WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:02.950 Strap season, you know, I'm doing whatever it 00:00:02.950 --> 00:00:05.009 takes put out never hitting the brace getting 00:00:05.009 --> 00:00:07.830 the medals. I'm ready to race Yeah, yeah, yeah 00:00:07.830 --> 00:00:11.130 time to get it on life is not a dash live it 00:00:11.130 --> 00:00:27.210 like a marathon who ready? Welcome to not another 00:00:27.210 --> 00:00:31.190 running podcast. I am your host line six. This 00:00:31.190 --> 00:00:34.530 episode is a recap of my Rome Marathon experience. 00:00:36.929 --> 00:00:41.609 So this marathon was special for me for two reasons. 00:00:42.329 --> 00:00:45.070 Reason one, I've always wanted to go to Rome 00:00:45.070 --> 00:00:49.369 and see the Roman Coliseum. Reason two, I got 00:00:49.369 --> 00:00:52.369 a chance to run a marathon or at least run the 00:00:52.369 --> 00:00:56.750 same marathon at the same time with my son. So 00:00:56.750 --> 00:01:01.649 that was awesome. So race morning, we get up, 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:05.450 get dressed, make sure we have our race field, 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:11.189 and head out the door. Our hotel was maybe a 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:18.030 mile away from where the start was. And so him 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:20.609 and I were just walking and we're talking. And 00:01:20.609 --> 00:01:24.310 I think he was a little bit excited and nervous. 00:01:24.590 --> 00:01:28.689 I really couldn't gauge his mind state. He just 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:32.590 kept saying, bro, I can't wait, man. I'm ready. 00:01:32.750 --> 00:01:38.430 And I was like, hey, dude, just chill, man. Go 00:01:38.430 --> 00:01:41.269 out there and have fun, man. There ain't no pressure. 00:01:42.290 --> 00:01:44.209 At some point in time, you're going to feel it. 00:01:44.730 --> 00:01:46.950 But that's what keeps you coming back for more 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:51.250 in the marathon is that pain and overcoming it. 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:55.390 So we get to the starting area for all the runners 00:01:55.390 --> 00:01:58.530 and stuff. we have to separate because we're 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:00.269 in two different corrals. Obviously, he's going 00:02:00.269 --> 00:02:03.069 to be in a different corral than me because it's 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:07.329 his first marathon. So, on our starting bibs, 00:02:07.329 --> 00:02:09.969 they show they have, like, your country flag 00:02:09.969 --> 00:02:11.969 on it, a small little square of your country 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:15.750 flag, everybody's country flag. And I point to 00:02:15.750 --> 00:02:18.710 his chest, I'm like, hey, dude, Representative 00:02:18.710 --> 00:02:22.090 for America, hold it down for Big Daddy Trump 00:02:22.090 --> 00:02:26.289 and the boys. And he goes his way, I go mine's. 00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:31.409 So I was in the first wave of runners and so 00:02:31.409 --> 00:02:38.289 I started first. The start of this Rome Marathon 00:02:38.289 --> 00:02:44.110 was bonkers, man. As soon as the gun go off and 00:02:44.110 --> 00:02:50.590 you cross that little start mat, a big old cannon 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:53.189 just goes off and shoots out confetti at you. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:57.180 you can't even see in front of you. It's so live. 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:01.620 Not to mention, out of all the marathons I've 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:04.960 run, out of the eight I've run, I've never seen, 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:09.259 from the very start, as soon as you cross the 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:13.719 start line, each side of the road to be completely 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:17.039 packed with people cheering like crazy. I didn't 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.199 expect that from this marathon. Simply because 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:23.560 it's not a world major and every time I watch 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.759 the marathon on YouTube I've never seen the crowds 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:30.300 like that on the on the sides in the very beginning 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:33.780 of the race I mean for that matter it always 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:37.659 the videos on YouTube It looks like it's a pretty 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:41.319 dead marathon as far as crowd support, but Yeah, 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:43.479 YouTube don't give it justice man. I'm gonna 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:47.300 just