Episode 31: Interview with Kat Hores, Ironman, #maddiestrong
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Welcome to Chasing Life Podcast, where we talk about fitness, running, career, and life tips to inspire you to live your best life. I'm your host, Sarah Kane, and I hope you enjoy today's episode. I always say I'd rather do an Ironman over a marathon any day of my life.

Welcome to another episode of Chasing Life. I'm your host, Sarah, and today's guest is Kat Juarez. Kat is a former collegiate swimmer turned triathlete, and during this episode, she shares her fitness journey, her sources of inspiration for running her first marathon and completing Ironmans, as well as her experience being a member of local running and triathlete club boards, her current triathlon training and goals, plus special Ironman memories. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Hi, Kat. Welcome to Chasing Life Podcast. Hey, thanks, Sarah. Now, you and I have known each other a really long time. We used to be on high school sports teams together on the swim team, and then you were on the track team. And so I thought you would be a great guest to kind of share your fitness journey and how you've

transition from high school sports to completing triathlons. So, I mean, it seems kind of maybe obvious of a swimmer and a runner transitioning to triathlons, but can you kind of tell us about your journey since high school sports and how you got to be a triathlon and what excited you about that type of event and why you wanted to do that?

Yeah, so yes, we have been on sports for quite a long time. I did start swimming in eighth grade and I continued. I did indoor track and outdoor track, but to be honest, it was more of a social event thing.

I'd be most likely to be in the bathroom putting on makeup or whatever during my events because I refuse to do the 400 hurdles. So then in college, I swam as well and graduated from college. And my dad has always been a runner. So he ran marathons and I'm like,

okay I think it'd be a really cool bonding experience and I'm like I'm gonna run a marathon well it was a lot more um running than I thought I just kind of winged it my first one was Ocean City which um I decided to it snowed two inches during the entire race oh my gosh and I decided to wear a hooded sweatshirt um 100 cotton which if anybody who like knows running that's not

what you'd wear, especially in wet conditions. Needless to say, I did DNF that race. And it took me two more times actually before I finished my first fall marathon, which was Steamtown and still my favorite course, which is in Pennsylvania. And since then, I have run a total of 19 marathons. And I would like to say that I do not like running. I did become a triathlete because with swimming and running, I'm like, how hard is it to bike?

And a lot of people who know me learned that it was really difficult for me to relearn how to bike. I mean, it's not just jumping on your bike and biking a few blocks down the road to your friend's house or things like that. And you're just getting the feel of the bike. And then once you get that down and the type of bike that works too, my first triathlon was the Broome County Triathlon. This year will be probably seven years ago. And I...

took a very long time on the bike. And the swim is also completely different. Being a swimmer my whole life, I didn't even work at it. I'm like, I'm just going to wing it. Open water swimming is 100% different than being in a pool. I had a panic attack. I had to do breaststroke for a lot of it. And I'm like, what is wrong with me? I should be close to first out of the water. And I was not. And finally got on the run. And that's the only part of the whole race that I felt comfortable because I'm like, well, I know what to do from here.

But using a mountain bike. And then the next year I went and used a road bike that I literally just got from Walmart. And it was a lot lighter and made a world of difference. And I was like, okay, I really like this. So I invested and got like a better road bike. And now that I'm doing Ironmans and things like that, I invested in a tri bike. And yeah,

again, a lot lighter. So it just makes you faster in that sense. But I still firmly believe it's, you know, all in your training and stuff like that. And I just love what I do. I think it's a lot of fun. You meet a lot of great people. And I'm all about like the community. I'm president of the Broome County Tri Club. I'm vice president of the Triple Cities Running Club. And I honestly think that's what keeps me going is just being involved. And that's why I did sports in high school and continue to do it.

Yeah, thank you. And I have to tell you that it was kind of refreshing to hear that I wasn't the only other person who had a panic attack the first time you did open water swimming. It's different, right? Yeah, it definitely was. I was on a team triathlon and you were there. Like I had no idea what it was. I showed up in just a bathing suit. Everybody else was in a wet suit. And I was like, I don't know what I'm doing here. But I knew how to swim. I was recruited to do the swimming part.

