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Hello, my beautiful people, and welcome back to the Moments Podcast. I am
I'm doing really good at having guests on the podcast all of a sudden, so I have someone super, super special with me today, and he's actually my first male podcast guest. And his name is Brian Ramsey. You're probably wondering where he came from and who he is. So the story behind that is we've basically been best friends since high school, but I think in the last year we've gotten a lot closer.
And he just did something pretty cool. So we're going to talk about it. He ran a marathon. How are you feeling? Welcome to the pod. Thank you. Thank you. Pleasure to be here. Hello, beautiful people. My name is Brian Ramsey. Lexi and I have known each other for quite a while. But yeah, it's the day after the marathon. Ran the Miami Marathon yesterday.
Legs are definitely feeling it today, but feel really good. And, I mean, got a huge accomplishment out of the way and been working really hard for it. So excited to talk about it for sure. Yeah, and Brian has probably been the biggest fan of this podcast since day one. And I think, well...
Way back in the day he asked me to come on it and I was like, yeah like one of these days I'll be ready to have people on it and I just kept saying that and saying it and saying it and then I was like he ran a marathon like I need to get over my own fear of like having people on the podcast and we're just gonna talk we're just gonna talk about it. I put on my Instagram story and I was like, oh, can you ask questions? Like what would you ask someone who just ran a marathon and I wrote a bunch of them down and we're just gonna talk about them and see how it goes and what we talk about because running a marathon is pretty insane. I think it's insane. Um
But it's awesome. So I guess first thing we should talk about is like where did this idea come from? Why did you want to do it? And yeah. Yeah. It was kind of out of the blue, honestly. I think I've told you this kind of before, but I read that David Goggins book. Can't Hurt Me. Can't Hurt Me. Not super tied to like running a marathon, but he kind of just talks about...
I mean, he had a rough childhood, but he kind of deals with some of like his stress or just like kind of his identity is pushing through pain. And I was kind of at a point where I mean, I'm graduating college next year. I was kind of like trying to figure out what I want to do. I felt like I was getting a little complacent with certain things. I was kind of looking for like a new challenge or something to push myself.
And I like related a lot to some of the stuff that he was saying about like how he would run these crazy races. Like he, he does like 200, 240 miles. Like, yeah. Oh my God. Also this book that he's talking about, I've been wanting to read it or listen to the, people say the odd, did you do the audio book? I did not, but I have heard the audio book. People love the audio book. Cause I think he, I don't know if he reads it, but there's parts where his voice is in it or something. And I'm now that I'm here and we're doing this, I'm definitely going to listen to the audio book just cause I feel inspired to do it. But yeah,
Continue. Yeah, so kind of just saw that and then was just thinking about... I really don't run at all. Before this, at least before I signed up, I never ran. That's another thing that's crazy. I was talking to him about it. I think the most you said he ran was like two or three miles. I think three was the furthest I'd ever run before I signed up. And before that, I probably hadn't run for a year or two. And he signed up for a full marathon. He didn't start out with no half marathon, no 5K. He was like, alright, we're doing this. But I will say, I think that that's something that...
It doesn't even surprise me, like the kind of person that Brian is. He just like goes for it. Like once you have a goal, you're going to do it. And like in high school, he did all the things. Like he was Mr. Boca High. And I don't know if you guys would know what that is. But basically the person, what is the role of Mr. Boca High? It's so hard to explain. It is. It's like he leads the pep rallies, the student section, just gets everyone hyped up and like did all sorts of things in high school. Yeah, that was a fun time. Fun times. We loved high school. Yeah, high school was a blast. I peaked in high school for all my life. Yeah, I know.
I did too. It's okay. We're moving on. Now you ran a marathon. So can't say it beats in high school if you're in a marathon.
Right? I guess so. I guess so. I guess so. Anyways, you were still telling why. Yeah, and then I started running probably not even for like a week or two. And then obviously when you start running, the first thing you think about is like, okay, sure you can go out to run for fitness and that's great. But I guess I kind of like to set mini goals and I feel like that kind of keeps you more accountable. Instead of just trying to say run twice a week, like...
Like you're going to have some bad weeks where that just might fade out and kind of diminish. So I was looking for something. And then one of my buddies, Najee, he's run a marathon before. He's ran his entire life. So I was texting him. I was like, yo, like maybe I'll hop in on the next race you do. And he was like, fine, say less. And here's, originally the plan was, I think he was trying to do a half marathon. And I was like, okay, maybe I'll do that with you.
And then just kind of one thing led to another. And then my brain expanded as it only does. And I was like, all right, I'm not going to half send this. Like, I'm signing up for the full. Full send only. Full send only. So, full sent it. Signed up for a full marathon. And then our other friend, Pookie, ran it too. How did... Did you just tell him, do you want to do it? And he said yes? Yeah. So, basically, I mean, obviously, I was trying to get as many people as I could. Texted a lot of my... I told him that I was going to run a half marathon. I lied. I totally lied. Next time. Next time. I'll make sure Lexi does it next time. But...
