WEBVTT - Life After the NFL: Justin Britt Tackles the United Airlines NYC Half 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:04.200 The hardest thing for me trying to get through my 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:09.330 mental struggles was finding community. I didn't start running to 0:00:09.330 --> 0:00:13.500 find community, but what I found is the running community 0:00:14.100 --> 0:00:17.790 is just massive. If you're struggling, go for a run 0:00:17.790 --> 0:00:18.540 and sign up for a 5K. 0:00:22.860 --> 0:00:25.950 Hey, everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official 0:00:25.950 --> 0:00:29.880 podcast of New York Road Runners presented by Peloton. I'm 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:32.280 your host, Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of New York Road 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:37.919 Runners, and with me, my cohost, Peloton instructor, Becs Gentry. Becs 0:00:38.100 --> 0:00:41.669 coming off of a great stint in the broadcast booth 0:00:41.670 --> 0:00:45.629 for United Airlines NYC Half. And it was a great broadcast, Becs. 0:00:45.630 --> 0:00:45.870 Thank you. 0:00:45.870 --> 0:00:50.519 It was a great, great day for 30, 229 runners. 0:00:50.580 --> 0:00:55.590 Wow, official number there. Ring that bell. That is huge. 0:00:56.430 --> 0:01:00.690 Oh my goodness. It was a beautiful day. So much 0:01:00.690 --> 0:01:03.150 to talk about. We were reeling in the broadcast booth. 0:01:03.150 --> 0:01:08.760 There was just so many different vibes going on through 0:01:08.970 --> 0:01:12.150 all four of the professional races and then into the 0:01:12.209 --> 0:01:17.880 everyday runners. It was beautiful. It was one of those 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:24.000 true runners races. Seeing Agnes Ngetich, who everybody was like, " 0:01:24.060 --> 0:01:27.360 Oh, is she going to come and dominate at this race? She's feeling really 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.590 good. She started so strong." And then seeing or hearing 0:01:31.590 --> 0:01:36.600 Carrie the Olympian and so much experience of running herself, 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:40.410 but also watching through commentating of how people are performing. 0:01:40.410 --> 0:01:43.620 She's like, " She's cold. She's cold. She's not used to 0:01:43.620 --> 0:01:48.060 this. She's cold." And the powerhouse or the caged animal, 0:01:48.060 --> 0:01:51.540 as Carrie described her, or Hellen Obiri's coach actually described 0:01:51.540 --> 0:01:56.970 her as this energy that I'm sure Hellen just felt 0:01:57.060 --> 0:02:00.750 in that moment, Agnes just dropped maybe a couple of 0:02:00.750 --> 0:02:03.059 seconds off the pace and Hellen went for it. And I 0:02:03.060 --> 0:02:06.210 think something similar happened in the men's race. For both 0:02:06.210 --> 0:02:10.230 wheelchair races, there was quite a distinctive lead for the 0:02:10.230 --> 0:02:13.770 winners there, but it was still so magnificent. And each 0:02:13.770 --> 0:02:17.190 of those runners came over the finish line, taking their 0:02:17.190 --> 0:02:20.310 claim on the race this year with the biggest smiles 0:02:20.340 --> 0:02:23.490 on their faces. It really felt like it meant so 0:02:23.490 --> 0:02:28.260 much to each of them in a very different way. And we got 0:02:28.470 --> 0:02:30.989 event record, which is huge. 0:02:31.139 --> 0:02:34.710 Yes, it was absolutely huge. The event record in this 0:02:34.710 --> 0:02:37.560 event, because the course has changed a lot, gets set 0:02:37.620 --> 0:02:40.380 more often than one might think, but Hellen Obiri- 0:02:40.380 --> 0:02:42.540 Yeah, should we clarify that? Because I think that was 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.630 a big question that we actually had. And I've been 0:02:45.630 --> 0:02:46.621 asked such a few times what it means. 0:02:46.621 --> 0:02:48.480 Yeah, event record covers all the courses. 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:49.110 Exactly, not a course record. 0:02:49.110 --> 0:02:51.210 So, it's not a course record, it's an event record. So, all the 0:02:51.210 --> 0:02:54.120 different times this race has been run, Hellen Obiri now 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.990 holds the event record with a time of 106: 33, 0:02:57.990 --> 0:03:00.419 so that counts for all of the history of this 0:03:00.450 --> 0:03:03.540 event. Obviously, the course changes year to year. This year 0:03:03.540 --> 0:03:05.460 we had... Second year we had it over the Brooklyn 0:03:05.460 --> 0:03:08.850 Bridge, a little less elevation, but nonetheless, it's a record 0:03:08.850 --> 0:03:12.540 setting performance for Hellen Obiri, who, let's face it, is now 0:03:12.540 --> 0:03:16.000 truly the queen of New York City distance running. 0:03:16.230 --> 0:03:16.002 The queen. (inaudible) . 0:03:16.470 --> 0:03:20.580 She just has a vibe here. She comes here. She has 0:03:20.580 --> 0:03:24.781 the confidence. She really handles a variety of conditions so well. 0:03:24.781 --> 0:03:25.051 She does. 0:03:25.169 --> 0:03:29.130 She has run races and won in cold conditions, in 0:03:29.130 --> 0:03:32.790 warm conditions, in variable conditions. She just has a way 0:03:32.790 --> 0:03:35.190 of adjusting to whatever the weather is. And it was 0:03:35.190 --> 0:03:38.310 cold. For the pro runners, they never got above 40 0:03:38.310 --> 0:03:42.000 degrees in their run. They were running in the 30s. She handled 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.370 it well. And you're right, whether it was Agnes, whether 0:03:44.370 --> 0:03:46.590 it was Sharon Lokedi, who when she got to the 0:03:46.590 --> 0:03:49.470 finish line on Sunday, I was there to greet her 0:03:49.470 --> 0:03:54.540 and she was cold. Even at the 13.1 mile mark, they 0:03:54.540 --> 0:03:56.910 were cold, so that definitely was a factor for some 0:03:56.910 --> 0:04:00.900 of them. But tremendous day for Hellen. Five American women, 0:04:00.900 --> 0:04:03.900 by the way, finishing in the top 10 on Sunday, 0:04:03.900 --> 0:04:04.230 so a great day. 0:04:04.230 --> 0:04:06.900 All kind of together too, which was really lovely to 0:04:06.900 --> 0:04:09.420 see from Emily Sisson coming in sixth, and then we 0:04:09.420 --> 0:04:10.261 had sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth. It was really cool. 0:04:10.261 --> 0:04:15.030 Yes. It was awesome to see. So, a good day for them as 0:04:15.030 --> 0:04:17.400 well. And just a great day on the women's side. 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:19.890 On the men's side, it was exciting to see a 0:04:19.890 --> 0:04:23.640 new face who really none of us really knew. Our 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:27.270 professional team knows, Sam Grotewold and Dorian know the pro 0:04:27.270 --> 0:04:29.580 runners, but for someone like me who kind of dips 0:04:29.580 --> 0:04:33.060 in and out of following, to see Adrian Wildschutt, I 0:04:33.060 --> 0:04:34.000 think I'm pronouncing it right- 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:34.001 (inaudible) . 0:04:34.001 --> 0:04:39.270 ... from South Africa, come across in 59:30, the first 0:04:39.270 --> 0:04:43.350 ever South African champion of this event. And it was just fun 0:04:43.350 --> 0:04:46.110 to see a new face do well. And he was 0:04:46.110 --> 0:04:49.529 so excited and felt really good about his finish in 0:04:49.529 --> 0:04:54.089 what must have been, Becs, a very exciting men's race to broadcast because there 0:04:54.089 --> 0:04:56.010 were so many of them together for so long. 0:04:56.070 --> 0:04:59.159 The pack was gigantic. They stayed together so long. Patrick 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.700 Kiprop led the way for the vast majority of the 0:05:02.700 --> 0:05:09.450 race. And it was very, very... It almost felt planned 0:05:10.020 --> 0:05:13.529 when Adrian just took off because yes, okay, we had 0:05:13.890 --> 0:05:16.920 Peter Lynch, Irish guy who we were joking like... Of 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:19.020 course he took the lead for a little while, we're like, " 0:05:19.020 --> 0:05:21.000 He's used to the cold. Come on, no matter where 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:23.220 he trains, he's Irish in his blood. He knows the 0:05:23.220 --> 0:05:25.650 cold weather well." And then he kind of stepped back 0:05:25.650 --> 0:05:31.380 and then Patrick Dever, Patrick Kiprop together at the front. 0:05:31.380 --> 0:05:34.320 And yeah, there was a lot of changing of the 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:38.279 guards, coming and going, but nobody took a big dive 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:43.410 forward. We had Zouhair Talbi, he also took the chance to 0:05:43.410 --> 0:05:47.520 step forward, but it really wasn't until just over the 0:05:47.550 --> 0:05:52.830 10 mile marker that Adrian changed gear. He fully changed 0:05:52.830 --> 0:05:55.020 gear, and he said that was his plan. He stuck 0:05:55.020 --> 0:05:58.320 with his coach's plan, was to run 10 miles strong 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.680 and then start really racing at 10 miles. And he 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:05.310 said he felt good. And he's been training in South 0:06:05.310 --> 0:06:07.500 Africa recently, so he's just coming off of summer, which 0:06:07.500 --> 0:06:10.500 a lot of the professional athletes have actually gone, even 0:06:10.500 --> 0:06:13.170 if they are based in the likes of Flagstaff, Boulder, 0:06:13.170 --> 0:06:16.500 et cetera, and in the US to train, they may have 0:06:16.500 --> 0:06:20.370 gone home after the end of the fall season here, 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:24.210 as we call it, to warmer climates, to be with 0:06:24.210 --> 0:06:29.760 family, to spend time in different training environments like Iten. 0:06:29.820 --> 0:06:34.740 And coming off South African winter, Adrian was saying it 0:06:34.740 --> 0:06:38.100 was warm. He's used to training in 80, 90 degrees... 