And yeah, I was one of the last people out of the water when I did it. But you're like, I know what I'm doing. Right. Yeah. The first couple of years, I didn't wear a wetsuit either because I'm like, oh, and then when you realize that it just makes you like six percent faster if you wear one, which doesn't seem like a lot of time. But when you're like down to the last second in some of these sprints, it matters. But then getting the wetsuit off, does it really matter? Because that could take a really long time, too. That's a good point. Yeah.

So you mentioned that you were part of local boards. Can you tell us what your experience has been like and maybe share some behind the scenes? Yeah. People may not know about what it takes to plan a race or other running or triathlon events in the community. Yeah, I'm on the Triple Cities running board. I'm the vice president there, but I'm also on the board as well. So board members can your vote matters and everything.

You have to have so many people in order to pass a vote and things like that. We do a lot of different things. Right now, actually, currently we have the scholarship program just opened up for high school students.

And they can apply, you know, with their guidance counselors and things like that. We're hosting a breakfast and a group run coming up, you know, with COVID and things like that. You have to kind of be careful. But we would typically do like meet the club kind of thing and do like a social so everyone can meet each other. Because memberships, you know, you can sign up all year. But usually they typically start in January when we start the January free series. And that's four races. And this year, fortunately, we were able to do six races.

And with limited, we had to keep it at 45 because we could only have 50 people and five of those people had to be volunteers. So we do keep everything in mind, you know, because you do have to have insurance for all of these races, which I think a lot of people don't realize.

that when you sign that waiver, like there is real insurance and there is all that stuff that goes behind it. Also, um, marking the course when it's a certified course, it's been marked, you pay for that. And it's depending on the length of the race, like a five K is usually around three 50 or more than that, you know, depending on who does it. And then, you know, larger races obviously go up from there. That sounds crazy. Yeah. And then, you know, you can ask for donations, but I mean, especially times like this, like to get donations, that's,

that's hard because everyone's suffering and small businesses and things like that. But we all stick together and rehab center usually always donates water to us, which is fantastic. And Wegmans usually does a great donation. Knees and Toes definitely does a lot. They usually supply a lot of

bagels or gift cards for finishers, awards ceremonies, stuff like that. So I have a shoe program, the Triple Cities Running Club, and we support shoes for kids. And Confluence is our sponsor for that as well. As far as races go, like

We have usually like seven a year that the TCRC puts on. And then of course, anyone who wants to start a 5k or start a race, you can always come to the board, come to meetings, ask questions, advertise what your race is, where it's going to be or what you're looking for just to get like ideas and how to get things started. Because some people come in, they're like, yep, I'm going to host a 5k here. And this is what we're doing. And we're like, yeah, that might not really work that way. Or, you know, depending on race registration, like there's

Like, are you going to do run sign up? Are you going to do mail in? All these little things. And you have to have the volunteers for the road courses, especially if you're on a road and you're not using like park or the rail trail. All of that, you have to have police at some of them, depending on how busy the streets are to get them shut down. And you have to go through the county or the city, right?

and ask them if it's okay. And sometimes, I mean, you get lucky and they're like, okay. And other times they're like, nope, you got to pick somewhere else. I think that's a great reminder that a running club is a great resource for ideas to support, you know, the sports in your community. And also if you have an idea to say, I don't even know where to start with this, but to start with your running club. So thank you for that insight.

You talked about your triathlon training. You are currently training for Lake Placid. Can you tell us what that's been like or kind of what your typical training session looks like? Like how far before the race you kind of start following a training plan? Maybe what a typical week looks like for you? Can you share any of that information? Yeah, I am training for Lake Placid yet again. I actually was training for Lake Placid last year.

