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TTP # 20- Vegan Athlete Sean Michael drops knowledge on coaching, maintaining a diet of almost entirely fruit while intensively training.
69 Plays3 months ago
My fellow Team VPA athlete Seam Michael offers insight on training, coaching and his mainly fruit diet which can consist of up to 30 bananas a day for example! Check this episode out for some great info and inspiration from a 2:43 marathoner and overall badass athlete.
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Transcript
Setting Goals in Sports
00:00:02
Speaker
You need to go into whatever race, whatever sport, thinking you need to be realistic and think about what is obtainable and tangible. I'm going to walk up that hill. I can do that. That's fine. Eventually, I'm going to be able to jog up that hill. Then the next step, I'm going to be able to sprint up that hill.
Meet Sean Michael: Vegan Athlete
00:00:26
Speaker
Hey guys, I'm so happy to share this episode featuring vegan athlete and my teammate at Team VPA, Sean Michael. Sean is a 243 marathoner, running coach, and a total inspiration for plant-based athletes out there. In this episode, we get into how Sean trains, his weekly sessions in FlaxSaf,
00:00:43
Speaker
with pros and elites. He talks about coaching strategies and how to level up as an athlete. We also go deep into nutrition, which is one of the main reasons I was so stoked to talk with Sean. If you followed him on socials, you've seen that his high carb, low diet is really something. You have to check out what he eats in a day. Massive amounts of food, like 20, 30 bananas a day easy.
Sean's Diet: High-Carb, Low-Fat
00:01:04
Speaker
We go through his daily meals and he explains why this works for him. He packs in a ton of calories a day and almost entirely from fruit and he not only crushes endurance sports but hits the gym lifting heavy weights on that mainly fruit diet which goes against some conventional wisdom on protein intake. He goes by Nageeb Athlete on IG and see if he can figure out why. I'll give you a hint at the end of the interview.
Recovery and Alternative Fitness
00:01:27
Speaker
Enjoy. Thanks so much for joining, dude. Of course, no worries. Appreciate you having me.
00:01:34
Speaker
My team, VPA, teammate. How you been, man? I'm good, man. Yeah. Obviously, I've been recovering in the last couple of months from an injury, but just trying out new things while we start to produce.
Adapting Training After Injury
00:01:48
Speaker
And one thing leads to another. I'm good at one thing, and I'm getting stronger than the other. So I'm happy to be moving right now. It seems like you're making the most of it. I am. I mean, I'm blessed to be moving. So that's a good thing. Yeah, you're staying super active, hitting the pool.
00:02:04
Speaker
Hit in the pool. I just signed up for another gym just because I was going crazy not being able to cycle, not run. I was like, OK, I'm doing the pool all the time. I need something different. So now I'm trying to keep my health strong. So I'm hitting Stairmaster a lot right now, too. I saw that. I've never even tried the Stairmaster.
00:02:21
Speaker
To be honest, man, it was, I've done it like a couple of times for like 10, 15 minutes just to say I've done it. But then, you know, last week when I was at my parents' place watching their dog, I went to the gym and I'm like, you know, I'm gonna hit the Stairmaster. And I'm like, I'm fit enough to try this for an hour. And the first, you know, 30 minutes, good, good. 45, good. Then I got to 50. I'm like, okay, this is getting a little tiring.
00:02:43
Speaker
And I was like, OK, my goal is an hour. And I was like, I know I'm fit enough to do that. But like, after I did, I was drenched. It was a challenge. So it
Training in Challenging Environments
00:02:50
Speaker
was something. It was different. It was fun. Are you doing just straight, you know, like a set pace the whole time? Is it more like intervals, like on and off? It was a pretty much set, I would say tempo kind of pace.
00:03:05
Speaker
But that doesn't bother your hip or what? It's your hip, right? Is that the problem? Yeah. So what I had when we took the MRI is I had a stress fracture in my left hip. And then that's doing OK. But the main problem right now is I have some pelvic problems. It's called pelvic synthesis, which is overuse of the pelvis pubic bone area. So, you know, from a lot of the pounding from running and all the cycling stuff.
00:03:31
Speaker
Sure. So that's what we're working to heal. So like swimming, you know, because it's all arms and I don't kick too much, especially on long distance stuff. I'm able to do that right now. And luckily, you know, you got the water to help drag a little bit. So nice. And the Stairmaster doesn't bother it. No, because it's not really pounding and it's more, you know, coming up like this compared to the running, which was pounding or cycling, which was doing stuff like this. Right. So
Sean's Running Journey and Vegan Transition
00:03:58
Speaker
elliptical might bother it.
00:04:00
Speaker
Yeah, I would say I don't know if it would bother it, but I don't want to take the chance yet.
00:04:05
Speaker
Yeah, I did it. I did it before I like, you know, the doctor said cut out, um, running. Sure. So I did that. Then he was like, you can cycle. Well, being me would be an extreme, you know, going from 60 to 80 miles a week running. I was like, okay, well, he said I could cycle. Well, that means I hit the bike for 200 something a week. Still too much. He's like, he wanted me around like 80, you know, just easy spinning. So then I cut out, then I cut out this, the,
00:04:30
Speaker
bike about a month ago coming up, I believe, and the running. And that's when things started feeling better. But so now I've been just doing a lot of swimming. I think I've been hitting like 12,000 yards a week, which is a lot for me. Yeah. Injuries are a head trip, right? They are a struggle bus, that's for sure. That's just part of athletics and what we do though. Is there a timetable or is it basically just sort of going by feel as to when you can return?
