Strap season, you know, I'm doing whatever it
takes put out never hitting the brace getting
the medals. I'm ready to race Yeah, yeah, yeah
time to get it on life is not a dash live it
like a marathon who ready? Welcome to not another
running podcast. I am your host line six. This
episode is a recap of my Rome Marathon experience.
So this marathon was special for me for two reasons.
Reason one, I've always wanted to go to Rome
and see the Roman Coliseum. Reason two, I got
a chance to run a marathon or at least run the
same marathon at the same time with my son. So
that was awesome. So race morning, we get up,
get dressed, make sure we have our race field,
and head out the door. Our hotel was maybe a
mile away from where the start was. And so him
and I were just walking and we're talking. And
I think he was a little bit excited and nervous.
I really couldn't gauge his mind state. He just
kept saying, bro, I can't wait, man. I'm ready.
And I was like, hey, dude, just chill, man. Go
out there and have fun, man. There ain't no pressure.
At some point in time, you're going to feel it.
But that's what keeps you coming back for more
in the marathon is that pain and overcoming it.
So we get to the starting area for all the runners
and stuff. we have to separate because we're
in two different corrals. Obviously, he's going
to be in a different corral than me because it's
his first marathon. So, on our starting bibs,
they show they have, like, your country flag
on it, a small little square of your country
flag, everybody's country flag. And I point to
his chest, I'm like, hey, dude, Representative
for America, hold it down for Big Daddy Trump
and the boys. And he goes his way, I go mine's.
So I was in the first wave of runners and so
I started first. The start of this Rome Marathon
was bonkers, man. As soon as the gun go off and
you cross that little start mat, a big old cannon
just goes off and shoots out confetti at you.
you can't even see in front of you. It's so live.
Not to mention, out of all the marathons I've
run, out of the eight I've run, I've never seen,
from the very start, as soon as you cross the
start line, each side of the road to be completely
packed with people cheering like crazy. I didn't
expect that from this marathon. Simply because
it's not a world major and every time I watch
the marathon on YouTube I've never seen the crowds
like that on the on the sides in the very beginning
of the race I mean for that matter it always
the videos on YouTube It looks like it's a pretty
dead marathon as far as crowd support, but Yeah,
YouTube don't give it justice man. I'm gonna
just tell you that straight up right now So the
race starts and Starts off on cobblestone, of
course when Rome cobblestone two and two together
But I Mean it wasn't The cobblestone wasn't too
overbearing I remember looking down at my watch
thinking that I was gonna be running a lot slower
than I was because it was on cobblestone and
I was still right at the pace that I wanted to
start the race at and run it so we're taking
off the miles and I'm thinking, man, this is
wild, dude. Like, it doesn't even feel like I'm
running at the pace that I'm running at. It was
like a complete outer body experience. I mean,
it was so crazy. I was sitting here just randomly
in my Tourette's bag yelling out random stuff.
I was like just, I couldn't believe it. Hold
on, so... Back in 2015 or maybe 16, there was
this game my wife and I used to play called Assassin's
Creed Odyssey. And it took place in Rome. And
some of the armor you could get, there were these
little skirts. Well, there was, you know, little
Roman warrior skirts. It was those. And we had
this little inside joke. Anytime one of us would
get a skirt, one of the little armor skirts,
we would say, Girlfriend got a new skirt. So,
randomly I'm sitting here running and that's
what pops in my head and that's what I'm randomly
saying. I'm like, hey, girlfriend got a new skirt.
I mean, to the top of my lungs, I'm sure the
people beside me is like, what's wrong with this
crazy American? But I mean, it was a whole vibe
out there for me. I couldn't believe, like I
said, I never had a run. a race where I was on
autopilot like that. And I'm sitting there thinking
like, bruh, you is really out here sliding, man.
Like, for real, for real. And so, in one of my
earlier podcasts, the one where we were talking
about music, I had spoke of the marathon monster
always coming to collect at some point in time.
Well for me he didn't come to collect this race
it was the poop emoji monster they came to collect
for me So I'm running and all of a sudden I start
feeling some serious GI discomfort, and I'm like
ah man well just Keep running You'll be straight
due to it subside because I've never experienced
that in the race before I hope It wasn't going
away. So then I had to stop it. I mean new fear
unlocked I Like I'm one of these type of people
that I try I would say I'll be convinced on mine
it Something isn't necessary in the end. I always
get bitten to tell because later on I find out
yeah, it was necessary and When I run marathons
prior to this, I would always think like Who
the hell? it's going to stop the use of Porter
John while they're running. I'm just going to
pee on myself, to be honest with you. And so
I never understood that. Well, thankfully, people
that put on races don't have the same thought
process that my ignorant self had then, because
otherwise I would have been a meme on something.