The pookie story is funny because I late texted him and I was like, yo, I'm running a marathon. And he literally responded with, if you ask me to run a marathon with you right now, like you have to be kidding. And I was like, I was like, you don't have to, like, I'm just telling you I'm doing it. And literally his exact response was, you know, I don't say yes or no things in life. I'll do it with you.
I love it. That was really cool. I love it. Because he always tells people that I convinced him to do it. But I'm like, dude, I literally just told you to do it with me. And then he ended up doing it. But some people just need the idea. Like that's kind of how I am in some cases. Like I just need someone to say, like give the little bit of push and then I'll go for it. That's so cool. I can't believe you guys did that. Yeah. So then we both obviously go to UF. So we were training together for some of it.
Towards the end, we kind of started to do our own thing, partially just because of scheduling. And then also we kind of realized that there's probably a good chance at some point throughout the race that like we're going to get separated. And I didn't want to be out there and I've never run like a long run by myself. Oh, that's true. Yeah. So we kind of just started doing our own thing.
But that was definitely fun. And having a partner like him for sure, at least from the start was was awesome. My brother signed up to do this as well, but he lives in New York City, so I can actually run with him. But like having those like weekly conversations and obviously having like a running buddy in Gainesville was like a super good experience.
uh way to kind of keep up with it i still can't even process you guys were in a marathon i guess like the next question that you guys had and honestly i have all the same questions because i've asked him and he's told me them and i just can't comprehend what is the reason why did you do it and like how did you do it so i'm curious like when you started training was there ever a point where you were like i can't do this i want to give up or what did you do to push through
When you felt like that. Yeah. I mean, it was for sure a roller coaster. And I think the biggest thing, at least from the start, right, is like you set this huge goal. You're like, all right, I'm running 26 miles. And like automatically you're going to feel behind. Because I'd imagine that in the beginning I'd be so...
Like, let's do this. Your palms, yeah, of course. You have all the motivation. You know that when I started that, well, I started doing this thing on TikTok over the summer. The running series. The running series. And I was so excited for it because I was like, I'm going to get back into running. Not back into it. I never ran. But I was like, I'm going to learn how to run. I'm going to be able to run like three miles all the way through. I did it for actually eight days. That's how long it lasted because I started traveling. And then I just found excuses. And then obviously once a...
Once something isn't new for me anymore, I get sick of it because I think that's just how my brain works sometimes. But obviously when you've set a goal like this, you can't do that. So how do you push through? Honestly, tell me because I need to figure it out and everyone else you like wants to give up. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of ways, right? Like one...
I told like everybody I knew I was doing it. And I'm also like, I'm not someone like when I tell you something that I'm not going to do it. Like, I think that's like something that a personal attack. No, no, no, it's not. You've got a lot better. I have gotten better. It's always an inside joke that I just not necessarily flake on everything, but I'll make promises that I can't even keep. Anyways, keep going. But yeah, so like, I mean, obviously I signed up, told everyone, um,
I mean, like, I don't really care, like, if other people, like, if, say, I did fail and, like, other people, like, knew that, like, that wouldn't bother me that much, but it's more, like, kind of, like, just, like, self-accountability, like, I told myself I'm going to do this, I told other people I'm going to do this, brought other people into it, so kind of just that, that dedication, that aspect of it, but also, I guess, like, keeping a consistent schedule. That's the hardest part, I think. Yeah. For me, at least. And, like, the whole case, I mean, we can get into this later, too, but, like,
With running and just how like your muscles and bones are built, like you can't just... Stop. Well, no, you can't do too much to start. Because like if you're like a lot of like what shinspins come from, and we can talk about this because I had some very severe shinspins. Well, I remember when I started doing my running series, quote unquote, that lasted eight days, I was on like day five. And I was like, oh, my shins kind of hurt. I'm not going to run today. And then, yeah.
I can't imagine at a higher level. Yeah, but like kind of breaking into it and like just peeling off like layers one by one. Like, okay, I'm going to go do four miles. You go do four miles now. You go do like five or six. Then you go do seven or eight. Like you can't just like walk out and be like, all right, I'm going to go like absolutely kill myself and try to do like ten today. And like the longest you've ever done is three.
Because, I mean, that could work once, right? Like, you could push through it. But, like, your body's got to heal. Like, you have many months of preparation. Like, you can't just, like, go out, get injured, and then expect to, like, keep recovering and, like, keep running at the same time. Like, they don't go hand in hand with each other. I feel like that's a cool life lesson, too. Not to make it, like, deep and turn it into a metaphor. But with any goal in life, like, you have to take the small steps. And I think so many people are just so focused on getting to that end goal that, like, you don't appreciate the journey at all. Yeah.