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:44.010 Celsius? Fahrenheit, Fahrenheit. And to come here, as you say, 0:06:44.010 --> 0:06:48.810 you're racing in the 30s, but I said on the broadcast, 0:06:49.500 --> 0:06:51.539 one minute he had this gigantic hat on that was 0:06:51.540 --> 0:06:54.990 almost covering his eyes and it looked so warm and 0:06:54.990 --> 0:06:57.000 wonderful, and then all of a sudden it came off 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.130 and I said to Carrie and Ryan, " Oh, the hat's 0:06:59.130 --> 0:07:02.190 off. He means business now." And then within, he was 0:07:02.190 --> 0:07:05.670 gone. He was off on his way. So, I do 0:07:05.670 --> 0:07:09.270 think a lot of these races were very well executed 0:07:09.270 --> 0:07:13.440 from a coaching and a runner perspective over the weekend, 0:07:13.980 --> 0:07:16.770 and proof's in the pudding in those times. He was 0:07:16.770 --> 0:07:21.540 incredibly close to the event record for the men's side too. 0:07:21.540 --> 0:07:26.550 Super impressive. Congratulations to him. In the wheelchair races, it 0:07:26.550 --> 0:07:29.910 was your country woman, Eden Rainbow Cooper, winning the women's 0:07:29.910 --> 0:07:33.750 wheelchair race in a time of 54: 27 from the UK. 0:07:33.750 --> 0:07:34.200 Fantastic. 0:07:34.500 --> 0:07:37.980 And another really positive story on the men's side, Daniel 0:07:37.980 --> 0:07:41.610 Romanchuk, coming back from the injury he suffered in the 0:07:41.610 --> 0:07:45.420 crash that he was involved in in the Sydney Marathon, comes 0:07:45.420 --> 0:07:49.920 back and wins his third United Airlines NYC Half title 0:07:50.130 --> 0:07:50.460 as well. 0:07:50.460 --> 0:07:50.730 So good to see. 0:07:50.970 --> 0:07:53.310 Was great to see that win as well. You could 0:07:53.310 --> 0:07:54.210 tell it meant a lot to him. 0:07:54.660 --> 0:07:57.120 It really did. And it was such an unfortunate incident 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:01.680 at Sydney when a spectator just came onto the course 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:05.430 and it tipped Daniel over and he took an injury 0:08:05.430 --> 0:08:08.550 to his, I believe, shoulder and collarbone area quite badly. 0:08:08.550 --> 0:08:13.110 So, he spent the last six months or so recovering, 0:08:13.260 --> 0:08:17.370 rebuilding. He also has just come from Florida, so he was 0:08:17.370 --> 0:08:20.400 also in the warmth and training on the roads down there in 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:24.090 Florida before this race. So, it was so great to 0:08:24.270 --> 0:08:27.300 see him. He also mentioned his... I think it was 0:08:27.300 --> 0:08:29.520 his sister and brother- in- law also ran the race 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.689 today, so really, truly a family affair of celebration for the 0:08:34.020 --> 0:08:35.280 Romanchuk crew this weekend. 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:39.090 Yeah, it was really great to see. On the other side, the 0:08:39.090 --> 0:08:43.920 nonprofessional side, we had our fourth Commissioner's Cup. This, of 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:48.240 course, is a competition among the various agencies of the City 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:50.370 of New York, all the folks that we work with 0:08:50.700 --> 0:08:52.860 year in and year out to help put on this 0:08:52.860 --> 0:08:57.090 race and the marathon and many others. And the NYPD, 0:08:57.090 --> 0:09:00.750 the police continued their dominance in the Commissioner's Cup. 0:09:00.750 --> 0:09:00.840 They've won so many of them. 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:05.040 Yep. They won their fourth straight, defeating the six other 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:09.150 agencies, including the Mayor's Office, so congrats again to the 0:09:09.150 --> 0:09:14.130 NYPD on retaining that Commissioner's Cup. These other agencies are 0:09:14.130 --> 0:09:16.470 going to have to start recruiting for speed because- 0:09:16.470 --> 0:09:16.621 They are. 0:09:16.621 --> 0:09:20.099 ... yeah, the NYPD, they are on it. They are 0:09:20.100 --> 0:09:21.630 really a great group of athletes. 0:09:21.689 --> 0:09:26.940 They truly... There was a lot of MYPD runners coming over that line early on, 0:09:27.210 --> 0:09:30.090 I will say. And I know they get the VIP 0:09:30.090 --> 0:09:34.350 start as well, so they do start earlier, but still, 0:09:34.410 --> 0:09:36.150 there's nothing to take away from the time and the 0:09:36.150 --> 0:09:38.250 effort and the energy that they put in to run 0:09:38.250 --> 0:09:42.691 those fast splits on Sunday, so congratulations to them. 0:09:42.691 --> 0:09:43.111 Absolutely. 0:09:43.170 --> 0:09:45.360 And then the kids race. We had the beautiful Brittany 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:51.660 Bell covering that on the broadcast team with over 1500 0:09:52.140 --> 0:09:54.751 little... Well, not so little. It's two through... 0:09:54.751 --> 0:09:56.011 Two to 18, yes. 0:09:56.011 --> 0:09:56.338 18, yeah. 0:09:56.578 --> 0:10:00.960 So, we got a nice broad spectrum of youth. The older 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:02.611 kids from 12 to 18, they run a mile- 0:10:02.611 --> 0:10:04.141 A full mile, yeah. 0:10:04.141 --> 0:10:06.240 ... out and back on 7th Avenue right in the 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:08.610 middle of Times Square. And then the little ones run, 0:10:09.150 --> 0:10:11.309 could be as little as like a 50- yard dash, 0:10:11.309 --> 0:10:14.969 but it's adorable. It's a great event. And it's just 0:10:15.059 --> 0:10:19.320 tremendous to shut down Times Square for both the adult 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.740 runners coming through, the kids doing their thing. And then that moment 0:10:22.740 --> 0:10:26.160 where you've got the leaders and the adults in the first 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.010 wave running right alongside the kids in Times Square, one 0:10:29.010 --> 0:10:31.319 of the things that really makes this event special. So, 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:36.840 congratulations to all finishers, adults and childs. It was a 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:41.370 great, great day at the United Airlines NYC Half. Well, 0:10:41.370 --> 0:10:44.429 Becs, as we just mentioned, five American women finished in the 0:10:44.429 --> 0:10:49.200 top 10 on Sunday, including today's guest, 10th place finisher, 0:10:49.260 --> 0:10:52.740 Emily Venters. But Emily had another role on race day 0:10:52.740 --> 0:10:57.540 as well. She was coaching former NFL player Justin Britt 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:01.290 through this very same race. That's right. They became a 0:11:01.530 --> 0:11:04.199 coach student pair a little while ago. In just a 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.600 minute, we're going to talk with both of them about 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.780 their partnership, how it came about, and what happens when 0:11:09.780 --> 0:11:14.219 a football player learns endurance running from a professional distance runner. 0:11:14.550 --> 0:11:17.280 Peloton is taking running and race tech to the next 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:21.750 level with the new Peloton cross training series, Tread+, powered 0:11:21.780 --> 0:11:25.679 by Peloton IQ. Built for runners who want top tier 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:29.490 performance, the Tread+ helps you train smarter and get race 0:11:29.490 --> 0:11:34.890 ready with precision. Peloton IQ offers personalized insights that evolve 0:11:34.890 --> 0:11:38.220 as you progress, so you can fine- tune your pacing 0:11:38.370 --> 0:11:42.240 and peak at the right moment. And with strength workouts, 0:11:42.300 --> 0:11:44.910 designed to build the muscle you need to support every 0:11:44.910 --> 0:11:48.839 mile, your training goes beyond the run. Plus, pace target 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.500 classes designed to build consistency, boost speed, and improve your 0:11:52.500 --> 0:11:56.550 splits. Every single run supports your full training cycle, from 0:11:56.550 --> 0:12:01.410 recovery miles to challenging race pace intervals. Experience our most 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:07.320 advanced tread yet at onepeloton. com. Peloton, the official digital 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:09.330 fitness partner of New York Road Runners. 0:12:09.660 --> 0:12:13.260 Former NFL center Justin Britt spent most of his career 0:12:13.260 --> 0:12:15.840 with the Seattle Seahawks where he started on the offensive 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:19.500 line. These days, his competition looks a little bit different. 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:23.400 This past weekend, Justin ran the United Airlines NYC Half 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:29.670 in 131:11. And he was coached by a professional distance runner, Emily 0:12:29.670 --> 0:12:33.900 Venters, who finished the race herself in 109: 46, placing 10th 0:12:34.350 --> 0:12:37.740 in the women's field. This is an unusual partnership, a 0:12:37.740 --> 0:12:41.910 former NFL player learning endurance running from a younger professional 0:12:41.910 --> 0:12:44.910 athlete who is very much in her prime. For Justin, 0:12:44.910 --> 0:12:48.450 running became an antidote after football. For Emily, the relationship 0:12:48.450 --> 0:12:51.179 with running is more complicated because it's not just something 0:12:51.179 --> 0:12:54.030 she loves, it's also how she makes her living. Today, 0:12:54.030 --> 0:12:56.340 we're talking with both of them about that dynamic and 0:12:56.340 --> 0:12:59.190 what running can mean at very different stages of an 0:12:59.190 --> 0:13:03.720 athlete's life. Justin and Emily, congratulations to both of you 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.179 for outstanding efforts on Sunday. 