And my dad, he had heard about this race and he was kind of
really encouraging me to run therace.
And, you know, I'm like, I don'tknow, dad, you know, just like,

(35:05):
I don't know. I don't know if I want to do it.
Like I can't explain why, but I was really indecisive about it.
And I think part of it was that that mindset of me thinking that
I was just kind of washed up. And my dad said, you know,
because my my dad is that man worked really hard for me and my

(35:28):
family for 41 years. And he retired in 2021, right?
So like, this is kind of the first time that he, you know,
spent a lot of time with me. And I want to make it very
clear. I'm not saying that, you know,
he wasn't around. He was.
He's a good dad, but. He was like he was working now.

(35:50):
And he was commuting. That was the issue.
He had to commute for work. So my dad and I kind of just had
this conversation where, you know, he, we've kind of sat down
and he told me, you know what, Dylan, you, you don't have to
run the race. I don't want you to feel like
I'm pressuring you. I just thought it would be

(36:13):
something for you to do considering everything you've
been through. And you know, that was, that was
a pretty emotional discussion for me and my dad.
Right. And you know, when I, when he
told me that, I I told him I'll do it.
I just want to be able to compete.

(36:34):
You know, you hadn't competed inlike how long since?
Because this is 2021. So it's almost no.
This is in 2022. Oh, OK, OK, it was.
After the virtual. Race.
OK. Like I didn't really count the
virtual race because it wasn't the race environment, you know
what I mean? And how many serious runners are
actually going to do a virtual race?
You know what I mean? Yeah, that's kind of funny
though. Yeah, so I told him, you know,

(36:58):
I, I, I'll do it, but I just want to compete.
Like I want to be able to compete.
I'm not saying I need to win, but I want to feel like I, you
know, I'm, I'm leaving it out there, right.
Both he and my mom gave me some really powerful advice.

(37:19):
It's nothing earth shattering, but it, it really changed my
perspective. And they told me then you have
to stop racing not to lose and you have to race to win.
Because in the past when I woulddo races, not even just the one
that I, I did with you and another friend of ours, when I

(37:41):
would do traditional Rd. races, I would basically just run them
to not embarrass myself. Like I didn't just the goal was
just don't be in the back. Like I was never actually trying
to, you know, push myself. Right.
And I was also injured when thisrace was coming up, I had IT

(38:01):
band syndrome, painful, but it'snot a serious injury like a
tendonitis. Like there's no real risk of
tearing anything or breaking anything.
You just got to learn to rehab it properly.
So I didn't really have any goodtraining for this race.
I went out there, I, I showed upin my Batman hoodie because that

(38:28):
was the years that Batman was coming out.
Right. I was just blaring the
soundtrack through my my Airpods.
Oh, damn. So this this is like in November
then? Like, late, late, Yeah.
No, this was like April 2022. Oh shit, OK.
So I walked up, I'm listening tothe Batman soundtrack, Can't
Fight City Halloween, and I'm like, all right, don't race

(38:53):
scared, race to win. I went out there.
I finished second. Nice.
And sorry I. Was near the out of how many
runs in this one? Also also over 1000.
No, that this one was like cuz it was the first year they had
did that they had done this raceright.

(39:13):
It was a few hundred. OK, so you know, like again,
similar to the one I did this weekend, not world beating
talent, but like I had no training.
I was kind of injured. And this was at at a time when I
thought my physical peak was behind me, right, And I went out
there and finished second. And that was kind of the moment

(39:36):
where I thought, wait a minute, am I am IA good runner?
Like, you know, like. It sounds like I'm joking, but
like in the moment it was a serious question.
Like like, am I actually good atthis good?

(39:58):
You know, and sure enough, I started to to continue to race
and then the following year I did another race that I won
right. And I had seen this guy there.
I have seen him at A at a coupleraces that I've done because you
know, like around here when you go to other like.

(40:21):
Cities for races. There's some, there's some
crossover, right. So I'd seen this guy and I
decided to, to start, you know, talk to him just because I had
seen him at a couple races and he asked me if I've ever done
1/2 marathon before. I said no.
And he's like, would you do it? And I'm like, yeah, why the hell

(40:41):
not? Like that was seriously my
decision to run the half that first year.
Somebody asked if I would. And I was like, yeah.
Right. And, you know, I started getting
ready like late July maybe, and I had told myself I'm going to
finish in 90 minutes and I want to finish in the top 250.

(41:05):
Like those are my goals because this is my first one.
I know that I can't like, go outthere and do like an hour 15.
That's insane. Right.
I, I pulled it off like, and, and this guy that I had been
running with because he was kindof my training partner in a lot
of ways, we're actually, we're actually decent friends now.
I mean, he's, he's a busy guy. So, you know, it's not like we

(41:28):
hang out a ton, but like when itcomes to running.
Right that that's. Really.
Yeah, that, yeah, that's where Isee him, Yeah.
And he told me he's like, because he was going for the
same goal like 90 minutes, but he had run 2 halves and a full
marathon prior to this. And this was like this 90 minute

(41:51):
goal was a threshold for him. Like this was a, a high bar for
him. This was my first one.
And that was the goal I set for myself.
And I went out there and did it.And he's, he too, like told me
he's like Dylan, I don't think you understand that you need
some semblance of natural ability to do what you just did,

(42:12):
right? Like that's not like people
don't just go out and run their first half marathon in 90
minutes because the average finish time I believe for an
adult and male is 2 hours and 2 minutes.
For 1/2, yeah. Oh fuck yeah.
OK. Yeah.
So what is that like 120 by over120?

(42:33):
OK, damn. And I did it in 90 and he's,
yeah, he's like, you have some natural ability.
And I'm like, I don't think so. Look at, look at this guy.
I. Thrived.
So what a humble guy so much. On this underdog mentality,

(42:54):
right? But then last year, last year is
when I kind of evolved into thisrunning machine that I think
people think of, think of me nowas I just saw this complete
evolution of my running to where, dude, I busted my ass

(43:18):
training for the half last year.I ran in the heat.
I ran early in the morning if I had something to do, like, you
know, if I had an appointment orsomething, like I would get up
at 6-7 just to run because I waslike, I'm not missing a day of
this. And what's even crazier is
because it was an Olympic year, when the Olympics are on, I get

(43:41):
really inspired to swim. So I was running, swimming and
lifting weights at least three times a week.
I was definitely running six days a week, but I was doing all
three at least three times a week.
And they were, trust me, my mom and like a couple other people
were like, Dylan, it's OK to like, slow down.
And I'm like, no, no. Yes.

(44:04):
Yes, I'm going to. I'm going to.
I can do this. When I lined up for that half, I
can't explain it. I just knew I was going to do
better because the minute I got on the line, I was like, I know
that I have done everything humanly possible to improve my
time. And I just have to trust that

(44:28):
that I have prepared the best I can and my body will, you know,
will do what it does. And I knocked 6 1/2 minutes off
my time. Damn, so like what like 182 or
what was like the first one you ran it wasn't at like 90 minutes

(44:49):
exactly or like 9293 like aroundthere it.
Was like 9091. OK, so now, so this time you
broke the one 90s you got it under an hour and a half.
I was 1212619. Damn, you got it under the
length of The Goofy Movie. Yeah, that's great.
Yeah, Damn. Yeah, and dude, you.