00:04:57
Speaker
Um, so he said we're going to wait until June at
Coaching and Community in Running
00:05:00
Speaker
least to get, or excuse me, July to get back to it before, um, maybe in the next two weeks, I could start doing a little cycling on just my trainer. You know, being in Sedona, it's very hilly here, you know, being at elevation and all that. So he doesn't want me to go hammer it. So it's like, I could get on my trainer and just spin. So don't do any intensity, no power against it, but just spin the legs. So we're going to see in about two weeks for that.
00:05:25
Speaker
Damn. So your run training, it's like you hit Hills constantly. Oh, here it's just all Hills. Yeah. I mean, I'll be lucky if I go out for just, let's just say a 10, 10 mile run, I'm always over a thousand feet of elevation game. Wow. Yeah. That's good though. Right?
00:05:42
Speaker
Oh, it's gotten me strong. I mean, moving from the Valley to up here. I mean, I was always a pretty good runner, but then, you know, just having all that hill work, being at elevation and then being with my team, teammates and Flagstaff. So I'm at 4,500 feet where I am here. When I go to Flagstaff, we're a lot of the pros training and I'm part of team run Flagstaff up there. We're at 7,000 feet. So it's like, you know, it's my fitness is just like even gone higher because of it.
00:06:08
Speaker
Yeah, I see a lot of the pros are in Flagstaff. Oh, yeah, for sure. And it's fun to train with them. Because I think I'm like, all right, I'm a pretty good runner and all that. I'm not usually in the back of the pack, but I'm with them. It's like, oh my god, this is intense. That must be amazing to train with them. Oh, it's awesome. I love training up there. Every Tuesday night, we do a track night up there. And it's just awesome. You got some of the pros there.
00:06:35
Speaker
The community up there in Flagstaff or the running scene is just awesome. We all show up. There's during the fall and winter and all that. There's probably about 100 bucks out on the track, you know, and it's for all levels. You know, if people just want to come and show up and
Balancing Training and Injury Management
00:06:48
Speaker
walk, they stay in the outer lanes and all that, you know, and then the front of the pack, which I'm usually in, we're just hammering it and it's perfect for everyone.
00:06:58
Speaker
That's awesome. You guys have like a workout of the week that someone plans. Yeah. So, um, we have a few pros and people that, um, run it. And then Mike Smith, who is the NAU, so Northern Arizona university coach up there, which is, he's a local legend. He, uh, started the club actually. So he'll usually write the workouts. So like right now, this time of year, they do, um, the downtown mile.
00:07:22
Speaker
So for July 4th and usually, you know, depending on what it is around the season, he'll switch up the workout. So we'll do a lot of like minute, two minutes, sometimes just four minute tempo runs and just like hammering, hammering, hammering it. And then he'll change it up depending on what it is in the season.
00:07:41
Speaker
Nice. Sometimes it's just like, sometimes it's 400, 800 and sometimes it's by time, just depending on the workout. Yeah, exactly. Most of the time I would say it's a lot of time stuff, but he changes it from like, you know, easy recovery to intervals, to tempos real fast. That's interesting
Realistic Goal Setting in Training
00:07:58
Speaker
because I always do all my track stuff by distance, never by time.
00:08:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think it just helps it break it up for every individual just knowing, hey, this is the amount of time I got to go for instead of, you know, because we could, you know, us people in the front, we could be at the 200 while the other people are at the back and, you know, they're starting at the start line.
00:08:17
Speaker
so we always have a waiting or yeah then everyone's doing different things yeah yeah i hear that right that totally makes so usually there's someone at like the starting line and then he has another coach at the 200 line because we'll usually break it up there unless you want to be by him and you know you're just like you're one of those people that want to get the starting line so we'll end up if we end up at the 200 we're like running back over to see at the start line
00:08:38
Speaker
Yeah. So cause we're talking about running. I mean, man, you're, you obviously crushing two 40 marathon. Tell me a little bit about how you, how long you've been doing this. Is this something you've been doing for a long time? Obviously you're a coach, you're, you know, knowledgeable about training. Could you just give me some background? How long you've been competing and story is.
00:08:59
Speaker
Yeah, I would say so when I first went vegan, pretty much raw vegan, you know, a lot of fruit during the day, I was, I had a background in like just going out for jogs things like that I wasn't primarily a runner, I would just, I wouldn't kind of categorize myself as a runner right I just, you know, go out and try to stay fit for other sports I did like baseball basketball things like that.
00:09:22
Speaker
you know, go out, do two, three mile jogs. But then, um, I would say when I was 20, when I went vegan, um, I just, I had so much energy. I had to find something to do. And this was the point like I got out of, uh, like weightlifting and doing other stuff. And I just, for some reason, I just fell in love with endurance sports. So I started just running.
00:09:47
Speaker
And, you know, I wasn't even the first three, four years I was just running. I didn't really pay attention and stuff like that. But I was realizing like, okay, I kind of want to get into competition stuff. And I was realizing like, apparently I'm decent at this. So I started, you know, running with friends and all that. And we would train for like a half. And my first race honestly, wasn't even for me. I actually went out there to run with a friend of mine.
00:10:13
Speaker
And his goal was, he's a bigger guy, but his goal was to be sub 150. And we did
Impact of Diet on Performance
00:10:20
Speaker
the Tempe rock and roll half marathon.
00:10:25
Speaker
And he was, like I said, he was aiming for sub 150. I ran the first five, six miles with him. And he was like, Sean, you're going a little too fast for what my goal pace is. So he's like, just go. So I think we were running like seven minute, 30 seconds something. And then he just told me to go and take off. So I think I ran the back half like negative splits. And I think I started hitting like, maybe just high sixes. And I didn't realize it.
00:10:53
Speaker
So that was my first experience being in race mentality in that kind of scene. So then I was like, okay, now I've hit the half and I kind of want to see what my goal is for myself. So I was like, all right, I'm going to do a full marathon the following year. So I did the rock and roll Arizona run.