tell you that straight up right now So the 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:51.129 race starts and Starts off on cobblestone, of 00:03:51.129 --> 00:03:55.250 course when Rome cobblestone two and two together 00:03:55.250 --> 00:04:02.370 But I Mean it wasn't The cobblestone wasn't too 00:04:02.370 --> 00:04:04.490 overbearing I remember looking down at my watch 00:04:04.490 --> 00:04:06.810 thinking that I was gonna be running a lot slower 00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:09.110 than I was because it was on cobblestone and 00:04:09.110 --> 00:04:12.509 I was still right at the pace that I wanted to 00:04:12.509 --> 00:04:16.269 start the race at and run it so we're taking 00:04:16.269 --> 00:04:21.319 off the miles and I'm thinking, man, this is 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:25.040 wild, dude. Like, it doesn't even feel like I'm 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.040 running at the pace that I'm running at. It was 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:31.920 like a complete outer body experience. I mean, 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:37.560 it was so crazy. I was sitting here just randomly 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:41.560 in my Tourette's bag yelling out random stuff. 00:04:42.019 --> 00:04:46.540 I was like just, I couldn't believe it. Hold 00:04:46.540 --> 00:04:52.420 on, so... Back in 2015 or maybe 16, there was 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:55.399 this game my wife and I used to play called Assassin's 00:04:55.399 --> 00:05:01.220 Creed Odyssey. And it took place in Rome. And 00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:02.959 some of the armor you could get, there were these 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:06.060 little skirts. Well, there was, you know, little 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:10.100 Roman warrior skirts. It was those. And we had 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:12.379 this little inside joke. Anytime one of us would 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:15.060 get a skirt, one of the little armor skirts, 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:19.879 we would say, Girlfriend got a new skirt. So, 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:23.279 randomly I'm sitting here running and that's 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:25.540 what pops in my head and that's what I'm randomly 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:28.899 saying. I'm like, hey, girlfriend got a new skirt. 00:05:29.019 --> 00:05:31.339 I mean, to the top of my lungs, I'm sure the 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:34.160 people beside me is like, what's wrong with this 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:37.779 crazy American? But I mean, it was a whole vibe 00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:41.459 out there for me. I couldn't believe, like I 00:05:41.459 --> 00:05:44.639 said, I never had a run. a race where I was on 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:48.259 autopilot like that. And I'm sitting there thinking 00:05:48.259 --> 00:05:52.980 like, bruh, you is really out here sliding, man. 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:58.300 Like, for real, for real. And so, in one of my 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:01.060 earlier podcasts, the one where we were talking 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:04.199 about music, I had spoke of the marathon monster 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:07.560 always coming to collect at some point in time. 00:06:09.129 --> 00:06:12.009 Well for me he didn't come to collect this race 00:06:12.009 --> 00:06:16.410 it was the poop emoji monster they came to collect 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:20.389 for me So I'm running and all of a sudden I start 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:24.769 feeling some serious GI discomfort, and I'm like 00:06:24.769 --> 00:06:31.129 ah man well just Keep running You'll be straight 00:06:31.129 --> 00:06:33.649 due to it subside because I've never experienced 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:38.379 that in the race before I hope It wasn't going 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:41.980 away. So then I had to stop it. I mean new fear 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:46.319 unlocked I Like I'm one of these type of people 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:49.120 that I try I would say I'll be convinced on mine 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:53.360 it Something isn't necessary in the end. I always 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:56.220 get bitten to tell because later on I find out 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:59.779 yeah, it was necessary and When I run marathons 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:03.620 prior to this, I would always think like Who 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:06.519 the hell? it's going to stop the use of Porter 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:08.939 John while they're running. I'm just going to 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:12.019 pee on myself, to be honest with you. And so 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:17.420 I never understood that. Well, thankfully, people 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:20.959 that put on races don't have the same thought 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:24.879 process that my ignorant self had then, because 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.339 otherwise I would have been a meme on something. 