So anyway. I jumped into Porta John, lost about
three minutes and 47 seconds. Now, I'm sure all
of you runners out there, you know, they always
say, never try to make up time that you lose.
Meaning, like, don't storm out the gate and try
to recoup that time. And I knew it. While I was
in the Porta John, I'm like, all right, when
I get done, I'm just going to ease back into
my pace. I'm going to slow it. Nope. I busted
out that door like Superman and took off. I looked
down on my watch. I'm like going at a 430 pace.
And then, so finally, the mile subsides and goes
through, and it's like a 907 mile. And I'm like,
oh, man, dude, I'm like three minutes behind
my goal pace for this race. Like, oh, well, you
know, we just going to keep pushing hard. But
like I stated earlier, Rome has a lot of cobblestone.
And that cobblestone is real uneven and it's
hard. It's harder than asphalt. And so in the
beginning, I said it wasn't too big of a deal,
but I was running with people that was around
the same speed as me and that was in that pace
mindset. And the adrenaline was, I don't even
want to say the adrenaline, it was just in a
complete flow state. The potty break, it disrupted
my flow state. But anyway, getting on this cobblestone
and it's like super uneven and weird. So, naturally
I'm slowing down because I'm not trying to twist
ankle and fall. I mean, I already don't have
the best proprioception as it is. It was like
being on the trails and that's one of the reasons
why I don't do the trails. A, I'm a brother and
I don't do wildlife. And B, there was no nutritional
value for me to be out there tripping and falling,
just to be running at like a 20 minute pace.
Because on them trails, you're going to be out
there running slow. You just got to be one of
them types of people that is really in tune with
nature and really understands trail running.
Because I did it one time with some dudes from
Strava, and I was like, Nah, I'm cool. I'ma stick
to the roads. Well, that cobblestone, for me,
was like them trails. It was just too uneven.
So I would get on a patch of cobblestone, and
my pace would slow down into like the sevens.
And then I'd get off the cobblestone, and then
have to speed back up to, you know, and it was
just like, I'm taking off 607 miles, 615 miles,
and I'm realizing like, Bruh, these is the paces
that you are gonna be running without that bathroom
break. You ain't about to get through it and
make up that time. You might as well just sit
back and chill and then enjoy this marathon.
You in Rome. You ain't a pro. You ain't getting
paid. Sit back and just chill. So yeah, I made
a business decision and I said It was always
a dream of mine to come here I'm gonna actually
sit back slow down and take it all in and that's
pretty much what I did I Literally just started
coasting. I mean I was still running a Good a
good pace, but it wasn't I wasn't racing no more.
I wasn't going for a PR. I was actually as they
say, smelling the roses. I'm kind of glad I did,
because I'd probably never go back to Rome again.
I mean, I didn't too much like the food. I think
that's something else that caused the GI issues.
Simply, their food, they're so different. Like
me, anybody that know me know most days of the
week, Monday through, or Sunday through, through
Friday, I eat like a monk. And I say every three
Saturdays a month, I'll have a cheat day where
I'll sit there and go on a Reese's Peanut Butter
Cup bender. I may have a pizza, or I might go
to Taco Bell and have some Taco Bells. So when
I do go to marathons and travel, It's not. It's
weird for me the days prior because I don't consume
junk. Like I say, anybody who knows me know I
literally eat the same thing every day for breakfast,
for lunch. Only meal that's different for me
on the day -to -day basis is dinner. But aside
from that, I don't deter from anything. It's
just, for me, it's just easier that way. I just
have my system. I don't have to think. That's
one less thing to think about. Like, food is...
It's for nourishment. It's not for enjoyment.
That's what I tell myself. The three weeks that
I'm going strong throughout the week, and then
that one Saturday a month, sometimes two Saturdays
a month, it becomes enjoyment. But for the most
part, that's just what it is. It's fuel. Nothing
more, nothing less. And so I think you tie that
into, oh, and not to mention I'm a vegetarian,
so. When you're a vegetarian or a vegan, the
foods that you can get places is very limited
per se. And so out here in America, I know for
sure Burger King, they have an Impossible Burger
and French fries. That's my go -to meal the night
before any race is a hamburger and French fry.
That's just my thing. And so in the States, it's
the same thing. The night before a marathon,
I'm going to Burger King and getting an Impossible
Whopper and a large fry that just no fell. Well,
in Rome, they have Burger King, and they have
Impossible Whopper, and they have french fries.
