#128 - Amanda Koslosky

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What if you didn’t grow up on a track and still became a force on steep, thin-air courses? We sit down with Colorado Springs native Amanda Koslosky to trace a candid, practical path from soccer fields to summit podiums—top ten at the Pikes Peak Ascent, podiums at Telluride Mountain Run and Bar Trail—and the bold decision to go part-time at work to chase what’s possible.

Amanda opens up about the moment a Golden Trail–stacked Ascent proved her ceiling was higher than she thought, and why a coach, community, and course-first strategy changed everything. We unpack the mental game—pre-race nerves, stacking confidence with small wins, and holding a belief that borders on audacious. Then we get tactical: altitude prep with 3-2-1 uphill sessions, Rampart Reservoir loops, and smart long runs that build climbing economy without frying the legs. With Moab ahead, her training pivots to speed—three-minute reps near six-minute pace, downhill economy, and the quad conditioning needed to finish fast.

Recovery and longevity take center stage. Amanda shares how she replaced “smaller is better” with fuel-first thinking—pairing protein and carbs post-run, dialing hydration, and protecting easy days. Nightly rolling, consistent stretching, and monthly massage keep the system absorbing work. TRX strength provides the chassis: core stability, single-leg control, and full-body resilience that pays off on steep climbs and technical descents. We also cover race-day strategy on the Ascent’s W’s, when to sit on a steady runner, and how to time the move past A-Frame.

If you’re chasing a sub-three at altitude, eyeing Broken Arrow, or wondering whether your fastest years can still be ahead, Amanda’s story offers a blueprint: train for the course you’ll race, treat recovery like a pillar, and let community sharpen your edge. Follow Amanda at run_cos_run, then hit play and take notes for your next build. Enjoy the conversation, and if it helps your long run, subscribe, share, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome back to this Deep Stuff Podcast.
I'm your host, James Lariello.
I'm so excited to welcome AmandaKozlowski to the show.
Amanda comes on uh just after areally crazy and really well a
really solid 2025 season withtop ten finishes at the Pikes
Peak Ascent as well as uh podiumfinishes at the Telluride
Mountain Run and the Bar TrailMountain Race in 2025.

(00:22):
Um Amanda came on the show totalk a lot about her whys and
what motivates her for thesport.
Um we also talked a lot aboutgoals, we talked about
structured training andcoaching.
Um we also talked about herbackground.
Amanda comes from a verynon-traditional background, not
a traditional cross-countrytrack runner, but more of a
soccer player, um, which is kindof cool.
Um, kind of shows that you cancompete at a high level without

(00:44):
having to come into the sportfrom a traditional pedigree.
So all kinds of good stuffthere.
This is a super fun episode.
Um Amanda's a native of theColorado Springs area, so it's
exciting to have her on and uhjust discuss her whys.
So without further ado, hope youenjoy it.
Amanda Kozlowski.

(02:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, wait.
Amanda Kozlowski, welcome tothis Deep Stuff Podcast.
How's it going?

SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
It's great.
How are how are you doing overthere?

SPEAKER_00 (02:13):
I'm living the dream.
It's almost Friday.
I'm yeah, doing my thing.
Just got home from a run andfeeling stoked, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
That I'm a little jealous, I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_00 (02:23):
Uh did you get your run in today yet or no?

SPEAKER_01 (02:25):
I haven't.
I'm such an afternoon runner.
I am not a morning.

SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
Wow.
Yeah, I can't run in theafternoons.
I'm like dreaming.
I wake up so early that like bythe time like three, two, two or
three o'clock.
Like all my friends make fun ofme because like by the time two
or three o'clock comes, I'mlike, I don't want to do
anything.
Like my day's.

SPEAKER_01 (02:42):
No.
And see, I try to set my alarmfor six in the morning,
especially on summer days.
And I'm like, no, I could sleepfor another hour, I'll run
later.
That's I that's what I'm gonnado.
So wow.

SPEAKER_00 (02:52):
Afternoon runners.
You're a rare breed, strong,strong breed of humans.
So let's let's get into it.
Let's talk about you, learn moreabout you.
Uh you know, you and I haveknown each other for a little
bit now, and like I'm superexcited that we were finally
able to do this.
Like, you've had an amazing 2025season that I think deserves a
lot of recognition.
Um thank you.
So let's let's chat chat moreabout your story.

(03:13):
What's what's your background?
First of all, where are youfrom?

SPEAKER_01 (03:17):
Technically, I'm from Chicago.
Okay.
Um, that's where I was born.
My parents moved us out herewhen I was five.
Um, and so I guess technicallyChicago, but I almost consider
myself a native.
Um yeah, so they moved us outhere.
They owned a hot dog stand andum took over from my grandpa.

(03:38):
And so yeah, just been livingout here since and um never
really, never really gotten tothe running scene.
My dad was a runner growing up,nothing super competitive.
He liked more road, um, shortdistances, 5k.
He always tried to get us to runwhen we were younger, and we
just well, my my brothers and Iwanted nothing to do with it.

(03:58):
And um I tried, I tried a littlebit in high school, like
cross-country junior and senioryear, and I enjoyed it, but it
wasn't, it was more to be inshape for soccer, I guess you
could say.
Um, and then just dropped offthe bandwagon into college
years.
And it really wasn't until Iwould say, I mean, I started

(04:19):
running a little bit beforeCOVID, maybe a couple years
before COVID hit, but my truelike pedal to the metal, I need
to, I need to take control backand um kind of find my niche was
during COVID time, right afterCOVID time, when everything
started opening back up and gotpretty determined and just, you
know, hit the gym more, hit theincline more, um, and just

(04:43):
started seeing improvements inmy running.
And and it's been kind of awhirlwind since.

SPEAKER_00 (04:48):
So I love it.
It's it's interesting to mebecause and we'll we'll dissect
your story and talk about it andget into a couple different
aspects.
But one of the things I reallyappreciated, because I see a lot
of myself in you.
Like I didn't start, like Iplayed soccer competitively for
a very long time and thenstopped uh in my undergrad
years, and then kind of like uhlike totally just didn't do

(05:09):
anything until graduate school,which was around COVID for me.
And that's when I started likerunning and getting very serious
into the sport.
And I don't know, I just find itvery interesting that like
you're you're a good pillar toshow that like you don't have to
come from this like thisbackground of cross-country and
track at a super high level D1or whatever, and like and you
could still do well at theseraces if you don't uh you know

(05:30):
come from that background in thesport.
Like the sport is still like uhI guess you could say wide
enough that people from all kindof backgrounds can still
compete, which is kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 (05:40):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
Like um, a lot of the people Iwatch for sure do have that
running background, or um, theyjust come from that running
family.
And um, I think it just is kindof a testament to um, like you
said, it does it's just thatdetermination, I guess, that you
find in yourself.

(06:01):
And then once you get it, Ithink you said it earlier, you
just get addicted.
Yeah.
And you start seeing theresults, and then you start
feeling bad if you don't go outfor a run or um just kind of
getting upset if you don't PR ina race, and it just it does, it
drives a whole different side ofyou, I think.
So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (06:18):
Let's let's talk about soccer.
What uh how long did you playsoccer for and what position did
you play?

SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
Oh boy.
Um, so I was not competitive insoccer.
Um, I tried really hard.
I don't think I have theanti-coordination.
Um, I started I probably startedin elementary school in like a
park and rec's league, and umjust really had a lot of fun,
made a lot of friends.
I did play in high school.

(06:43):
Um, I was on the JV team.
The only reason I was on varsityas a senior is because seniors
had to be on varsity.
Um, so I practiced with them,but I didn't really play very
much.
If I played, I was more of amidfielder.
So kind of that runningcomponent of it.
Um, but like I said, it wasn'tanything super competitive.
It was more a social aspect forme.