0:13:07.410 --> 0:13:08.790 I appreciate it. Thank you. 0:13:08.790 --> 0:13:08.910 Thank you. 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:14.189 You were both amazing to watch. It was so exciting. 0:13:14.190 --> 0:13:17.130 The whole race was an incredibly exciting race from the 0:13:17.130 --> 0:13:20.100 sidelines from where Rob and I were sitting. And I can't 0:13:20.340 --> 0:13:22.830 wait to dive into how it was for both of 0:13:22.830 --> 0:13:27.540 you as runners on the day and experiencing the magnetic 0:13:27.540 --> 0:13:30.449 vibe that is road racing in New York City with 0:13:30.450 --> 0:13:35.010 New York Road Runners. So, let's jump in. Emily, I 0:13:35.010 --> 0:13:39.780 want to know about your incredible finish; 109, top 10. 0:13:40.470 --> 0:13:44.880 You are so incredibly well- versed in this sport. What 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:46.980 did it feel like for you on that morning, lining 0:13:46.980 --> 0:13:49.860 up on the start line in Brooklyn with your training 0:13:49.860 --> 0:13:52.679 behind you and that day ahead? 0:13:53.250 --> 0:13:56.010 I was just super excited. Like I said, I really 0:13:56.010 --> 0:14:00.120 enjoy racing in New York. NYRR always puts on amazing 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.400 events for us and hosts us so well, and so 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:04.770 I feel like every time I come... Or I haven't 0:14:04.770 --> 0:14:07.080 come that many times yet. I'm still young in my 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.080 career, but when I've come, it's always fun and I 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.860 feel excited. And I had never been in a race 0:14:13.860 --> 0:14:16.080 here where we started in Brooklyn, so it's always been 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:20.190 started in New York City. And yeah, it was just 0:14:20.190 --> 0:14:22.440 awesome. The sun was starting to rise as we were 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:25.320 on the start line, and kind of I just felt 0:14:25.350 --> 0:14:27.630 like no fear and no anxiety going into it. And 0:14:27.630 --> 0:14:29.550 I was... I just knew it was going to be a 0:14:29.550 --> 0:14:31.950 good day because I felt so calm within myself and 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:34.140 just excited to see what I was going to do 0:14:34.140 --> 0:14:34.500 on the day. 0:14:35.190 --> 0:14:37.500 Emily, did you have a goal coming in? You've had 0:14:37.500 --> 0:14:40.620 good finishes in New York before. You finished second in 0:14:40.620 --> 0:14:42.840 the Abbott Dash to the Finish a couple years ago. 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:46.170 What were your goals walking to the starting line on Sunday? 0:14:48.210 --> 0:14:51.690 Like I said, I didn't really have a specific goal 0:14:51.690 --> 0:14:55.020 in mind. I just wanted to run within myself and 0:14:55.020 --> 0:14:57.450 I wanted to run feeling strong the whole way. I 0:14:57.450 --> 0:14:59.910 didn't want to go out too fast and I wanted 0:14:59.910 --> 0:15:02.310 to, like I said, stay within myself and just kind 0:15:02.310 --> 0:15:07.350 of slowly chase people and feel good and finish feeling 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:11.910 strong, and I did that. And I said, I think 0:15:11.910 --> 0:15:14.160 that's probably the best race I've had in over a 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:18.030 year. Just the way that I felt finishing, it was 0:15:18.990 --> 0:15:20.790 a feeling of like I could have kept going if 0:15:20.790 --> 0:15:21.661 I wanted to. 0:15:21.661 --> 0:15:21.662 That's great. 0:15:21.662 --> 0:15:21.931 And I think that that's exciting for me. 0:15:24.570 --> 0:15:27.990 Yeah, that's really great. Now, Justin, you and I first 0:15:27.990 --> 0:15:32.370 met, I was saying before the podcast started, in Chicago 0:15:32.850 --> 0:15:35.760 in the pre- start tent where you were running the 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:39.150 Chicago Marathon, and you had a good day there. Came 0:15:39.150 --> 0:15:41.880 to New York. I believe this was your first time 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.040 running the United Airlines NYC Half, is that right? 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:45.240 Correct, correct. 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:51.630 All right. So, help us understand how a former NFL 0:15:51.630 --> 0:15:55.800 lineman... You weren't like a wide receiver or a defensive 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:59.820 back where running a lot is part of the job. 0:15:59.820 --> 0:16:02.880 You were an offensive lineman where you basically are moving 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.910 in like a 10 yard area most of the time 0:16:05.910 --> 0:16:07.860 and your job is basically just to hit guys, right, 0:16:08.010 --> 0:16:11.310 hit guys, push guys around, just basically be like a 0:16:11.310 --> 0:16:16.140 brick wall. How does that transition work from that to 0:16:16.140 --> 0:16:17.820 running long distance races? 0:16:19.020 --> 0:16:24.360 Well, half my job, I was moving backwards also. It 0:16:27.300 --> 0:16:28.979 took me... My brain was like, " Wait, we got to 0:16:28.980 --> 0:16:33.930 go forward." No, but I would always say, " Look, if 0:16:33.930 --> 0:16:37.050 I'm running 40 yards, then that's a really good football play, 0:16:37.170 --> 0:16:39.480 so why are we doing a hundred yard sprints, guys?" 0:16:40.050 --> 0:16:44.550 But I never saw myself entering this world of running. 0:16:45.810 --> 0:16:47.670 I think whenever I went on my first run, it 0:16:47.670 --> 0:16:52.920 was just kind of to challenge myself and to experience 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.980 something different because at that time I was so into 0:16:55.980 --> 0:17:00.180 cycling on my Peloton that I was like, " I need 0:17:00.180 --> 0:17:03.990 something new, something that's going to help me keep growing 0:17:03.990 --> 0:17:06.030 mentally," because I was kind of trying to come past 0:17:06.030 --> 0:17:08.760 this mental health struggle that kind of led me to 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:14.970 retire from the NFL. And running just continues to check 0:17:14.970 --> 0:17:18.960 the box for me. And I'm taking this week off, 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.510 and I know I'm going to have to keep myself 0:17:21.510 --> 0:17:24.210 busy because if I sit at home and don't get 0:17:24.210 --> 0:17:25.950 my run in, it's just going to sit in my 0:17:25.950 --> 0:17:28.440 head and it's going to drive me crazy, but I 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.230 know I need to let the body rest, Emily, Coach 0:17:31.410 --> 0:17:39.869 Venters. But it's been a blessing. It's been amazing. I 0:17:39.869 --> 0:17:43.680 say that standing in the corral of the races is 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:47.369 as close mentally as I can get to standing in 0:17:47.369 --> 0:17:50.609 the tunnel of a football game. And so I told 0:17:51.510 --> 0:17:55.380 the road runners after the race, I said, " Standing in 0:17:55.380 --> 0:18:00.359 this corral gave me a bigger energetic boost than standing 0:18:00.420 --> 0:18:01.230 in the tunnel at MetLife." 0:18:03.150 --> 0:18:08.040 Wow. That is huge, and also really amazing to hear, having... 0:18:08.670 --> 0:18:11.760 You had a wonderful career on the field, and now 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:17.790 having this personal elevation of you continuing in sport is 0:18:17.790 --> 0:18:20.730 really, really cool to see. And I'm sure a lot 0:18:20.730 --> 0:18:24.300 of that is coming from incredible coaching too. I know 0:18:24.300 --> 0:18:26.910 it takes a great coach to bring out a really 0:18:26.910 --> 0:18:31.410 good sports person as well. So, let's talk about your 0:18:31.410 --> 0:18:35.100 training for it, Justin. You just finished in 131: 11. 0:18:36.390 --> 0:18:37.889 Thank you for the drop- in of Peloton on your 0:18:37.890 --> 0:18:40.020 bike, but I am also now really happy that you're a 0:18:40.020 --> 0:18:45.480 Peloton... Hello, baby. And now you're a Peloton Tread runner as 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:48.270 well. We've had one or two interactions, and I'm honored 0:18:48.270 --> 0:18:50.940 that you've taken a few of my classes. But what 0:18:50.940 --> 0:18:54.270 was it like being in New York? You ran with 0:18:54.270 --> 0:18:58.770 a pretty big New York running legend, Rob Dalto, here. 0:18:59.910 --> 0:19:03.450 As the two of you traversed your way from Brooklyn 0:19:03.510 --> 0:19:07.139 to Manhattan, what was the journey like for you? 0:19:08.010 --> 0:19:13.230 Well, getting to spend the morning with Rob was pretty special. And you 0:19:13.230 --> 0:19:15.840 see his Instagram and all his interviews and you're like, " Wow, 0:19:16.470 --> 0:19:20.250 he's such a good person and his energy's what you want." 0:19:20.730 --> 0:19:24.389 And so he was clearly the celebrity of the race 0:19:24.390 --> 0:19:27.449 between us two. And any corner we turned, I would 0:19:27.450 --> 0:19:29.910 just say in my head, " My name's Rob." And so there you're like, " 0:19:30.630 --> 0:19:34.980 Let's go, Rob." I was Rob that day. So, it 0:19:34.980 --> 0:19:38.850 was cool getting to know him, but we have our 0:19:38.850 --> 0:19:43.109 connection through WOLACO, the running tights, so I've known him 0:19:43.109 --> 0:19:45.840 for a while. And actually the first time I met 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.200 Rob, it was like mile 22 in Chicago. I'm over 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:52.139 there dying, trying not to cramp, and here comes Rob 0:19:52.140 --> 0:19:56.820 with his fiance. He's like, " Hey, Justin." And I'm like, "What are you doing?" And I was like, " What 0:19:56.820 --> 0:19:58.649 pace am I at?" And he tells me right on the 0:19:58.650 --> 0:20:02.189 dot. And I was like, " Okay, I got this." So, he's just 0:20:03.150 --> 0:20:05.429 the type of person... I never had to grab a 0:20:05.430 --> 0:20:10.950 water on Sunday. He would speed up, grab two and 0:20:10.950 --> 0:20:15.060 bring him to me. I was like, " The best pacer forever." 