But anybody know, food in America is a lot different
than foods in other countries like... We Americans,
we put a lot of fillers and a lot of junk in
our food, and that's why it tastes so much better
than everybody else's food. It's so synthetic,
I guess you would call it. Like, they trying
to kill us slowly out here, for real. But, I
mean, it's just different. Like, the Burger King
in Rome, so my Whopper has always been the same.
Ketchup, pickles, and mayonnaise. as always,
that that's the only sandwich or any time I only
time I eat mayonnaise is on a Whopper. I don't
know. It's weird. It's been like that since I
was a kid. And I noticed while eating this Impossible
Whopper in Rome, I'm like, dude, this mayonnaise
is so much more refined. It's so much more of
a pure flavor. It's like. having a high -end
chocolate, I just want a Reese's Peanut Butter
Cup, man. I don't need all that fancy Godiva
chocolate. I don't like that. I'm just a simple
dude. Just give me the... And so I was thinking,
like, it's not that this is nasty. It's just
too simplified for me. Like I said, in America,
we got all these artificial sweeteners and GMOs
or whatever you want to call it in our food.
And so it's just different and... I think the
smoothness of the foods in other countries made
me a little more regular than I normally would
be in America. And so, like I said, I didn't
expect that, and that's what caught me off guard
from that standpoint. But at the end of the day,
man, no excuses, because the fact of the matter
is this. If you have a goal time, a goal race
time, and you don't meet it, It ain't that situation,
the cramps, or in my case, the potty break that
caused it. It's a simple fact that I just wasn't
good enough. Because if I was good enough, and
I was in the proper shape that I should have
been in for that marathon, making up three minutes
really shouldn't have been a problem, even on
cobblestone. I mean, let's be honest here. You
should never go to a race. in the exact fitness
for the exact time you want, you should always
be able to have a buffer. And I just wasn't in
the proper shape. I was in the right shape for
it, but I wasn't in the proper shape to have
a buffer for it. And so, I mean, don't look at
the poop emoji monsters being the reason why
I didn't run the time I was hoping to run. Look
at it as I just wasn't good enough yet. But that
don't mean I'ma quit. I'ma keep on grinding.
I mean, come on, man. I've been grinding this
marathon since 2023. And anybody that know me
know, when I set goals, the goals I set, I set
them to a point to where if I go up to bat 10
times, I'ma strike out seven times. You know,
I'm not gonna set a goal that if I go up to bat
I'm only strike out three times now I wanted
to strike out seven times because if I'm aiming
for the galaxy and only reach the clouds That's
better than if I was aiming for the clouds and
only reach the top of my roof on my on my home
and Not to mention when you set those lofty lofty
goals like that. It does something to you when
you out there and you feel some pain or something
hurts and you want to slow down or you don't
want to get up and train, you remember what you
are trying to achieve is so inconceivable. If
you take this off -ramp out, there's no way in
hell you're going to achieve that goal. And so...
Yeah, I mean, for this marathon, I really didn't
have a goal per se. I was just, in my mind, I
was like, you know what? I need to break 240.
It's not a hard time to break. I just need to
do it. And so that was what my intent was. All
the metrics, everything I've done prior to that,
240 was an issue. And up into that, it was an
issue. But like I said, was a contingency that
I just didn't account for and Yeah, you just
can't sit there and make no excuses you just
got a Charlie Mike continued admission and Yeah,
I mean I'm not tripping there's there's many
more marathons and Like it can't it can't get
any worse I mean And what I've done running in
the amount of time I've done, I'm pretty proud
of that, man. I'm actually really proud of it.
And the way I see it, if I wasn't always setting
these lofty goals, I wouldn't be where I'm at
right now as a runner. And so, I mean, you can't
fear failure. I mean, failure is a man's greatest
stepping stones. I always say that. And I mean...
Honestly, I don't even really think of this as
failure. Running 26 .2 miles at the paces that
we as runners and the goals that everybody set
for themselves, it's not an easy thing to do.
It takes practice. It takes patience. It takes
consistency. And I mean, like I said, I'm stubborn,
man. I'm not about to give up. I mean... Just
like with this whole podcasting thing, I'm more
of an introvert. I'm not a very social dude,
so this is outside of my element. And for me,
this is harder than running the marathon, because
A, I don't like my voice, and yeah, talking to
people just ain't really my thing. So I crossed
the finish line on the marathon in two hours
and 47 minutes. Man. That number just loves me.
I finished the New York Marathon in this time.
I finished one of my Cap City Marathons. I finished
it in this time. It's like 247, like 247. That
must be my lucky number. I need to go play the
lottery and have that number in there somewhere,
because I keep running this time no matter what.