Yeah, it kind of relates. That's what I think of when I hear that. Yeah, and for anyone wanting to run a race, there's obviously a ton of resources available for training programs. So the first thing I did was find a marathon training program. Did you stick to it? So it was a 20-week program, if I remember. And when we signed up, I think we had six full months. So that's what, like 24, 25 weeks? Yeah.
And the whole point was like you kind of needed to be ready for week one like by the time week one came. So like we had like say four weeks to get to the week one part. Gotcha. So you got up to that. I don't remember how many miles the week one was, but I think your longest run was like six, but it was still like...
say 15 miles for the week. That's crazy. Which was like, by the time that came around, like I was ready to do that, but you were running like four or five times a week. And I like, I stuck to the schedule by a tee for probably like four, four to five weeks. And then I started getting shin splints.
And I was like, okay, like, cause then you have to like make the decision like, okay, like, yeah, I can probably push through this, but like, is it worth it? I have five months to go. Like, should I try to like take care of this now? And then like, like try and catch up a little bit on the backend. So like, I definitely fell behind pretty early and that was kind of scary, but I guess it kind of worked out. It did work out. Yeah. Yeah.
That, because I, I guess I'll just throw this in here now. When I was at the marathon, Lissette and I went, we took the Brightline, which is a train from where I live to Miami, at 4.20 in the morning. So we got there, like, before they were able to start, we got to see them. And it was just, like, the coolest energy. There were 25,000 people running it, right? Correct, yeah. More than that. It was so loud.
Which is insane. Like, that is just so many people in one place awake at 4 o'clock in the morning ready to go run, whether it was the half marathon or the full marathon. And from the second I got there, I was like, this would be a really, really cool experience. And, like, to be able to say I did it just for myself and...
So that was already going through my head. And then we ended up finding a spot like a mile into the race where there were these people like playing the bagpipes. We were on a bridge, like on the highway, basically. They shut down two lanes of the highway and the sun was rising and everyone was running. And it was just such a core memory that I was like, this is the moment I'm deciding that I'm maybe not going to run a full marathon. Like I'm not going to put all that pressure on myself yet, but I am 110% going to run the half marathon, whether it's next year or...
well yeah next year and i'm gonna make it happen let's go and like that just kind of like it was the coolest thing i was like i think that i need to do it because i know that i hate running i know that i'm not good at running but i think it would be so cool to challenge myself to do that because i'm sure i'd learn how to love running and obviously it's just like such a mental it's like a mental toughness challenge but also just like i don't even know how to explain it i feel like it's so good for your mental health because you challenge yourself and push yourself and like
I guess that's another question I would have, like, mentally, besides, like, the physical, you know, shin splints and stuff. Like, what went through your head at all parts of your training? And then we'll get to, like, how the actual race went. Yeah, yeah. Mentally, I think one is you just have to, like, figure out how much you want to prioritize about it, right? So, like, being in college...
Like, a lot of these runs, you're going to have to wait, like, at least, like, either to fit in your schedule or just, like, stay for the heat of the day. Like, I mean, you know the Miami Marathon starts at 6 a.m., right? True. And also, if you guys know, we live in Florida, so it's hot as... Yeah. It's about as hot as it gets. Yeah. Especially the humidity, like, midday. But, um...
like you know race day you're starting running at 6 a.m so if you do all your training runs at like 3 p.m you're probably gonna feel a lot different than when you would when you run the actual thing so like at least for me i was like okay like if i'm gonna actually take this seriously i should probably be doing most of my runs like early in the morning so like that they come with like some sacrifices of like not not going out with some friends like on certain nights um
And especially, like, when you get to the back half and, like, those runs are turning into, like, 16, 18, 20 miles. Holy crap. You can't be, like, out. You can't be hungover running. Yeah, you can't, like, go out and drink, like, the night before. Okay, maybe some people could, but I definitely couldn't. I couldn't either. Most people couldn't. Yeah, but, like, there'd be periods of, say, like, three days where, like, I'm drinking a gallon of water a day. Like, I'm making sure I'm eating correctly. So, like, it definitely would take, like, a big time aspect of it.
And then I guess also like mentally how much you're going to discipline yourself. Like, you know, it's a long process. Like saying, I kept saying to myself was, it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And I was like, literally, that's exactly what it is. Yeah, there's no... So like, you just kind of know that like,
"Sure, maybe this run went well today or this one went poorly, but that doesn't matter compared to the next run you're going to do." A lot of it was building self-confidence, for sure. I feel like you had to build up a way to trust yourself and just know that even if this was shit and I couldn't even run two miles, obviously this is more. For me, it would be like, "Oh shit, I couldn't run two miles today. How am I ever going to run 13?" You just have to be like, "I'll get there." You just have to believe in yourself and know that it's a cycle. Some days are going to be better than others.