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:32.649 So anyway. I jumped into Porta John, lost about 00:07:32.649 --> 00:07:37.790 three minutes and 47 seconds. Now, I'm sure all 00:07:37.790 --> 00:07:40.029 of you runners out there, you know, they always 00:07:40.029 --> 00:07:42.629 say, never try to make up time that you lose. 00:07:42.870 --> 00:07:46.509 Meaning, like, don't storm out the gate and try 00:07:46.509 --> 00:07:49.970 to recoup that time. And I knew it. While I was 00:07:49.970 --> 00:07:51.290 in the Porta John, I'm like, all right, when 00:07:51.290 --> 00:07:55.069 I get done, I'm just going to ease back into 00:07:55.069 --> 00:07:58.490 my pace. I'm going to slow it. Nope. I busted 00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:02.410 out that door like Superman and took off. I looked 00:08:02.410 --> 00:08:06.189 down on my watch. I'm like going at a 430 pace. 00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:09.509 And then, so finally, the mile subsides and goes 00:08:09.509 --> 00:08:12.649 through, and it's like a 907 mile. And I'm like, 00:08:12.649 --> 00:08:17.269 oh, man, dude, I'm like three minutes behind 00:08:17.269 --> 00:08:22.930 my goal pace for this race. Like, oh, well, you 00:08:22.930 --> 00:08:26.420 know, we just going to keep pushing hard. But 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:30.500 like I stated earlier, Rome has a lot of cobblestone. 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:36.759 And that cobblestone is real uneven and it's 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:40.159 hard. It's harder than asphalt. And so in the 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:41.919 beginning, I said it wasn't too big of a deal, 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:44.779 but I was running with people that was around 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:49.299 the same speed as me and that was in that pace 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:52.120 mindset. And the adrenaline was, I don't even 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:53.700 want to say the adrenaline, it was just in a 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:57.460 complete flow state. The potty break, it disrupted 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:01.820 my flow state. But anyway, getting on this cobblestone 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:07.759 and it's like super uneven and weird. So, naturally 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.639 I'm slowing down because I'm not trying to twist 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:12.980 ankle and fall. I mean, I already don't have 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:16.720 the best proprioception as it is. It was like 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.259 being on the trails and that's one of the reasons 00:09:19.259 --> 00:09:23.000 why I don't do the trails. A, I'm a brother and 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:28.179 I don't do wildlife. And B, there was no nutritional 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:30.799 value for me to be out there tripping and falling, 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:33.460 just to be running at like a 20 minute pace. 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:36.320 Because on them trails, you're going to be out 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:40.759 there running slow. You just got to be one of 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:43.860 them types of people that is really in tune with 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:46.759 nature and really understands trail running. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:50.799 Because I did it one time with some dudes from 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:54.250 Strava, and I was like, Nah, I'm cool. I'ma stick 00:09:54.250 --> 00:09:59.029 to the roads. Well, that cobblestone, for me, 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:01.049 was like them trails. It was just too uneven. 00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:05.450 So I would get on a patch of cobblestone, and 00:10:05.450 --> 00:10:08.210 my pace would slow down into like the sevens. 