00:11:15
Speaker
And for my first one, not knowing training, trying to be a fear purist and all that, you know, train on like, try not to do gels, try not to do anything. I think I ran like a 3.13 for my first. And I was like, Oh my God, like, I'm sure I could do so much better if I
00:11:34
Speaker
Yeah, probably trained, get the nutrition down and all that and just not try to be a purist.
Influence of Vegan Lifestyle
00:11:40
Speaker
So then my second half, I started doing some gels, still not 100% figuring out, but up the volume, started doing some speed training and ended up doing a 257. So it was a good PR. That was your second marathon? That was my second marathon. I ran a 257 something.
00:12:02
Speaker
So then, you know, I then eventually met a friend of mine, his name is Dan, who is a triathlete. He's done three Ironmans. But he was like realizing, he's like, Sean, you are just you're gonna be a stud runner if you like figure this out and get it.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah. So, and actually, him being interested in my lifestyle, being vegan and all that, about four years ago, he turned vegan. So that's awesome. He's like, he's about 42. And
00:12:36
Speaker
he hid his pr when he was like 35 or something for his first marathon and he ran a 251 something and then i know this is going off the subject but i just think it's a cool story yeah and last a year and a half ago two years he ran the lost dutchman marathon and this is his third year of being vegan or whatever and he's like another eight years older and he didn't think he was going to ever pr he was coming back from an injury
00:13:04
Speaker
said to me, he's like, Sean, I just finished that last marathon. I just ran a 251. I really think it's this lifestyle. I didn't think I would
Balancing Inspiration and Personal Goals
00:13:12
Speaker
ever go progressive that forward again. I'm like, dude, you're just starting to figure it out. Wait till you see what happens. And he's loving it.
00:13:22
Speaker
So going back 40s. Yeah. He's 42. He's getting ready for another Iron Man in October. I think it's, uh, Indiana, maybe I forget which one, but you know, he's just thriving right now. So yeah. So then when he, uh, when I started figuring out, you know, what I wanted to do instead of trying to use these, like nothing against a untapped maple syrup, it's great and all that, but I started now figuring out what gels would be good for me and things like that.
00:13:52
Speaker
I ran my first half, or my second half, excuse me. And I think that was the Phoenix marathon, or Phoenix half marathon. And I ran a 116.51. Damn. So that was, and there were some hills in there and stuff like that. So I think it was like, average pace was like 551 or something like that. Something like that, yeah. And I was like, okay, I'm starting to figure this stuff out.
00:14:21
Speaker
So you use different gels that time? I did. I use a nutrition, different nutrition. Yeah. And I came in more with a plan and all that. I know, you
Coaching Philosophy and Goal Setting
00:14:30
Speaker
know, knowing what I wanted to use and when to take it, things like that, not just go by feel. So I use the goo gels. Those are those seem to only one. Yeah. Those seem to be the only ones that actually agree with my stomach. Like I can't really run on a lot of food. If I, uh,
00:14:46
Speaker
before a race, I'll usually have like banana ice cream or smoothie or something. And I have to do it like three or four hours before just I don't run well with something in my stomach. And it has to usually be like digested like I've gone run on a couple runs and not they're just just runs in general, not training runs or anything. And I've even popped like a date or two. And it just messes up my stomach.
00:15:08
Speaker
It's so interesting. Yeah. This has been a battle for me too, of trying to figure out nutrition. That's been the hardest step for me in my like growing as a, as a marathoner, really. Um, you know, cause like you, like initially I would just do all my runs fasted before I really knew I could easily crank out 20 miles fasted, like nothing. And at my first marathon, I didn't take anything. I was just like, Oh, I didn't even think of it. I didn't really know. Right. That's how I felt. And then I started to learn like, Oh, you need to learn to have nutrition on the course. So I've been working on that. Right.
00:15:37
Speaker
Yeah, like I'll usually if I get up and I know I'm going to do something less than probably about 10 miles, I don't need anything. But if I'm going to do if I'm going to do a training run, I know I'm going to go fast and probably a half marathon and up. I'll usually probably pop in some fruit or something a couple hours before maybe just a gel or two and then give it maybe an hour to digest and then I'm out the door ready. But I just can't I can't do like overdo it because then it's just going to throw off the whole run. I know it.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, it's definitely a science. When you're running the marathon, let's say, how often do you have a set schedule? Is it like every 30 minutes? Or do you have a set thing? So the last one I did, the one that qualified me for Boston back in 2021,
00:16:25
Speaker
This would have been my third or fourth marathon. I ran the Mesa full marathon. Oh, cool. It's Phoenix. That's what it's called. And it's a fast course. It's a lot of downhill. That was, it's a Boston qualifier. I ran a two, two 43 50.
00:16:41
Speaker
And, uh, that's when I started figuring out, okay, I, you know, I think I took a gel at mile six. I think I took one. I'm Brown mile 10 or 11. I know total, I took about four gels, four or five. Wow. And I don't think I took one near the end.
00:16:59
Speaker
You know, usually maybe 2021 was where I would be like cut off and all that. Not intentionally, just like that's where I felt fine. So that one qualified me for Boston and then like Boston was totally different, that experience. Because I ran that two years ago. I was supposed to run it this year, unfortunately, not because of the injury, which sucked.
Community Support and Vegan Advocacy
00:17:20
Speaker
I saw you. How'd you, I think you ran, what was it?
00:17:23
Speaker
I didn't have the best race, man. It was too hot. Like maybe for you guys in Arizona, like it would be not as severe, but for us, you know, I'm training all winter. It's like 25 degrees and dark, you know, in all my training runs. And then it was just, it was warm. It was like, you know, mid sixties, like almost 70 at the finish and just the sun was blasting. So I like, I completely.