But eventually you're going to do it. Yeah. And it's okay to fail too. Like I definitely had – especially at the start, I had plenty. Like I would like to try to like go out and run like three or like four or like maybe even two and a half. And like I'd be like, dude, like I came out way too high. Like maybe I ran at the wrong time. And like you're going to fail. But like you have to be able to –
I mean, I obviously bounce back from it. Like one of the biggest moments in my training was Pookie and I came down here for Thanksgiving with our family. So we're in Boca. So it's kind of like closest to Miami conditions we're going to get. And we haven't done like a long run in a while. This is like right after my shin splint. Oh, I think I remember this. I needed to get back into it. So it was Thanksgiving morning. It was like the only day that worked for us. We're like, all right, we're gonna run 16 miles like on A1A right next to the beach.
And like something happened. I don't know. I threw up on mile four. I was like, dude. And like when you throw up like that, like right, you're completely dehydrating yourself. Like all your electrolytes are gone. And then I ended up quitting on him on like mile seven and a half. And that was like the first run I quit on him. And he like ended up finishing it.
I was like, wow, I can't believe I just quit on it. In hindsight, it was probably the right thing. I was so lightheaded. I knew that the dive just wasn't a good spot. But seeing that and knowing that one, not only was I behind the person that I started training with, that really just lit something up. And I was like, okay, I'm taking this way more seriously. Okay, I'm going to start biking now. I'm going to start swimming, doing other forms of cardio, just get back to where I was.
So you have like certain events in the training that are going to like really shape you up. That's so cool. This episode of the Moments podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.
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Tell me about a runner's high because I just don't... I get this question all the time. It's real. It's so, so real. And, like, I mean, obviously, like, you don't, like, feel euphoric. And anyone who, like, runs, you probably understand this. I am just someone who...
I don't know. I've said it like 18 times already just in this episode. I hate running. So how do you get to a point where it's enjoyable? Like what do you think about? And also, he doesn't listen to music, which I just think is crazy. That was going to tie this in. But yeah, tie it all together. Tell me how you do it. Hot take. So runner's high is probably different for everyone. But for me, what runner's high means is basically like my muscles are warmed up. I'm like just sitting out kind of by myself. And like you just kind of feel it.
Like you're cranking out distances like faster than what's expected. Like you'll like run a mile. You'll be like, okay, like that didn't bother me. And you're kind of like, and it's very important for when you're doing these long runs because a lot of it's tied back to your heart rate. Like you can't let your heart rate get too high. So you almost want to check out as much as you humanly can.
So you're kind of running and you're not trying to think about time. You're not trying to mark distances. Say you've done a route before. You don't want to be like, okay, I know when I get to this tree I'm at one mile. I think that's a problem of mine because since I do listen to music, I'm always like, okay, if I listen to one song, that's about four minutes. And then I just am constantly thinking, thinking, and thinking. I can't clear my head, but...
That's the goal we're going to get to. That's exactly why I stopped listening to music. One, when you get to 14, my AirPods start to die. When I was dying, my music was giving out on me. I was like, this is just not ideal. When you start going out there for two and a half hours, you don't want to be checking boxes every three minutes. That is not fun. It's on a repeat. Some people listen to podcasts. I tried that a few times and I felt like
It was doing the opposite job like it was checking me out but it also wasn't like hyping me up enough. And then also a big thing for me was
I'm always trying to be conscious of my breathing. Once you run for a little bit, keep in mind, I'm a super inexperienced runner. I don't typically know what I'm doing until I start. He goes, I'm an inexperienced runner. Just ran a marathon yesterday. But it is true because there are people who do this, have been doing this, and it is their whole thing. And this was your first time doing something like this. Before I did this, I could probably count on my two hands how many runs I did for pleasure.
Like... That's crazy. Like, I probably went for less than 10 runs in my entire life. Wow. But... You pick up pretty quickly when you're, like, exerting too much energy. Mm-hmm. And especially for the long ones. Like, you need to, like... Okay, my heart's doing this. Like, okay, my calf's cramping a little bit. Like, maybe I, like, try to focus on something else. Like, get, like, imbalanced muscles. Try to fix it. But...
Not listening to music definitely helped one past time and to just like make me a lot more self-aware of Kind of what was going on and like I mean in Gainesville. There's like a nature trail I run on oh, that's peaceful and it's like I go obviously early and like especially when I started going like by myself without Pookie like it was just kind of cool to be like hey like this is just me in a row like like Anything you want to think about you could think about and that's like one thing I definitely loved about running was like it was a great way to kind of like process things and
uh maybe like something was on my mind or like I had to like think through something running a great I mean when you have three hours to do it typically typically it comes out so and would you say that that's like a good way that well I mean yeah you just were able to clear your head and like get through everything that life was throwing at you for sure you kind of just had to escape it like it was a chance to do your thing that's so cool yeah so cool and then I guess like
Well, you talked about Can't Hurt Me. That was kind of what sparked the inspiration, right? So you read that before you had the idea? Correct. Okay. And then, like, what else did you do besides the physical training? How did you prep? Like, did you eat different things? Did you drink the gallons of water? But more so mindset-wise, how did you prep for, like, the actual race? Race. Mm-hmm.