00:10:08.210 --> 00:10:11.929 And then I'd get off the cobblestone, and then 00:10:11.929 --> 00:10:15.049 have to speed back up to, you know, and it was 00:10:15.049 --> 00:10:20.289 just like, I'm taking off 607 miles, 615 miles, 00:10:20.309 --> 00:10:24.330 and I'm realizing like, Bruh, these is the paces 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:28.250 that you are gonna be running without that bathroom 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:32.450 break. You ain't about to get through it and 00:10:32.450 --> 00:10:35.610 make up that time. You might as well just sit 00:10:35.610 --> 00:10:40.490 back and chill and then enjoy this marathon. 00:10:41.769 --> 00:10:45.090 You in Rome. You ain't a pro. You ain't getting 00:10:45.090 --> 00:10:52.629 paid. Sit back and just chill. So yeah, I made 00:10:52.629 --> 00:10:55.830 a business decision and I said It was always 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:59.070 a dream of mine to come here I'm gonna actually 00:10:59.070 --> 00:11:04.070 sit back slow down and take it all in and that's 00:11:04.070 --> 00:11:07.929 pretty much what I did I Literally just started 00:11:07.929 --> 00:11:12.049 coasting. I mean I was still running a Good a 00:11:12.049 --> 00:11:15.870 good pace, but it wasn't I wasn't racing no more. 00:11:15.870 --> 00:11:19.370 I wasn't going for a PR. I was actually as they 00:11:19.370 --> 00:11:23.690 say, smelling the roses. I'm kind of glad I did, 00:11:23.830 --> 00:11:27.710 because I'd probably never go back to Rome again. 00:11:27.809 --> 00:11:31.309 I mean, I didn't too much like the food. I think 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:35.250 that's something else that caused the GI issues. 00:11:35.970 --> 00:11:38.850 Simply, their food, they're so different. Like 00:11:38.850 --> 00:11:44.309 me, anybody that know me know most days of the 00:11:44.309 --> 00:11:48.350 week, Monday through, or Sunday through, through 00:11:48.350 --> 00:11:53.330 Friday, I eat like a monk. And I say every three 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:57.129 Saturdays a month, I'll have a cheat day where 00:11:57.129 --> 00:11:59.110 I'll sit there and go on a Reese's Peanut Butter 00:11:59.110 --> 00:12:03.830 Cup bender. I may have a pizza, or I might go 00:12:03.830 --> 00:12:12.129 to Taco Bell and have some Taco Bells. So when 00:12:12.129 --> 00:12:16.000 I do go to marathons and travel, It's not. It's 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:19.539 weird for me the days prior because I don't consume 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:22.279 junk. Like I say, anybody who knows me know I 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:25.559 literally eat the same thing every day for breakfast, 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.500 for lunch. Only meal that's different for me 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:31.379 on the day -to -day basis is dinner. But aside 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:35.000 from that, I don't deter from anything. It's 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:37.940 just, for me, it's just easier that way. I just 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:40.820 have my system. I don't have to think. That's 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:44.419 one less thing to think about. Like, food is... 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:46.820 It's for nourishment. It's not for enjoyment. 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:50.320 That's what I tell myself. The three weeks that 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:53.559 I'm going strong throughout the week, and then 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:56.159 that one Saturday a month, sometimes two Saturdays 00:12:56.159 --> 00:13:00.000 a month, it becomes enjoyment. But for the most 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.080 part, that's just what it is. It's fuel. Nothing 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:09.080 more, nothing less. And so I think you tie that 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:11.740 into, oh, and not to mention I'm a vegetarian, 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:15.950 so. When you're a vegetarian or a vegan, the 00:13:15.950 --> 00:13:19.570 foods that you can get places is very limited 00:13:19.570 --> 00:13:27.009 per se. And so out here in America, I know for 00:13:27.009 --> 00:13:30.350 sure Burger King, they have an Impossible Burger 00:13:30.350 --> 00:13:33.870 and French fries. That's my go -to meal the night 00:13:33.870 --> 00:13:37.289 before any race is a hamburger and French fry. 00:13:37.289 --> 00:13:41.049 That's just my thing. And so in the States, it's 00:13:41.049 --> 00:13:43.929 the same thing. The night before a marathon, 00:13:44.710 --> 00:13:47.309 I'm going to Burger King and getting an Impossible 00:13:47.309 --> 00:13:52.450 Whopper and a large fry that just no fell. Well, 00:13:52.990 --> 00:13:54.990 in Rome, they have Burger King, and they have 00:13:54.990 --> 00:13:56.750 Impossible Whopper, and they have french fries. 