(45:11):
Can, but no, you don't have any.You don't have the talent for
you can. You can tell the difference in
like even the race photos, like as I'm coming home in the last
800, right, the first year, you can tell like, I look like I'm
dying, right? Like I just want this to end and
last year's race photos, my facelooks like I want to kill

(45:31):
somebody. Like because, like I'm so.
Determined right to just get to the finish, dude.
Like so. Fucking angry.
Yeah. When my mom saw the picture,
she's like, Oh my God. Like, I can tell this was just
like, mentally she's like, I imagine this was a much
different experience for you, right?
And it was, yeah. Interesting.

(45:51):
Damn, damn, that's interesting. So like you've, yes, he's you.
You're like the perfect person to commandeer this new podcast.
And I think at this point half achat has already left.
Half the chat has already left. So to the Romania chat that's
still here earlier this episode,it's just a it's just a prank,

(46:12):
bro. It is.
It's just a prank. Below the Line podcast is still
here. We are the nobodies of Hollywood
checking in. Yup, here we are.
But we're still, you know, this is still Below the Zone podcast
because we're going to talk about movies.
Yeah, but specifically running movies.

(46:32):
But, you know, we're going to keep it short.
Yeah. Only two movies.
Yeah. Dylan watched one.
I've watched another one. I I think Dylan has seen both
movies. I've only seen.
I have. Yeah, the one that I'm going to
talk about. But Below Line podcast, here we
go. Yes, today back to our
regularly. Scheduled program, yes.

(46:52):
So recently I, I, I, I had already seen this movie, but I
rewatched it and like, just to get myself fresh, freshened up
for this episode, I watched McFarland.
What did you watch? I watched Britney runs a
marathon. Fuck, I would love to run a
marathon. So would I.
It's happening, hopefully next year.

(47:12):
Hopefully so like we'll start with your movie first because I,
I, I haven't seen this. I'm just going to ask questions
about it. Like I take it from the premise
Brittany runs America. Named Brittany runs 26.2 miles.
Does she or does she attempt to run or does she actually
actually spoilers? Are we going to spoil?

(47:32):
Can't really. Yeah.
We haven't even had that debate yet.
We keep we keep like teasing it,but I'm going.
To see this some more. Hey, spoilers debate.
Do they matter? Eventually, yeah, eventually.
Just like Superman. Full thoughts eventually.
Brittany, she does indeed run a marathon, and I think this very

(47:54):
well may be my favorite running movie.
Really. Yeah.
OK. Yeah.
So like, what's the premise? Like, why, why?
Why does she want to run a marathon?
So the minute I explain the premise to you, you're going to
understand why. You love this movie?
Yes, OK, because it's not exactly the same.
But I think spiritually you see the journey of the runner.

(48:18):
So it's obviously about a young woman named Brittany in her
early 20s. Her life's kind of shitty.
Like, she probably drinks a little too much.
She doesn't have, you know, a long term relationship.
She is a little overweight, probably eats, you know, a
little too much garbage like every college kid does.

(48:39):
You know, we all did it. Good for Dylan because you know
this full fucking jacked of shit.
Yeah, I, I, I was forced by circumstance though.
So yeah, her life is just like, it's not terrible, you know what
I mean? Like, she's not, she's not like
going through some traumatic, you know, bottomless pit stuff.

(49:06):
But it's just generally unsatisfying, right.
And one day she comes across a run, a run club.
Which my real opinion on run clubs, they suck.
They're basically just like the running version of dating apps.
Don't do it. Everybody's just banging each
other. Damn, I wanted to start running.

(49:28):
Oh, if we're talking like, serious, run.
Then yeah, like it's fun to run with people, I think.
Like yes. No, it is because.
You just chat real quick. You chat and also it is an easy
way to fix your form because when you run with other people,
a lot of people don't know this.Your form will sync with that

(49:52):
person, even your cadence like it syncs with that other person
and that's like that. I that is just so fucking cool
to me that like human beings have this like region of the
brain that is so connected by movement that we will quite
seriously sink our bodies, right?

(50:15):
Doing something like that's justcome on, Chad.
Like that's fucking sick. Yeah, now I feel that.
No, but if if you're talking like you want to start a run
club where we actually like run and train, yeah, that's of
course I'm talking about the runclubs that are started by like.
Strava. Yeah, like, like, like, like the

(50:38):
road demons of San Jose, like, you know, don't do that.
Yeah, that's kind of tough. Don't do that.
The road don't. Do that because I guarantee you
it's just Tinder buffer runners.It's.
Kind of hot actually. Hey yo chat, who needs dating

(50:59):
apps? Just join.
Just join a running group where you will.
You'll get in shape and you might meet the love of your life
or it's going to be a pure drama.
Either way, you're in for a goodtime or bad time.
You're in for a time. That's yeah, yeah, you manage my
very. Yeah, but anyway, Brittany runs
a marathon. She joins this run club and it's

(51:23):
very similar. She starts out running little by
little 'cause she is, you know, kind of overweight, so she's not
very fast. She, you know, goes out for
like, you know, three mile runs,four mile runs, five mile runs.
And eventually she starts to catch the bug.

(51:45):
Right. And she starts to take running
seriously, and she starts to do races.
And then eventually, as every runner does, they set their
sights on the marathon. And she goes through this period
of her life where the only thingthat really matters to her is

(52:09):
running, right? Because it has given her health.
It's given her fitness, It's given her a way to feel strong.
Starts to cut off our toxic friends.
Turns her life around. She no Oh.
She see she makes genuine connections through the run
club, but the problem is she becomes so obsessive about the

(52:30):
running, specifically training for the marathon, that it starts
to sort of overwhelm even her friends that are runners.
She makes her her her personality.
Like that her whole life, like she prioritizes and you know,
this is kind of a spoiler, but like she prioritizes her
relationship that she only has because of running over.

(52:55):
I mean, she prioritizes running over the relationship, right?
Like she will actively say, you know, sorry babe, I got a 16
mile long run. Like that's way more important
than you, right? Damn.
So it, it, it really starts to take a toll on her relationships

(53:16):
in her life. But you know, then something
happens and I I don't know if I should say it 'cause this, this
is more. Don't say it, but entice the
audience is entice the audience is to like you know why why they
should see this movie If Chad like for the the chat that's
still here, you should watch Britney the.
Point is, when she runs the marathon, she encounters

(53:38):
adversity. I'm not going to say what it is
around mile 22, which trust me, any runner knows that the danger
zone is like mile 20 to 22, likeif you're going to bonk or if
you're going to like cramp or have any sort of like physical
issue. It's going to be there, yeah.