(07:04):
So super cool.

SPEAKER_00 (07:06):
And what were your what were your college years
like?
Did you play any sports or whatyou just party?
Like what you what would you do?

SPEAKER_01 (07:13):
I'm like, I got a thing back because I didn't play
sports and I didn't party.
Um so I went to UCCS actually.
Um I was I lived on campus andso I ended up being a resident
assistant.
Um that's probably where most ofmy time went.
Yeah.
I um I found a good group ofpeople just kind of being in

(07:34):
that then in that group ofresident assistants.
It was a lot smaller back then,um, obviously, than it is now.
So we had a good group of like25 college people who just found
found a similar um liking to it,and that was fun for me.
Um and then I think I might havehad like little odds and ends

(07:54):
jobs, you know, that I would do.
I worked at Cave of the Winds asa tour guide, like little things
like that to pass the time.
Um and but other than that, justkind of focusing on studies.
So interesting.

SPEAKER_00 (08:06):
So what was it with running then?
Like what did you run a 5k andyou're like, oh my god, I I I
love this.
Did you run like was there aspecific race or a specific
thing that like you're like likegot you like hooked on it?

SPEAKER_01 (08:19):
So my like I said, my dad growing up, he was always
a runner.
So even though I didn't reallytrain a lot, I would go and run
some of the races with him.
Like some of the races Iremember were more 5K's.
Um, Colorado College used tohave one that I would always
run.
Um, and so that that probablywas always something I did.

(08:39):
Um, my mom and I started goingto the gym right outside of
college, I think.
Um and that kind of got me goingin terms of just like the
strength training andelliptical.
And my mom and I would just walkfor like an hour on the
treadmill and we go for walksoutside.
And it's actually really funnygrowing up.

(09:00):
My parents always try to get usto go for walks with them, but
they're like super fast walkers.
And so our little legs couldnever keep up.
And so when I started going tothe gym and working out more, I
was like, oh, I can actuallyfinally keep up with my mom on
these on these walks.
And so that was kind ofmotivating for me.
But um I don't know, I think itwas just like a lot of little

(09:20):
things all coming together andclicking, um, starting to see
improvements.
I do the incline a lot.
So I started to see improvementson that.
And I think just putting moreeffort into um getting my body
in shape made running feel alittle bit easier and a little
bit easier.
Um eventually I was like, okay,I'm gonna try a 10K.
So I tried a 10K a few yearsback and I could do that.

(09:44):
Um, and then I know my mom and Ihad talked about going, we
wanted to go to Disney World.
So I tried a half marathon inDisney World.
And it was just kind of takingeach race to the next level and
seeing if I could do it.
And then eventually things goteasier and then I just started
branching out a little bit more.
Um, I always I was definitelyroad racer at the beginning.

(10:06):
Just I think trails made menervous for the animal portion
of them.
Didn't want to get attacked by amountain lion or anything.
Um, but I don't even rememberwhat my first trail race was.
It might have been the ascentthat that completely changed the
game for me of like no more,like I will road race, but if I
could, hands down, I'd trailrace any day.
So so yeah, just a lot of littlethings that kind of all came

(10:30):
together.

SPEAKER_00 (10:31):
And then sequentially from there, what
when did you make the switch andyou're like, okay, like I'm good
at this and I want to continueto improve?

SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
Um uh so what year was that?
It was I would say it was 2020,what are we in?
2023 maybe.
So Golden Trail series was atthe ascent two years in a row,
from if I remember correctly.
That's right.
And I it was the second yearthat they were there, and I want
to say it was 2023 that I so Ihad gone from a four-hour mirror

(11:06):
um ascent time, and I hadknocked, you know, 20 minutes
off the next year, when likepost-COVID when things started
clicking, and then I knockedanother 20 minutes off.
And I think the year that thatum golden trail was here, I went
like a 307.
And I was actually pretty like Iwas a top 20 finish among some

(11:27):
of these really elite athletes.
And so I thought, you know, if Iam doing this just coaching
myself, really, with very naiveabout it.
I wonder what it would be likeif I had a coach who understood
and could help me a little bitmore.
And I talked with my husband, Italked with my mom and dad, and
um talked with my principal alot at school to see if it was
something I could possiblymanage.

(11:49):
And luckily, so many supportivepeople were able to make it work
that I was then at that moment,I was like, I'm just gonna take
a leap of faith and see what wecan do here.

SPEAKER_00 (11:58):
So that's so cool.
Like it's I just love peopletaking the risk and like going
after something that is kind ofuncharted territory.
It's like, yeah, you're good atthis, but you don't know how
good you can be, you know.
And so it's like, how do we, youknow, where do I fall into this?
Um by the way, that 2023 race, Idon't know if you know this, but
like that was mathematically, ifyou were to sit down and crunch

(12:19):
the numbers, I think till thisday that was the most
competitive race ever assembledon American soil.

SPEAKER_01 (12:24):
That's really like speaking.
There were yeah, like neat Ithink it's Nikki Brinkman.
Do you remember that name?

SPEAKER_00 (12:30):
Yeah, she was so Sophia Lockley was there, Judah
Wider, Maud Matisse, likeeverybody.
Allie Mack, um Yeah, AliOstrander.

SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (12:43):
Everybody.
So to be in the mix of a racelike that is I mean, it's gotta
it's gotta be amazing for youfrom a confidence perspective.
And we'll talk about confidencein a little bit.
Um thing I want to pivot to ismaybe talk about what it's like
to take that leap and have theconver like how that must have
been a very difficult decisionto take a step back from what

(13:03):
you were doing with work.
I think you, if I remembercorrectly, uh when I was doing
research for this and justtalking to you before, I think
it was you you kind of pivotedto go more part-time in in your
job, right?
To pursue running.
Talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 (13:15):
Yeah, so kind of like November after that race
happened is when I startedtossing out the idea of getting
a coach and doing a little bitof research.
And at that stage of mytraining, I was, I mean, I was
at the gym a lot, but I wasprobably only running about 20
miles a week.
And I was still, man, there werelong days of getting up at like
5:30 in the morning, coming toschool, teaching full time,

(13:38):
trying to get some runs in, andthen not getting home until like
7:30 at night to just in time toeat and go to bed.
Um, so I kind of knew that if Iwas gonna make that jump and
really wanted to like take itseriously, um, I was gonna need
to jump back at school, which ishard because this is, I mean,
I've been teaching now for 18years.

(13:59):
So that was at that time 16years of everything I knew.
Um, and where I was superconfident jumping into something
that I didn't know if it wouldwork out or not.
I didn't really know the ins andouts of it.
Um, so that's where like just Italked a lot with my husband.
He is super supportive inletting me do this, take a step
back.
Um, definitely took a hit in thesavings aspect, but um he's

(14:24):
right there with me whenever hecan be to cheer me on.
And it's been kind of fun totravel to different places and
he'll get to go with me.
So that's been a lot of fun.
Um, I talked to my mom and dad alot about it, just bouncing
ideas off.
Like I said, I, you know, I hadsome different ideas of how I
could make it work here atAragon, the school I work at,
um, and had like my path allplanned out and talked to my

(14:46):
principal and she opened up aposition at school that was just
perfect for what I'm doing here.
So she was super supportive.
And I think when you are makingsuch a big decision like that,
that's what it takes, is justthat community around you to not
only support you, but kind ofgive you that confidence that
you can do it.
And if it doesn't work out, thenyou go back to what you were

(15:08):
doing.
But if it does work out, what astory it'll be.
So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (15:12):
Uh it's it, I I love, I love those stories and
people chasing those goals.
How do you like we'll talk aboutyour why in a little bit, but
like confidence and belief inyourself?
Like, what is that like for you?
Like, do you do you strugglewith believing?
Like, I I I know I I can, Imean, I can speak for myself as
an athlete.
Like, I go through periods oflike sometimes I really have a
lot of confidence, and sometimesI I hate myself and I hate the

(15:35):
sport and I don't want to do itat all.
Um how do you deal with that?