Visualization was huge. Like, every run that, like, when I was on it, and I was like, dude, this sucks. Like, why did I do this? I, like, always, like, pictured, like, crossing the finish line, like, my friends being there. That's so cool. And, like, honestly, a big thing was, like, you and, like, all of our other friends, like, saying, like, hey, I'm going to be there for you, like, when you cross the finish line. And, like...
It sounds like little, but just thinking about that for six months on end is so cool. Especially when you do it. That would definitely push me. I think that would probably be my biggest... I don't know the word I'm looking for, but my biggest push is just knowing my parents will be there at the end. They'll be waving. It'll all be worth it. I'll be able to say that...
It was all for a reason. Yeah. I think that was big. I mean, I definitely ate slightly differently. I've always been pretty conscious of what I eat. Yeah, that's true. I definitely have, like, a good nutritional background and, like, understand, like, what carbs do. Like, obviously, when you're running, you want to be eating a lot of carbs. So, like, the night before a big run, I'll try and, like, eat a lot of pasta. Pasta. Pasta's, like, your most carb-dense food.
But I wouldn't say there was like a whole, like you can't sit down and like mentally like the night before be like, okay, like how am I going to attack? I guess you could, but like you kind of just got to go out there and do it and you'll notice like you will start to notice like how your mind reacts to certain things.
And, like, you'll know, like, there were, like, a few runs I walked, like, especially when my shin splints were happening. Like, you know, like, okay, is this literally just hurting my body or is this just, like, a pain that, like, I have to get through? Yeah, it's kind of a question. Like, is it something that I can get past? It's one of those where, like, does my mind need rest or does my body need rest kind of thing? And you have to actually evaluate that because it's not like you can just stop. You kind of got to figure it out. And then I guess the last thing I'll say on that was, like, I wouldn't say, I guess, it's not mental prep.
But then like you start like doing things like, right? Like say you wake up in the morning, you go do like an 11 mile run. Like that's your new farthest. And then like you go do something else later in that day. Like say you're studying for a test. Like, oh, I don't want to do this. Like I just ran 11 miles. That's a cool one. I can sit down and I can like read this essay or like I can go talk to this person. Like sure, I might be stressed out. Like,
I've already gotten this out of the way like I can definitely do this and like you kind of just start like comparing things like it just strength strengthens you like as a person and makes you feel more capable and all that like I remember yesterday me and Lissette were walking around we walked like maybe four miles just you know walking around Miami while they're running a whole ass marathon and at the end I was like Lissette my legs are so tired like I can't wait to go home and take a shower I feel so gross and sweaty and I was like be
Be so for real. They just ran for four plus hours straight, and I'm complaining. I don't even know how to explain it or where I'm going with that, but it's just cool to... It really makes you rethink everything that you're thinking and all of it. Yeah. That's so cool. My dad woke up this morning and was like... Something heard him from sleeping, and I was like, Dad, I do not want to hear anything you're talking about right now.
That's so cool. It's so impressive. Everything. But also, as far as the mindset goes and the mental prep, I feel like over time, your mindset just adjusts. It just changes. So you can't even pinpoint, oh, what was I thinking about that made me feel like I could do this? Just from day one when you decided you were doing this till now, like six months you said, I feel like your whole brain must have changed. Chemically, I feel like everything you do feels different now. I think that was the most rewarding thing for me too. It was just like...
One, you kind of realize how, especially for planning for something that big and that drastic of a change, you kind of learn how to set steps. You can't go out, I mean obviously we're relating all this back to running, but you can't run out and on mile one be like, I have 25 miles to go.
Yeah. And that's what I worried that I would do. Well, I'm never going to get through it. Right. Exactly. So like when you do run like these long distances, you'll take like electrolyte packages or something. So like I would do that every four miles. So like I would break down every run I did into four miles. Like, okay, I need to run three more. I could take this electrolyte package, take the packet. Okay. Next four miles, next four miles, next four miles. And like you can translate that into literally anything. Like, yeah.
Baby steps. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I think is so cool about it. Like as much as this whole podcast episode, it's about running. Think about it in a way that has nothing to do with running because it relates to everything we do in life. And I just think it's so cool. But it's also about running. Like if you're considering running a marathon, here's all the info. Yeah. Yeah. Let's see what other questions. Oh, actually, take us through the race. Like I want start to finish. Yeah. Because I know some of the info. Like we've talked about it a little bit.
what happened, how it went, but... Yeah. From when you start... When you woke up in the morning to when you crossed the finish line. Tell us. Alright. Well, okay, I'll tell you through the whole weekend. So... Yeah. Left UF on Friday, came down to my house in Boca Friday night, um...