0:20:15.330 --> 0:20:15.840 He got them all for you? That's just the kind of guy he is. 0:20:16.770 --> 0:20:18.990 Like Emily was saying though, she had no fear in 0:20:18.990 --> 0:20:25.648 the corral. I showed up highly confident, and it's like I knew it was going to be a beautiful day. 0:20:26.369 --> 0:20:30.869 Yeah. That's awesome. Emily, how did this coaching relationship between 0:20:30.869 --> 0:20:32.699 you and Justin first start? 0:20:32.850 --> 0:20:38.490 So, we were at a race, Bloomsday in Washington, Spokane. And 0:20:38.580 --> 0:20:42.480 my agent, Josh Cox, is also his agent now. And 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:45.060 so Josh had texted me like, " Hey, look out for 0:20:45.060 --> 0:20:48.600 this big tall dude, all tatted up. We work with him." 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.180 He's not hard to spot. Not hard to spot in 0:20:51.180 --> 0:20:55.020 the corrals of a long distance race. Wearing his Seahawks 0:20:55.020 --> 0:20:55.981 jersey most of the time too, so pretty easy to spot. 0:20:55.981 --> 0:21:03.629 Yeah, pretty conspicuous. Yeah. And I was like, " Okay, I'll try and look out for him." And I 0:21:03.630 --> 0:21:06.450 ended up seeing him at the dinner the night before 0:21:06.450 --> 0:21:10.320 the race and we chatted. A bunch of my teammates 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:13.139 were there too, and we kind of just hit it 0:21:13.140 --> 0:21:14.970 off. And then he told me that he lived in 0:21:14.970 --> 0:21:18.090 Kansas and I was like, " Wait, that's crazy. I'm from 0:21:18.090 --> 0:21:22.379 Kansas. My family still lives there." And you don't expect 0:21:22.380 --> 0:21:24.629 many people to say that they're from Kansas, so that 0:21:24.630 --> 0:21:27.060 was an instant connection for me too. And he said 0:21:27.060 --> 0:21:30.359 he didn't have a coach, and I was like, " What? Let me 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:32.459 coach you. I coach people and that'd be awesome." I 0:21:32.460 --> 0:21:35.879 love bringing on or starting to coach people who I 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:38.070 can tell have a really big passion for it. And 0:21:38.070 --> 0:21:40.889 I'm like, " It's awesome that you have that background already 0:21:40.890 --> 0:21:44.310 in this sport you know... or in a different sport, but 0:21:44.310 --> 0:21:47.490 also have that competitive drive and know how to work 0:21:47.490 --> 0:21:50.220 hard, and just let me teach you kind of how 0:21:50.340 --> 0:21:54.720 to train." Because I don't think he really understood training. 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:57.000 And I'm still trying to teach him a little bit, 0:21:58.920 --> 0:22:01.680 but I think that's fun for me to watch him 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:06.540 grow and continue to learn running and the training behind 0:22:06.540 --> 0:22:09.510 it and why we do things. And his progress has 0:22:09.510 --> 0:22:14.100 just been amazing. In the last year, it's crazy. I 0:22:14.100 --> 0:22:18.389 don't think he could have run 131 or sub- 131 0:22:18.750 --> 0:22:21.810 or, yeah, sub- 130 like he did in Houston six, 0:22:21.810 --> 0:22:24.780 seven months ago even. So, he just continues to make 0:22:24.780 --> 0:22:27.570 progress and it's really awesome to watch. 0:22:27.690 --> 0:22:30.359 That's so cool. Okay, can we dive into that just 0:22:30.359 --> 0:22:35.040 a little bit? Because, A, to humor me, I still 0:22:35.040 --> 0:22:40.890 after nearly nine years compare NFL to rugby in England. 0:22:41.070 --> 0:22:45.810 So, to me, I'm like you are center prop sort of vibe 0:22:46.290 --> 0:22:51.810 in rugby. And as you were saying, the change from 0:22:51.810 --> 0:22:57.869 running 40 yards to a marathon is absolutely huge. So, 0:22:58.109 --> 0:23:03.480 talk us through, Justin, you first, why? Why for you 0:23:03.510 --> 0:23:06.450 did you think, " I'm going to take this on," as 0:23:06.450 --> 0:23:09.570 this... not just a one- time thing? You have done 0:23:09.570 --> 0:23:14.129 multiple races. And then for Emily, how did you put 0:23:14.130 --> 0:23:18.780 it to, let's say paper, the training for somebody who 0:23:18.780 --> 0:23:21.780 has spent so many years training in one way for 0:23:21.780 --> 0:23:26.280 one sport, to flip it and run a really long 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:30.510 way, potentially a lot faster? I know you're probably accelerating 0:23:30.510 --> 0:23:35.010 really quickly on the field, Justin, but sustained energy is 0:23:35.010 --> 0:23:37.800 so different. So, let's just talk about that. 0:23:38.070 --> 0:23:40.590 I think for me, I went out for my first 0:23:40.590 --> 0:23:43.290 run and the football in me was like, " Go for it, 0:23:43.290 --> 0:23:45.629 go, go, go," and so I couldn't even complete a 0:23:45.630 --> 0:23:48.450 mile, I ran out and I had to walk home. 0:23:48.510 --> 0:23:52.139 And so that kind of infuriated me, and it challenged 0:23:52.140 --> 0:23:54.030 me internally, and I was like, " I'm going to make 0:23:54.030 --> 0:23:56.580 this easy." And what I meant by that was just 0:23:56.580 --> 0:23:59.580 making that first mile easy. And then whenever I did 0:23:59.580 --> 0:24:01.919 that and I was running a mile every day, and then I 0:24:01.920 --> 0:24:06.180 was like, " Okay, let's add another. Let's add another." And 0:24:06.180 --> 0:24:10.020 then my mistake was I signed up for a 5K and 0:24:10.020 --> 0:24:14.220 I had the most fun ever. And so I went 0:24:14.220 --> 0:24:16.080 home from that and I was like, " What race can 0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:18.119 I do next?" And at the time I was living 0:24:18.119 --> 0:24:23.550 in Houston, and I was like, "I'm going to sign up for the half marathon in 0:24:23.550 --> 0:24:27.930 January." And that kind of became the goal, but I 0:24:27.930 --> 0:24:30.629 think it was like summertime, so we had a long 0:24:30.630 --> 0:24:33.600 stretch to just run a bunch of 5Ks. And before 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:36.629 I met Emily, my training was just go out and 0:24:36.630 --> 0:24:38.580 we're going to run a 5K and our body will tell 0:24:38.580 --> 0:24:41.580 us what speed we're going to go. And that was 0:24:41.580 --> 0:24:46.649 just kind of the amateur in me, but why do 0:24:46.650 --> 0:24:52.290 I do it? I think I genuinely have the most 0:24:52.290 --> 0:24:56.520 fun just out there running with the other crowd of 0:24:56.520 --> 0:25:01.470 people. And it's like in football, you show up on 0:25:01.470 --> 0:25:05.159 game day and everyone's mentally locked in. You're like, " I 0:25:05.160 --> 0:25:07.409 know they did the work." And so you step in 0:25:07.410 --> 0:25:10.170 the corral, you're surrounded by a lot of people who 0:25:10.380 --> 0:25:12.480 now are trying to run a sub- 90 with me 0:25:13.050 --> 0:25:15.090 and it's like they're locked in, you know they put 0:25:15.090 --> 0:25:18.540 in the work, they've done the speed work, and they 0:25:18.540 --> 0:25:20.970 avoided the big injuries and we're here together to have 0:25:20.970 --> 0:25:23.609 a really good day, and you just feel the energy 0:25:23.609 --> 0:25:29.340 and it's just real contagious. And it's hard to explain 0:25:29.850 --> 0:25:32.910 what it's like crossing the finish line in Central Park 0:25:33.390 --> 0:25:36.869 at the United NYC Half after you just ran through 0:25:36.869 --> 0:25:38.190 the streets. You know what I mean? 0:25:38.640 --> 0:25:39.030 Yeah. 0:25:39.090 --> 0:25:42.660 It's hard to put it into words, but you can 0:25:42.660 --> 0:25:46.800 feel the emotion. And so it's like that's what I 0:25:46.800 --> 0:25:49.500 feel like I'm addicted to. And I'm only going to get 0:25:49.500 --> 0:25:51.810 older, and I started late, so I'm like, " Let's see 0:25:51.810 --> 0:25:53.909 how far we can take it before we need to 0:25:53.910 --> 0:25:56.100 slow down." So, that's where I'm at. 0:25:57.300 --> 0:25:57.301 Wonderful. 0:25:57.301 --> 0:26:02.639 It's great. It's so great. Emily, I don't recall speaking before 0:26:02.640 --> 0:26:07.920 to an active professional runner who's also actively coaching other 0:26:07.920 --> 0:26:11.639 people. Maybe it's more common than I know, but I 0:26:11.640 --> 0:26:15.420 think it's fantastic. And I'm just wondering, what do you 0:26:15.420 --> 0:26:18.000 find that you get out of it? You're obviously really 0:26:18.000 --> 0:26:21.240 focused on your own running, you're competing, this is what 0:26:21.240 --> 0:26:24.869 you do for a living. What do you gain from 0:26:24.869 --> 0:26:27.270 coaching other people while you're in the midst of your 0:26:27.270 --> 0:26:28.410 own professional running career? 