SPEAKER_01 (15:40):
Um, I'm so working on it.
I think I would be surprised ifanyone in our position wouldn't
be like coming into races justnervous wrecks, you know.
Um, like before the ascent, mymom is so funny.
She's probably the one that hasbeen on the most trips with me
and gets to see me like a longtime before a race.

(16:02):
Like, let's do this, mom, let'sgo to Chicago and run a
marathon, up to like a coupledays before, where I'm pretty
stoic.
Like I am in my head talking tomyself, thinking about like,
well, if you don't do it, it'sgonna be okay if you don't hit
your goal, but what if you dohit your goal?
Like, and I'm very stoic, I'mvery quiet.
Um, to then she sees me likeafter the race, when if it goes

(16:23):
really well versus if it doesn'tgo well.
Um, so I haven't figured outnecessarily how to fully get
that confidence in me.
I think every time I toe theline like and have a good race,
that helps.
Um, every time I have a decenttraining day, that is super
helpful as well.

(16:44):
Um I have a lot of people in mycorner that that do support me
and um kind of help me see thateveryone has their own story.
So just because I'm not um likeat the world trail championships
doesn't mean that my story isn'timportant and that I'm still
doing the best at my level thatI can.

(17:06):
So just all of it comestogether, but I'm still working.
I'm still working on it.

SPEAKER_00 (17:12):
I feel like I so I've been tussling with this a
lot lately about my why andabout just like this sport in
general and like where just alot of the meta stuff.
And I almost feel like, yeah,you have to believe in yourself
to the point of delusion.
Like I really like truly like Idon't know.
I I've been fortunate enough tomeet some of the best athletes
in the sport.
And and I like I said, I thinkit really what it comes down to

(17:33):
is obviously fitness is hugelyimportant, probably the biggest
indicator, but at the same time,too, I think what's between the
ears is very important as well.
And the believing in yourself tothe point of delusion is just
like I don't know, it's it'sinteresting, but I think it's a
little it's a legit real thing,which is kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 (17:48):
I a hundred percent agree.

SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
Like I was watching a lot of those um championships
over in France that were forworlds or yeah, yeah, it's uh
Spain, Conference Spain.

SPEAKER_01 (17:59):
Oh, same, same.
Yeah, and just in even um GoldenTrails series and watching those
girls, and they all come acrossthe line and pretty much just
collapse.
Like the effort and like you canjust see how like they have put
everything on the line for thoseraces, and that's so inspiring.
Um, it makes me then go into myhead and of like, how far could

(18:21):
I push myself to that pointwhere I just feel like I've left
it all out there?
And I think that is a hugeconfidence thing, especially
when you have longer races, um,just kind of having that
confidence to go all out fromthe beginning and trust that
you're gonna be able to keep itup towards the end and leave it
all out there.

SPEAKER_00 (18:39):
So true.
How how has your why changedfrom the time you started the
sport to now?
Like, what is your why now?

SPEAKER_01 (18:47):
Yeah.
So when I started the sport, um,it was more just social, like
have fun, go to just stay inshape, um, kind of yeah, go to
the races because races are justthere's they're such a good
environment.
I love anything from like BostonMarathon to a local 5K to a
trail run.

(19:07):
They're all just the the racingscene has just always been super
fun for me.
Um, I think over the years,though I've always been a
competitive person, um, seeingthe successes that I have, my
why is now um achieving thatnext goal.
So one of my ultimate whys andthe biggest thing is um, well,

(19:28):
one of my ultimate goals, Iwould say, is getting a sub
three on the Pikes Peak Ascent.
So that is a super drivingthing.
I love that the ascent is kindof towards the end of the racing
season, just because I feel likeall my other races kind of come
together as training for thatbig moment.
Um another why that I I put inthere when I decided to go

(19:51):
part-time and do what I'm doingis I kind of like the travel
scene too.
Um, being able to go to I I'mgoing to Moab in a couple weeks,
and I've been to Sierra Zenaland um done a race in Poland.
So just all over um the US isjust that's another why of being
able to experience the world ina different way, I guess, has

(20:13):
been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 (20:14):
So cool.
I I mean, what a great I I don'tknow.
It's cool to see people's whysand how they evolve over time as
well.
And yeah, yours are interesting.
For you with pikes.
I mean, you've it's sointeresting to me because like
uh pikes is a funny mountain,right?
It's such a weird, weird thing.
You've raced it now, what, fivetimes, something like that?

SPEAKER_01 (20:32):
Actually, I think this was my tenth.
Oh, really?
I I had no idea.
They I don't know if you know,but they put on a ultra sign up.

SPEAKER_00 (20:38):
Yeah, I just didn't go, I didn't go off of like the
pikes results.
I did ultra sign up.

SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
So they they I would have had no idea, but they put
it on the bib this year of likenine time finisher or whatever.
And so I saw that and I waslike, holy cow, that was nine.
I think this was this last yearwas my tenth.
So that's a pretty good yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (20:56):
And I will say 304, like you're right.
That I mean, you are literally amatter of like it's not really
fitness in the sense where it'slike you're just a matter of
like a having a good day withpressure at the at the summit,
and you're right, you're 259.

SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
Like it's right there.
Yeah, yeah.
I think you know where I needto, and it this is actually nice
in a sense, is where I need tolose some time is from the base
to bar.
I those W's get me every time.
Once I get past the W's and kindof or not the W's, but bar and
I'm on my way to A frame, that'swhen like I just and I don't

(21:31):
know, maybe because I'm close.
I'm like, I really like theclimb above the trees.
That's my favorite part.
So my thing is uh getting out ofmy head for the W's and up to
bar.

SPEAKER_00 (21:40):
So well, the race starts out so fast too.
I like I think that's such amake it or break it section from
really from uh the start to upthe W's to the top, and it's
such an opportunity to blowyourself up.
It's like uh it's a very honestaspect of the race.
Whereas I feel like you can hidein other sections, like there's
a small little downhill section,the no name is not that bad.

(22:01):
Like there's quite a fewsections where I feel like you
can exploit time, but yeah, ifyou're not running a certain
pace, like on uh I don't evenknow.
I I should think about Ihonestly the the women's times
escaped me, but like the ifyou're not running, I don't
know, what 650, 630 gapsomewhere in that range at that
section, like yeah, it's kind ofuh I don't know, it's a tricky
race.

(22:22):
How how did the race unfold foryou this year?
Was it like, were you neck andneck with other ladies racing?
Were you in no man's land?
Like how how how did it unfoldfor you?

SPEAKER_01 (22:30):
No, so I'm trying to think.
I so I started off in the firstwave.
Um, it's so funny.
I was actually running withMarissa, I might script her last
name, Baronas Barinasquez.
Do you know?
I don't know if you know her.
She's I think there's adifferent person that we both
know.
Um, so anyway, a girl that movedhere like a few years back, and
we always end up coming in racestogether.

(22:52):
And we both started out kind ofwith the pack, but towards the
back, and we're like, man, thosegirls are going out fast.
And so we were probably sittingback like 50, but it's not long
before you start kind of pickingthem off, the ones who haven't
done it before.
Um, so I I would have to go backand look at my numbers.
The nice thing about the resultsis it tells you where you are at

(23:13):
certain points in female.
Um, so kind of what I do is Isettle in behind someone who I
know is running a good clip, butI feel like I'm gonna be able to
stay with them and not justcompletely die.
So one I was running behind agirl for a long time and she
just was setting a really goodclip all the way to no name.
And at that point, I kind of waslike, Okay, I think you're

(23:35):
feeling good.
Just go around and I was able toscoot around her um and a few
other girls.
I was always running withsomebody, but eventually I got
into where I was running with alot of guys.
Um I I'm not yeah, Andy Cornish,I know she was running, and I
ended up passing her, and I waslike, Oh, there's another girl.
Okay, let's see if we can passher.