My brother flew in from New York City. That's so cool. He flew in just for this. Yeah, it was definitely cool to see him. It makes it even more special. They have like a huge race day expo type thing the days before. Was it in Miami? Yeah, it was at the convention center. So you go down there, you have to get your race bib, like the number you see everywhere. Were those numbers random or based on when you signed up? I don't know. I was curious. I thought they were based off you signed up, but I think it also might be like, because when you sign up, you give like an estimated time.
And it seemed like everyone who's in front of me had a number lower than me and everyone behind me had a number higher than me. So they might do it by like based on time. So we went and got that. Then we had an Airbnb like 15 minutes from the race. So me, my brother, Pookie, and then two of his frat brothers, Jake and Josh were running as well. They stayed with us.
The people next to us were not being quiet. Oh, but you were saying that. So we didn't... I didn't fall asleep probably until like 11.45 the night before and we were up. And I woke up in the middle of the night. And we had to be up at 3.45. Holy crap. So I probably got maximum like three, three and a half hours the night before going to bed.
Yeah, that's basically how much I sucked. And I'm just trying to compare that if I actually had to run a marathon. I was delusional. So delusional. Yeah. Keep in mind that, like, I mean, obviously you're pumped. Like, you've been waiting. Like, by no means did I... Like, it's hard to even fall asleep even if there wasn't loud neighbors. Exactly. But yeah, by no means did I show up and I was like, oh, I didn't sleep well. I was ready to go. So we start. The race starts. Your first mile is up a bridge. Yeah.
Yeah. That's the bridge that me and Lissette were standing on watching everyone run. Which, I mean, it's your first mile, right? Like you're training for 26. It wasn't ungodly hard. But it's still a bridge. It's an uphill battle right at the start. It was definitely like took it slow, got up the bridge. You typically have like two to three miles where like your legs warm up. So I knew I didn't want to...
Burn them out. Burn them out quick. So that's advice number one to every new marathon runner that they tell you is don't take the race too fast and then die at the end. Listen to that. And that is exactly what I did. So I guess like for a little background, like when I started, my time goal was to do it in under four hours, which is like averaging a 9.09 pace the whole way.
So, I started out, I think my first three miles, I maybe averaged like a 9:45, 9:10, or 10 minute flat. And that's what I always do, that's pretty typical. Maybe even a little slower than that, just to get in your groove.
And then, I don't know, something happens. I've always wondered how people, like, start slower and then their pace just gets faster and faster. Because I follow runner people on TikTok and I love to watch them. I didn't... That makes sense that their legs are, like, warming up in the beginning. Yeah. Like, your muscles are, like, slightly more stretched. So maybe your stride's a little bigger. Honestly, I have no idea. Like, I couldn't even tell. But maybe you're running a little faster. You can definitely feel, like, your hips, like, open up and stuff like that. But...
Sped up a little bit. I was running probably I was averaging probably a nine minute mile After that like the next ten and like I most of my long runs before like in the training where like I was averaging like a ten Okay, so I was running a whole minute faster than what I was okay grant you like I knew that One I didn't want to leave anything on the table, right? Like I wanted I wanted to cross the finish line and like knew like I didn't like slack off like I gave everything I had and
But my goal for the race was I wanted to average 9.30. So I was like, okay, I'm running a nine minute now. If I start to feel crappy, I'll pull it back a little bit. Then I just kept going and I felt so, so good. I was like, all right, this initial time goal, like under four hours, it's happening. I'm all go for it. So from mile three to probably like 14, I was booking it. Are you thinking about anything in that time? What goes through your head? Because...
To me, nine minutes is so long to be with your thoughts. Yeah. Just running. What were you thinking about? It changes. I mean, especially race day, right? Like, all you're thinking about is the race. Like, I was constantly, like, checking my, like, pace on my watch, which, like, isn't fun. You don't want to be doing that. Yeah, you probably shouldn't do that. But, I mean, obviously it was a culture shock running with 25,000 people. Yeah. So that, like, was one thing, like, kind of just, like, getting into that. You're running, like, through some pretty parts of Miami. I really wasn't looking around that much, honestly. But...
It's hard to describe, but you do just kind of check. I'm doing a check on my breath every so often. Like, hey, how do I feel? But I guess I'm just visualizing the future parts of the race. But if it wasn't race day, maybe I'm thinking about what class I have later in the day. Just random thoughts. Like what plans I need to make for the week. Yeah.
Oh, I haven't called my parents in seven days. I need to do that when I get back. That's kind of cool too though. Like when you're forced to think about all the things that you sometimes want to avoid thinking about, not necessarily on race day, but on all the other days of training, you're just kind of forced to be with your thoughts, which is so good. I always tell you guys do things alone and running. I mean, that's another really cool way to do it if you don't want to do something else. Yeah. Yeah. So those 11 miles were super fun. Thought I had it in the bag. Yeah.