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:01.769 But anybody know, food in America is a lot different 00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:05.490 than foods in other countries like... We Americans, 00:14:05.649 --> 00:14:08.470 we put a lot of fillers and a lot of junk in 00:14:08.470 --> 00:14:10.450 our food, and that's why it tastes so much better 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:14.929 than everybody else's food. It's so synthetic, 00:14:14.929 --> 00:14:17.730 I guess you would call it. Like, they trying 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:22.350 to kill us slowly out here, for real. But, I 00:14:22.350 --> 00:14:25.669 mean, it's just different. Like, the Burger King 00:14:25.669 --> 00:14:29.990 in Rome, so my Whopper has always been the same. 00:14:30.289 --> 00:14:34.470 Ketchup, pickles, and mayonnaise. as always, 00:14:35.370 --> 00:14:38.769 that that's the only sandwich or any time I only 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:41.389 time I eat mayonnaise is on a Whopper. I don't 00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:42.929 know. It's weird. It's been like that since I 00:14:42.929 --> 00:14:48.750 was a kid. And I noticed while eating this Impossible 00:14:48.750 --> 00:14:52.610 Whopper in Rome, I'm like, dude, this mayonnaise 00:14:52.610 --> 00:14:58.009 is so much more refined. It's so much more of 00:14:58.009 --> 00:15:02.740 a pure flavor. It's like. having a high -end 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:04.820 chocolate, I just want a Reese's Peanut Butter 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:07.899 Cup, man. I don't need all that fancy Godiva 00:15:07.899 --> 00:15:10.240 chocolate. I don't like that. I'm just a simple 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:15.320 dude. Just give me the... And so I was thinking, 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:17.899 like, it's not that this is nasty. It's just 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:22.600 too simplified for me. Like I said, in America, 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:26.500 we got all these artificial sweeteners and GMOs 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:28.159 or whatever you want to call it in our food. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.519 And so it's just different and... I think the 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:35.539 smoothness of the foods in other countries made 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:39.000 me a little more regular than I normally would 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.980 be in America. And so, like I said, I didn't 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:45.899 expect that, and that's what caught me off guard 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:49.940 from that standpoint. But at the end of the day, 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.679 man, no excuses, because the fact of the matter 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.120 is this. If you have a goal time, a goal race 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:02.940 time, and you don't meet it, It ain't that situation, 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:05.860 the cramps, or in my case, the potty break that 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:08.659 caused it. It's a simple fact that I just wasn't 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:12.100 good enough. Because if I was good enough, and 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:13.960 I was in the proper shape that I should have 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:18.360 been in for that marathon, making up three minutes 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:20.440 really shouldn't have been a problem, even on 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:23.919 cobblestone. I mean, let's be honest here. You 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:28.830 should never go to a race. in the exact fitness 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:30.690 for the exact time you want, you should always 00:16:30.690 --> 00:16:33.909 be able to have a buffer. And I just wasn't in 00:16:33.909 --> 00:16:37.230 the proper shape. I was in the right shape for 00:16:37.230 --> 00:16:38.990 it, but I wasn't in the proper shape to have 00:16:38.990 --> 00:16:43.230 a buffer for it. And so, I mean, don't look at 00:16:43.230 --> 00:16:47.649 the poop emoji monsters being the reason why 00:16:47.649 --> 00:16:50.690 I didn't run the time I was hoping to run. Look 00:16:50.690 --> 00:16:55.590 at it as I just wasn't good enough yet. But that 00:16:55.590 --> 00:16:58.029 don't mean I'ma quit. I'ma keep on grinding. 