(23:56):
And I looked and I saw it washer, and I was like, Oh, that's
that's like I I know she saidthat she was just not feeling
super great that day, but it'skind of a boost when you pass
someone like her, and you'rejust like, oh my God, she's such
a badass.
And and so I just felt so like Ithink that helped me a little
bit, be a little like, okay, yougot this, keep going.
Um, and then I there were acouple girls, it's hard to look

(24:18):
back on that race because you'regonna fall on your face, but I
looked back a couple of timesand there was like this one girl
who's right on my heels.
So that was inspiring for me tonot let up and run as much as I
could.
That was in my brain of like runas much as you can, walk if you
have to for 10 seconds, then runagain.
Um, and then once I got aboveA-frame, I think I passed maybe

(24:39):
three or four other females whothey were just, they were just
flatlining and you could see,and I was feeling pretty good.
So at that point, then I just Ijust put my head down and hiked
and ran as fast as I could tothe top.
So um, I do know I was able tocatch a couple girls at that top
point though.
So that was nice too.

SPEAKER_00 (24:58):
What did you do in the lead up to the race to get
uh more acclimatized foraltitude?
Like did you do three, two, onesor anything like that?
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (25:04):
I did three.
My coach had me do three, two,ones.
He puts me on Rampart Range UmReservoir, not Rampart Rampart
Reservoir, that 14 mile loop.
Yeah, um awesome loop.
Yeah, love that loop.
We I was on Rampart Range, rodea lot, just getting a lot of
hills in.
I had also done um the TellurideMountain Run, um, which that
thing was insane, so epic.

(25:26):
Um, probably one of my favoriteruns, but that that was very
high training because not onlyare you high elevation, but um
the gain in elevation isprobably like 5,000 feet and six
miles or something like that.
So that was great training forthe peak as well.
And then I had done um shoot,rendezvous.

SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
Yeah, the rendezvous.
Yep.

SPEAKER_01 (25:49):
And a jacks and hole.
Yeah.
So, like I said, a lot of theraces leading up to the ascent I
kind of used as training racesas well.

SPEAKER_00 (25:57):
So that's amazing.
Yeah, well, and it's like suchan epic race.
Well, we'll talk about yourseason and debrief it uh as we
go.
One of the things I found soinspiring, like I bumped into
you the day of the marathon andwe were uh cheering on athletes,
and like yeah, I I thought likeone of the things that really
stuck with me about you was youhad kind of duked it out with
Chrissy, who won on like whowent on to win the race at TMR.

(26:19):
You finished just behind her insecond place.
But you were at the race atPike's Peak, uh, just after the
the marathons for the listeners,the marathon's always the day
after the ascent.
But you were volunteering,cheering people on, and you were
like making such a big deal tocheer Chrissy on as she came
down to her podium finish at themarathon.
So that really stuck with me.
I love that level ofsportsmanship in in the sport.

SPEAKER_01 (26:39):
And I think like even just like I said, I know I
mentioned like Golden Trail alot and all these other, but
man, I just feel like that'sacross the board in this sport.
Like, yeah, we all go out thereand we're racing to beat the
other person, but I also thinkwe're racing more against
ourselves than anyone else.
And to have someone like Christywho lives local, and um, I that

(27:01):
was the first time I met her wasat TMR, and she was such a cool
girl.
And so we chatted before, wechatted after.
We've actually gone on a like acouple training runs together.
Um, and so I just think thissport brings so many people
together, and it's it's justsuper addictive, not only in
when you're seeing personalgrowth, but meeting all these
cool people and wanting them todo well just as much as you want

(27:24):
it for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
So yeah, it's it's very special, like that level of
yeah.
I don't know, I it's this levelof like doing battle, and then
like after the fact, you likeyou're you become friends
because it's like we just wewe're like drama bonded because
we just did this thing together.

SPEAKER_02 (27:38):
100%, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Yeah, it's weird, right?
Like, I don't know, it's it's avery it's a weird, it's a funny
sport in that way.
Like yeah, I I find myself beingyeah, fans of everyone.
It's it's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 (27:48):
Yeah, everyone's so humble and so kind.
And yeah, I mean, even I'vegotten to know Christina
Masarenis over the over the pastfew months.
Um, she goes to my gym as well.
So it's just nice, I think, tohave someone to talk to about,
oh man, I have this littlenagging pain.
How are you feeling?
Or how did you feel after thisrace?
Or what are you doing beforethis?

(28:09):
Like just little things.
And I know that some of theother people that were up at
that Telluride race, they have acrew that runs together down
here.
So they actually all traveled upto Telluride together um and got
an Airbnb.
So it's just a it's just a coolcommunity.

SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Yeah, no, for sure.
What is it like, especially withChristina and just the local
community as well?
Like, because I don't know, itit's I find I meet some people,
like I have a lot of goodfriends, but like a lot of my
good friends like to run bythemselves, and I find sometimes
find myself in in that spot aswell.
But then I'll go through periodsof time where I like to train
with other people.
Um do you ever like bounce ideasoff of like Christina?

(28:44):
Is that like because she's gotsuch a resource and such a good
like breadth of knowledge likeabout everything with the sport?

SPEAKER_01 (28:51):
Yeah.
So I've you know, I've had acouple, I've been pretty
fortunate, I should knock onsome wood that I haven't had any
like um training, like stopstopping injuries or anything
like that.
But I've always had little likenagging pain.
Something always seems to benagging me.
And so a lot of times, you know,I'll ask her questions about
that, like, hey, have you everhad this happen?

(29:13):
Or what are some thoughts onthis?
And, you know, she's the one whorecommended me to the PT guy
that she uses here, and he hasbeen super great and helpful.
Um the yesterday, my trainingrun that I had, um, I had to do
uh eight by three minutes atlike a six minute pace.
And I'm just telling her, I waslike, I just wasn't feeling

(29:33):
that.
So I used gravity as much as Icould.
So I got up as high as I couldon my warmup and then used
gravity to help me run downhillfast.
And, you know, just herperspective on it was like, you
know, um hitting that pace ishitting that pace, and it's the
mental of being able to achievethat training run.
And so I don't necessarily pickher brain in terms of at yet um

(29:55):
like different training runs shedoes because I kind of just
watch her on Strava as much.
Is kind of like that mentalcomponent of it.
Um, and she's just yeah, she'ssuper cool about just chatting
through things.

SPEAKER_00 (30:07):
So yeah, she's amazing, and one of the
smartest, like interestingminds.
Uh anybody that can run thatfast down Pike's Peak and not
destroy themselves.
I know.
We're gonna talk about a toughbrain.
That is an interesting unit.
Um big, big yeah, kudos to her.
Um thing I want to pivot to tois uh training.
So I know you work you've beenworking with a coach for a while

(30:28):
now.
Let's let's talk about like yourtraining.
Like what what do you like?
First off, I know you'rebuilding towards a race in Moab,
but like what have you guys beenworking on?
Like, what do you put emphasison?
Is it more heart rate-basedtraining?
Is it more you had mentionedpace, is it more pace stuff?
Like, what are you guysspecifically like working on?