And it did get canceled the year before that I raced in montreblanc and in 2015 was my first iron man ever Which I kind of just winged it a little bit. I looked up a marathon plan and followed that I knew how to swim. I was used to open water at this point So I was like, okay, i'm just gonna do some swim workouts And then for the bike, I just took a lot of spin classes I did a couple hundred mile rides because I read online that works

You have 18 hours to finish an Ironman and it's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. You have 18 hours to complete it or by the time the race starts, you have until midnight. There's a lot that goes into that, not just training for the each individual events, which I learned really quickly as I was done. I was...

basically almost dying. My legs hurt. I just didn't want to go anymore. Your motivation gets dark out, just kind of like what is going on? So I've met a

tremendous group of people. Team Maddie, who is a girl that had sarcoma cancer for quite a few years and passed away a year and a half ago. But we still run strong for her. And pretty much my reason why I do it is like for people who can't or you know, the motivation that you get from other people far as training goes, there's a lot that goes into it. I work out a

depends like my easy days, which there's like three hours a day and then up to my longer days, which are like eight hours a day. So it's important to like figure out your rest in there. It's a lot of double sessions and I'm a hairstylist as well. So it's not like being an athlete is just my job. There's other things that go, you know, you have to work to pay for these races because they are not cheap at all. And yeah,

Between like swimming, which, you know, fortunately, I'm good at that. But I still follow I'm part of the master swim program. So I have swim workouts that are sent to me. I work with a coach who's fantastic. And she trained me for Montreblanc and what a game changer it is, even if people are like, Oh, I don't really want a coach, or I don't think I need a coach taking your mind off the fact of Okay, what do I have to do next? I literally wake up, I know what my workout is, I know my workout is two weeks in advance.

you know, most of the time freak out and be like, Oh my God, I don't want to do zone fives for 90 seconds on 90 seconds off 12 times through on the bike. Or, you know, these sprinting is not my thing. I'm an endurance athlete. So I know on Tuesdays, which are speed workouts, I already hate Tuesday mornings. Wednesdays are usually speed days on the bike again, and not a sprinter on the bike either. So I hate Wednesday mornings. It's just,

so much easier when you have it planned out for you and you just know what you have to do. And I raced Montreblanc in 2019 and I took three hours and 14 minutes off my time from Lake Placid, which was a couple of years before that. So it does work and work works and having the plan works. I lift at Synergy. I love Synergy. The plans are based for you.

In a sense that you go in and you get your workout, they tell you what to do next. There's no thinking. It's just nice when you have to work out that much and you have to work and you want to balance family and you want to balance friends that just have everything just written out for you and just told what to do. It's kind of nice. You don't have to like, okay, what do I want to do? There's no thought behind it. Um,

on my end. You either do it or you don't. And if you don't do it, it makes for a long day. I trained for 10 months before an Ironman. Some people train less than that. Once you've done them, you kind of know it's hard because people who've never done them, they get anxious and nervous and

that kind of thing. And when you do it, it's hard to tell somebody who hasn't done it because you have been in those shoes before, like how nervous it is. And it's a, it's a long day and it's a lot on your body. And actually, um,

I always say I'd rather do an Ironman over a marathon any day of my life. And people are like, really? Yeah. And people are like, there's a marathon at the end. And I'm like, well, it's not really a marathon in a sense because I'm not running 26.2 miles as hard as I can. I'm running 26.2 miles after I've swam 2.4 miles after I've biked 112 miles. So my legs are, you know, not in fresh condition.

So you run, you always hit a wall somewhere, right? You're going to, you know, mentally just break down and be like, this is, you know, ridiculous. A lot of times it's the two loops. So you're like coming around the second loop and people are finishing and you're hearing people and you're just like, I just want to be done. And that, you know, you just got to get on with it. And, you know, like when you go out, you got to come back. So it's like, all right, well, if I already have to go out here, I can walk back or, you know, like that.

You know, and just little tips like that. It's just, it's also the mental game. And I go to Yoga Body Shop for stretching because I will own every foam roller or recovery tool known to man and it just sits and I just stare at it and that just doesn't help. So signing up for things, paying for things, you know, which always isn't the cheapest way to do it. But if it makes you get the work done, then it's worth it.