(53:59):
So she encounters adversity and she has to go through that
process that I explained at the very beginning of this episode.
Like she has to reach deep within the depths of her fucking
soul and say like, I have to finish this.
Like not because this determinesmy myself worth, but because I

(54:24):
have made mistakes. Like I made the mistake of
prioritizing my family, my, my relationships, my community
over, you know, I made the mistake of putting my running
over all of that. And now I'm in a situation where
I'm alone with my thoughts, kindof panicking again, you know,

(54:47):
I'm not going to give away the specific situation, but it's
like, you need to find somethinglike, you know, and it's
different for everybody. And, and she goes through that
process, you know, I, I, I thinkmost people will infer she
finishes the race, but the pointis like it's, it's about the

(55:08):
runner's journey. Like this movie, more than any
other running movie, in encapsulates the spiritual
journey of running. I said in the mental health
episode, I really don't think it's a physical activity, which,
yeah, that's kind of a crass statement because yeah, of
course it's physical. Yeah.
But you get so much more out of running than improving your

(55:30):
cardiovascular health. That's what I mean.
And no movie portrays this better than Britney Runs the
Marathon. I cried watching this movie,
cried again rewatching it, especially given what I've been
through the. Past you're like damn I relate
to this. Yeah, and it's just like you,

(55:51):
let me put it this way, This is the last thing I'll say, and
then Jesse's going to talk aboutMcFarland.
You see a lot of people cry at the finish line of a marathon.
They're not crying because they're in pain.
They probably are in pain. But then the adrenaline kicks
in. Yeah, they're crying because you
have no idea what that person just went through to slog out

(56:15):
this 26.2 miles. Like that is why people collapse
and cry. And just like, you know that
they're like bent over on the ground.
It's. A whole fucking journey man.
Like. Yeah.
I mean, I don't think people realize like what that's that's
like. It's a really powerful

(56:35):
experience. Nothing will show you who you
are more than long distance running because it holds this
mirror up to you in a way that so few things in life do.
And it says you are going to find out who you are through
this experience. I think even halves are capable
of this because my first one, I did have a moment like that.

(56:59):
So you were going to have this experience and you're going to
find out in a split second whether you are the kind of
person that finishes this reallyhard thing or if you are going
to take the easy way out and quit.
Nothing does that like long distance running.

(57:20):
And like it's so weird because it it's so difficult and painful
in the moment. But then once you finish the
race, kind of what you were justsaying about your experience in
cross country, you're fine. Like you finish the race, you
you think back and you're like, Oh my gosh, that was such an

(57:41):
insignificant part of the race that like, why was I even upset?
Why was I panicking? Like that was like that made-up
maybe like 3 minutes of my experience, but it feels.
Like in that moment. Like an eternity.
And I guarantee you that's gonnaend up being your fondest memory

(58:03):
of the race is like telling people, hey, I got to mile 18
and I just felt like, you know, I couldn't do it anymore.
Like I had nothing left to give.But then I thought of, you know,
I'm using hypotheticals here. But like, you know, I thought of
like my my grandpa or my sister who, you know, something

(58:27):
happened to her maybe. Like I guarantee you that is
always going to be a person's favorite memory from a race is
the struggle. It's not going to be when
they're out there and everything's like perfect.
Right now it's the runner high like as they say, like it, which
I was going to say like, I don'tknow, you know what the runner
high. Of course you know what the

(58:48):
runner's high is. But like the runner's high is
like something you don't really experience in like short runs,
not even 3 miles. Like it's, it's something that
like, you know, once you get over 5 miles, at least for me,
like once you get more than 5 miles, like something triggers
in your mind. Like maybe at the first mile, 2
miles, it's kind of it's, it's aslog, you know, to like warm up
and get through it. But once you get to mile 345,

(59:09):
you know, you find your zone. Oh my God, like that there is
like something euphoric to be said.
Like once you're like at, in like that mental state where
it's like you feel like you're flying and like you're in the
zone. But like I said, like you don't
get there. Like, you know, in three miles,
it's just too short. Like it has to be like a longer
distance run. And like, honestly, like I

(59:32):
genuinely look forward to like the day that I would experience
that in a marathon. Fuck, even a half marathon.
But like, I can totally like, see myself like fucking busting
down crying, like finishing a marathon.
Like, fuck yeah, I did it because yeah, no running and
like, not stopping. It's fucking hell at certain

(59:53):
parts, like obviously in the beginning, oh, you feel great.
Like mile one, Oh my God, you feel fantastic.
The body's all loose. You're, you're digging it.
Mile 20, you're keeping up the pace.
Mile 3, that's when you're like,alright, hold on.
Like I'm kind of like not tired,but like I'm, I'm getting
somewhere. But then that's it, It's over.
Like you never got there. Like it's like you edged

(01:00:16):
yourself but you never never quite finished.
Yeah, I mean, I said I, I had one of those experiences in my
first half. It was around mile 9.
I I hit mile 9 for whatever reason, I'm like, I don't think
I can do this. Right.

(01:00:37):
And it's like, why? Like the thoughts that go
through your head are just some of the most like vicious self
deprecating, Yep, things that you can think.
I mean, I was thinking like. Why am I even doing this?
Yeah, why the fuck did I think Icould do this?
I am embarrassing myself. Right, or you try like or me
like I would try like rationalize it like, you know,

(01:00:59):
it's OK if I fall down to like 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th place,
whatever. Like it's OK if I slow down.
Like why did I run so hard? It's like all these negative
thoughts like telling you like why you should stop running.
Like, hey, maybe just like, juststart walking.
Just walk it out. Just, like, walk for like 30
seconds. No one would notice.
Yeah, you'll notice. And then something happened

(01:01:22):
like, you know, I, I just kind of had to ask myself, can I take
one more step? And the answer for, for almost
everyone is almost always yes. And like you string together
those steps and then you say, OK, let me get to this tree.
Let me get to this road sign. OK, Well, let me just finish the

(01:01:45):
smile now. Then all of a sudden, there you
go. Like you're back in it.
Yeah. Yeah.
And you're like, fuck, let's go.Yeah.
I mean, like my first half marathon, there was a point too,
where I kind of had a side stitch and I, I was, I wasn't
gonna walk, but I had slowed down because there's a really
easy way to get rid of them. Right.

(01:02:06):
You do a triple inhale through the nose and then you like
exhale like as a sigh like. Interesting.
Yeah, there's a secret for thoseof you who are still with us.
It'll get rid of it almost instantly, right?
What happens is the air pressurethat you're breathing, Yeah, is
different from the air pressure in your.
Like your breathing? Your breathing's off, yeah.