SPEAKER_01 (30:45):
I think so.
Right now it's more pace stuff.
Prior to, so he's really goodabout taking whatever race I'm
focusing on or is coming up andaddressing my training to meet
that.
So when we were getting readyfor the ascent, it was a lot of
uphill, a lot of vertical, um,three, two, ones, that kind of
thing.
Now that we're going to Moab,um, Moab does Moab does have

(31:08):
some vertical in it, but it'salso going to have a lot of
downhill fast.
So we've been pulling in a lotmore speed training.
Um, the first couple of sessionsare a little rough because my
legs were used to just thatuphill grind, um, nothing super
fast.
So the first time he put me on aspeed thing, it was like six and
a half minutes.
I said, excuse me, my legsaren't there right now.

(31:30):
Um, but now we we're working upto like that six minute pace of
just trying to sustain for threeminutes or whatever.
So when he's having me do thesetrainings right now, that's a
lot.
What we're focusing on recentlyis speed training.
Um and then long runs, he has merunning more trail long runs.
So I was on Rampart Range theother day, just getting some,

(31:54):
not only some vertical, but somepounding on my legs coming down
to strengthen the quads.
Um, he'll put he's having me goout onto the pineries next week
um in Black Forest for the updown because that's gonna
simulate more of what Moab'sgonna be like.
So he's pretty good at reallyresearching the races, knowing
what terrain I'm gonna be racingon, and then it's adapting my

(32:15):
training to that.
So I like that.

SPEAKER_00 (32:17):
And he's local to the springs, right?

SPEAKER_01 (32:19):
Yeah, so he he knows a lot of um like he had
introduced me to RampartReservoir.
I know that's probably likeyou've lived here for how many
years and you didn't know aboutthat?
Um I'm going there on Saturday.
It's amazing.
I love that.
Yeah, it's so I can't wait toget back up there again.
And um, yeah, so it's beenthat's what's really nice about
having someone local is he knowsthe different places to get

(32:41):
hills, the different places toget um rolling hills.
So it's been helpful.

SPEAKER_00 (32:46):
Yeah, yeah, that's that's amazing.
You know, uh another greatplace.
Um I I don't feel bad blowingthe spot up on the podcast
because I know no one's gonna godo it, but just the the roads
out east, like Black Forest andstuff like that, the dirt roads.
Yeah, I know a lot of uh likeHillary Boar, a lot of like the
Olympic guys go out there andtrain, and it's just it's like
it's awesome because it's higherelevation, it's like 7,000 feet

(33:08):
up near like Greenland and BlackForest.
And yeah, that's where I goevery weekend.
It's amazing.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (33:13):
Really?
Okay, so like I live in Falcon.
Okay.
Um, and I've I've love those, Imean, driving those hills.
And so sometimes I'm on them.
The other day I was on one and Iwas like, man, this would be a
good running road, but there'slike no shoulder.

SPEAKER_00 (33:26):
So do you ever feel I just go where the I'll send
I'll send after this podcast,I'll send you a link to where I
go.
Because I I did one in Greenlandand I thought I was gonna die.
But then I did another one whereI found a better, a better route
that someone sent me.
And I'd like it's just yeah,like it's it's cool.
And you have it's like herds ofelk everywhere too, which is
kind of cool.
I'm like, why are there elk outhere?

(33:46):
Yeah, yeah.
It's it's it's it's outside ofthat.
That's awesome.
Yeah, yeah.
Um want to pivot really quickoutside of training.
One of the things that's whatreally impressed me about you is
you're 39 years old and you justkeep getting like you had a
banner season this year, youkeep continuing to improve.
I think that throws out the doorfor anybody that like age is
just a number in a lot of ways.

(34:07):
That like especially because youcompete at Short Trail.
You know, most of the racesyou're doing are 50k and under.
Right.
But do you attribute that tomaybe starting a little bit
later?
Do you attribute that to yourtraining now?
Like, what do you think aboutthat?

SPEAKER_01 (34:19):
I do, I I do think part of it with training
starting later has made it so mybody hasn't hit that exhaustion
phase, like maybe some otherpeople who might be closer to my
age.
Um, but then at the same time, Isee people who are older than me
crushing it too.
And that's super inspiring.
That makes me hopeful that I'llbe able to keep improving and

(34:42):
doing better.
Um, I think the the chick whofinished second or third in the
ascent was maybe 42, 43.
Um, so that's just superinspiring.
Whenever I see someone olderlike that doing what they're
doing, it makes me realize,okay, maybe you could do this
for like another year and thenmaybe another year.
So um yeah, I I do I do thinkthat starting later and not put

(35:08):
putting so much strain on mybody earlier um has made it so
I'm not completely dying in myalmost 40s.
So I love it.

SPEAKER_00 (35:17):
I love it.
How do you how do you view itthough?
Like, do you I don't knowbecause this is like a mental
thing.
Like I see so many people hit 40or 45 and they're like, I'm
done, I'm gonna start slowingdown, or I'm gonna start falling
apart, or I'm ouch, my backhurts.
Like, I think that's like somental.
I think that like if you justignore the fact that you're in
your 40s, like I don't think itreally matters.

(35:37):
And it means at least that,yeah, maybe your VO2 will lose
like a f a point or two.
Right.
Doesn't really matter for mostof the races that we do, you
know.

SPEAKER_01 (35:47):
Well, and I think you hit it on the head too.
I'm like, it'd be interesting todo this, what I did in my 30s,
to see the difference in how mybody would respond.
Like, I'm not gonna lie, I wakeup in the morning wobbling.
You know, it takes me probablylonger than some other people to
um shake off the soreness or thetiredness.

(36:08):
But um I I agree with you.
Like, yeah, I'm 40, but at thesame time, I'm like, I don't
necessarily always remind myselfof that.
I just try and go out and do thebest that I can um with what I
have been given.
And, you know, talking to mycoach a lot, he is very much, he
really believes that my fastestyears are still ahead of me.

(36:30):
Um, with the fact that I just,you know, I am still pretty new
to this sport um and reallygoing all in.
I've probably, I mean, just fortwo years with him.
And in these two years, I'velearned so much about, you know,
not only the training aspect ofit with running, but nutrition
and still playing with that.
So I know I don't have that 100%down.

(36:50):
Um, the recovery aspect ofrolling every night and
stretching every night.
And um, so there are stillthings that I need to play with
to make it so that I'mperforming at my best.
Um, so I'm hopeful that that Istill have some faster times
ahead of me for sure.

SPEAKER_00 (37:07):
Yeah, I mean, definitely.
I mean, honestly, like if youjust take this year as a sample
size and start to like look atit, you're like, oh yeah, like
you have a long runway.
And I just think it's so coolbecause um, yeah, you just have
more and more opportunities tocontinue to improve.
And I don't know, like, youknow, yeah, stop three hours at
Piked might be a thing of the,not just might be a thing of
past next year, but you might betargeting, I don't know, 245,

(37:29):
250.
Like there's plenty of uh, youknow, runway for that, which I
think is kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 (37:35):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (37:35):
Let's talk racing a little bit.
I mean, we'll we'll talk aboutsome of your uh the races you
did this season, but I I'd bevery curious, especially given
the fact that you've run seriesand all already, like what's a
bucket list race for you?
Like what's something youhaven't done yet that you want
to do?

SPEAKER_01 (37:48):
Um this one's more, this one's closer to home, but
uh broken arrow, I really wantto go be part of that series.
Um, either the 18k or the 23k,I'd be happy if I got into
either one of those.
So um just when you watch thatwhole weekend unfold, it's like
that racing community, like yousaid, it just looks really cool.

(38:10):
Um, there was one in the GoldenTrail series that was in Spain.
Um can't remember what it wascalled.
Zegama Zegama.

SPEAKER_02 (38:19):
Zegama Zegama.
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (38:21):
Great race.
So I mean, I don't, I I wouldlove to run that race, but just
running a race over in Spain oryou know, any any trail race
over in that area um in Europewould be a bucketless race.
I don't know, um I don't knowabout like UTMB getting into

(38:43):
something like that, but I wouldlove to run in that area,
shamanny, and get someexperience in, but those
mountains look crazy.
So um local would probably bethat broken arrow series, and
then I mean anything over inEurope I'd be I'd be game for.