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:03.309 I mean, come on, man. I've been grinding this 00:17:03.309 --> 00:17:09.869 marathon since 2023. And anybody that know me 00:17:09.869 --> 00:17:15.289 know, when I set goals, the goals I set, I set 00:17:15.289 --> 00:17:18.809 them to a point to where if I go up to bat 10 00:17:18.809 --> 00:17:23.589 times, I'ma strike out seven times. You know, 00:17:23.589 --> 00:17:26.049 I'm not gonna set a goal that if I go up to bat 00:17:26.049 --> 00:17:29.589 I'm only strike out three times now I wanted 00:17:29.589 --> 00:17:32.970 to strike out seven times because if I'm aiming 00:17:32.970 --> 00:17:38.569 for the galaxy and only reach the clouds That's 00:17:38.569 --> 00:17:40.609 better than if I was aiming for the clouds and 00:17:40.609 --> 00:17:43.349 only reach the top of my roof on my on my home 00:17:43.349 --> 00:17:48.009 and Not to mention when you set those lofty lofty 00:17:48.009 --> 00:17:50.970 goals like that. It does something to you when 00:17:50.970 --> 00:17:55.460 you out there and you feel some pain or something 00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:58.619 hurts and you want to slow down or you don't 00:17:58.619 --> 00:18:01.960 want to get up and train, you remember what you 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:06.200 are trying to achieve is so inconceivable. If 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:10.599 you take this off -ramp out, there's no way in 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:16.460 hell you're going to achieve that goal. And so... 00:18:17.069 --> 00:18:19.549 Yeah, I mean, for this marathon, I really didn't 00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:22.829 have a goal per se. I was just, in my mind, I 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:25.630 was like, you know what? I need to break 240. 00:18:26.009 --> 00:18:30.289 It's not a hard time to break. I just need to 00:18:30.289 --> 00:18:34.990 do it. And so that was what my intent was. All 00:18:34.990 --> 00:18:38.049 the metrics, everything I've done prior to that, 00:18:38.650 --> 00:18:43.369 240 was an issue. And up into that, it was an 00:18:43.369 --> 00:18:47.160 issue. But like I said, was a contingency that 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:54.619 I just didn't account for and Yeah, you just 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:56.619 can't sit there and make no excuses you just 00:18:56.619 --> 00:19:01.819 got a Charlie Mike continued admission and Yeah, 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:05.940 I mean I'm not tripping there's there's many 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:12.319 more marathons and Like it can't it can't get 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:17.859 any worse I mean And what I've done running in 00:19:17.859 --> 00:19:21.240 the amount of time I've done, I'm pretty proud 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:23.539 of that, man. I'm actually really proud of it. 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:26.339 And the way I see it, if I wasn't always setting 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:30.779 these lofty goals, I wouldn't be where I'm at 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:34.839 right now as a runner. And so, I mean, you can't 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:38.579 fear failure. I mean, failure is a man's greatest 00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:43.220 stepping stones. I always say that. And I mean... 00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:45.450 Honestly, I don't even really think of this as 00:19:45.450 --> 00:19:50.789 failure. Running 26 .2 miles at the paces that 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:53.549 we as runners and the goals that everybody set 00:19:53.549 --> 00:19:56.569 for themselves, it's not an easy thing to do. 00:19:56.710 --> 00:19:59.910 It takes practice. It takes patience. It takes 00:19:59.910 --> 00:20:03.990 consistency. And I mean, like I said, I'm stubborn, 00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:07.480 man. I'm not about to give up. I mean... Just 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:09.640 like with this whole podcasting thing, I'm more 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.700 of an introvert. I'm not a very social dude, 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:15.940 so this is outside of my element. And for me, 00:20:15.940 --> 00:20:19.859 this is harder than running the marathon, because 00:20:19.859 --> 00:20:24.960 A, I don't like my voice, and yeah, talking to 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:29.980 people just ain't really my thing. So I crossed 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:33.160 the finish line on the marathon in two hours 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:39.150 and 47 minutes. Man. That number just loves me. 00:20:39.589 --> 00:20:42.069 I finished the New York Marathon in this time. 00:20:42.769 --> 00:20:45.970 I finished one of my Cap City Marathons. I finished 00:20:45.970 --> 00:20:51.150 it in this time. It's like 247, like 247. That 00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:53.390 