0:26:28.800 --> 0:26:33.150 Well, running is a very selfish job, and I tell 0:26:33.150 --> 0:26:37.710 that to everybody. My job is... Yeah, it's all about 0:26:37.710 --> 0:26:40.109 me and the focus is on me. And so when 0:26:40.109 --> 0:26:42.690 I have started to coach other people now, I have 0:26:42.690 --> 0:26:47.129 probably 15 people that I coach, it feels rewarding to 0:26:47.130 --> 0:26:49.530 be able to give back to running in a way 0:26:49.530 --> 0:26:52.140 and share my knowledge with other people who are just 0:26:52.140 --> 0:26:56.310 so passionate about it as well. And lining up on 0:26:56.310 --> 0:26:59.160 the start line with Justin there too, knowing that I've 0:26:59.160 --> 0:27:01.050 coached him, he's going through the same thing that I'm 0:27:01.050 --> 0:27:05.369 about to go through. And it's cool. And watching other 0:27:05.369 --> 0:27:10.050 people's success and them start to flourish and develop. And 0:27:10.650 --> 0:27:14.340 like I said, Justin has shown so much progress in the 0:27:14.340 --> 0:27:17.429 past year. And for me, it's just really cool to 0:27:17.430 --> 0:27:21.000 see that and see his passion for it. And he 0:27:21.000 --> 0:27:23.939 is so driven. I think he might be more obsessed 0:27:23.940 --> 0:27:27.840 with running than me. He just wants to do race 0:27:27.840 --> 0:27:30.840 after race after race, and that's so awesome. And to 0:27:30.840 --> 0:27:33.480 coach those people who are just so into it is 0:27:33.480 --> 0:27:36.030 so fun for me, and it helps me find a 0:27:36.090 --> 0:27:39.180 greater love for this sport as well. So, it's just... 0:27:39.330 --> 0:27:42.419 Yeah, it's a circle and it helps me and it 0:27:42.420 --> 0:27:47.129 helps them, so it's great. And the running community is something 0:27:47.130 --> 0:27:49.260 that I just love about running as well. I think 0:27:49.260 --> 0:27:53.850 everybody that I've met over my 12 or so years has 0:27:54.119 --> 0:27:56.459 made a huge impact on my life, and they're the 0:27:56.460 --> 0:27:57.960 best people I've ever met as well. 0:27:59.100 --> 0:27:59.790 That's awesome. 0:27:59.790 --> 0:28:00.270 That's great. 0:28:01.260 --> 0:28:04.290 Without talking about your other clients, maintaining their privacy, is 0:28:04.290 --> 0:28:07.590 Justin your most unusual client coming from- 0:28:07.590 --> 0:28:08.130 For sure. 0:28:10.410 --> 0:28:13.260 What was your first vibe when you were like, " Okay, 0:28:13.260 --> 0:28:15.660 dude, we got to chill on doing the 5Ks every 0:28:15.660 --> 0:28:21.210 weekend at whatever pace you fancy."? How did you talk 0:28:21.210 --> 0:28:27.090 him into more of a structured running... traditional running program? 0:28:28.859 --> 0:28:31.890 Just based off of the conversation we had, I could 0:28:31.890 --> 0:28:34.740 tell he didn't know how to train really, but that he 0:28:34.740 --> 0:28:35.550 was so into it- 0:28:35.550 --> 0:28:35.850 Train running. 0:28:35.850 --> 0:28:39.840 Yeah. Yeah, but he was so into it. And I 0:28:39.840 --> 0:28:42.450 was like, " I got to. This is a fun challenge for me 0:28:42.450 --> 0:28:44.940 too. I want to see how fast I can get 0:28:44.940 --> 0:28:47.820 him to go," because I know that he will love 0:28:47.820 --> 0:28:50.820 that too. But I'm like, " We're going to be going 0:28:50.820 --> 0:28:55.920 to see how fast we can get in. We're not done." So, yeah, I 0:28:55.920 --> 0:28:58.440 take it on as a challenge as well. It's like how 0:28:58.440 --> 0:29:01.200 he does is I want him to do just as 0:29:01.200 --> 0:29:02.280 well as he wants to do. 0:29:04.290 --> 0:29:04.800 Of course. 0:29:04.800 --> 0:29:05.610 It's cool. 0:29:06.330 --> 0:29:08.430 So, Justin, how fast do you think you can go? 0:29:08.430 --> 0:29:09.990 Now that you've been working with Emily for a little 0:29:09.990 --> 0:29:12.840 while, do you think you have a sense of your 0:29:13.380 --> 0:29:16.860 kind of ceiling yet or you still got a lot 0:29:16.860 --> 0:29:17.670 of upside, do you think? 0:29:18.870 --> 0:29:22.830 Yeah, no, I think we're still tapping into the speed 0:29:22.830 --> 0:29:28.290 run. I think we're just entering that. We showed up 0:29:28.290 --> 0:29:31.770 the Bloomsday, and we're sitting there eating dinner, and she 0:29:31.770 --> 0:29:34.350 was asking me about my running journey, and she was like, " How many 0:29:34.350 --> 0:29:36.150 miles are you putting in a week?" I was like, " About 0:29:36.180 --> 0:29:39.240 30." She's like, " That's not enough." And I was like, " 0:29:39.420 --> 0:29:42.270 That's the first time anyone ever told me that." But 0:29:42.300 --> 0:29:45.300 now right at this minute, I'm like, " I understand it." 0:29:45.810 --> 0:29:48.480 And it's like leading up to the New York Half, 0:29:49.050 --> 0:29:53.580 the United NYC Half, we were putting in 50 miles 0:29:53.580 --> 0:29:57.990 a week and it felt strong and it felt good. And 0:29:57.990 --> 0:30:02.310 so I think I want I want to go to my next 0:30:02.310 --> 0:30:07.740 race and beat my Chicago time. I'd love to run 0:30:07.740 --> 0:30:10.890 Chicago again and go down there and chase three. I 0:30:10.890 --> 0:30:15.240 think there's plenty of time to grow to that, and that 0:30:15.240 --> 0:30:22.560 seems like a fun challenge. I've ran basically two hour 0:30:22.560 --> 0:30:24.930 and a half half- marathons back to back, so my 0:30:24.930 --> 0:30:29.580 confidence is pretty high right now. And I think there's 0:30:29.580 --> 0:30:30.840 a lot more that I can do. 0:30:32.220 --> 0:30:36.990 Absolutely. We think that too. What are your favorite kind of 0:30:36.990 --> 0:30:39.030 workouts to do? 0:30:39.480 --> 0:30:40.380 The easy runs. 0:30:43.020 --> 0:30:45.030 Really? Wow. I was really thinking you were going to say the speed workout, 0:30:45.390 --> 0:30:45.871 going back to that hardcore- 0:30:45.871 --> 0:30:45.872 I love... Go ahead, Rob. 0:30:45.872 --> 0:30:53.040 Did you see Emily's reaction, by the way? Emily's like, " Yeah, yeah. 0:30:53.040 --> 0:30:58.200 Of course it's the easy runs." I think Emily wants to push your speed 0:30:58.200 --> 0:30:59.790 a little more. Emily, is that right? 0:31:00.210 --> 0:31:04.080 Yeah. I'm like, " Dude, the workouts are key. We can't 0:31:04.080 --> 0:31:07.020 skip the workouts. I know that they're not fun always, 0:31:07.020 --> 0:31:08.250 but that's how we get better." 0:31:08.250 --> 0:31:10.920 It's weird. Something always pops up. 0:31:11.000 --> 0:31:11.490 (inaudible) threshold, the more you run up... 0:31:14.010 --> 0:31:16.980 You find something to get you out of doing the speed workout? 0:31:17.550 --> 0:31:22.320 No. It's just how it works. Sometimes though, I do 0:31:22.320 --> 0:31:26.190 have to be like, " Emily, I'm 34. I'll do half 0:31:26.190 --> 0:31:26.340 of this." 0:31:26.370 --> 0:31:26.551 No excuses. 0:31:26.551 --> 0:31:27.241 No. 0:31:27.719 --> 0:31:29.280 No excuses. That is young. 0:31:29.490 --> 0:31:29.580 No. 0:31:29.580 --> 0:31:30.480 That is so young. 0:31:31.410 --> 0:31:34.110 But no, in all honesty, there's not a run that I- 0:31:34.110 --> 0:31:34.650 It'll be worth it when you run the sub-three. 0:31:35.820 --> 0:31:38.190 Yeah. Well, it was worth it whenever we went down 0:31:38.190 --> 0:31:41.010 to Houston and I got done running a sub- 90, 0:31:41.010 --> 0:31:45.150 and I was like, " I could easily run five more 0:31:45.150 --> 0:31:50.820 miles." And so it pays off. And the hard thing 0:31:50.940 --> 0:31:56.640 about training for a January, for a February, March race 0:31:56.640 --> 0:31:58.530 is you've got to train through the winters in the 0:31:58.530 --> 0:32:02.370 Midwest, so trying to balance that. Sometimes the speed days 0:32:02.370 --> 0:32:04.440 fall on the ice day and you just kind of 0:32:04.680 --> 0:32:06.840 have to work with your coach a little bit, but 0:32:07.140 --> 0:32:12.180 she's done a fantastic job. And it's been good. There 0:32:12.180 --> 0:32:14.760 hasn't been a run that I've hated. Some of the 0:32:14.760 --> 0:32:17.940 runs seem daunting, but then you get at it and 0:32:17.940 --> 0:32:19.890 you get in the flow of it, and by the 0:32:19.890 --> 0:32:21.450 end of it, you're like, " I'm glad I did that." 0:32:22.410 --> 0:32:25.140 You have a giant machine right behind you that I'm 0:32:25.140 --> 0:32:28.320 pretty sure Emily could pop the speed workouts on to 0:32:28.530 --> 0:32:31.680 that to avoid you going ice skating outside. 0:32:33.720 --> 0:32:34.470 It gets used. 0:32:35.160 --> 0:32:37.980 That's a treadmill for those listening, yes, a pretty good 0:32:37.980 --> 0:32:39.811 size treadmill right behind Justin as we speak on video. 0:32:39.811 --> 0:32:41.130 A Peloton treadmill. Thank you, Rob. 0:32:41.130 --> 0:32:44.520 Thank you. I couldn't tell. Thank you very much. Perfect. 0:32:45.990 --> 0:32:49.380 Justin, you said... When we first started talking about your 0:32:50.820 --> 0:32:52.800 love of running and how you got into this, you 0:32:52.800 --> 0:32:57.720 talked a lot about the mental health challenge post- football. 0:32:58.410 --> 0:33:02.550 And we know how common it is for professional athletes 0:33:02.910 --> 0:33:06.960 to have that struggle after they've finished competing in their 0:33:06.960 --> 0:33:09.900 sport. We also know for those of us who follow 0:33:09.900 --> 0:33:13.770 football that there are some specific challenges a lot of 0:33:13.770 --> 0:33:18.270 the time for former NFL players, especially folks who play 0:33:18.510 --> 0:33:22.800 positions like the ones that you play, offensive line, centers. 0:33:23.340 --> 0:33:26.310 There's a prevalence of CTE for a lot of those 0:33:26.310 --> 0:33:29.070 runners, a lot of those athletes, I should say. Can 0:33:29.070 --> 0:33:32.880 you talk about on the mental side how you feel 0:33:32.880 --> 0:33:37.110 running has really helped you post football? And do you 0:33:37.110 --> 0:33:39.720 have a message to other... there's so many guys every 0:33:39.720 --> 0:33:41.670 year who are coming out of the NFL and trying 0:33:41.670 --> 0:33:44.160 to figure out what to do next, in terms of what running 0:33:44.160 --> 0:33:46.709 could potentially do to some of those athletes who are 0:33:46.710 --> 0:33:48.180 trying to make that transition? 