00:17:50
Speaker
Man, I, you know, I was on my marathon pace. I was right around like high six thirties, you know, for my, for the first 15 miles. And then I just was like, ain't happening today, man. I just struggled to the finish. Um, but, uh, you know, it's still like, it's still looking back. I'm always appreciative to go there. That was my fourth Boston. So it's always awesome to be there and hanging, you know? Oh, I'll tell you that experience was insane when I did it in 2023. I mean, it's just.
00:18:20
Speaker
You know, cause I was supposed to do it 2020, obviously COVID. So being able to do it cause I had to re-qualify. So that's when I ran the Mesa half or the Mesa full Mesa full. Yeah. And, and that, that experience for Boston was just insane. You know, you're just around the best runners in the world. And you know, just the entire time there's people that just cheering you on and all that. It's just insane. The energy is amazing.
00:18:45
Speaker
It was. So I went into that run, you know, knowing that I was going to run. I figured I was going to run around two. My plan was 248 to 243 ish.
00:18:58
Speaker
And actually my friend Dan, who I was talking about, he's, I think he's done Boston like six times, something like that. Okay. So, um, he said, don't go out hard the first like five or six miles, knowing that it's downhill. That's good advice. So yeah. So, um, I think I hit the first mile, like six flat. I was like, okay, I'm going to back it off a little bit. And, uh, then we got to, you know, um, what's that Hill, uh, heart attack Hill.
00:19:26
Speaker
Heartbreak, heart attack. Heartbreak. Heartbreak, yeah. Heartbreak pill. Heartbreak pill. 17, around 17, 18. I think it's like 17 to 18, yeah. Yeah. You know what? And being from Sedona.
00:19:37
Speaker
Those hills don't even compare compared to you. That didn't even feel like much for you. No. So like I knew I had more in the tank. I, you know, and I would have said, you know, I ran a two 44 something that day. So it's not far off my PR. And I really think I like, I really think I would have PR that day if I didn't hold back the first few miles. And if we weren't just crushed together for the first 10 miles, because you don't really get a lot of space. It's true.
00:20:04
Speaker
It's so like, I think, I think if I would have been even near more the front, near the pack, I would have ran with faster people and I could have probably even done better, but the whole experience is great. You know, I still ran very well. 2025. 2025. I gotta, yeah, I'll have to do a, I think my plan is to probably do the Mesa full again, uh, which would be sometime next February to qualify for that one. Okay.
00:20:30
Speaker
So I got a little sidetracked, but so I mean how many marathons deep are you at this point? Like how many years since you first did your first since you did your first? It's been say I Want to say it's been 20 2014 would have been my first. Okay, and when did you go?
00:20:54
Speaker
The PR would have been when I started getting more serious, which would have been around, actually I wanna say it was 2016 I was running. PR would have been 2021 when I started. So about that span frame of 2019 to now is when I started really focusing on myself and not running with others unless I was training with people. Because the first time I was like, all right, I was just leisurely running.
00:21:21
Speaker
Stuck with my friend that one time and then realized, oh, you could be pretty decent at this. So then, yeah, it would have been 2016 or 17 where I started running and the competitively for myself and my PR would have been 2021 at Mesa, uh, Mesa Phoenix full marathon running a two 43 50.
00:21:41
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, I bet you, I think it's really likely you'll have another PR in you who coming up, but I also think it's interesting. Like, I think, yeah, it takes, you know, I'm always interested to hear, like, I think, you know, five years is it, you know, it can really take that sometimes to start to really see what you're capable of. For sure.
00:21:59
Speaker
Yeah, like I said, I just kind of started realizing it and it was actually after I ran my second fastest half where I was seeing the potential. I think I ran with Dan, we ran a half together. We weren't even really friends at this point. We just kind of bumped into each other again at the race. We met one other time.
00:22:21
Speaker
And it was just like one of those, you know, Santa Claus half hustle races. So nothing big, but we ran like 117 something. And that was when I realized, okay, you know, there's, you have a little something to this.
00:22:35
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. And so it's kind of similar with me with going vegan and seeing a lot of my really getting more serious about and focused about my training and stuff like that also coincided. But tell me about how you went vegan, why you went vegan. How'd that come about?
00:22:55
Speaker
So my best friend was probably raw vegan about a year, year and a half before I went vegan. And he was probably raw maybe two years or so. And at this point, I was just coming out of high school. I had jaw surgery. And I went from being decently fit to where I couldn't do anything for about six months. So I kind of plumped up again.
00:23:20
Speaker
And I didn't like how I felt. I saw how much weight he lost because he lost a shit ton of weight. And he's like, so why don't you try just vegan for a bit? And I was like, all right, I'll try this. Did it for a week. And I was doing, like I said, I'm more fruit based. I'm highly raw during the day. And I eat a lot of cooked food at night. I like to do 80 cents high carb, low fat.
00:23:45
Speaker
And within the first week of it, I just feel I'm so great. Like I said, my energy was just up. And then I just literally started getting into running, you know, did some weightlifting still and just things started shredding off. And I lost like 25, 30 pounds. I went from 180 down to 150.
00:24:04
Speaker
And that was within a year. And that was with me just still eating all I wanted. I wasn't like tracking calories, things like that. The only thing I was watching was pretty much the fat intake because that's how I feel better on a high carb diet.
00:24:24
Speaker
And, but I mean, I just literally just shrunk. It was crazy. Let's get into that. Let's get into that because yeah, I'm, I'm interested in this high car, the high carb, low fat thing that, you know, that you talked about in your IG. I'm conscious of it. I use an app sort of to try to figure out my macros. Right.
00:24:43
Speaker
Yeah. And I was curious, is that 80-10-10? Is that what you just said? Is that some kind of ratio? Yeah. So it's like 80% carb, 10% fat, 10% protein. And then when I first was doing it, I would have even been maybe lower, maybe sometimes 95-5, which was pretty low. I don't know if I would have done it like that again. Sorry to interrupt, but is that percent of your body weight or percent of what you eat in the day? Macros, things like that. Okay.