Then I got to, like, mile 15 and a half. Like, keep in mind, so the sun, like, is starting to come out now. Like, it's getting really hot. Because it's now, at this point, it's what time? We started at 6, so now I'm, like, I'm halfway through. I'm probably at, like, 8, 15. Okay, yeah, it's hot at 8, 15 in Florida. 8, 15 a.m., like, the humidity's out. It probably felt like, I don't know, maybe, like, 82, 83 degrees. And, like, I just, like, felt it all going. And I was like, oh, my gosh, did I really just do this to myself? Yeah.
And like my stomach, my stomach was going and I was like, oh no. So then I ended up throwing up on mile 16. Did you just like go, like go to the side? Yeah, you just pull over to the side. And like, you don't want to do it, but I like, I felt so bad. Cause you know, like when you do that, you're like, cause I literally. Getting rid of everything. Like keep in mind all the electrolytes you're taking. All your carbs. All the water you drank, all your carbs, all your electrolytes.
And I was like, I feel so bad. So I just, I let it go. I maybe could have tried to keep going, but I was like, I also have to. But at that point, you can't sit there and keep running when you figure you're going to throw up. Yeah. So I ended up throwing up in mile 16. And then after that, it was just like a complete, absolute war. For context, I ran the first half in two hours and two minutes. And I ran the second half in two hours and 51 minutes.
That's just crazy. So it was very... I was... It was honestly like overall in terms of like performance compared to my training like I probably ran like one of the worst races I probably possibly could have run but like at the same time... You still ran a marathon. And also honestly like when I was doing it I was pretty mad. I was like I can't believe like I trained all this way and then I did that but now that I look back on it like...
I had two and a half hours where I was in just like absolute pain, agony, like whatever emotion you want to feel. And you still did it. And like you got through it and you look back on it and you're like, that was pretty cool. Yeah. No, I saw the first time I saw Brian after he finished because Pookie finished a little before him. So he was gone and then we're just like waiting for Brian and he comes out. I'm so excited. I'm like...
you did it how do you feel how do you feel he goes that was horrible I'm like that is the last thing that I thought I was gonna hear but but yeah I mean obviously like we're gonna battle with ourselves like you're gonna be mad at yourself like that's that's a given but you still did it and you crossed the finish line you ran a marathon it doesn't even matter how long it took you you still did it yeah for sure and like how now that you don't feel horrible how do you feel now like what did what did it teach you what were the biggest takeaways I guess
One, I mean, you can accomplish anything you want, but you have to be methodical about it. Like, you can't just... I mean, especially for something like that drastic of a change. Like, you obviously know when you sign up for a marathon, I cannot physically run 26.2 miles right now. Yeah, unfortunately. I wish it was that easy. As much as you want to believe it, like, sure, maybe some people could pull it out. Like, you cannot do this at this current state. So being self-aware of, like, what that's going to take and, like...
Goal planning setting small steps that was that was one to like whatever Pain whether that's physical mental emotional that you feel there's often Another point you can push yourself to like I mean, especially not just strengthens Yeah, not even just during running but like they're like times where I was just like during this process like right say had like a lot of schoolwork or like
Someone got me mad. Mind you, also, Brian's... What are you doing in school right now? He just... I didn't even know he was graduating with his bachelor's and all of a sudden I see an Instagram post that he graduated. I'm like, Brian, what? Because technically...
You would, most people our age are graduating this spring, right? With their bachelors. So he did this in the winter, right? And now what are you doing? It's like a combined degree program. So you kind of take like your undergrad and your master at the same time. So I just graduated with my bachelor's in finance. And then I have one semester this semester as a full-time graduate student. And I'll graduate in May with...
I mastered some finance. Yeah. So not only was he training for a marathon, he's taking like these really crazy classes and like doing it all. So you, it's just such a cool work ethic and like the way you train your mind to like know that you're capable and just push yourself. Like it's, it's honestly, it's pretty inspiring. I think not even just to me, but to everyone who's listening. It's so cool.
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So cool. It's been really fun. And I think another one was, it definitely placed a lot of value to me on like the friends I have and the family I have. That's so cute. Like people like...
So many people were checking in like, oh, how's it going? I mean, Grand Show was posting about it all the time. But still. This is my entire personality for six full months. Yeah, and it's going to be mine too. So I'm just warning you guys in advance. If I do go through with this half marathon, which I am, you're going to hear a lot about it. Let's do it. It's happening. But yeah, I mean, seeing them at the finish line and literally making eye contact with people and just seeing like, I have a video and just hearing them scream at the top of their lungs made everything, everything worth it.