0:33:48.570 --> 0:33:53.520 Sure, sure. For me, whenever I stepped away, it was 0:33:54.210 --> 0:33:58.620 suddenly after week one, something felt off. I didn't feel 0:33:58.620 --> 0:34:03.810 right. Things just kind of spiraled real quickly. And stepping 0:34:03.810 --> 0:34:07.140 away, trying to find what was the issue and solve 0:34:07.140 --> 0:34:12.300 myself through therapy, ultimately it led to me making the 0:34:12.330 --> 0:34:15.900 decision to step away, kind of remove myself to better 0:34:15.900 --> 0:34:23.790 myself or save myself. But when I did that, I 0:34:23.790 --> 0:34:28.170 have a wife, I have four kids, but it's like 0:34:28.320 --> 0:34:32.489 things got so quiet because, for me, I wake up 0:34:32.760 --> 0:34:35.520 whenever I was playing at 5:00 or 6: 00 AM and I'm one 0:34:35.520 --> 0:34:37.530 of the first ones in the building, one of the 0:34:37.530 --> 0:34:40.590 last ones to leave. And so you're just around hundreds 0:34:40.590 --> 0:34:46.380 of people all day that become family, brothers, and then 0:34:46.380 --> 0:34:50.940 the second that's not your profession, you don't see them. 0:34:51.570 --> 0:34:54.420 And you know they're busy, so you stop talking so 0:34:54.420 --> 0:34:57.779 much because you would talk in- person, not through text 0:34:57.780 --> 0:35:02.790 and all that. You know what I mean? So, the hardest thing for me 0:35:03.090 --> 0:35:07.890 trying to get through my mental struggles was finding community 0:35:08.430 --> 0:35:15.030 and brotherhood and the relationships outside of the house. And 0:35:15.030 --> 0:35:17.340 so whenever I got myself to start going to a 0:35:17.340 --> 0:35:21.120 public gym, I actually ran into a former NFL player 0:35:21.120 --> 0:35:24.150 in Houston, and we became friends and then I made 0:35:24.150 --> 0:35:26.250 a couple other friends. And so I was excited to go to 0:35:26.340 --> 0:35:29.130 the gym. Spent way too much time there on a 0:35:29.130 --> 0:35:32.430 daily, but I was excited to go there. And so 0:35:33.840 --> 0:35:37.800 I didn't start running to find community, but what I 0:35:37.800 --> 0:35:43.950 found is the running community is just massive. And I 0:35:43.950 --> 0:35:48.930 went and met up with Rob Dalto after the race and 0:35:49.020 --> 0:35:51.450 I got to meet some of his friends. And they 0:35:51.450 --> 0:35:55.469 weren't... It wasn't awkward. We all just ran the United 0:35:55.469 --> 0:35:57.660 NYC Half and we were just like, " What's your time? 0:35:57.660 --> 0:36:01.350 Wow, that's awesome. Congratulations." And it's just like, " Sit down. 0:36:01.350 --> 0:36:04.049 Let's get to know each other." And so that's just 0:36:04.770 --> 0:36:10.200 what I've seen in the running community throughout. In Kansas 0:36:10.200 --> 0:36:14.670 City, no matter where I go, Seattle, it's just always 0:36:14.670 --> 0:36:19.290 been that way. So, for those who are stepping away 0:36:19.290 --> 0:36:24.090 from any career path, and if you've been there long 0:36:24.090 --> 0:36:26.640 enough, it becomes your identity and then you don't have 0:36:26.640 --> 0:36:30.570 it, then you're kind of stuck in the mud, and you're like, " 0:36:30.570 --> 0:36:33.239 What do I do next?" And if you don't find 0:36:33.239 --> 0:36:35.910 an outlet or something to do, then I think that's 0:36:35.910 --> 0:36:41.400 whenever people start to really spiral. So, for the athletes 0:36:41.400 --> 0:36:44.489 who might see this or throw it out there in 0:36:44.489 --> 0:36:48.060 the air, if you're struggling, go for a run and 0:36:48.060 --> 0:36:52.919 sign up for a 5K, and you'll see that you'll have 0:36:52.920 --> 0:36:56.009 a lot of fun, and you'll just see the amount 0:36:56.010 --> 0:36:56.670 of people that could be there for you. 0:36:59.430 --> 0:37:03.509 Yeah, beautifully said. That's one of the biggest strengths I 0:37:03.510 --> 0:37:07.649 think of the running community, in the kindest way, it 0:37:07.650 --> 0:37:14.280 strips all other accolades from people and you are whoever 0:37:14.280 --> 0:37:16.650 you are that day as you are running. There is 0:37:16.650 --> 0:37:21.989 no presumption, assumption about a person. And it is one of 0:37:21.989 --> 0:37:28.290 the most uniting, positively uniting sports I think I've ever 0:37:28.290 --> 0:37:31.799 had the pleasure of being involved in because you can 0:37:31.800 --> 0:37:34.890 show up, you can be on having your worst day 0:37:34.890 --> 0:37:37.620 ever or you could be the CEO of one of 0:37:37.620 --> 0:37:40.200 the biggest companies in the world, you show up to 0:37:40.200 --> 0:37:44.280 run, you're a runner, doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at 0:37:44.280 --> 0:37:48.420 all, and it just brings so much joy to people. 0:37:48.450 --> 0:37:52.620 So, it's really wonderful to hear you talk in such 0:37:52.620 --> 0:37:57.120 a warming light about this sport and the people involved 0:37:57.120 --> 0:37:59.489 in it because you have come from such a different 0:37:59.489 --> 0:38:01.920 career. We've had Tiki Barber on the show, and he 0:38:01.920 --> 0:38:06.180 also has fallen madly in love with running, and has 0:38:06.180 --> 0:38:10.200 brought him an insane amount of joy since his football 0:38:10.200 --> 0:38:15.090 career ended. And I think you've obviously got a professional 0:38:15.090 --> 0:38:17.580 runner right by your side and your coach, Emily here. 0:38:18.600 --> 0:38:22.890 What, Emily, do you tell Justin when it comes to 0:38:23.700 --> 0:38:30.330 paving these horrible workouts for him to do for these 0:38:30.330 --> 0:38:35.880 upcoming races? How do you coach him through these, like, " 0:38:35.910 --> 0:38:39.000 Okay, this might be a harder workout or a harder 0:38:39.000 --> 0:38:43.230 day per se."? What's your mental approach to running for him? 0:38:43.230 --> 0:38:47.790 I think if I can teach him and he starts to understand 0:38:47.790 --> 0:38:52.440 why we're doing the workouts, he'll have a greater appreciation 0:38:52.440 --> 0:38:54.960 for them, and then he'll want to do them more. 0:38:55.140 --> 0:38:57.330 So, I actually... I've been thinking about that of like, " 0:38:57.330 --> 0:39:00.810 Maybe I should end the notes explain more of the 0:39:00.810 --> 0:39:03.870 reasoning behind why we do this workout." Because for me, 0:39:03.870 --> 0:39:06.989 when I started to learn about training and really learn 0:39:06.989 --> 0:39:09.120 about it in college, that helped me a lot was 0:39:09.120 --> 0:39:12.060 when my coach started to actually explain why we were 0:39:12.060 --> 0:39:14.790 doing this workout. What was the benefit of it? And 0:39:14.790 --> 0:39:17.580 so I think if I can start kind of telling 0:39:17.580 --> 0:39:20.520 him week by week what the purpose of it is, 0:39:20.700 --> 0:39:23.550 he'll see that and then he'll be like, " Okay, I'll 0:39:23.550 --> 0:39:25.919 do that because it's going to help me here or 0:39:25.920 --> 0:39:30.120 with this part of the race." And so I enjoy 0:39:30.120 --> 0:39:34.140 that aspect of coaching because, yeah, it's something that he 0:39:34.140 --> 0:39:36.270 doesn't know and something that I can share with him 0:39:36.780 --> 0:39:40.200 and that will help his running. But also I'm like, " You 0:39:40.200 --> 0:39:42.000 got to do these because it will help the race." 0:39:43.320 --> 0:39:45.270 If you want to run sub- three, it'll be worth 0:39:45.270 --> 0:39:48.780 it. Trust me, I do hard workouts and running isn't 0:39:48.780 --> 0:39:51.450 easy. It is a sport that is hard. And if 0:39:51.450 --> 0:39:55.350 you want to be good at it is painful, unfortunately 0:39:55.350 --> 0:39:59.580 at times, but it's always worth it. And the runner's 0:39:59.580 --> 0:40:02.160 high that you get after any workout or race is 0:40:02.250 --> 0:40:04.920 unlike any other sport, I think, and I think he can 0:40:04.920 --> 0:40:07.560 agree with that as well. But at the same time, 0:40:07.560 --> 0:40:10.710 I also just tell him that consistency over time is 0:40:10.980 --> 0:40:14.160 the key to success and just staying healthy and staying with 0:40:14.160 --> 0:40:17.400 it. And he is super consistent. Even when he has 0:40:17.400 --> 0:40:20.940 a small injury come up, he's on top of it, 0:40:20.940 --> 0:40:23.250 trying to heal it as quickly as possible to get 0:40:23.250 --> 0:40:26.430 back. And it's great to have someone like that to 0:40:26.430 --> 0:40:26.880 work with. 0:40:26.880 --> 0:40:28.770 And I was going to say, I saw that the 0:40:28.770 --> 0:40:30.660 week leading up or maybe was it two weeks leading 0:40:30.660 --> 0:40:34.650 up to the race, you, Justin, had something, some sort 0:40:34.650 --> 0:40:37.589 of mild injury, and you put it on social, but 0:40:37.590 --> 0:40:39.930 you were like, " It's not going to get in the 0:40:39.930 --> 0:40:42.480 way. We're going to do everything we can to show 0:40:42.480 --> 0:40:44.130 up as strong as we can." And you kind of 0:40:44.130 --> 0:40:47.790 showed the leg up sort of situation, and then a 0:40:47.790 --> 0:40:51.359 nice easy run the next day. And I think... Do 0:40:51.360 --> 0:40:54.930 you ever think about the different people now that you're 0:40:54.930 --> 0:40:59.219 inspiring as a runner, as a celebrity runner, as opposed 0:40:59.219 --> 0:41:01.469 to a celebrity football player in those moments? 0:41:02.100 --> 0:41:11.218 Yeah. Well, my fans on social media aspired but never see themselves being 0:41:11.219 --> 0:41:15.089 an NFL player, but it's a lot easier to see 0:41:15.090 --> 0:41:22.830 yourself getting out there and running. So, I was kind 0:41:22.830 --> 0:41:26.460 of bored and was recording my workouts, and then when 0:41:26.460 --> 0:41:28.020 I got into running, I was like, " Well, we're out 0:41:28.020 --> 0:41:30.779 here. We might as well record it, and make some 0:41:30.780 --> 0:41:35.549 content because we're having fun." And then it started to 0:41:35.550 --> 0:41:39.210 build a community. And Run the Race became a thing 0:41:40.200 --> 0:41:44.070 and yada, yada, yada, but now it's like people will 0:41:44.070 --> 0:41:46.620 send me their runs and they're like, " I just did 0:41:46.620 --> 0:41:49.770 this. I just PR'd in distance. I just did this 0:41:51.120 --> 0:41:53.340 because of you and you inspired me. You make it 0:41:53.340 --> 0:41:56.100 look so fun, this and that." And they're like, " I 0:41:56.100 --> 0:41:59.009 can't wait to see you in the corral." And I 0:41:59.010 --> 0:42:02.850 try to respond to most of them because if I 0:42:02.850 --> 0:42:04.920 do see them in the corral, then we're all... like you 0:42:04.920 --> 0:42:08.069 said, we're all runners, and we're all there for one 0:42:08.070 --> 0:42:12.690 common goal and that's the finish. And so I've learned 0:42:12.989 --> 0:42:18.330 that running is kind of selfish, but it's like the 0:42:18.360 --> 0:42:22.290 community allows you to get