00:25:13
Speaker
Yeah. So it had been like 90% carbohydrates, 5% fat, 5% protein. I'm surprised how little protein. Yeah. You know, a lot of people thought you had to eat a lot of protein, but I mean, everything you have, I mean, I don't know if I could show you this, but this is my fruit shelf. All this literally has protein.
00:25:32
Speaker
You just got to make sure that you're eating enough. I don't know if you ever heard of Durian Rider and Freely the Banana Girl and all that. It was a 2012, 13, 14 big fad. A lot of people don't do it anymore, but their promoting was a high carb, low fat diet. Their thing was they had a website called 30 bananas a day.
00:25:56
Speaker
I literally eat 20 to 30 bananas a day and a meal for me could be about 15 of them. You still do that.
00:26:05
Speaker
I do it, but I don't do it as intensely. I used to do like just literally just like eat tons of bananas. I would stay away from fat. I would stay away from the high protein stuff. It was literally in the first three, four years, I did not go out. Even when we would go out with my family, I just didn't eat out. I didn't cook with oils. I still don't cook with oils. I would argue with my dad.
00:26:32
Speaker
Because my dad's a chef, he makes great food. But I'd be like, dad, if you're going to make me something, it's got to be hard card, blow fat. I don't want any fat.
00:26:39
Speaker
And you know him being I should have been more thankful and blessed that he was cooking so well for me But it was like sometimes I was like a pain in the ass but then I would probably sure By about year six is where I started. All right something Nothing was going on wrong, but I wanted to expand because I was like, all right, this is kind of getting boring just eating bananas and fruit all the time and just like rice and tomatoes and green, you know greens
00:27:08
Speaker
So then I started upping up the fat, protein, added avocados. I don't really do nuts just because I don't digest them well. The only thing I'll have for nut wise is usually peanut butter or something. Yeah. So I've definitely increased my macros from like, I'd say some days I'm usually still 80, 10, 10, but right now since I'm hurt and I'm lifting a lot, I might be 75, 10, 15. So tell me what that looks like in a day for you, just so I can get a sense.
00:27:38
Speaker
Okay. So like today so far, if I'm eating everything at home, which usually I do all banana, banana ice cream. So it'll be about 12, 15 bananas blended up with water. And then usually now I'm doing like my raw vegan protein powder by veg nutrition.
00:27:57
Speaker
that's the company veg nutrition veg nutrition. Yeah. Um, it's by me and my Delgado and Bianca Taylor who are big influencers as well. Yeah. Um, bodybuilders. Yeah. But, um, if I'm not doing the protein, then I'll do like cacao powder, cocoa.
00:28:14
Speaker
or whatever, peanut butter powder, still to stay low fat. And then I'll combine other fruits. I'll put berries on top, some raw granola, things like that. And that's probably about a 15 to 1800 calorie meal. So you eat all that in one meal? I eat that all in one meal. So that's your breakfast. Have you worked out yet? Is that post-workout? That is after my workout.
00:28:42
Speaker
Yeah. And you said usually you just have a little bit of fruit or something just at the beginning before a workout. Just at the beginning usually, depending on what it is, I might just have like some water and maybe a bite of the piece of fruit, but usually it's pretty much fast. So usually it's a cup of water. I'm out the door. Cool. So then you have that big banana, what did you call it? Ice cream. Banana ice cream. Yeah.
00:29:05
Speaker
And then for lunch, you know, I'll come back and I'll have, well, if I'm here, usually at school, because I'm a teacher, I usually take a big fruit meal with me. So it's like a big fruit salad. The kids are like, don't you ever get tired of eating the same thing? I'm like, nah, because there's different seasons for fruit, you know? So like right now, a lot of times I'll do, bananas are always a staple. They're always in season for us, right? And we can always count on the ripen up properly.
00:29:29
Speaker
So I always have probably about five or six bananas in that meal. And then I'll always have dates because I can count on those. And then I'll top it with whatever fruits and season. So it could be like berries. It could be, right now I'm doing a lot of like peaches, nectarines, stone fruits, things like that. So it's like a big fruit meal. And that's probably around, I want to say a thousand to 1300 calories as well.
00:29:53
Speaker
How many carbs is that? Do you even know? No, I used to keep track, but I've been doing it so long, I don't really care anymore. So your lunch there is entirely fruit? It's entirely fruit. So during the day, I am all raw. I eat all raw fruit.
00:30:11
Speaker
Yeah, almost completely. So thus far it's been almost entirely fruit except for maybe like a vegan protein powder or maybe some peanut butter. Correct. And usually that's still, um, usually the peanut butter. Yeah. You know, people won't say that's raw. I don't really care about that part of the proteins raw. Um, and then, yeah, so it's all primarily the food part itself is all raw.
00:30:36
Speaker
And then at night is where I'll add in cooked food. And that's because I like feeling so light during the day. You know, it takes only 45 minutes for fruit to digest compared to like meat itself. It takes 24 to 48 hours and grains and all that. Still not as bad as meat. It takes eight to 10. So I just like feeling light during the day. I like being able to be like, okay, I just ran. I ate a big meal. Two hours later, I can go run again if I want. And I just feel good on it.
00:31:04
Speaker
Will you have anything in between your lunch and dinner? Like a snack? So I might have some kind of like, um, a lot of times I've been doing maybe like a clip bar now or something, especially a bar something. Yeah. Especially expanding. Like I said, you know, I went from boring high carb low fat to expanding to eating now beans, protein bars at times. And I'll have something between there, especially after like lifting and all that stuff too. Yeah.