I think every thought, every bit of pain, every struggle just disappears when moments like that happen. I feel the same way. My friends and my family are everything to me. And if I knew that I had them in my corner supporting me, that would probably be my biggest push and the reason that I make it all happen, I think. Obviously for yourself too. But it never hurts when you have people who are also just rooting for you. But yeah, that's crazy. And I think another thing I'd say is...
tying in with anything else like I mean do I enjoy running probably not that much right like it's not obviously as something like that is super fun and like when you set those alarms at like 5am and you've gotten like 4 or 5 hours of sleep literally the last thing you want to do is not only do you not want to get up you don't want to go run for 2 hours yeah I mean I think about it in the way that sometimes because I've been trying to make it a goal for myself and I've told you guys this 10 million times to go to the sunrise at least 4 or 5 times a week and
sometimes I fall asleep at 2 in the morning and I'll set my alarm for 6 a.m. to go and I'll not complain but like in my head I'll be like do I really want to do this do I really want to get out of bed then I just kind of have to sit there and be like well one I'm grateful that I get to get out of bed and go do this like I'm not going to work I'm not going to say run two hours but like it's still just like having to convince yourself why it's worth it and like looking at how much it's going to mean to you and all that like just
It stacks up. It stacks up a ton. Like those small mental battles that you just come out winning, like just get bigger and bigger and bigger. And it definitely translates to everything else. And it definitely teaches you a new kind of appreciation too. Like just puts a new value on life in general. Yeah. Not everything's fun, but you can make it fun. And it's obviously like pretty rewarding if you actually like stick with it. Yeah. I think that my biggest takeaway from even just like hearing you talk about all of it is just,
really the the goal thing because for me I'll set goals that are crazy and out there and I'll forget that I have to I don't know put in the work to do them I'll just be like yeah I'll get to it when I get to it but like it's cool when you think about it in a physical marathon point like yeah you can't physically do this right now but it's going to take small steps and you have to just yeah I guess be able to be proud of yourself and push yourself to do all the small steps instead of just looking at
the end goal. And I think that we touched on that before too, but that is what really hits for me because I struggle so much with it sometimes that this is going to be a new challenge for me. Not even in the just marathon way, but in general. It's so cool. But yeah, I think that... Was it worth it? Yeah, it was definitely worth it. I mean...
It's such a cool feeling. I mean, obviously not many people do it. Not many people get the chance to do it. I'm pretty sure 1% of the population runs a marathon. Well, yeah. Yeah. Welcome to the 1%, I guess. Welcome to the 1%. Yeah, no, it was awesome. I mean, it's funny because during the entire thing I was like, I'm never doing this again. I'm never doing this again. And then literally like hours after we all finished, like we're all looking at each other like...
When's the next one? This is what I said to Brian. He finished and he goes, that was horrible. I go, are you going to do another one or something? And I'm pretty sure you were like, no, no. Like, I don't think so. I'm like, just give it a day. Tomorrow you're going to say you're going to do another one. And now look where we are. Definitely be a little while. Not going to like do it again. Like just get right back into it. Yeah. Give yourself a pause. Be proud of the fact that you did this one. And then when you're ready, you'll be ready to do it all over again. But now I feel inspired. Now I know that I have to do this for...
of so many different reasons and it's gonna happen but I hope that if you guys were able to take anything away from this it was just well there's a lot of points you could have taken away so I hope you took something away from it and Brian I guess do you have any anything else that you want to say to the world dream big you know like you've only got one one chance at life and I mean I think at some point everyone kind of comes to a like a section where they're like okay like
Am I just going to keep doing what I don't thoroughly enjoy or am I going to really push myself and try and accomplish my dreams? And I think that, I mean, is my dream to be a marathon runner? No, but I think like see, like going through this process, whether it just say, whether it be running or whether trying to get this job or something like that,
Seeing yourself succeed in a way that you know you put yourself through something you haven't done before Just really opens up to your mind to like okay like I know this is actually what I want to do and I know what I just did has no correlation to that but the fact that I was able to do something for me is something that I don't enjoy just imagine what I can do for something that I'm actually passionate about You're gonna give me goosebumps that was so good I would recommend to anyone
Okay, you don't have to run a marathon. You can run a half marathon. Just do... I mean, it doesn't have to be running, but just find something that maybe you don't enjoy that much. And this was a huge part of the book. So that's kind of like good that we're times back from the beginning. Is that like him now, he was a horrible swimmer. He went to like Navy SEAL training.
To this day, one of the things he does routinely is he'll go jump in cold water, tie his hands and his feet together, and he'll make sure he doesn't drown for an hour. He's crazy. He's a little crazy, but still, the idea is there. He's just taking something he knows that he absolutely hates, and he keeps doing it because he knows, like, I can tackle that.
Then I can do anything. Now imagine what I can do for something I want to do. And I think that that's why I want to do this half marathon thing. Do it. I'll do it with you. Yeah, we're doing it together. You guys will see some pictures pretty soon. Lots of it. Lots of it. It's going to be fun. And I think that was great. And I hope that you guys enjoyed it. And you'll probably be hearing from Brian again because maybe like halfway through my training, we'll do another update on how I'm feeling. I'll be your coach. But yeah, that was awesome. And I will talk to you guys next Monday. All right, beautiful people. Later.