Yeah, absolutely. It's like the payment for accountability helps to keep you on track. If you are paying, you know, $10 a yoga session, then you're going to show up for them. Yeah, exactly. Now you had a very special memory on your last Ironman. Can you tell us about that? Yeah, it was cool. It was actually the Ironman Montreblanc was for Maddie that year. And they did like a whole little, you know, blog on it. And we have videos and things like that.

Kind of made the whole trip just very fun and extremely memorable. And, you know, for the whole family, for the whole team. And she was at the finish line, which was totally unexpected and definitely just kind of brought everything together. And knowing like that was our last big race with her just definitely meant a lot.

She was able to give you the medal. Yeah, she was. Usually we get it from Mike Riley, who's the voice of Ironman. And he announces us. And then the amazing volunteers that Ironman always has, they have our finisher hat.

They have our medals and they usually have like water or whatever ready to go when they assist you because it's one volunteer part athlete just after an event like that. And to see her holding my medal was definitely one of the coolest things ever. I don't think I'll have anyone who ever put a medal around my neck again. I'll just take it and do whatever with it, which I have a medal rack. But I don't think I'll ever have anyone place a medal around my neck again because that was a great memory to just finish off with.

Yeah, that sounds really nice and very sentimental just to have that kind of being the last person that puts a medal. Yeah, it's definitely great. With your years of triathlon, you were also able to travel to Africa. Can you tell us how you were able to go there and what your role was? Yes, actually, I went with a group of friends. And one of my very good friends qualified for South Africa at the Half Ironman at Lake Placid. It

in September and World was in South Africa the following September. So my goal was I'm going to qualify and we all signed up to do the Half Ironman in Syracuse. I got pretty lucky actually getting a roll down slot. There was people in front of me who could have qualified and won and they chose not to go. So it rolled down to my name and I took the opportunity. I did already have my flights booked with Aaron because I was like,

The deal is, if you qualify, I'm going. You know, Betsy was on board and his wife, my very good friend Grace and my very good friend Nick, we all went together and I raced the first day. They separate the race, female, male,

And the half Ironman and Aaron raced the second day. And it was crazy because you think Africa is going to be hot and coming off of our summer, we're like, yeah, we'll be fine. It was definitely one of the coldest trips I've been on. They actually had a record high the day I raced. So it was hot my day and the next day Aaron raced and it was freezing and windy and horrible.

He's a cold weather racer and I'm a warm weather racer. So like we both had our best day conditions and what a memory to have and to travel with friends. And we went on a few safaris. We went on a boat tour and saw whales and things like that. So we definitely had some great memories there.

Yeah, that's pretty awesome that you had that once in a lifetime experience and that you qualified through a sport that you're so passionate about. Yeah, and I do like to cheer on Jamie at World Championships in Kona. My slogan is, take me back, because...

he's definitely great athlete and definitely great mentor and I send him messages all the time and he's very you know supportive of the fact and my goal is always Kona but I mean that's always the goal when you're you know trying to race is to always do better than you did before I mean the goal the first time around is always to finish like my first time my goal was to finish and I'll never forget coming up um the street for Lake Placid the last hill and my dad was mind you it's dark out it's

I had to have finished around like 930 at night. So it was my last four miles and I came up the last hill and he was like yelling to my mom, like, oh my God, she's going to do it. She's going to finish because you could pretty much, unless you pulled a muscle, could walk the last four miles in under two hours. It was a very cool moment to like, and I think that's my proudest moment was making my dad so proud because

Like you graduate high school, you graduate college, but those are like just steps in life that like all parents hope to see their kids do. But like training for a race or doing something exceptional, like which is totally out of the box and, you know,

making them proud thinking like, and in my head, I'm like, wait, you doubted me for a second. Come around the corner. Like it was kind of cool that he was like, really like I could really tell in his face is an excitement that he was truly like, just proud of me. That's really cool to have as a parent to be that proud. Yeah, that is really neat. I agree that my parents have been very supportive of my racing too. And yeah,

they know like what my goal times are going into a race and I can hear them at the finish line. Oh, she's not happy or she's going to do it. And, and, you know, they'll, they'll be cheering me on in the finish line. So it's definitely very cool when your parents can help experience that with you and kind of see all of your hard work and discipline come to fruition. So I think that's,