00:31:31
Speaker
So then, and then after that, I'll come home and I'll usually make, you know, some kind of big rice meal or potatoes, pasta, things like that. But it's usually I'm still, it's funny, because even my dinners are still probably about 2,000 calories. So I'm usually around 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day.
00:31:51
Speaker
And you're still not having like a tofu, like a lot of tofu, a lot of tempeh, like this protein base of your... No, I would say still most of my protein comes from like beans and, you know, like I said, peanut butter, my protein powder, things like that. Now I will throw in like tofu maybe once a week, like tonight.
00:32:14
Speaker
since I'm not running as much and I've been lifting and I've actually been told that, oh, wow, you look a little bigger right now because you're not running. So, you know, it's not breaking the muscle down as much. So like tonight I'm going to make some, uh, tempeh, tempeh sandwiches. So, you know, tempeh, tomato, avocado and all that. So right now it's, it's funny just because of different phase of what I'm doing. I actually have to increase my protein and fat a little bit just to bulk and get a little bigger.
00:32:41
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's amazing. You're already pretty fricking ripped and doing everything you're doing. And I think that's totally counterintuitive to most people who would, who are consuming like 200 grams of protein a day. I don't think I consume that much. I know you don't even think about it, but I'm like around 127.
00:33:01
Speaker
grams of protein a day, which I guess is probably around 75% of my body weight, something like that, because I'm about between 145, 150. But you're consuming way less than that is my guess. I'm only like 145 grams of carbs a day, and I'm guessing you're exponentially more than that. For sure. I'm at a ridiculous amount.
00:33:27
Speaker
I'm eating more carbs in one meal than most people probably have in a day or two. Yeah. That's amazing. Everyone's like, oh, we got to stay away from the carbs, you know, because of the stuff, all that. But I mean, to me, from what I've been doing the last, you know, coming up on almost what, 14 years now or something. I mean, like I said, high carb, low fat. To me, you look at the macros.
00:33:51
Speaker
And a gram of carbs, that's four calories per gram. Protein is four calories per gram. And then you got fat, which is nine calories per gram. So, you know, you can decide what makes you feel the best. And I truly believe each body is different.
00:34:07
Speaker
You know, the standard American diet, someone takes a baked potato, which is carbs, low fat already. They start stacking on the butter, fat, so you're getting tons of calories from those grams of fat. They put on bacon bits, tons of calories from fat, sour cream, tons of calories from fat. So it's really, you know, a phrase that the Durain Rider and Freelee always said is the fat you eat is the fat you wear.
00:34:33
Speaker
And I've always kind of gone by that. Now I used to think, okay, if I eat an avocado, I'm going to start to expand and get big, you know, so I never ate off. So I've changed that philosophy a little bit. So yes, you can, you can eat a lot of food that if you're eating real high carb base because of the lower calorie.
00:34:52
Speaker
But you're consuming more food altogether, if that makes sense. Because now you're eating a big carb meal, which is pork calories per gram, instead of all that. Like I said, if I was doing a baked potato and all that, I could have 10 bananas. But I do have a baked potato, which is this amount of food with all this stuff. I'm already close to all those calories that were consumed. And it was this portion compared to the 10 bananas, which is this portion. You know? Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:20
Speaker
It's amazing. That's how I look at it for me. It's amazing. It's really, it's really cool. And you've been doing it for so long. It's obviously working for you. Yeah. Yeah. 14 years almost. So.
00:35:31
Speaker
It's so funny, man. I'm a musician. I was touring years ago, and I can't remember where I was. I feel like it was Colorado, but it might have been somewhere in Washington state. But I was at a co-op somewhere, getting my groceries for the day. And I ran to this guy, and he was walking out of the co-op with cartons of bananas. And I think they would give him bananas that started to go bad.
00:35:58
Speaker
They were like, we can't sell these. And he had a deal worked out with them where he was, he would just grab them. They would give them to him in crates. And I was like, what are you doing, man? What's happening with all these bananas? And we started talking and he looked at me. He's like, yeah, you should probably be eating like 30 bananas a day. And I remember just being like, what?
00:36:16
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure that was the big phase of when it was like what I do, it's called Brought Till 4. So that was a big scene, 2014 to 2016, for sure. A lot of people kind of transitioned to that. Now, a big thing that I've seen is for what I do, I find it really good if you're into athletics.
00:36:39
Speaker
because you need to smash in the food, right? And so I found that a lot of people that did it were athletes. And there were people that were doing it that weren't athletes. So they'd be getting all these calories, but they're not being as active. So I guess, you know, once again, calories in, calories out can be a part of it. And they were kind of ballooning up, but
00:37:06
Speaker
you know, once again, the body's different. But like you said, you know, that guy was getting a case of bananas. I get, here's a case right here. I get a case of bananas every week at Whole Foods. And they're just like, they're used to me. They used to call me at the one I go in Phoenix. They're like, Oh, the banana boy's here. So I mean, where I am in Sedona, they literally because they used to just wait, they didn't have to weigh the box. Now they want to weigh everything. They had to order a special weight just for me.
00:37:32
Speaker
Because they have to make sure it's lining up with, you know, all the readings for their, um, inventory. That's so funny, man. So yeah, it's just kind of a hoot. So, I mean, you're, you're also, you know, living a super active lifestyle, probably from like your workouts where you're, you're smashing, you know, typically your runs. I'd imagine you're doing, um, time in the gym as well. You know, when you're in a training cycle, you're doing gym days, you know, probably double days. I don't know if you're doing two runs in a day and then you're coaching.
00:38:02
Speaker
Which is your job, right? Coaching kids. I'm a PE teacher, and then I coach flag football for middle school, and then I'm the head track coach. Yeah, so that's not like sitting at a desk. So, I mean, I'm on my feet all day. Yeah. Yeah, I'm on my feet all day. And, you know, being me, because of how I eat and I have all this energy, once I've taught the units and all that, I'm going to play with them because I just can't stand there. It's not my mentality. And how'd you get into the teaching of kids and coaching and all that?