(01:02:28):
So that's like it will get rid of it within seconds.
So I was like slowing down just enough to be able to breathe
that way. And there was this guy that was
like running behind me and this dude like grabbed my running
singlet and he's like, no, he's like, I've I've been watching
you bro. Like you're going like you're
not slowing down. Like, and he didn't even know

(01:02:49):
why I was slowing down, but likehe physically grabbed my shirt
and he's like, uh, uh, like, no.Bro, I thought, I thought this
was going in no direction. Like, oh shit, no, bro was
inspiring. Yeah, man, let's see.
Where else can you get that, Chad?
Like you got your own competition is like praying for
your success. Normally you got them praying on

(01:03:11):
your downfall. Like no, everyone wants to be
like, hey no, come on bro, you finished.
You're doing great. Yeah, and that's the thing.
I was ahead of him, not by much,but enough for him to see this
guys slowing down for some reason.
Yeah. And he grabbed me and he's like,
uh, like I will never forget that because he's just like, uh,
uh, before he said anything. And I'm like, OK, like probably

(01:03:33):
freaking out. He's like, you're like, oh shit.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit, no, you got the bug.
You're like, oh, shit. Thank you, Dan.
You know what? I I love that that that is
fucking great. Did Britney had?
Did Britney have anybody like that in the movie?
She did Oh yeah in the race, butlike on the.
Like the running spectators? Right dude.
And that's another thing, man, shout out to the people that

(01:03:59):
spectate long distance races, right?
That's crazy. Cuz that's like real support
right there. Yeah cuz OK chat, we might we've
been coming out pretty passionate today but if I can be
honest, watching people run is boring unless you're watching,
unless you're watching the Olympics relay.
That's different. But yeah, I.

(01:04:19):
Showed Jesse some clips. Bro, I got it.
I was like, you know what? I was like, fuck the PO, let's
go run. But you know, commitments, but
you know, running. I lost my child out there
because, you know, I was focusing on running.
I'll trigger it right away because I had an experience the

(01:04:41):
first year I ran the half as I finished and that, you know, as
I crossed the finish line, I waskind of walking through the
whole like, I don't know what you want to call it, like the
setup where all the finishers, you know, like they make their
way and they, they get all theirsnacks in the medal and stuff.
And there was this elderly womanthere like, I don't know, maybe
70. And you know, she, you know, she

(01:05:05):
only could have seen the end of the race given where she was.
And she's like telling me, good job, you know?
And I'm so tired. And I look over at her and I'm
like, thank you. You know, it was tough, right?
But she's like, you did great. And it's just like, you know,
these are people that I have no idea who they are, but they're
like, you know, telling you like, what you just did was

(01:05:27):
impressive, right? And then she told me, like, I
come here every year to watch this, like, and I like, it would
just never occur to me to go watch a running race, right?
Because like it's, it's something that like, like I
said, like it's, it's fun when you're participating, but to be
the spectator of like just watching other people run, it's

(01:05:49):
not fun, especially if it's longdistance.
Because like you obviously start, you're only going to see
horses. Yeah, exactly.
You start here ready to say go, and then they they take off.
Like, all right, now let's go move to, you know, this other
checkpoint where, like, you know, they're going to come
around through here. You get to that checkpoint, you
wait a little bit. OK, here they come.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go.
Let's go, Let's go. All the runners pass.

(01:06:11):
All right, Time to move to another checkpoint where?
And it's just, it's just doing that.
Yep. Like, it's not glamorous.
It's not fun. It's not, it's not like watching
football, baseball, basketball or whatever, where like, you
know, you get really into it. Like you're literally just
watching people run. And sometimes it's like, like,
what are you actually like watching?
Yeah. Are you there to?

(01:06:33):
Cuz sometimes when cross countryit was boys and girls, so girls
would run and then boys would run or sometimes even JV and
varsity within the same sex. And it would be like you're
watching JV run and you're just watching them and it's like,
cool, yeah, Hey, good. Good job guys.
This is the thing I'm doing. Right.

(01:06:53):
Yeah, but it's always like, man,they look so tired.
Like why they look so tired until you start running and you
make the faces that they make like you made that you said
yourself, like, yo, your mom gotyou on camera, like you made an
angry face or whatever. You don't even notice you're
making those faces while you're running if you're so focused on
running that you're not paying attention to how you look.

(01:07:14):
Every running photo I have of methat my parents took of me, oh,
I look like fucking shit. Yeah, look like I'm fucking
gasping for air like. Cass cousin got a photo of me at
the race, same thing because this was in the beginning.
I look like I am ready to attacksomeone because like I'm like,
why do I look so deathly serious?

(01:07:36):
Bro like. I'm like, I went out there, I'm
telling you this. Yeah, this shit means something
to me. Yeah, it seems like I bet you
like, didn't just show me a photo.
Like, yeah, no, he looks, first of all, like he looks tough as
fuck, but like, he looks so angry.
And it's like you don't even know that you're making that
face. Like you're just, you're running
and then people take pictures ofyou.
And then some of them you look at the pictures and you're like,

(01:07:59):
wow, I look like shit. Yeah.
But yeah, no, I feel like running movies specifically, I
mean, I think this falls into the category of like a sports
movie. Like I always find them like
really inspirational. But like running movies, I think
a little bit more so because like, it's an individual sport,

(01:08:20):
yes. Like the whole point of like
Brittany runs a marathon. It's like you're following
Brittany on her journey of running a fucking marathon.
Running is is it has that element of like personal
overcoming. Yeah.
Whereas I think, you know, I love North American football, I
love North American football. And, and similar to what you
just said, those are really fun to watch.

(01:08:42):
Like, you know, like when Matt Stafford throws a 40 yard bomb
and it looks like, you know, Puka Nakua is going to come down
with the catch. Like I'm already out of the
couch screaming. But you know, like running.
It might not be as sexy, but there is, like you said, there's
just this, this inspirational element because it's so much

(01:09:06):
more to the individual. Right.
Yeah, yeah. And I feel like I mean, that
that that is like perfectly encapsulated in the movie.
Britney runs a marathon. And I think it's also the case
in like in McFarland where it's like.
By the way, it's a it's a Prime Studios exclusive, so you can
watch it like no problem. OK, for sure.

(01:09:26):
Cuz I'm like, I'm thinking like you know what, after this part
I'm probably gonna watch Britneyruns a marathon or am I saving
for tomorrow? Cuz like I'm, I'm more than
likely gonna go running tomorrowsince I didn't run today, OK.
Any of that motivation, you know, Oh, fuck you.
I'm joking, but. No, I just say that because
today was one of those days where I was like, I don't really

(01:09:47):
feel that great. But see, this is the thing about
running, too. I have never regretted going for
a run. Yeah, like, every time.
Not every time because, like, itdoesn't happen super often.
But when it does happen, you know, sometimes you just wake up
and you just feel like, vaguely shitty.
Yeah, like, you don't know why, but you're just like, I don't

(01:10:08):
want to do anything. Yeah.
You know, today was kind of one of those days.
I was like, you know, I just kind of, well, it's probably
because I woke up at 4:00 in themorning, like I told you before
I started. Recording, you know, maybe
that's what it was, yeah. That's probably why.
So yeah, I woke up and I'm like,you know, I kind of feel like
crap, but I'm like, I'm going anyway, right?

(01:10:29):
And like, by the time I finish, do you think I was even thinking
about that? No.
No, yeah, yeah, no, I, I I neverregret like doing the run.
It's but it's always like the initial like I got to put, I got
to get out. I got to change this to my
shorts. I got to put on my shoes.