Yeah. My dad has built my home gym for me and my garage, which was definitely very helpful. You know, every day it's, what was the workout today? What did you do today? And it's like, Oh man, like, you know, it's always the support or, you know, like, how are you feeling? Or they drop off my favorite granola bars or, you know, like my snacks that I like to eat while I'm training. Just to make, I mean, cause that's another aspect too, is you have to eat on the bike. Like you have to get ready for that run because you're not eating in the swim. So,

So the whole meal plan for the day is on that bike and then on the run too. And you got to figure out what works for you and what you can stomach during whatever weather because the hotter it is, the more salt you're losing. So you have to try to remember how much more sodium you need.

And that kind of thing too. Speaking of fueling tips, what are some fuels that you have found that work best for you? For my drink, I use Gatorade Endurance, which I just purchased online because that's not found in local stores at all. It's just the salt content is extremely high. And actually it was weird because in Canada, the sodium content in Gatorade Endurance is illegal.

So they had, oh yeah, they had this drink called base, which was pink peach mango flavored and it was disgusting, but you know, it advanced what that race is carrying. So it's smart to purchase that fuel so that your stomach can get used to it.

because I also had the bright idea of I love the vanilla power bars and they melted together in the bag that I had them in. So it was almost like one of those with gummy. So I had like, I like the Clif shots or the Gatorade gummy or the honey stingers are my absolute favorite. The pink lemonade are my favorite flavor. I also use goo, but I only use goo on the run just because it's liquid form. But if you could imagine when those Laffy Taffy strings with like the nerds attached to it, like the roses,

they're called that's exactly what my fuel looked like so obviously you couldn't eat it so I ended up chucking it and I had to go off their base fuel but which I've sampled before it wasn't my favorite but at least I knew how many calories and what everything was and how to supplement the difference because you have to have so I do so many calories per hour and so much fluid per hour

And I have my watch on my bike and the bike computer that tells, you know, and I know when to eat every, you know, I drink, try to drink every 10 minutes.

I think those are very helpful. So thank you for sharing that. I want to loop back to Kona. I had forgotten that you went there. Can you tell us? Yeah, I've been to Kona twice actually. And hopefully Jamie takes us back for a third time this year. Kona is so far happening. They're lowering the field to 2000 athletes this year. It's quite an experience to be with all pro athletes in a sport that I love.

It's neat to see all the training and they're so nice and they're so friendly and they have like the expos, like they do at a lot of races, which is just a bunch of clothing, fuel, bike companies, running shoe companies. Like anything you can think of that has to do with swim, bike or run. Those people are there. Gatorade is there and their head team. And I actually was part of the trial for the new Gatorade that will be out shortly. And yeah,

They have like the Michael Phelps pool was there and it was like you could win his new goggles if you could keep in his 800 pace for 200 yards like on their pool. So they do like a lot of cool things like that. They do meet and greets with a lot of the athletes. They do small group runs. They have a 5k to 10k race.

That is for the area that all the proceeds go to that. And then they actually do a underwear run, which goes for the Ironman Foundation. The proceeds go to the Ironman Foundation. And then they had a swim race. So you actually got to swim the course of the Ironman, which was neat. And, you know, something that probably would take a long time for me to qualify for, even though it's a huge goal of mine. I hope all these other athletes are unmotivated.

motivated from quarantine that can just slide right in because I've stuck with it pretty well and my training's done you know pretty well for the year so far and it's just it's a fun time the weather is fantastic I mean all the restaurants and everything like that it's just it's a great environment to be around I don't know if I would love Kona if I went