must be my lucky number. I need to go play the 00:20:53.390 --> 00:20:55.130 lottery and have that number in there somewhere, 00:20:55.130 --> 00:20:59.089 because I keep running this time no matter what. 00:20:59.369 --> 00:21:03.049 I'm like, man, bro. I would have been happier 00:21:03.049 --> 00:21:05.420 if it would have been a... 250, at least I would 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:09.059 have known that I ain't got some... What's that 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:11.319 little dude's name that be talking about his 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:13.859 gold in the movie? Leprechaun. I ain't got some 00:21:13.859 --> 00:21:15.960 Leprechaun putting a hex on me or nothing like 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:20.180 that. But, oh, and you know what else is tight 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:23.240 about the Rome Marathon is they hand you these 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:27.500 little cartons of water. Like, there's cups with 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:29.500 the salt drink stuff and there's cups with the 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:31.799 water, but then they hand you these little cute 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:35.289 cartons of water. And I'm like... So I'm going 00:21:35.289 --> 00:21:36.529 to be honest with you, I was just grabbing them 00:21:36.529 --> 00:21:38.410 jokers sometimes just to grab them because I 00:21:38.410 --> 00:21:41.950 thought it was so cool just to have a cart in 00:21:41.950 --> 00:21:47.250 the water. But I had fun, man. It was live, man. 00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:51.930 So I crossed the finish line, get my medal, and 00:21:51.930 --> 00:21:55.509 then I'm going to chill to go watch my son cross. 00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:59.490 And so immediately, first thing I do, I get across 00:21:59.490 --> 00:22:02.839 the finish line. I take another potty break and 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:06.759 then I go meet up with my wife. I'm like, hey, 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:09.059 how is Iverson doing? She's like, he's actually 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:12.759 doing really well. He's keeping a good pace like 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:16.019 you told him. I'm like, OK, cool. So go try to 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:18.779 find somewhere to sit down. And that was a bad 00:22:18.779 --> 00:22:21.960 idea. I sit on the side of a curb because he 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:23.779 was still like an hour and a half from being 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:27.319 done. And then I start cramping up. So I'm laying 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.930 on the side of the ground. Ah! yelling and everybody 00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:34.089 looking at me and the back of my legs is cramping 00:22:34.089 --> 00:22:36.710 and stuff like that. And then my shoulders start 00:22:36.710 --> 00:22:40.410 cramping and just all kind of cramp. Mind you, 00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:43.990 I didn't even really run this marathon that hard. 00:22:44.529 --> 00:22:47.730 But that's what I'm telling you, man. Like 26 00:22:47.730 --> 00:22:52.410 .2 miles is 26 .2 miles, man. It's gonna hurt 00:22:52.410 --> 00:22:55.769 you, man. I don't, if you walk it, you gonna 00:22:55.769 --> 00:22:59.250 feel it, man. My body was just like, nah, man, 00:22:59.269 --> 00:23:02.150 get up. So I'm sitting here, and I finally am 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:06.009 cramping in. I'm like reaching up to my wife 00:23:06.009 --> 00:23:08.910 like, pick me up. I can't stand up on my own. 00:23:09.029 --> 00:23:11.769 So she picked me up. And then I get like super 00:23:11.769 --> 00:23:16.609 cold. So at the end of every race, I always have 00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:20.349 her bring me a long sleeve. And so that long 00:23:20.349 --> 00:23:23.630 sleeve wasn't cutting the mustard. So then in 00:23:23.630 --> 00:23:25.750 her bag, she had my son's hoodie. And I'm like, 00:23:25.750 --> 00:23:28.609 yep. Give me that. He don't know what to do with 00:23:28.609 --> 00:23:31.529 that. Give me that. So I took that sweater, put 00:23:31.529 --> 00:23:34.329 it on, and I'm standing there watching. I'm looking 00:23:34.329 --> 00:23:37.369 at his times. I'm like, yeah, this dude, he's 00:23:37.369 --> 00:23:39.829 running. He's on pace to finishing three hours 00:23:39.829 --> 00:23:44.730 and 45 minutes. And so then it's getting time 00:23:44.730 --> 00:23:47.470 for him to finish. And I'm looking at the thing, 00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:52.390 and it's 3 .48, 3 .49. And on the little ticker 00:23:52.390 --> 00:23:55.799 on the app, he's not moving. I'm like. bruh, 00:23:55.980 --> 00:23:59.240 this dude better not have tapped out at like 00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:03.819 mile 25. Like, what is taking bruh so long? Then 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:07.400 finally, like, four hours, and I'm like, oh, 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:10.039 man, come on, Iverson, let's go, buddy. You can 00:24:10.039 --> 00:24:13.579 do this. And then I see him, and he's so excited. 