(01:10:50):
Like it's like all these little things like before you actually
like I got to put on my watch and step outside.
I got to run like the first mile.
But like once, once you're on mile too, it's like I'm already
here. Like just just keep on going.
So yeah, like, no, I'm with you.Like I've never regretted like
doing the run. It's always just like the, the
beginning, like the initial hump.
Like, like if I know that like, yo, tomorrow I'm going to run 4

(01:11:13):
miles, It's like, like, you know, I got a mentally, even
though I know once I'm doing it,I feel great.
It's like the initial. It's the initial like
anticipatory, yeah. I don't want to say anxiety, but
like the anticipate, like that'show I would phrase it, Yeah, as
I mean, but. Now I'm gonna say it's the

(01:11:33):
anxiety of running because like,like at some point, like you
hate it. Like or like you don't.
Yeah, you hate it. It's not fun.
Yeah, like you know when I. It's not.
It's not fun to start, but once you're in it then it gets fun.
At least I think it does. Yeah, like last year when I was
training for the half dude, the days before my long run, I was

(01:11:57):
like, fuck Yep. You know, I'm like, I got to go
run 14 miles tomorrow, you know,like, I don't want to do this,
right. And but it's like, I have to
though, right? I have to though, yeah.
You committed to this. You got to do it.
Yeah, and that's the thing that the same thing because swimming,

(01:12:19):
lifting weights, running, like Iwasn't swimming the days of my
long runs, but you know, my, my parents would be like, you don't
have to do the full 14. And I'm like, yes, I do.
That's what the training plan says.
That's what I'm going to do, right.
Like I made a commitment. Like this isn't just about like
it's not just about the, the fitness.

(01:12:40):
It's about like I made a commitment and now I have to
uphold my, you know, my, my principles here, right?
You know, So yeah, I got to do the 14.
Yeah, and you did the 14? Yeah, the the best feeling in
the world is the night before speed.
Workout. Oh yeah, love it.

(01:13:04):
No, I dread speed workouts. Really.
Yeah, why I think, well, I dreadthem in high school.
But like now I think like right now when I run, like right now
I'm just, I'm just trying to runfor like building a space.
Yeah, like I'm building my base up again.
Like to, I'm trying to build it back to where I was because I
think right now, like I average like about like a 10 minute
mile, like like for an extended period of time.

(01:13:26):
I would love to bring that back down so I can a minute mile pace
and then like, you know, actually be able to run a mile
under 7, under 6, but you know, gotta work my way up there.
Yeah. So yeah, speed workouts, like,
Oh no, like right, right now I fucking hate it.
So I don't do them right now. I'm just trying to get my base
back up. Dude, speed workouts, they're so
fun to me. Like, oh.

(01:13:48):
Man, that's because you're an addict.
Doing those like those 10 by 4 hundreds last last year, I would
look at my watch. I'm looking at the pace it's
like 420. I'm like let's oh, right, like
yes, right, like it's just so satisfying.
Like, I don't know man, right? Now I feel like I've had.

(01:14:09):
One person ask me to pace them to their first sub seven mile
and I'm like, do you know what acakewalk that would be for me?
Right. Like that's like.
You basically walk. That's like a.
Tempo steady run for me. Right.
You know, I wasn't trying to make them feel bad, but I'm
like, I think that's more achievable than you think it is.

(01:14:31):
Like I honestly believe everyoneis capable of running a 6 minute
mile. Yeah, I I genuinely believe that
how long you can sustain that pace, that's gonna vary, right?
But if we're talking like 1 all out mile, everybody can run it
in under 7 minutes. I don't care what what you say.
Yeah, Yeah, I support. You in principle and I'm gonna,

(01:14:55):
I'm gonna, you know what I'm gonna say?
Yeah, Chad. Including you.
Obese month. Come October, we're gonna post a
TikTok of me and Jesse on the track and he's gonna be running
a sub seven mile easy. Yeah, I don't know if it's one
mile like I think I think I could.
Yeah. No, I could run a mile like sub.
Seven. We'll go do an all out.

(01:15:16):
Yeah, one mile. Yeah, we're just like break into
our old track and like, you wantto do it?
Yeah, and I'm glad that, you know, we are so small enough for
like hopefully no one, no academic faculty member, the
models High school is listening to this as we, you know, plot.
Yes, exactly. And what Jesse really means by
that is that I'm 63 in finance. Yes, I'm joking.

(01:15:42):
He's not. No, he he, he really is. 6 three
in finance. Blue eyes and everything.
Yeah. Anyways.
Anyways, I'm gonna keep this really short.
I'm trying. To encourage people though, that
was the point of that. Yeah, I do believe that if you
are consistent and then you go out there for like 1 all out

(01:16:03):
session, I think everybody can do a sub 7.
Yeah, I agree. Sometimes you might have to work
your way up to it. No, of course, but like I think
everyone. Has to just go out there and do
it. Yeah, yeah.
I think people like you have thecapacity to it.
You just got to train for it. You would probably be in a lot
of trouble GI wise if you tried to do that with no training.

(01:16:28):
Yeah, that's all I'll say. Yeah, not fair enough.
Yeah, McFarland. All right chat, I'm gonna put
you on so I have made a grave error couple episodes ago I may
have said something to the effect of I don't care about
seeing myself represented on thescreen I just want to see a good

(01:16:50):
movie blah blah blah blah blah chat I might have been wrong on
that one because re watching McFarland.
I loved seeing Mexicans, you know because you know I'm
Mexican. I loved seeing myself being
represented in that film becauselike it just watching that movie
just brought me back to high school because I did cross

(01:17:11):
country and it's just I like in in our in our in our high
school, specifically our hometown, like it's a heavily
populated like Latino community.So like McFarland, like
reflected that and I loved. And I would argue the most
talented athletes in this town are runners.
Yeah. No, that that's what it is like

(01:17:32):
a lot of like, you know. This isn't South Texas, guys
like our football team is not winning the state championship.
Yeah, but you know how many times, like, you know, the cross
country team has won? Actually, I haven't been to the
high school, but there's a banner up there.
Like there's a banner. Yeah.
There's a banner for like, you know, like the cross country
team, multiple banners like runners come from this town,

(01:17:52):
like. And like, we track records off
the charts. Yeah, my dad has the triple jump
record. Oh, fuck yeah.
Damn. Nice.
But I see like, so it's like we come from like a small
community, but like running is something that like, again, you
don't need a lot. Like you don't need a big
investment. Like all you literally need is a
pair of running shoes. And you know what?