I mean, yeah, I would love Kona if I went and just laid on the beach and did nothing. But just the vibe that you got, the whole energy of everyone's kind of like there, you know, for the same purpose, whether you're a cheer squad or you're racing, you

it's a great time. And Kelly and I actually volunteered at body marking, which you had to like do the temporary tattoos of the marking on the athletes. And it's cool because it's the very beginning. So you have people who it's their first time or people who've been there, you know, a few times and just the level of nerves and stuff like that. People who are excited and people who are just like super nervous because it's their first time being there. Now, for those who don't know. Okay. So it would be like the Boston marathon of Ironman. So it's,

Although it's not a qualifying time where Boston is a qualifying time. It's how you place in your race. So each race has age groups and it's male and female. And in triathlons, it goes by five years. So it's 20 to 24, 35, you know, like 25 to 29, you know, and so forth. You have to usually place and it depends on how many people because it's a percentage. So it's how many people are in each age group. So usually get one or two slots per age group.

And then like, say there's an age group that nobody wants to go to Kona, then they take that slot and put it at the next age group that has the highest number of people. So they could get like three slots to the age group, you know, 35 to 39. The first person doesn't want it or already has a spot that goes to the next person.

So you have to go to the award ceremony. If you don't go to the award ceremony, you're out of luck. They don't just call you and be like, oh, you qualify. Do you want to go? No, you have to be there. So you earn points on each Ironman that you complete? No, there's no point system. It's just like how you qualify in that day.

Okay. All right. Yeah, that's very interesting. I didn't know kind of all the behind the scenes, but I think you're right that when you're talking about the energy of being in this large event, especially of these really top athletes, like

I think there's a lot of value in being around people who have the same passions that you do and you come off of that. Yeah, it's great to visit Hawaii, but on top of that, your soul was fueled just because you were around all of these things that you love. So I think that's really pretty cool that you were able to experience that. One last question to wrap up our podcast that I like to ask all my guests is what does chasing life mean to you? To me, chasing life is being actually kind of like 1% better than I was yesterday.

Chris Nimick, he's a Down syndrome athlete who will be going to Kona this year. He completed an Ironman Florida this past November and

And he was the first person with Down syndrome to actually complete an entire Ironman, which was super motivational. And his theory was always, I want to be 1% better than I was yesterday. And I think that's really cool. And it's like, like 1% is like, if you think about it, like not much, right? So, and it's a small, it's just taking life one day at a time and like slowing down and, you know, realizing like, I can do this.

You know, like the struggle might be here this minute, but, and I'm always like, okay, 60 seconds, it'll be over. Like you're on to the next thing. So like chasing life is just, you know, trying to do better than I did yesterday, trying to do better than I did last time. Or, you know, even like being happier than I was yesterday or, you know, being more grateful than I was yesterday. It's just, you know, continuing to like chase life one day at a time. I love the 1% better than yesterday because it's,

It doesn't seem like a lot. So it almost takes away the excuse of, well, I can do 1% better. You know, I can do, you know, if I did 10 squats yesterday, I'd do 11 today. And then on the next day you do 12. But over time, that's really going to add up. So I think that's a great message. So thank you for sharing that. Any other thoughts that you want to share?

So everything's going as planned so far and we're hoping that races continue. And that's the hard part. I think now for everybody, no matter what sport you're doing, I mean, even these high school kids or these modified kids, like you can have one parent, two parent or nobody allowed to be there. And it kind of stinks because you really look at your support team. And I think your support team is what gets you through a lot. Like, yeah, you have your teammates,

But I mean, individual sports and stuff like that you want, and you have your coaches, of course, and things like that. But having like your team, your friends who like, those are the people like after the end of the day, like, those are the people you're going to complain to. Those are the people who always ask because they care, you know, and to not have them. I think it really stinks that like an early age, they missing out on that. And