SPEAKER_00 (38:58):
So yeah, that's so cool.
I uh you would crush the 18.
I mean, like you easily get onthe podium of the 18k.
And I think like you shouldseriously think about doing the
23k too.
Like that's 23, another greatrace, but it's it's just more
competitive, which it makes itmore fun.
Um I hope the 18k gets morecompetitive.
I've looked at that.
That course, in my opinion, anddiehards might like hate me for
this, but I think the 18kcourse, in my opinion, is better

(39:21):
than the 23k course just becauseit's just vertical-wise and just
yeah, shortness.
It's it's just a different race.
Um, yeah, I might do that nextyear.
It's on the list.
We'll see.

SPEAKER_01 (39:30):
I know it definitely, yeah, it was
supposed to be, but I sat on myor sat on my hands on in terms
of like registering, and so Iwas on the wait list for the
18k.
And by the time I found out, Ialready had so many other races
lined up, and yeah, it justwasn't gonna fall in.
So that that's gonna be one thatI is like in for sure.

SPEAKER_00 (39:50):
So this season you got second to TMR, you got
second at BTMR.
Um I talked to you obviouslyjust before BTMR.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
How, how like, I don't know,like it was such a good season
for you.
Like looking back andreflecting, like, what are your
thoughts?
Like, do you are you hard onyourself?
Like, oh, I've got to win theseraces.
Are you just happy to be onthese podiums?
Like, how do you kind ofapproach it mentally?

SPEAKER_01 (40:12):
Um, definitely happy to be on the podiums.
It's just definitely acompetence booster for sure.
I think more times thananything, um I go into a race
with a couple of goals.
And my first goal tends toalways lean towards uh based on
time.
And so my like the first race ofthe season, I started out in San

(40:34):
Francisco on a road race, um, a15K.
And I just my main goal was tojust get a sub um 60 minute 10
or 15k.
And I'm pretty sure I did that.
That's a long time ago.
Now I can't even remember.
Um, my second goal is then toalways like be competitive with

(40:54):
the girls, be in that top three,um, but if not top three, top
five.
And so um, you know, some went,some went time-wise, they were
good.
Some podium was good, but timewasn't good.
And some I missed the mark onboth.
So the season was definitelysuper fun, but there were some
races that I kind of I felt alittle defeated on.

(41:15):
Um, like Garner the Gods 10mile.
I think I was I was a minuteslower this year.
BTMR was actually a little bitslower this year.
I just couldn't get my legsunder me on the down.
So I tend to beat myself more upmore when I don't hit the time
mark versus the podium mark.
So I feel like you can controltime more than who shows up for

(41:36):
the race.

SPEAKER_00 (41:36):
So no, 100%.
Are you like looking at likebasically splits before the race
and kind of figuring out like,all right, coach, like I want to
run an hour 10 on this or anhour five, and like you're
that's basically, or is itpersonal?
Like you don't talk about itwith coach, like how how does
that dynamic work?

SPEAKER_01 (41:52):
No, we do talk about it.
Um, we talk a lot about umpre-race strategies.
He's really helped me withunderstanding how to get my body
going in the morning, what toeat, um, when to do my warm-up,
get some strides in, which hasbeen super, super helpful.
Um, and we always talk evenbefore that about, you know, if
this is our goal, um, these arethe this is the pace you'll have

(42:14):
to hit for these parts.
He'll even give me pointersbecause he dives into the races
quite deeply in terms of thefirst couple miles.
This is the elevation you'regonna expect.
So, you know, grind here at thismile is when you can expect some
reprieve.
Um, so kind of let your legsloose here.
And at this mile, you're gonnago down.
So he he breaks the course downquite a bit for me and

(42:35):
definitely gives me some pace,like just some idea of where I
should be at different points inthe race.
Um sometimes, like I said,sometimes I hit them, sometimes
I don't.
With BTMR and Ascent, really,those ones, like my splits of
the different checkpoints, aredefinitely in my brain.
Um, I try not to dwell on themtoo much if I don't hit them.

(42:58):
Um, but then definitely getreally excited if I'm like, oh
my God, I'm totally ahead ofpace here.
And so it's just, yeah, wedefinitely talk about we all we
even talk about like what kindof gear I should bring.
So um, and sometimes I don'tknow, TMR, I ended up wearing a
camelback.
A lot of the other girls didn't.
They just had handheld, so it'skind of hard to know on that,

(43:19):
you know, too.
But he always gives me pointersof I would just bring a water
bottle for this one versus Iwould wear a camelback for this
one.
And so helps definitely withthat pre-race prep.

SPEAKER_00 (43:28):
Yeah.
No, it's amazing.
I love the well-roundedness.
Yeah.
I one question I have, um, whatdid you think of Ronde like
Rendezvous Hill Client?
That is such a sick race, and Ithink it's kind of kind of under
the radar.
Like not enough people talkabout that race.

SPEAKER_01 (43:41):
Oh, if you can do it, do it.
That race is so cool.
I ended up, I had another raceout there, maybe, oh man, I'm
not, I don't know, a few yearsback.
That was um the SERP 30K.
So they have another series outthere that is in that same area,
and they're just longer races.
So I saw this, my coach hadrecommended it actually, and I

(44:02):
was like, heck yeah, any chanceI can get to go to Jackson Hole,
I am totally there.
Um, it was a little intimidatingbecause Anna Gibson was there,
Jane Moss was there.
Um, I can't remember the thirdplace girl.
So I mean that that wasdefinitely intimidating to be
toe in the line with them, butthat course is phenomenal.
Just, I mean, it's a grind fromthe beginning to the end.

(44:24):
The end you kind of finishclimbing up some rocks.
Um, and then there's just likeat the very, very top, there's
just a grind of a road, like aservice road to get to the
finish line.
But um, kind of like Pikes hasthe donuts, they have a waffle,
like the famous waffles upthere.
So um, I I we were about to geton the gondola and my husband

(44:46):
told me about these waffles, andso we had to pivot.
And because we have one of thesewaffles, it was so good.
So if you do it, do get thewaffle.
Um, and then the other coolthing is you get to hang out at
the top kind of like pikes, andthen you get to ride the gondola
back down.
So yeah, it's it's it's a verycool race.

SPEAKER_00 (45:03):
And you're like destroyed, but in a different
way, like you recover so muchfaster because it's just an
uphill race.
It's it's yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (45:09):
It was we actually we so we drove there and we're
driving back the next day, andmy coach had recommended a rest
day on Sunday, but I my legsfelt fine, and so I ended up
like be bopping up another skiarea, like area just because I
wanted to um get some moretrails in in Jackson Hole, and
it was my legs were fine versusTMR.

(45:30):
There is there's no way becausethe downhill on my legs were
done, they were out.

SPEAKER_00 (45:34):
Yeah, TMR is a beast of a race, especially like I
didn't realize like you gainedliterally 2,000 feet in the
first like mile and a half likeon that ski road.
Like it's stupid.
One of my training partners andbest friends did it.
Uh I don't know, did you meetBrad Barrett out there?
He's from Colorado Springs, alsohe runs for Arctaryx, but he um
yeah, I don't know about it.
He was out there, he got he gotlike fourth or fifth, he was

(45:55):
like right in the middle.
Um and yeah, he like he waslike, dude, like I don't know
how many times we could havedone reps on Long's Ranch Road
to get me ready for this, butlike that ascent is stupid hard.

SPEAKER_01 (46:07):
It's insane, and you think that you're at the top
because there's nowhere else togo, and then you turn a corner
and there's just another.
I mean, there I slipped goingup.
That's how steep it was.
Like you were just pretty muchcrawling up one section, and
then there's like a really coolmetal staircase that you have to
go up towards the very end ofit, and they make you go around
a peak.