(01:18:14):
It's so funny. Like in McFarland, the, that's
right. The coach, like Kevin Costner,
he's like, hey, like where, where, like what do you guys
like, do you have any other running shoes or whatever?
And like all like the kids are like these are running shoes,
church shoes, going out shoes. Like they're like, you know,
they're, they're impoverished, to put it lightly.
So like, you know, spending money on running shoes or any

(01:18:36):
other type of equipment, like they're, they're just not in
that position. So the coach, you know, buys
them a uniform, buy some new running shoes and all this shit.
And that that small gesture makes them so happy.
Yeah, and I can relate to that. Like, not me personally because
like my my parents were able to like afford shoes for me.
But there were like some people like in our cross country team

(01:18:59):
that like they couldn't afford running shoes.
So our coach got them running shoes.
Like didn't charge them from just.
Hey, way. Hey, Martinez.
Hey, Perez. What what what's your shoe size?
Hey, I like I'm an A I'm a nine coach.
All right. That was all he said like
they're like days later. Yeah, exactly 2 days later.
Yeah, here's a pair of Nikes. Yeah didn't even ask like, hey,

(01:19:20):
you want some shoes? Like he just asked your shoe
size. That's all he asked and I didn't
even say like, I'm gonna get yousome shoes like just like, hey,
Martinez Perez, like what's what's your shoe size?
Then I got the information two days later, boom, here's the
shoes. And it's just like, just like.
But those are the people that make an impact on your.
Life yeah and I feel like those like that that the coach in

(01:19:40):
McFarland like he made an impactin those those children's lives
and like same with like in in mylike experience in cross country
like our coach like really did like try like making a positive
impact in our life like both like, you know on the course and
outside the course he would run alongside us or go on his bike

(01:20:02):
and just talk about life and when I would just drive around
yeah just talking to us motivating us and it's like it's
fucking great I could totally see myself being a cross country
coach years later after I'm. Dude, I was asked to to actually
be an assistant coach for the Milers and the 3K on Strava

(01:20:23):
before. You should have, yeah.
Like I, I, I can see myself doing that.
Like I think once I'm in a position where like, I want to
give back, like I want to like be in a position where like, I
can help like, you know, raise the next generation and shit.
I'm not there yet, you know, butbut I aspired to like, you know,
that though, I like be in that position.
Yeah, yeah. And like running like in like

(01:20:43):
specifically McFarland, like it's fucking great.
Great story, dude, great message.
Like this movie is way better than The Blind Side which a lot
of people love to like, you know, just.
You know what? I'm gonna come out and agree
with you because the only thing that holds The Blind Side
together is Sandra Bullock's performance.
Yep, she is amazing the rest of the movie.

(01:21:07):
Yeah, it's like. It's whatever.
Protocol based on a true story, but they fake they they make.
So many. Liberties.
Yeah, so many creative liberties.
Here's the thing too, you said running movies in particular you
find extra inspirational. I think this part of the reason
because running is a good movie sport.
Like not every sport translates well to the cinematic

(01:21:30):
experience. Yeah, football is a God awful
sport. Yeah, for movies it's mostly
drama. Very.
Little like actual gameplay. Dude, I cannot think of a
genuinely great football movie and I know some people might
listen to this and get mad at meand say.
Well what about remember the Titan?

(01:21:50):
I was gonna say that like first my kid in mind.
I'm my response to that would belike, do you like the character
work in that movie or is it the football scenes?
Jet Like really think about thatbecause I know it's the
character work. Yeah, it's a good movie, but

(01:22:10):
it's a good movie because of Denzel and the effect that he
has on these young men. It's not a good movie because.
The football. You are inspired by the sport of
football, yeah. Whereas McFarland, yeah, there's
character work. And I think that similar to what
you said, I think one of the best things about McFarland is
that he comes from this kind of like more wealthy community.

(01:22:33):
He gets fired as a football coach.
Why? Because, you know, he threw, he
threw a bottle, Yeah, but you know, the kid was talking shit.
But you know, this is what. Yeah.
Can have nice things. So he comes from a kind of a
wealthier city and he comes to McFarland and he sees these
people who have less, are considerably more connected.

(01:22:57):
They're more of a community. They're more of a people.
They're always looking out for each other.
Like when they plan. Jim White's daughters, I totally
forget her name. She's played by Elsie Fisher.
I know that when they find her daughter Sierra, everybody, you
know, comes to to their aid and,you know, like.
Beautiful moment. Yeah.
Yeah. Like, you know, that's.

(01:23:18):
That's like the key difference between, you know, McFarland and
some of these these places like Palo Alto, right?
You know, who obviously like have the like the infrastructure
and the coaching to produce somereally what should be elite
runners, right? But, and you see this in in

(01:23:39):
specifically like individual sports, mostly in running and
swimming, some of the best athletes in the world, you will
never get to see them perform because their families don't
have the money to facilitate their career.
And I hate that. I hate that.
Like, dude, there are some, you know, obviously I know this

(01:24:00):
because I'm obsessed with the Olympics, but like, you know,
there are some swimmers that like we've missed out on some
greats because their their parents weren't fucking like.
At least like, yeah, like. It.
Sucks yeah, I can imagine it does suck and like what this
movie did like just the inspiration that like the coach

(01:24:22):
is able to like bring out of hiskid, bring out of the kids.
And it's funny because like, youknow, it's the movie starts off
and like everyone calls him likewhite Blanco because you know
he's it's it's a white guy like and they just call him white
Blanco. Like you not even come coach
until Blanco goes to work with his kids and the kids in the

(01:24:44):
fields because the kids parents want to take them out.
Some of the kids parents want totake their kids out from the
cross country activity cuz everyhour they spend running is 1
hour less that they're not working in the fields.
And you know, like a lot of Mexican Mexicans have that
experience of like working in the field.
I certainly do. Like I during high, not, not

(01:25:06):
sorry, not during high school, but like after high school I
worked like 2 summers in the field work brutal fucking back
breaking work. And I know some people that did
it in high school, like I actually went to high school and
worked the fields like it's a real thing.
I'm going to hold my tongue because I had a cushy job as a
barista so. But yeah, but like, you know,

(01:25:28):
like. But I understand what you're
saying. Like the thematic relevance of
it, Exactly just like the. And seeing like.
It's an experience that you haveseen first hand and then that
you have experienced yourself, even if it was after high
school. Right.
And it's just like seeing like, like Kevin Cosman's character,
like, actually like, go and like, participate and like, you

(01:25:50):
know, try to understand where they're coming from.
That's when, like, the kids start respecting him and calling
him a coach. And I was like, you know what,
this movie, like you fucking earned that.
Like if they just call him coachright away, probably wouldn't
have noticed. Like if we just would have
watched the movie anyway. But it's more powerful and
impactful that they didn't acknowledge him as their coach
until like, you know, like he met them at their level.