I'm like, man, bro. I would have been happier
if it would have been a... 250, at least I would
have known that I ain't got some... What's that
little dude's name that be talking about his
gold in the movie? Leprechaun. I ain't got some
Leprechaun putting a hex on me or nothing like
that. But, oh, and you know what else is tight
about the Rome Marathon is they hand you these
little cartons of water. Like, there's cups with
the salt drink stuff and there's cups with the
water, but then they hand you these little cute
cartons of water. And I'm like... So I'm going
to be honest with you, I was just grabbing them
jokers sometimes just to grab them because I
thought it was so cool just to have a cart in
the water. But I had fun, man. It was live, man.
So I crossed the finish line, get my medal, and
then I'm going to chill to go watch my son cross.
And so immediately, first thing I do, I get across
the finish line. I take another potty break and
then I go meet up with my wife. I'm like, hey,
how is Iverson doing? She's like, he's actually
doing really well. He's keeping a good pace like
you told him. I'm like, OK, cool. So go try to
find somewhere to sit down. And that was a bad
idea. I sit on the side of a curb because he
was still like an hour and a half from being
done. And then I start cramping up. So I'm laying
on the side of the ground. Ah! yelling and everybody
looking at me and the back of my legs is cramping
and stuff like that. And then my shoulders start
cramping and just all kind of cramp. Mind you,
I didn't even really run this marathon that hard.
But that's what I'm telling you, man. Like 26
.2 miles is 26 .2 miles, man. It's gonna hurt
you, man. I don't, if you walk it, you gonna
feel it, man. My body was just like, nah, man,
get up. So I'm sitting here, and I finally am
cramping in. I'm like reaching up to my wife
like, pick me up. I can't stand up on my own.
So she picked me up. And then I get like super
cold. So at the end of every race, I always have
her bring me a long sleeve. And so that long
sleeve wasn't cutting the mustard. So then in
her bag, she had my son's hoodie. And I'm like,
yep. Give me that. He don't know what to do with
that. Give me that. So I took that sweater, put
it on, and I'm standing there watching. I'm looking
at his times. I'm like, yeah, this dude, he's
running. He's on pace to finishing three hours
and 45 minutes. And so then it's getting time
for him to finish. And I'm looking at the thing,
and it's 3 .48, 3 .49. And on the little ticker
on the app, he's not moving. I'm like. bruh,
this dude better not have tapped out at like
mile 25. Like, what is taking bruh so long? Then
finally, like, four hours, and I'm like, oh,
man, come on, Iverson, let's go, buddy. You can
do this. And then I see him, and he's so excited.
We watch an anime. It's called Naruto. It's probably
my favorite anime, because it's got my favorite
character named Itachi on there. And they do
these things with their hands called Jitsu. And
I see him running, and he starts weaving these
Jitsu's. And I was like, ooh, I see you, Iris,
and weaving that Jitsu like a true player, man.
And then he put his arms back, how they run in
Asian animes with their arms backwards. And he
crossed the finish line. I'm just thinking, like,
I'm just proud, man, because that dude, man,
he didn't. He didn't take it seriously. He didn't
train. He still bust out a four -hour and one
-minute marathon like a boss, man. And so that
was just the highlight, man, to see my mini -me
just roll out of bed pretty much and go boss
up on a marathon like that. I mean... That's
cold, man. I think the average finish time for
a marathon is like five hours, man. So in his
first marathon with zero training, I mean, he
did one 16 -mile run with me, but just zero training
to bust out that time. I mean, the boy's a chip
off the block. What can I say, man? I mean, we
just nice out here, man. We just nice. So he
get his medal, get mines, and I'm waiting for
him. I'm like, bruh, like, get up here, because
I'm ready to go back to the hotel and lay down.
And he's in a frenzy, you know, wanting to sit
there and fellowship with everybody at the finish
line and stuff. So I finally tell him, like,
hey, I'm heading back to the hotel. We heading
back to the hotel. He's like, yeah, go ahead.
I'm going to catch an Uber. That's crazy that
other countries have Uber. That blew my mind,
too. So yeah, man, that was my Rome Marathon
experience. Got a chance to run it with my son.
Got a chance to see the Roman Coliseum. I mean,
seeing the Roman Coliseum was one of my five
lifelong goals. I only have one left. I mean,
I feel like I've completed the main quest in
life, man. I mean, to have those dreams as a
kid and stuff and to fulfill those dreams is
just, yeah. A week later, I still sit here and
I just think, like, I'm not sad, but I just feel
like... a loss in the sense that like I was really
at the Coliseum and I really ran the Rome Marathon
and now it's over. Hey, thanks for listening
to me. I'm out.