00:38:30
Speaker
So honestly, you know, I was doing criminal justice for my first major, and then I was like, okay, this isn't for me. And my parents owned a catering company.
00:38:40
Speaker
And I was always good at the people side. I was good at managing things, but I wasn't going to be a business owner. I didn't care about the books and things like that. So they were like, Sean, this isn't for you. You need to find what your passion is. And I actually was into fitness at the time. But then I was like, what can I do with this? And I've always loved kids. I've always loved being around sports. I'm like, hmm, all right, maybe PE.
00:39:06
Speaker
So then I went and got my bachelor's degree in science with the emphasis on physical education. I went back to the high school and middle school I graduated from, actually did my practicum hours, did my teaching there.
00:39:21
Speaker
and got a job and fell in love with it. And I mean, these kids would literally remember me always after school or between classes running the track because I would always just be running, you know, be log in my house and be like, how does this guy have so much energy? Like, where does he get it from? He's literally waking up running. He's literally coming to school to teach. And then on his breaks, he's either on the track or whatever or in the weight room, you know, so it's like, or eating fruit. Yeah.
00:39:49
Speaker
or eating fruit pretty much. They were used to me bringing giant things of bananas and dates and all that at my old school. We used to go to camp with the high school and because of how I ate, I always would be the one to drive up my car just in case something happened.
00:40:06
Speaker
I got approved by administration and I also said, hey, I need to bring my own stuff because I'd always bring watermelons and things like that. They remember me at camp when they're all asleep after my run and I'd be sitting by the lake just eating a giant watermelon because usually that's a meal for me. They're like, where does this guy put it? That's how I got into it though.
00:40:30
Speaker
A coach that taught me when I was at that school, he wanted me, he knew I was getting into running and all that. And he remembered me from football and he's like, Sean, I hear you're a pretty good runner now. So he invited me to be the distance coach for the track team at my previous school. And that's where I actually started to find the love of like coaching athletics outside of school as well. And what has that brought you just as like a person and as a runner? What have you learned?
00:40:56
Speaker
You know, it's brought me a lot of like, even training for me that made differences and all that, but it's just, it's brought a lot of joy to the coaching style, being around the kids and not only benefiting me, but benefiting them. And also, it's an example, like I said, you know, these kids are like, how is this guy so active? Where does he get this energy, you know, and
00:41:19
Speaker
They actually, I've had about four or five kids go vegan because of how they see my results are. Actually, one of my previous kids, who was our 3200 state champion two years ago up here,
00:41:35
Speaker
He went to college and he was training and all that. He was Asian, so he ate a very high carb diet. But anyway, he's in college now and his roommate was vegan. And he's like, he came to me this year after his second year and he's like, coach, my athletics haven't really progressed since I've been up here. And our best runner on the team, he's vegan. So he's like, I'm going vegan. And the last couple months, he's like,
00:42:02
Speaker
Things are changing. My recovery is getting better. I'm getting a little faster and all that. So he's like, there's something to this, you know? And you see it, you really see it in a lot of endurance sports, you know, a vegan diet. I mean, you could do it, you'll see it in weightlifting on it too, but a lot of endurance athletes, it seems like a vegan diet really does well.
00:42:21
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the Scott Jurek, I mean, exactly. You know, getting of the ultra runners and some exactly game changers and all that. When I heard that and saw him, I'm just like, Oh my God. Yeah, totally. So I think, I think being an example and just, you know, I'm not trying to chew my own horn. Yeah. But inspiration side, you know, them, I always said to myself when I was getting into this, I don't want to be one of those coaches I had that just couldn't do what they taught. Yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker
So like, and even then I might not be the best at it, but if I'm teaching something, I needed to be able to perform that task or that skill. And that's what they respect about me too. Totally. That's so great that you brought that perspective. Right. Kids want to see that, you know, or anyone. I mean, I feel like anyone that, you know, is being a guide or a coach, you don't have to do it, but it's definitely
00:43:18
Speaker
can be more impactful if you see them putting in the work and doing it as well. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I definitely would say I've gotten a lot more respect from being the example and the kids seeing that I can do this stuff compared to coaches I've had or even coaches I heard that they've had previously. They'd be like, a couple of comments I heard this year again.
00:43:44
Speaker
Coach Sean looks like a PE teacher. These other people we've had, yeah, they're not PE teachers. They don't look it. They don't fit the part. Right, right, right. And I take that as a compliment. I'm like, that's really nice to hear. Yeah. And so you coach the kids. Do you also coach adult runners? I do. I've done some personal coaching for friends and stuff like that. And some people have messaged me on Instagram and all that. Something you want to do?
00:44:14
Speaker
Yeah, definitely get more into it. Right now, I would probably get more into it after my master's program, which I'm going to be done in December. But I think that's going to be something that I'm going to look more into to go along with coaching adults with my students as well. But I've done personal coaching for friends or certain people I know that I was pretty close with that wanted to meet some goals.
00:44:43
Speaker
Yeah, I coached a few athletes last year kind of just starting out and it was a great experience, man. I mean, it's a cool way to share the knowledge that I've been working so hard for years to attain and try to help and inspire someone else. I think it's a cool opportunity too because someone reaches out to you and it actually makes you kind of
00:45:06
Speaker
re-think things again, you know, it gets you to experiment, but it also starts making you be like, okay, now I got to go back and looking at training plans. What did I see that didn't work for me here? What could work for this person? And even, you know, in the future for things, I changed totally things for me because I was like,
00:45:26
Speaker
This didn't work when I was doing this or I don't like it. So this is what I'm going to do now. And I incorporated even plans from these persons I've done like use for their training plan into my stuff because I was like, this was so much better and smarter.