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:17.200 We watch an anime. It's called Naruto. It's probably 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.539 my favorite anime, because it's got my favorite 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:22.200 character named Itachi on there. And they do 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.599 these things with their hands called Jitsu. And 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:27.460 I see him running, and he starts weaving these 00:24:27.460 --> 00:24:30.680 Jitsu's. And I was like, ooh, I see you, Iris, 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:33.299 and weaving that Jitsu like a true player, man. 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:37.279 And then he put his arms back, how they run in 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:39.880 Asian animes with their arms backwards. And he 00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:42.140 crossed the finish line. I'm just thinking, like, 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:45.819 I'm just proud, man, because that dude, man, 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:49.049 he didn't. He didn't take it seriously. He didn't 00:24:49.049 --> 00:24:51.890 train. He still bust out a four -hour and one 00:24:51.890 --> 00:24:56.609 -minute marathon like a boss, man. And so that 00:24:56.609 --> 00:25:02.549 was just the highlight, man, to see my mini -me 00:25:02.549 --> 00:25:06.930 just roll out of bed pretty much and go boss 00:25:06.930 --> 00:25:09.960 up on a marathon like that. I mean... That's 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.720 cold, man. I think the average finish time for 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.440 a marathon is like five hours, man. So in his 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:22.019 first marathon with zero training, I mean, he 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:25.660 did one 16 -mile run with me, but just zero training 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:29.940 to bust out that time. I mean, the boy's a chip 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:33.799 off the block. What can I say, man? I mean, we 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:40.099 just nice out here, man. We just nice. So he 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:45.140 get his medal, get mines, and I'm waiting for 00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:48.779 him. I'm like, bruh, like, get up here, because 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:52.660 I'm ready to go back to the hotel and lay down. 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:57.740 And he's in a frenzy, you know, wanting to sit 00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:00.259 there and fellowship with everybody at the finish 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:02.960 line and stuff. So I finally tell him, like, 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:04.460 hey, I'm heading back to the hotel. We heading 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:06.500 back to the hotel. He's like, yeah, go ahead. 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:11.390 I'm going to catch an Uber. That's crazy that 00:26:11.390 --> 00:26:14.950 other countries have Uber. That blew my mind, 00:26:15.309 --> 00:26:21.210 too. So yeah, man, that was my Rome Marathon 00:26:21.210 --> 00:26:24.670 experience. Got a chance to run it with my son. 00:26:25.789 --> 00:26:29.769 Got a chance to see the Roman Coliseum. I mean, 00:26:30.450 --> 00:26:34.109 seeing the Roman Coliseum was one of my five 00:26:34.109 --> 00:26:38.640 lifelong goals. I only have one left. I mean, 00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:43.500 I feel like I've completed the main quest in 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:48.039 life, man. I mean, to have those dreams as a 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:51.599 kid and stuff and to fulfill those dreams is 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:56.380 just, yeah. A week later, I still sit here and 00:26:56.380 --> 00:27:02.839 I just think, like, I'm not sad, but I just feel 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:07.089 like... a loss in the sense that like I was really 00:27:07.089 --> 00:27:10.150 at the Coliseum and I really ran the Rome Marathon 00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:14.029 and now it's over. Hey, thanks for listening 00:27:14.029 --> 00:27:15.230 to me. I'm out.