And, you know, you take that for granted as you're like older and you're just like, oh, well, whatever, I'll just go do it myself. But it's nothing's fun to do alone. Like they always say, you always go farther when there's more of you. I just think that's super important. That's a great point, too. It took me actually a while to join the Triple Cities Running Club because I was like, well, I can just do this alone or like my time didn't quite ever align with group runs. But when I started running,

going, it was really nice to be around other runners. That's true. Like people are always intimidated. They're like, Oh, I don't want to go or cause I'm not that fast or I'm going to be last. And everyone's goes like, Oh, I'm just not going to be last. Well, there's nothing wrong with being last. You showed up, you paid for your entry, you know, you've made your donation to whatever it's always for a good cause too. There's always like the money's going towards something like Turkey Chow, all that money goes to scholarships. Like that's

a scholarship race. And that's where we get that money for, you know, all of our scholarships. And we donate $10,000, if not more a year, depending on how many people register also the weather. And we have nice, you know, years, unfortunately, this past year, Turkey Trot had to go virtual and times where I've shown up to races, and it's like windy and like negative. Okay, thank you. You can just take my donation because I'm not getting out of my car.

And then you're sitting there, you're like, okay, I'm going to miss out on this. Or a very memorable race is the Syracuse Half Marathon. I don't remember what year that was. I think they're saying it was like six years ago. Maybe not that many. And it was a blizzard, a whiteout blizzard. And it was miserable. I remember that. Yeah, I didn't run it. But all these things. And it's just like, okay, if you didn't run it now, you're not going to have the memory of it.

It's like a bonding experience that you all showed up and weathered these conditions like Marine Corps Marathon. They went from torrential downpour to like blazing heat by the end of it. And so, you know, that's really tough to train for, especially long events. Yeah.

And to have weather just not be in your favor that day. But, you know, I think there is a lot to say about if you kind of push through that mindset and say, well, I'm here. I guess I might as well do it and just kind of experience it and not go through the times that maybe I was hoping for. And as hard as that is and disappointing, especially when you spend months training for that event. I'm a firm indoor trainer. I run indoor.

and bike inside all the time due to my workouts. I just, I don't feel safe being on the road running. I have to wear headphones. I have to run to music. If my phone dies and I have no music or my iPod dies, like I'm done. I always have two iPods on me while running any longer distance in case my phone dies.

Just because I cannot stand running without music. The same thing with biking. I just like to stick to the plan. And when there's cars or red lights or things like that, if you stop at them, I mean, it just kind of screws with your time on that sense. And, you know, watching the pros and their tips and tricks, it just kind of is like, okay, I can do that too. And it's working so far. So I'm just kind of sticking with it. And as much as you're like, oh my God, I hate the treadmill. Yeah.

Here I am on my third one, breaking through them all. But it's all right. I think that's a good reminder to just finding what works for you and also seeking out resources and tips from others that have gone through it. So, you know, it's not a one size fits all just because one person trains outside all the time doesn't mean everyone has to. I agree with you that sometimes finding especially long routes and if you're riding your bike for three hours, like

but you got to figure out a really long loop and you can either go to the local parks or the local rail trail and do that over and over and over and over again but yeah even for longer stuff you'll find like people and that's the thing with the running community with you know social media you'll find people and you'll meet people at races and you'll find people your pace and i'm typically running you know eight minute miles i can run with somebody who runs definitely slower than that it's all

all about what you want to do. And socially, like I'm not an outdoor runner. I don't attend many group runs unless they're the pub runs, unless there's food involved, taco runs, you know, like that kind of stuff. You meet different people doing different things and I don't mind, you know, running, you

any kind of pace you know if you're going fast with me I'm obviously not going to keep up with you and I know that you know like I know people I can't run with because I'm like right right to die if I try like your slow pace is my sprint workout so no thanks but I mean you're still all friends you're still all in it for the same reasons and you know just getting it done

I have been a little hesitant to go to group runs, but when I get the courage to go to them, I show up. And even if I haven't met half the people, I know at least one thing we have in common, which is running. So we can at least start the conversation from there. We recently talked about kind of our running and our goals. And I thought, well, you would be great to share all of your experiences because you've done so much in your fitness journey. So thank you for sharing all your stories about Kona and Africa and Lake Placid and

So I hope everyone enjoyed our episode. Yeah, you're very welcome. Thanks, Sarah. Thank you. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it on social media. Tag me at Sarah Chasing Life or at Chasing Life Podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast. That helps me to reach more listeners.