your selflessness out and help 0:42:22.290 --> 0:42:27.120 others and just be there. And so it's been inspiring, 0:42:27.120 --> 0:42:28.830 and I feel like I'm able to reach a whole 0:42:28.830 --> 0:42:33.120 different dynamic or demographic, I should say, than maybe Emily, 0:42:33.989 --> 0:42:38.100 just because of my kind of background to get to 0:42:38.100 --> 0:42:44.070 this point. And so it's like Kipchoge said, " Get the 0:42:44.070 --> 0:42:47.340 world running," so I'm just trying to do my part 0:42:47.610 --> 0:42:48.660 and play my role. 0:42:49.770 --> 0:42:52.140 It's great. It's great. All right, Emily, let's talk about 0:42:52.200 --> 0:42:54.390 where you are in your career a little bit. You 0:42:54.390 --> 0:42:58.410 are a five- time NCAA All- American, you are a Pac- 0:42:58.410 --> 0:43:03.090 12 champion, ran at Utah. And I'm looking at your 0:43:03.090 --> 0:43:07.560 running resume and you have been successful at a lot 0:43:07.560 --> 0:43:12.780 of different distances, 5, 000 meters, 10,000 meters, cross country at 6, 0:43:12.810 --> 0:43:15.900 000 and all over the place, all the way up 0:43:15.900 --> 0:43:19.620 to the half- marathon distance. Where do you think your 0:43:19.620 --> 0:43:21.870 sweet spot is right now, Emily, in terms of a 0:43:21.870 --> 0:43:25.710 distance and what are you aspiring to? You're still quite 0:43:25.710 --> 0:43:28.170 young, you got a lot of runway ahead of you 0:43:28.170 --> 0:43:30.180 as a runner. Where do you want to see yourself 0:43:30.180 --> 0:43:30.870 in five years? 0:43:32.489 --> 0:43:35.010 Well, I hope in five years that, yeah, I'm still 0:43:35.010 --> 0:43:37.710 running and I hope that I'm in kind of the peak 0:43:37.710 --> 0:43:40.620 of my marathon career at that point, actually. I think 0:43:40.620 --> 0:43:43.860 I've been struggling in the past year, even right now 0:43:43.860 --> 0:43:46.050 still, to figure out where my sweet spot is. I 0:43:46.050 --> 0:43:49.830 feel like I'm at the hard age where I still 0:43:50.400 --> 0:43:53.460 want to cling to the shorter distances because I love 0:43:53.460 --> 0:43:55.170 them and they're really fun for me and I feel 0:43:55.170 --> 0:43:57.000 like I'm not done with them, but at the same 0:43:57.000 --> 0:43:59.339 time, I know within me that I am a true 0:43:59.340 --> 0:44:02.580 long distance road runner and that is my strength, but 0:44:02.640 --> 0:44:05.640 maybe not right now. I'm still trying to build the 0:44:05.640 --> 0:44:09.540 foundation for it. And so I've talked with my coach 0:44:09.570 --> 0:44:13.469 and just other people around me and just that, " Let's 0:44:13.469 --> 0:44:16.890 focus this year on really just building the foundation for 0:44:16.890 --> 0:44:20.370 the years to come, and don't stress about the times 0:44:20.370 --> 0:44:24.030 right now. Just let's have good races, consistent races, and 0:44:24.030 --> 0:44:28.980 put in more miles and longer workouts just to have 0:44:28.980 --> 0:44:33.060 that really solid foundation under me so that the next 0:44:34.080 --> 0:44:37.230 two, three, four years after can set me up for 0:44:37.230 --> 0:44:41.610 more success in those longer distances." I obviously tried the 0:44:41.610 --> 0:44:45.239 marathon this past fall in Chicago and it did not 0:44:45.300 --> 0:44:48.900 go well. That was also due to some fueling problems 0:44:48.900 --> 0:44:51.660 that I have now worked through. I was a little bit 0:44:51.660 --> 0:44:55.080 naive, I think, going into that and that it was just going 0:44:55.080 --> 0:44:56.969 to be... I was going to do great at it 0:44:57.120 --> 0:45:00.450 right away. And I think so much more goes into 0:45:00.480 --> 0:45:03.450 it than I realized, and it's kind of just changed 0:45:03.450 --> 0:45:06.090 my mindset of like I can't be naive. I'm like, " 0:45:06.090 --> 0:45:08.790 Let's really be strategic here." If I want to be 0:45:08.790 --> 0:45:10.860 successful at this, it's going to be in a couple of 0:45:10.860 --> 0:45:13.800 years, I think, is when I'll be getting closer to 0:45:13.920 --> 0:45:17.640 my peak at that. And so, yeah, just continuing to 0:45:17.640 --> 0:45:22.110 build and train as a half- marathon runner right now, 0:45:22.680 --> 0:45:25.529 run some 5Ks here and there and some 10Ks. And 0:45:27.030 --> 0:45:29.430 I am going to probably do a marathon again this 0:45:29.430 --> 0:45:31.500 summer. I'm not going to say which one right now, 0:45:32.460 --> 0:45:34.830 but I have a chip on my shoulder for it. 0:45:34.830 --> 0:45:38.040 And I'm excited for what I truly believe that I 0:45:38.040 --> 0:45:40.920 can do at that distance. It's just a matter of 0:45:40.920 --> 0:45:46.650 time. So, yeah, that's where my trajectory is going, I think. I do still feel 0:45:46.650 --> 0:45:47.190 really young in the sport. 0:45:47.910 --> 0:45:51.000 You are. You're super young, 26 years old, I believe. 0:45:51.900 --> 0:45:56.400 And Becs, you and I have had these conversations with other runners who that pull 0:45:56.460 --> 0:46:00.210 and that draw toward the marathon is hard to resist. 0:46:00.719 --> 0:46:03.930 They are the biggest events in terms of how many 0:46:03.930 --> 0:46:07.049 people are there, the eyeballs that are on them, the 0:46:07.050 --> 0:46:11.880 sponsorships, and all the things from both the commercial side, 0:46:11.880 --> 0:46:14.460 as well as just the excitement of being a part 0:46:14.460 --> 0:46:16.770 of these big races. And so it seems like so 0:46:16.770 --> 0:46:21.510 many people in Emily's shoes who are outstanding 5,000, 10, 000 0:46:21.510 --> 0:46:24.239 meter runners, when they get into their late 20s, the 0:46:24.239 --> 0:46:27.060 draw is there, and it just starts pulling them that way. And 0:46:27.060 --> 0:46:29.670 some of them don't necessarily want to go right out 0:46:29.670 --> 0:46:30.000 of the gate. 0:46:30.000 --> 0:46:30.330 Yeah, it's true. 0:46:32.340 --> 0:46:33.780 Yeah, it's really interesting. 0:46:34.680 --> 0:46:37.530 And I find that the road races are fun because 0:46:37.530 --> 0:46:39.510 there are so many people and it is just so 0:46:39.510 --> 0:46:43.529 exciting and so electric, lining up with 30,000 people. You 0:46:43.530 --> 0:46:45.390 don't get to do that in a track race. And 0:46:45.390 --> 0:46:48.180 then the amount of people on the streets, especially in 0:46:48.270 --> 0:46:51.390 cities like New York, it's just so cool. I love 0:46:51.390 --> 0:46:54.390 that. And I love thinking about when I'm hurting in 0:46:54.390 --> 0:46:56.790 a race, there's so many other people behind me that 0:46:56.790 --> 0:46:58.799 are going through this too, and we're all doing it 0:46:58.800 --> 0:47:02.010 together, like real runners. Yeah, it's really special. 0:47:03.870 --> 0:47:05.489 Yeah. Your people you're coaching. 0:47:06.719 --> 0:47:07.290 Yeah. 0:47:07.290 --> 0:47:10.500 Emily, has there been a standout race for you so far in 0:47:10.500 --> 0:47:13.529 your career, either a positive or a negative, that has 0:47:13.530 --> 0:47:17.219 kind of helped you shift your mentality in running? 0:47:19.050 --> 0:47:21.630 I'd say there've been a handful of them, yeah. A couple 0:47:21.780 --> 0:47:25.980 in college as well, and then I would say probably 0:47:25.980 --> 0:47:30.690 Houston half last year, it was my first half, kind 0:47:30.690 --> 0:47:33.569 of just opened my eyes to that I could be 0:47:33.570 --> 0:47:36.420 a really good long distance road runner. I fell at 0:47:36.420 --> 0:47:40.020 that race at the start, and I contemplated not even 0:47:40.260 --> 0:47:43.290 getting up and going because I was like, " What the 0:47:43.290 --> 0:47:47.580 heck?" I got knocked down super hard. Like, " What am 0:47:47.580 --> 0:47:50.670 I doing?" Everybody was gone. I couldn't see anybody in the 0:47:50.700 --> 0:47:54.510 distance, and then I got up and I was like, " No, just fucking go, 0:47:54.510 --> 0:47:59.190 Emily, go and chase them." And I just didn't look 0:47:59.190 --> 0:48:01.680 back after that. And I finished and I was like, " 0:48:01.710 --> 0:48:03.480 Oh my gosh, I love the half. I got to 0:48:03.480 --> 0:48:06.029 do it again." And that's kind of where I got 0:48:07.170 --> 0:48:10.290 the itch to keep doing road races and pursuing that. 0:48:11.820 --> 0:48:14.400 And I haven't had a perfect career so far at 0:48:14.400 --> 0:48:17.520 all, but I think that's also just running in general. 0:48:17.520 --> 0:48:19.469 It's very, very up and down, and you have to 0:48:19.469 --> 0:48:22.200 stick with it through the downs to have those highs. 0:48:22.650 --> 0:48:28.020 And, yeah, I know that for myself, it has not 0:48:28.020 --> 0:48:30.210 been perfect at all, but I think that that's what 0:48:30.330 --> 0:48:33.420 also makes it special. And just trying to focus on 0:48:33.420 --> 0:48:35.370 loving the process as you go as well. And if 0:48:35.370 --> 0:48:37.620 you love the training and you love the people that 0:48:37.620 --> 0:48:40.620 you're around, it's going to be worth it always. 0:48:41.010 --> 0:48:44.790 Yeah. I'm curious, Emily, to ask you if you see 0:48:44.790 --> 0:48:47.010 at 20... You're 26, did you say? 0:48:47.010 --> 0:48:47.460 Mm- hmm. 0:48:48.150 --> 0:48:51.600 So, you're talking about your peak in the future, and 0:48:51.600 --> 0:48:57.750 for the vast majority of female runners, we peak into 0:48:57.750 --> 0:49:01.800 our 30s, for sure. I hadn't even started running at 0:49:01.800 --> 0:49:07.020 26, like semi- professionally. So, for me, I'm with you, my 0:49:07.020 --> 0:49:12.750 peak was definitely... Still going in it, but, no, jokes. 0:49:13.560 --> 0:49:16.680 But when you look at Justin of he had this 0:49:16.680 --> 0:49:22.230 huge peak in football. And at 34, Justin, right? 