(01:26:14):
And it's just it's, it's a really beautiful movie.
Like, and it's crazy because like the beginning of the load
was like Disney and I'm like, yoDisney, you can produce this in
2015. Yeah, Disney doesn't make movies
like that anymore. Yeah, it makes me insane.
It's only, it's only like been fucking 10 years.
Like it came out in 2015 for like this movie.
Like like no fucking live actionDisney studio branch like guys

(01:26:37):
where are the original mid budget movies like McFarland?
Yeah, like what the fuck happened to them?
Exactly. Like stop giving me Snow White
and make more of this. Right, Because like I bet you
like most of the budget went into like just paying Kevin
Costner because I think he's like the only like big actor.
He's the only big. Yeah, so it's like you have all
these other, you know, like, like you said, like mid budget

(01:26:58):
or whatever, but like it's stilllike a really good, powerful
movie and I fucking loved it. And like I watching that I was
like, yo, I can't wait to compile and like, you know, talk
about running and shit. And even though I've we've we
barely talked about movies on the below his own podcast today.
I'm gonna say one more thing after you finish though.
Just the fact that like, you know, just like these movies,

(01:27:20):
just it can inspire like me and like others to like, you know,
just get out there and just justgo fucking do it.
Yeah. It doesn't even have to be
running. Just like just you watch these
movies, sports movies, sure, butjust specifically these two
movies, you watch them and you're like, fuck, I want to be
better. Like I want to be a better
version of myself. And that's what you see with

(01:27:41):
these kids. Like you see them on their
journey. Like some of them are kind of
little, like cholios, like something like little gangsters
or whatever in the beginning. And then you see them like, you
know, being one over and like being part of the team.
And it's just, it's so fucking good.
Yes. And but this is what I want to
say about McFarland is that especially I think in, in modern

(01:28:02):
times, like right now, you will see like these, these programs
that are specifically designed to create like elite runners,
like, you know, they, they have these kids, you know, they
measure like their blood lactate.
You know, they're, they're doingLt. tests, they're doing VO2 Max

(01:28:24):
tests, they're analyzing their running.
Games, they're doing the money. But yeah, like it's like a like
a straight up well oiled machine, right?
So what I like about McFarlane is that it shows that there are
other aspects to running that will elevate the performance of
the runners, like community, like relationships and the
support because that stuff matters.

(01:28:45):
Like it is scientifically proventhat you perform better when you
are running for something biggerthan yourself, right?
Like if you were just going out there, I feel like I'm picking
on Palo Alto here, but it's because it's a very close city
to us. Yeah, these Palo Alto kids will
go out there and it for a majority of them, it's like the

(01:29:08):
goal is to run a sub 4 marathon.I mean, not a sub 4 marathon
that's easy to run a sub four mile for me, like because I'm a
fast kid. What I like about McFarland is
that they're trying to perform at a high level, not just for

(01:29:29):
themselves, but to give their family pride, to give their
community pride, to reward theircoach who has gone above and
beyond the call for them. Right.
Like, that shit matters. Yeah, and like you were just
saying about your coach, those people can have a serious impact
on your life. Yeah.
And I think McFarland shows thatthere's more to running than the

(01:29:51):
tech and and the data because especially in 2025, people get
way too caught up in the Garmin and the Apple Watches, right?
Like, like, you know, I see so many people, you know, obsess
over like. Doing the most, yeah, but
they're still gonna lose like a Kenyan, A Kenyan runner who has
none of that. Or you know what's even worse is

(01:30:13):
you're going to get fucking smoked by a local track kid
because you don't like you're sofocused on the 1% and you ignore
the 99. I feel like this movie, like it
showed that because like these kids like came from nothing and
even like their competitors, like I don't care.

(01:30:34):
I'll pick up Palo Alto, one of the teams that like it's a
prestigious team. And so for McFarland, for that
team to usurp them and beat them, it's fucking great.
It's fucking cathartic cuz yeah,money and all of this.
Can I make you a better runner? Cuz it has to come from within

(01:30:57):
yourself. You have to want to actually run
faster than the guy next to you.And in McFarland, these kids
that running is all they have. So it's like they're gonna push
themselves to that extreme. These Palo Alto kids, this is
just like an after school activity.
Like they're going to do this and then go home back to like,
you know, like their cushiness and like their cushy lives and

(01:31:18):
shit. McFarland ain't like that.
So it's like it had like that gritty, that Disney grittiness,
which bravo, Disney. I didn't think you had it in
you. The reason I kept bringing up
Palo Alto was, yeah, they're in the movie, but also because
Stanford has produced a countless amount of track and
swimming Olympians. Like they don't well, recently

(01:31:42):
they haven't been great at like football and those kind of
sports, but like track and swimming, they excel in
producing high level athletes there.
So that's kind of why I was using that example.
But yes, you that drive has to come from within you.

(01:32:03):
It really does, you know, and, and so many people ask me like,
how do you do it? Like it's so weird to get
questions like that, right? But like, how do you do it?
Like how did you go from being like pretty good to like, I

(01:32:24):
don't even like saying this becoming him like above, well
above average. Let me put it that way.
I'll put it this way, like dude,how did you go out from going
like pretty good to pretty fucking great?
OK, there you go. So many people asked me that
question and this is what I tellthem.
It is because I am in pursuit ofmastery.

(01:32:46):
Like, not just of the craft of running.
OK, Robert Greene. Yeah, I'm glad you caught that.
Yeah. Have you listened to a?
Oh, gosh, I forget what his lastname is.
There's a there's a a wonderful podcast, The Art of Mastery.
I've ever. Loved it and really great stuff

(01:33:07):
on there. The only podcast I listen to is
Below the Line podcast. Hell yeah, New episode every
Monday so. Spotify.com slash.
I tell them it is because I'm inpursuit of mastery.
Like I want to see just how goodof a runner I've become.

(01:33:29):
And I told you this before we started recording the most.
The question I get asked most often in the past few years in
my life is do you regret not running track and field?
And that's a tough question because part of me says
absolutely, right, because, you know, similar to what you were

(01:33:50):
just saying, like, I probably could have been a good miler
with coaching. Yeah, You know, and I would have
loved to run the 4x4. Like hell, I, I want to run a
relay so bad that I'm willing toput together four of our friends
and just run one for the hell ofit because that's how badly I
want to feel what that's like. But at the same time, my answer

(01:34:11):
is no, because I had to go through a lot of shit to drive
me to start running because I didn't start running to get in
shape. I started running because I
desperately needed to to do something to help myself.
And so much of what has propelled me to grow as a runner
comes from me knowing that this is something that I, I

(01:34:38):
unfortunately have to deal with for the rest of my life, right?
So like, I am so driven by this,this internal, I don't know the,
the right way to phrase it without, you know, being mean to
myself. And I know my parents aren't
going to like this if they listen to this.
So I'm so driven by this, this internal sense of mastery of

(01:35:04):
self, but through mastery of running.
I think I, I think I understand what you're saying.
And you know what, like that's fair because I think like we
can't do everything that we wantto do in life.
Like at the end of the day, there's only a few certain
things that we can like truly like, you know, give 100% of

(01:35:24):
ourselves to. I think in your case, like
running is something that like, you know, you can give yourself
100,000% of yourself towards like there are like many hobbies
that I'm I'm sure you have, but it's like running.
It's like the priority, which isgreat because if you're gonna
have like, you know, any type oflike hobby or like, you know,

(01:35:45):
miles have like a good one and like running like, Hey, that's a
pretty good hobby. Close second is like, you know,
recording for like below the line podcast, right, obviously.
Everybody knows that. You don't need us to tell you
that. Yeah, obviously.
Man. You know what's funny, Chad?
Like if you're still here, I wastalking to Dylan before we

(01:36:07):
started recording. I was like, you know what?
I don't know how we're going to be able to get over an hour, but
we're going to try. Yo you, you have been like so
enthusiastic throughout this entire conversation.
Like you like when Dylan mentioned earlier that he loves,
like, you know, he lights up when he talks about running,
like he's not joking. Like he is like, so into this

(01:36:29):
episode, like, run it back. Like how how long did you talk
about Britney? Runs a marathon, probably less
than a mile. And it's.
Yeah. Like you probably run, run a
faster mile than you spend time.Like talking about Britney.
Probably. Yeah, yeah.
And like, you know, no, no shot at Britney.
Like I I'm right now, I I want to go watch that movie too.