(46:28):
Um, and that's where I figuredout all of their disclaimers
about making sure that yourealize that this is not your
traditional trail race.
Because we were literally like,there was no trail there.
We were just holding on for dearlife, hiking around the tip of
this peak before we went downthe stairs.
It was, it was crazy.
And then you think, oh, okay,I've made it to the top.
Now it's just downhill.
But that downhill was steep,narrow, and rocky.

(46:51):
So there was not, I mean, mylegs were just had no idea what
to do, but I do it again.

SPEAKER_00 (46:58):
I I've run the course in reverse before.
There's like a smaller teleriderace a few years ago that is in
reverse and it's so much fasterin reverse.
I mean, it's just because it'smore on the road, but man, yeah,
it's it's a good, it's a goodroute.
Like nonetheless, it's TMR is, Ithink, another slept on, like,
really I would like to see moreelites go out there and have it
be more competitive becausethere's it's it's starting to

(47:18):
get more notoriety for like thelonger, like the 24 and the 40.
But the 13 mile course, in myopinion, I think that's the best
one.
They need to put a VK.
I need to write to these guys.
Uh if they don't do it, I'm justgonna do it myself.
They need to have a VK where itbecause it's so easy.
You just take the you could takethe gondola down.
Uh yeah, it's such an easy placefor a VK because we don't have a

(47:39):
lot in Colorado.
Like, people might get upset forthat, but like there's not a lot
of places in Colorado for uhoutside of like where you can
have an actual race, like in thesense where it's either not in
wilderness, or it has to be in anational forest or a ski place,
uh, and you have to have a liftto be able to get people down,
or else they get a walk down,which is kind of you know, tell
your ride uh checks all theboxes.

(47:59):
That's a great place for yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (48:01):
Yeah, I agree.
I think, you know, I my bestfriend actually ran that race um
with me because she was trainingfor the ascent as well.
And um, so it was really funnybecause I had texted her when
she was still on the mountain onthe course and was asking her
where she was, and she said, Whydoes it seem like this race is
going to be longer than 13miles?

(48:22):
I said, Because it was a heavyhat.
I was like, I didn't tell youthat beforehand, but it was
ended up being like 14.5 milesor something like that.

SPEAKER_02 (48:30):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (48:30):
So that was that was a little bit of a shocker, but I
ended up running, you know, someguy was, of course, he um was
not feeling good.
He had tossed his cookiesmultiple times.
It was Connor.
Yeah, yeah.
And so I ended up passing him uma little bit, and then he ended
up catching back up with me, andhe was so cool, he just ran the

(48:52):
rest of the race back with me onthe uh once you got on the dirt
road.
And um, that was super helpful.

SPEAKER_02 (48:57):
I mean sweet guy.

SPEAKER_01 (48:58):
Yeah, he could have flown by.
He was feeling, I mean, hefinally was feeling good, and he
just hung with me, and that waskind of fun.
So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (49:06):
Super cool, great experience.
Yeah, for sure.
Let's pivot off races.
I want to get to one more thingum with um recovery.
Like, what do you what does yourrecovery look like?
Like, what are you specificallydoing?

SPEAKER_01 (49:18):
Um, so it's definitely some in another
another area of growth, I wouldsay.
Um, I once I when I startedgetting my coach, you know, I
was always one who thoughtsmaller is better, right?
So I need to eat as few caloriesas possible to maintain to be
able to run as fast as I want,but um, I need to be as light as

(49:39):
possible.
Um, and so that working with acoach has definitely changed
that mindset.
You know, it's still a battle inmy mind, but um, I've definitely
learned to eat more after I runum protein, but then also
learned recently that you got tomix the protein and then some
carbs in there, or else theprotein isn't gonna do their
job.
And so I've been really, reallytrying hard to get more um good

(50:03):
carbs in, like sweet potatoes,that kind of thing.
Um, just even bringing crackersto the gym after I run and
coupling that with my quest bar.
Um, so just kind of I think theeating component is a huge
thing.
Um, and then I have gotten a lotbetter at stretching, rolling um

(50:25):
my foam roller every night.
I've been using that.
I do a massage.
If it wasn't for the money, I doit like every weekend.
But like I get do get a massageonce a once a month and try to
just kind of keep up with thoselittle things, do some PT if I
have nagging injuries.
Um, and then typically we haveat least one day a week where

(50:48):
I'm not running.
Um, and then the other thinghe's really helped me with is on
my non-workout days, like myeasy run days, just trying to
keep the pace chill.
So not burning myself out everyday.
Um like I said, it's still awork in progress, but I would
say over the last month I'vestarted to connect the dots with

(51:10):
finding the right kind of fuel,hydration, stretching, rolling,
like that recovery component forsure.

SPEAKER_00 (51:17):
So stretching is is magic.
I just started stretching thisyear.
Dude came changing.

SPEAKER_01 (51:23):
Well, and that's like I was like, is it the
stretching part or is it thefood part?
Is it all of it together?
Um, but yeah, I feel like it wasbefore TMR, but there were some
days, some weeks where it's likeeveryone felt like I was pulling
teeth.
Um, and my body was just dying.
And so I like I said, talked toa couple people and got some

(51:45):
pointers, and then it's justbeen it's just been feeling a
lot better recently.

SPEAKER_00 (51:49):
So do you do the ice bath at all?
Dude, I I swear my coach hatesme doing it.
He's like, oh dude, that'sscience, it's so old.
I love the ice bath.
It's like my favorite thing inthe world.

SPEAKER_01 (52:00):
I I haven't done the ice bath, but I have done, I
used to do cryo spa.
Have you done those before?

SPEAKER_00 (52:06):
I've done cryo before.
Cryo's legit.
It's it's super yeah, it's it'skind of difficult for like 30
seconds.
I didn't really, or like howeverlong they like stick you in
there.
Yeah, it's a little chilly.

SPEAKER_01 (52:15):
I yeah, I there's a place on Austin Bluffs and kind
of biam, feet, fleet, fleet,feet.
I always get those two mixed up.
Um but they you put you're in achamber and they like your head
is still above, which is goodfor someone who's
claustrophobic, and then theyjust like they just blast it.
And there's a couple times I'vegotten skin burn because it's so

(52:37):
cold, but I do really feel likethat was helpful for recovery.
Um, I kind of stopped doing itjust because my skin was getting
burnt, and every time I went, itjust re-aggravated that area.
But when I think or talk tosomeone like you or think about
it, I'm like, I should go backand try that again and see, even
if I did it once a week, whatwhat I what if that would be

(52:57):
helpful.

SPEAKER_00 (52:58):
So I swear by the ice bath.
Like I bought it, I bought acheap chiller like on Amazon.
Yeah, I've got it in my garageand I go in there.
Like, I think Michelino had me,I think I've got to wait like
five hours in between like whenI run and then when I go ice
bath, but still I make it likean everyday thing.
I gotta say, because I have likefor some reason like very tight

(53:18):
hips.
Like I'm always stretching andalways like trying to fix and
work on my hips.
And yeah, yo, the yeah, I mean,I think that's like the reason I
can like run at a high level ona daily basis is because of that
ice bath.
Like it helps a ton.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (53:32):
Interesting.
I might have to invest in one ofthose.
The whole idea, I'm sitting hereand I'm like, oh, I'm already
cold thinking about it.

SPEAKER_00 (53:38):
But so it's I mean, I set mine, I don't set mine
super cold.
Like I said it's like 49 degreesor 50 degrees.

SPEAKER_01 (53:43):
Okay.

SPEAKER_00 (53:43):
It's not like terrible.
And I just get in there and thatworks for me.