0:49:22.230 --> 0:49:22.290 Yeah. 0:49:22.560 --> 0:49:28.050 He's now entering into a really fantastic age and peak 0:49:28.050 --> 0:49:30.870 for his career. How does that make you feel as 0:49:30.870 --> 0:49:34.650 you're coaching somebody and watching this, the duality of one 0:49:34.650 --> 0:49:37.950 peak done and then another one coming up ahead? How 0:49:37.950 --> 0:49:38.400 does that make you feel? 0:49:38.969 --> 0:49:42.029 Oh, I think he's got so much potential still. That's the 0:49:42.030 --> 0:49:45.060 exciting thing about starting into a new sport and also 0:49:45.060 --> 0:49:47.820 running just at a later age is that you haven't 0:49:47.820 --> 0:49:51.090 pounded your body in the same way as running. Obviously 0:49:51.090 --> 0:49:53.910 he's pounded it in different ways and he's hurt himself 0:49:53.910 --> 0:49:57.629 a lot, but in a new way, I think it's 0:49:57.630 --> 0:49:59.820 just cool because in those first few years that you 0:49:59.820 --> 0:50:04.020 start, you see so much progress. And then as you've 0:50:04.230 --> 0:50:06.210 been doing it for longer and longer, the progress is 0:50:06.540 --> 0:50:11.400 slower and minimal, but, yeah, I think for the next 0:50:11.400 --> 0:50:13.710 couple years, he's going to continue to see a lot 0:50:13.710 --> 0:50:17.850 more progress. And he's already getting close to being able 0:50:17.850 --> 0:50:21.000 to run probably sub- three in the marathon, and that's 0:50:21.000 --> 0:50:23.850 just crazy to me. You go from being in an NFL 0:50:23.850 --> 0:50:26.340 center to now almost running sub- three hours in the 0:50:26.340 --> 0:50:30.270 marathon. And sub- three is obviously a big milestone that 0:50:30.270 --> 0:50:34.500 a lot of people know in a marathon, and that's 0:50:34.500 --> 0:50:36.900 my goal for him is I cannot wait for him 0:50:36.900 --> 0:50:39.120 to go sub- three. And I know that's coming for 0:50:39.120 --> 0:50:41.910 him, and I think after that, it'll be even faster 0:50:41.910 --> 0:50:44.730 and faster. And, yeah, I don't know what his limit 0:50:44.730 --> 0:50:47.190 is, and it's cool to see that. 0:50:47.580 --> 0:50:51.390 Yeah, that's really cool. Okay, so Justin, I want you 0:50:51.390 --> 0:50:55.830 to picture the moment, envision the moment when you cross 0:50:55.830 --> 0:50:59.580 a finish line, maybe it's Chicago, maybe it's another race 0:50:59.580 --> 0:51:03.480 down the road like New York, and you see that 0:51:03.480 --> 0:51:08.640 time, sub- three. What would that mean to you versus 0:51:08.640 --> 0:51:12.030 some of the other things you've accomplished in your athletic 0:51:12.030 --> 0:51:15.390 career, playing in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks or 0:51:15.630 --> 0:51:18.989 being drafted or kind of some of those moments? How 0:51:18.989 --> 0:51:21.840 would you rank a moment like that in terms of 0:51:21.840 --> 0:51:23.460 what you've achieved as an athlete? 0:51:25.770 --> 0:51:28.140 Well, all that stuff is kind of already in the 0:51:28.140 --> 0:51:34.170 past. It's like I expected to get drafted, I expected 0:51:34.710 --> 0:51:39.029 to play football as a career. That's kind of what 0:51:39.030 --> 0:51:42.660 I grew up wanting to do, kind of like how 0:51:42.660 --> 0:51:46.739 Emily grew up wanting to become a professional runner. And 0:51:47.070 --> 0:51:49.739 what I didn't ever think I would do is what 0:51:49.739 --> 0:51:54.540 I'm doing. So, I was overwhelmed with emotions in New 0:51:54.540 --> 0:51:58.560 York Sunday. It was just... In my video that I 0:51:58.560 --> 0:52:01.410 posted, I'm just kind of like (inaudible) as soon 0:52:01.410 --> 0:52:04.319 as I cross, because it's like I was overwhelmed with 0:52:04.320 --> 0:52:09.359 gratitude. Because you think about all the early mornings, and 0:52:09.360 --> 0:52:12.450 trying to get your run in in between school drop offs 0:52:12.450 --> 0:52:15.719 and the whole day, and you're also trying to go 0:52:15.719 --> 0:52:18.960 to the gym, thank the Lord that I'm a retired 0:52:18.960 --> 0:52:21.060 person and I have all this time in the day to 0:52:21.060 --> 0:52:23.219 do it. I don't know how people do it and 0:52:23.219 --> 0:52:26.219 have a job, so I commend them. But you just 0:52:26.219 --> 0:52:31.710 think about I ran almost 2, 000 miles last year. 0:52:32.100 --> 0:52:36.450 That's crazy to me. And it took every one of 0:52:36.450 --> 0:52:39.330 those miles for me to run a sub- 90 in Houston. 0:52:39.690 --> 0:52:43.260 And then to come up to New York and chase 0:52:43.260 --> 0:52:49.560 that same time, it's just a huge pat on your 0:52:49.560 --> 0:52:53.580 back. You're like, " Good job, me." And then you think 0:52:53.580 --> 0:52:57.840 about the actual ups and downs in a race, like 0:52:57.840 --> 0:53:04.110 whether it's a hill mentally or physically. There was maybe 0:53:04.110 --> 0:53:08.219 a part on FDR where I wanted to be like, " 0:53:08.219 --> 0:53:12.029 Rob, let's just enjoy the second half. Let's just stop. 0:53:12.870 --> 0:53:15.839 I'm not feeling great right now," but then you made 0:53:15.840 --> 0:53:18.359 that left turn, you hear the band start playing, and 0:53:18.360 --> 0:53:21.120 then you see Times Square in the distance, and then you're 0:53:21.120 --> 0:53:24.029 hearing the buzz of the crowd, and you're like, " No, 0:53:24.420 --> 0:53:31.290 this is why I'm here." I came here, for me, 0:53:32.010 --> 0:53:36.180 to heal. For me, I feel like each race kind 0:53:36.180 --> 0:53:39.719 of does something to me, like puts a piece of 0:53:39.719 --> 0:53:44.520 the puzzle back together. And if I do cross the 0:53:44.520 --> 0:53:47.250 line and see a sub- three, I'll for sure cry. 0:53:47.670 --> 0:53:51.150 I know I will because I'll be... Either I'll be 0:53:51.180 --> 0:53:53.790 real happy or I'll be like, " Awesome, I don't want 0:53:53.790 --> 0:53:57.660 to do that again." So, we'll find out- 0:53:58.000 --> 0:53:58.002 (inaudible) . 0:53:58.002 --> 0:54:02.040 ... but I'm hungry for it, and it's an awesome goal 0:54:02.040 --> 0:54:06.270 to chase. And why would I want to chase a 3: 0:54:06.270 --> 0:54:10.410 15? That'll be fun to get on the way to 0:54:10.410 --> 0:54:16.050 chasing a three. Like I said, let's see how far 0:54:16.050 --> 0:54:20.070 we can take it because, God willing, I'll be able 0:54:20.070 --> 0:54:24.330 to do this until I die, but I know at 70 0:54:24.330 --> 0:54:26.130 I won't be able to run as fast as I 0:54:26.130 --> 0:54:30.660 am now. So, right now I'm just setting the standard for 0:54:30.660 --> 0:54:34.080 myself, and it always kind of resets, and I want that 0:54:34.080 --> 0:54:35.910 reset to be faster, so... 0:54:36.090 --> 0:54:39.780 Yeah, yeah. Well, this has been a great conversation. I 0:54:39.780 --> 0:54:43.650 love this partnership between the two of you. I'm going 0:54:43.650 --> 0:54:47.520 to keep following both of you. Justin, see how close 0:54:47.520 --> 0:54:50.100 you can get to your three hours. Emily, wishing you 0:54:50.100 --> 0:54:53.340 all the best as you continue to grow as a 0:54:53.340 --> 0:54:57.630 road runner and move up in those distances because I 0:54:57.630 --> 0:54:59.759 have a really good feeling we're going to be seeing 0:54:59.760 --> 0:55:03.420 a lot of you in top 10 finishing positions at 0:55:03.420 --> 0:55:06.660 some big, big races down the road, especially just because 0:55:06.660 --> 0:55:09.899 of the mentality that I hear you have about not 0:55:09.900 --> 0:55:12.900 being all about you, but giving back and the fuel 0:55:12.930 --> 0:55:15.510 that that adds for you. So, best of luck to 0:55:15.510 --> 0:55:17.161 both of you. Thank you for joining us. 0:55:17.161 --> 0:55:17.370 Thank you, guys. 0:55:17.370 --> 0:55:19.920 And congrats to both of you on awesome, awesome days 0:55:20.280 --> 0:55:22.529 in the United Airlines NYC Half on Sunday. 0:55:23.730 --> 0:55:26.819 Thank you. Hopefully both of us will be at New 0:55:26.820 --> 0:55:31.080 York Marathon someday in a couple years and, yeah, that'll 0:55:31.080 --> 0:55:31.560 be fun. 0:55:31.770 --> 0:55:32.460 I like it. 0:55:32.460 --> 0:55:32.520 We can't wait. 0:55:33.120 --> 0:55:37.800 Let's make it happen. Manifest, baby. Let's manifest that. New 0:55:37.800 --> 0:55:41.130 York Road Runners is a nonprofit organization with a vision 0:55:41.130 --> 0:55:44.969 to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative 0:55:44.969 --> 0:55:48.419 power of running. The support of members and donors like 0:55:48.450 --> 0:55:51.750 you helps us achieve our mission to transform the health 0:55:51.750 --> 0:55:55.560 and wellbeing of our communities through inclusive and accessible running 0:55:55.560 --> 0:56:00.000 experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential. Learn more and 0:56:00.000 --> 0:56:04.950 contribute at nyrr. org/ donate. All right, that does it 0:56:04.950 --> 0:56:06.840 for another episode of Set the Pace. We want to 0:56:06.840 --> 0:56:10.259 thank our guests today, Justin Britt and Emily Venters. And 0:56:10.530 --> 0:56:12.900 by the way, during that conversation with Justin and Emily, 0:56:12.900 --> 0:56:15.569 we talked a lot about Rob Dalto, our friend, one 0:56:15.570 --> 0:56:18.180 of the co- founders of the Bronx Burners Run Club. 0:56:18.810 --> 0:56:22.560 Rob had a heart procedure done today, the day that 0:56:22.560 --> 0:56:27.420 we are hosting this podcast, Tuesday, the 17th. He's been 0:56:27.420 --> 0:56:31.200 very open about his heart condition and the obstacle it's 0:56:31.200 --> 0:56:33.540 created for him as a runner and just as a 0:56:33.540 --> 0:56:35.790 person in life, so we just want to wish Rob 0:56:35.790 --> 0:56:39.690 all the very best on his procedure, on his recovery. 0:56:39.690 --> 0:56:42.330 And we hope, Rob, to see you back out there 0:56:42.330 --> 0:56:45.090 in a raise competing very, very soon because you mean 0:56:45.090 --> 0:56:47.850 so much to so many people in the New York running community. 0:56:47.850 --> 0:56:47.969 You do. 0:56:47.969 --> 0:56:48.630 So, all the best to Rob. 0:56:49.000 --> 0:56:50.610 (inaudible) . Yeah. Recover well, Rob. 0:56:50.820 --> 0:56:53.580 Absolutely. If you liked this episode today, make sure you 0:56:53.580 --> 0:56:56.070 leave us a rating, a comment, so we can hear 0:56:56.070 --> 0:56:58.650 from you. This helps other people find the show as 0:56:58.650 --> 0:57:01.094 well. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week. Enjoy 0:57:01.094 --> 0:57:01.650 the miles.