(01:36:52):
Like, hey, I want to go inspire myself to run, to run more.
But, you know, saving it for tomorrow.
But yeah, running guys, it's notthe most glamorous topic, but
God damn it, like once you startdoing it and like getting into
it, it's so much fucking fun. Yeah.
Like, and it's one of those things where it's like it cost

(01:37:14):
you nothing Asterisk because you, you know, you might need
running shorts and shoes. But like, besides that, like
it's one of those sports was like, you don't need much.
You just need shorts, a pair of running shoes and literally just
go outside and just pick where you want to go.
Like pick a direction and just start running there.
That's literally how like I'd like design my own routes.
Like in town. I'm like, all right, leave my

(01:37:36):
house and it's like all right, let turn left to right and just
keep on going. Every time I, you know, get to
like an intersection where it's like I got to go left, right
straight, it's like all right, quick decision make one and just
keep on going. Then later on, you know, get on
my phone, like track my route, like, all right, where did I go
today? Yeah, it is as simple as that.

(01:37:58):
And if you want to make it easy for yourself, this is what I'm
going to I'm going to leave you with here.
The best pair of running shoes is the pair that you already
have. You did.
You did not need super shoes. Training in super shoes is
insanity. It's proven that they increase

(01:38:20):
the risk of injury. And two, you're not going to be
able to get that leg turnover ifyou constantly rely on these
carbon plated shoes. You need to be able to learn how
to produce the speed yourself. By all means, wear them for a
race. Of course it's going to give you
that extra pop, especially for long distance races.

(01:38:41):
But training in them? No, don't.
That's such a waste of money. It's such a waste of of that
shoe tech. Yeah, the best running shoes are
the ones you already have. Put them by the door.
Make it really easy for yourself.
You might need to change which you might need to find the
motivation to do that. But once you see those shoes by
the door, it's going to communicate to your brain.

(01:39:04):
Oh, I should probably go for a run.
Yep, I'm gonna leave. I'm gonna leave you with this
chat. If you start running today or
tomorrow when you hear this episode, just get a little
calendar. You know, you know what, you
don't even have to buy one. Just fucking make one in a
notebook. And I know, I know you have a
notebook somewhere chat. So just make a make a little

(01:39:27):
calendar and go for a run and mark that on your calendar just
like preferably in red or in a different color so you can
actually visually see it. And every day you run, just mark
it on the calendar. And then I like as you, the more
you run at the, the more, the more crosses or whatever,
whatever symbols you use to like, you know, indicate that
you ran that day. Like that would be its own

(01:39:49):
motivator. Because it's like, you know
what, let me put it like, let memake this easier for like the
kids. It's like a Snapchat streak.
All right, You start running andyou start tracking.
Your don't even actually no run that back.
Don't even track your mileage. Just track the days that you do
run. Make a streak of it, like hey,
I'm going to run 2 times a week and commit to it and actually do

(01:40:12):
it. I'm going to run three times a
week, four times a week and you know, write it like just mark
you on the fucking calendar. It doesn't have to be
complicated. Just mark it and look at it and
just see yourself building that streak.
I bet you it's going to be a lotharder to quit running when you
start doing that. Just like it's hard to quit
Snapchat once you have like a pretty high streak score.
That was a beautiful analogy. I know I had to give it to the

(01:40:34):
kids. You.
Know, and that reminded me of one last thing that I want to
say because you are absolutely right.
Do not fuck pace, fuck pace, fuck mileage.
Don't care about any of that. If you're just starting, you
just need to go out there and beconsistent.
You need to stack days of just being good enough because the

(01:40:56):
the truth is every run, you're not going to be a world beater
out there. It's not going to go perfectly.
Most days are just going to be average, but that's what
matters. How do you show up on the
average days? Because eventually you keep, you
keep putting in those average days.
It's going to lead to a good one.
It's going to lead to a good race.

(01:41:17):
And don't if you have an Apple Watch because I know a lot of
people just have one by default.Do not run by heart rate, run by
rate of perceived exertion. Your easy pace is the pace that
you can sustain while being ableto talk.
Yes your breathing is going to be labored, but you should be
able to speak in complete sentences and even small

(01:41:40):
paragraphs. That is zone 2.
Do not listen to these guys on YouTube and TikTok that that try
to define zone 2 is like 125 beats per minute to like 139.
That's absolutely ridiculous. Everybody's Physiology is
different. Your zone 2 is determined by

(01:42:01):
rate of perceived exertion. Go by effort.
Listen to your body. Well said.
Well, chat, if you're still here, I want to personally thank
you for like joining in and likelistening in on this
conversation. Honestly, this will probably be
one of our least viewed listed 2episodes.

(01:42:24):
Not by me because obviously not by me because I that's not a two
mile horn, but I love replaying our conversations and just being
like, what the fuck did we talk about?
But like, if you're still here with this chat, like I fully
expect this to like not be our most well performing episode,
but honestly, this is this is probably one of my most favorite

(01:42:48):
episodes to record because just like just seeing how passionate
you are, like I don't know if you're gonna be able to bring
that energy to like the Supermanepisode.
We're gonna try. But like, oh man, like this,
this was genuinely like one of like the most like the most fun
conversations I've had regardinglike just movies and cinemas and
just like it's so fun. And you know what, it might not

(01:43:10):
even perform the best. I don't care.
It was still a good fucking conversation.
And Chad, if you're still here with us, thank you.
I appreciate you, you know, justbeing here with us.
Yeah, thanks for joining the conversation.
I don't think I need to say anything more than what Jesse
already said because yeah, this was a different episode.

(01:43:32):
But even though it was a different episode, I'm afraid I
have to do it anyway. Subscribe to the YouTube channel
youtube.com Forward slash at Nightfall Films.
We're at 9 K on the Transformersvideo, so come on guys.
Just get a 10K. Let's get.
It to 10K. We're almost there.
Yeah. Other than that, follow the show

(01:43:52):
on Spotify. Best way to support the show.
And like I said in the last episode, share your favorite
episode with a friend or a family member, maybe to just
introduce them. No pressure, but just a
suggestion. That's all that we have for you
today. Thank you to Levi for composing
the intro music. Thank you to Jesse for the

(01:44:13):
artwork. That'll be it.
Peace Plants. Namaste.