SPEAKER_01 (53:46):
And how long do you hang out in there?

SPEAKER_00 (53:48):
I do six minutes.

SPEAKER_01 (53:49):
So my god.

SPEAKER_00 (53:51):
Yeah, I just put out, I bring my earphones and
just sit on my sit on my phoneand try and think you know what?
Like for me, the hardest thingwas my feet.
Like my feet would get super Ijust go in there with socks, and
socks seem to do the trick forme.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (54:03):
Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 (54:03):
It doesn't bother my feet.
So yeah, that's crazy.
Sitting there and uh yeah,eventually, like around like two
and a half minutes, threeminutes, it it it completely
goes away.
Like I don't feel anything.

SPEAKER_01 (54:12):
So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (54:12):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (54:13):
Wow, that's you know, that's something to think
about.
But definitely I know a lot ofpeople also talk about just
doing the strength training tohelp.
You know, I don't know thatthat's necessarily a recovery
thing, but um, I do love justbeing at the gym and doing
different strength things.
So I feel like that's good.

SPEAKER_00 (54:32):
Well, that's what I was gonna ask you about was TRX.
Um, do you think that plays arole?
Because like that's like verygood for I don't know, kind of
full body.
So that's gotta like play somesort of role.

SPEAKER_01 (54:44):
I a hundred percent do.
And I guess thinking back tosome of the questions that
you've asked, I I started reallygoing at TRX harder sooner than
I did running.
And I do think that that hashelped with my running.
Um, it just you're right, it isa full body workout.
Um, but the things that you cando with like squats and lunges

(55:08):
and um the the core definitely,it's like my the classes that I
run are 45 minutes, and reallyif you're thinking about it, you
can engage your core for thatfull 45 minutes um with that
type of workout.
So I do think that that hasplayed a huge role.
Um, it's been an interestingkind of story, not story, but

(55:30):
just go with that, becauseinitially when I what when I
started TRX, I actually was justa participant in the class.
Um, and the lady who wasteaching it, she was phenomenal.
Um, but it was only her.
And so she needed someone to subfor her, but you had to be
certified.
So then I decided to getcertified, um, was able to get a
couple of my own classes, andthen she ended up leaving.

(55:51):
And so now now I took over herclasses, and some of the people
that took with her 10 years agoare still there and still
coming.
So um definitely a different wayto work out.
It's fun to work out with peopleand yeah, just different than
hitting the weights.

SPEAKER_00 (56:06):
So it's so cool.
Can you explain to the audiencelike what it is, more or less?

SPEAKER_01 (56:10):
Yeah.
Um, so it's I think it'sactually based, I think it's a
military thing, but it's twostraps that kind of tether up on
a bar, or you can tether them toa door that come down.
Um, and it's really like you dodifferent moves based on your
weight.
It's body weight resistant.
Um, you can do like pull-ups orpush-ups, or you can hold on to

(56:34):
these handles and put one footon the floor and do squats.
Um, you can put your feet intothese foot cradles and do a like
a hanging plank almost kind ofsituation.
The nice thing, the cool thingis like the straps shift on you.
And so they force you to reallyengage that core as you're doing
like rollouts or um even some ofthe upper body stuff.

(56:56):
So it really, so that way you'renot shifting to one side or
moving around.
Um, it's actually really nicefor people who have different
injuries too, um, that can't,you know, someone who might have
a hip injury where they can usethe hands to go down on a squat
versus um someone who maybe isfeeling great, they can go down

(57:18):
in a squat and then jump up.
You know, so there's just somany different levels on these,
on these straps and so manydifferent moves that you can do.
But definitely huge for thatwhole body workout.

SPEAKER_00 (57:30):
Interesting.
Yeah, I think it's super cool.
I I almost got like I had likepriced them out a bunch of
times, but like never wentthrough the whole process of
like installing them justbecause like the whole full body
stuff you can get on is prettylegit.
So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (57:43):
And the actual like the TRX straps are like
expensive, the name brand ones,but you can get some knockoffs
that are just as good.
Um, and then I happen to have anunfinished basement, so it can
put it on a bar down there, buta lot of times they'll come with
an attachment on the door.
So you can just close your doorum and then use them that way.

SPEAKER_00 (58:05):
So you know what my favorite thing has been lately?
The ski erg.
I love the ski erg.
That thing is so dope.
I yeah, it's like my favoritepiece of if I do like any cross
training besides biking, likeit's usually like hours on the
ski erg.
I love that thing.

SPEAKER_01 (58:18):
That's funny, huh?
I don't think I've tried one ofthose.

SPEAKER_00 (58:20):
So cool.

SPEAKER_01 (58:21):
Yeah, it's I have to.

SPEAKER_00 (58:23):
10 out of 10 recommends.
Um, yeah, I think we're almostuh we're at about an hour now.
Um do you think anything wedidn't get?
I wanted to make sure we toldyour whole story.

SPEAKER_01 (58:33):
I don't think so.
No.
What's what's next?

SPEAKER_00 (58:36):
So we got Moab that's next, and then what's
goals for next year?

SPEAKER_01 (58:40):
Um so like I said, Pice Peak, going gonna go back
at that again.
It's gonna be the 70thanniversary of that race.
So just PR, hopefully sub threehour.
Um, I am going back to Boston.
That race in 2024, no, 2025, um,did not go as I wanted.

(59:00):
Um, it just had an unfortunatesituation at the beginning where
my foot found a pothole and Iwas down and couldn't really get
back to pace after that.
So we're gonna go back there andkeep our head up this time.
Um I have an application intoSydney.
I did qualify by nine minutes.
I don't know if that'll hold up,but if that does, then I would

(59:23):
be doing the Sydney Marathon inAugust, which would be like a
dream vacation going there andthen getting to race on top of
it would be awesome.
I will nine 99% sure do umbroken arrow again.
Okay.
And then yeah, other than that,I mean I'd love to.

(59:44):
If I don't have another race,I'd go back to BTMR.
Um, but a lot of it'll just bekind of based around what other
races pop up and what my coachrecommends for training races.

SPEAKER_00 (59:54):
So very cool.
Very cool.
Yeah.
So we got a lot of a lot ofmarathon blocks.
I like it.
We got an Early early seasonmarathon block for Boston.
That'll be super fun.
I don't know.
I feel like that's I think ifyou're gonna do a marathon
block, that's the time to do it,is in the spring anyway, because
it's like all of our trails areusually icy or snowy anyway.
So you might as well just builda huge base and you know, run it
and run it on the roads.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:15):
So that's what we did last year for Boston.
Um I think I had a couple, likeso I had a half marathon in
Vegas, and then I had that 15kum in January.
So had some trail races built orroad races to build up to that
Boston race.
We'll probably do somethingsimilar again this year.
So and then I don't know, we'llsee if Australia happens or not.
It'd be pretty cool though.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:36):
That'd be so dope.
I yeah, the Aussies are supercool people.
Uh I don't know how they livethere with the giant spiders.
That's the only thing I'm notnot a giant fan of.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:44):
Might make me run a little fast enough to be one of
those.
I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:49):
Well, Amanda, thank you so much for coming on the
pod.
This is a great conversation.
Wishing you the best of luck,and uh, we'll have to do this
again sometime.
We'll do a do a round two uhafter next season.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:59):
Sounds great.
Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:02):
Yeah, thanks for coming on, appreciate it.
What'd you guys think?
Oh man, what a fun episode.
I really want to thank Amandafor coming on the pod.
Uh super fun conversation, anduh, you know, just a very
inspiring individual.
Kind of shows that you cancontinue to improve deep into
your 30s and even into yourearly 40s.
And um, age is just a number andit doesn't really matter.
So all good stuff there.
Want to thank Amanda for uhcoming on.

(01:01:24):
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