00:45:41
Speaker
Yeah, that one really worked. So what advice, it's hard to give a blanket thing because runners are so different, but what advice do you have for people that are looking to improve their training, improve their times in Marathon? What have you seen that's really worked for you? Recently, over the weekend, I just did a video.
00:46:02
Speaker
on Instagram and I was going into, my idea is you need to go into whatever race, whatever sport thinking you need to be realistic and think about what is obtainable and tangible. You know, is it tangible right now for me to go run a sub three hour marathon?
00:46:23
Speaker
Yeah, I saw that post. Yeah. Yeah. You know, right now it is not obtainable for me. First of all, if I go ran that long, I'm definitely going to get hurt or make it worse and maybe not come back to running. Is my fitness there? Maybe, maybe not. So it's not obtainable for me to do that.
00:46:43
Speaker
But being able to be like, hey, I'm going to go, like I said, go know that I can do an hour on the Stairmaster, that is tangible and obtainable. And I know I'm fit enough to do something like that. So someone getting into running, you know.
00:46:58
Speaker
Being able to be like, can I go out there and jog for three to five minutes? That's obtainable. And it doesn't have to be, you're going at, let's say at 800 pace, three minutes. That's not always obtainable for some people. I think a four and a half minute, 800, that's obtainable for most people that are at least semi into athletics. But to be like, oh, I'm going to go run a two minute 800.
00:47:25
Speaker
Okay, you know how many, the best in the world are just under that. You know, they're running 150s, maybe some high 140s. So you got to be realistic in your training as well. Being able to go like, I'm going to walk up that hill, I can do that. That's fine. Eventually, I'm going to be able to jog up that hill. Then the next step, I'm going to be able to sprint up that hill.
00:47:50
Speaker
That is obtainable and doable. So it's really thinking what's realistic, you know? You know, a lot of things I've heard is, if you can run a 5K, you can run a half marathon. That is true. It is not realistic at first to be like, okay, I ran a 5K, I'm gonna go run a full marathon. To me, you're gonna get hurt if you do something like that. But eventually putting in the training, putting in the miles, being realistic,
00:48:16
Speaker
and say, oh, you know, I'm going to go run a full marathon. It might be over four hours. That's still realistic and obtainable. Most of, you know, I think 80% of the people that run a marathon are still above four hours. Oh, yeah. Those people that, those people that get sub three hours, they're stoked. You know, even people running sub 330, they're stoked. Yeah. So I really think it's got to be something that you know that you can make happen that is going to be obtainable and achievable.
00:48:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's an interesting balance because you also want to reach for the stars to some degree, you know, you want to believe like, Oh, I can do crazy things. And like, have that, like David Goggins mentality of like, I'm just going to run around the track till I hit a hundred, a hundred K, even though I haven't trained at all. And I did his legs last night in the gym, but it's like, yeah, it's like,
00:49:06
Speaker
Is that really just an anecdote that you shouldn't really try to apply to yourself and you should be more thinking realistically? It's a funny balance. It is funny balance. Some people have that mentality where like, okay, I can do this.
00:49:23
Speaker
others need to break it down, you know, it's not like for me that the hour on the Stairmaster, I knew I could do it. You know, that 50 minute range, I was tired for sure. And it was like, wow, okay, this was harder than it was becoming harder than I thought it was. Most people wouldn't go, Oh, I'm gonna go do an hour, but they are capable of saying, Hey, I'm gonna do 510 minutes on the Stairmaster. And that's reachable. That's obtainable. Okay, but they don't need to overthink it. Like, yeah, he said, I
00:49:52
Speaker
And like, hopefully you, you know, cause we're kind of talking about goals a little bit too and, and, and looking forward. So it's like, hopefully you have some data in your training that can, that can guide you. Right. Oh, it's, oh, I've hammered out now 20 miles at six 30 pace.
00:50:10
Speaker
Okay, maybe I see now there's light in the tunnel that I could do that for 26.2, but I'm consistently running 745 miles. It's not realistic to then try to think your next marathon, you're going to hit 259. You got to look to the data of your training as somewhat of a beacon.
00:50:32
Speaker
Yeah, like for me being a 243 marathoner, you know, once I'm healthy and I get to where my fitness was again, I know it's definitely obtainable. My next goal is to be sub 240. That's obtainable. I know that you can shave off three and a half minutes, 26 miles is a lot of time to do that. It's not obtainable to be like, all right, I'm going to go be an Olympic trial person. That's not obtainable for me. I started too late.
00:50:57
Speaker
But, you know, I'm a good runner. I'm just not a great runner, but it is obtainable for me to go, you know, I'm going to run sub 240 and probably eventually be able to stay healthy and I'll probably be in that 230 something range for sure.
00:51:10
Speaker
Do you have a sense of what it is that's going to take you to that next step of sub-240? Is it more volume? Is it better nutrition? Not that there's a missing piece because obviously you've already completely crushed at 243, but do you have a sense of what that next level might take?
00:51:30
Speaker
So I think the next level for me, I think myself, I could get me to sub 240, but I think are close to it. I think the next level or missing piece for me is especially since I've been training with a lot of my friends up in Flagstaff and been around that really competitive group of runners and pros and coaches in general is specifically finding someone who knows how to get there.
00:51:59
Speaker
So having a coach, having a coach, you know, I know I could coach people to get them under three hours if they have the talent and they're good enough. Do I have the knowledge to get them to be an Olympic qualifier? No. And that's what I think I need for my next step to get that sub 240 to 238 range.
00:52:19
Speaker
Cool. Great. Yeah. And that is the goal. I know that is the goal. I know my next one, you know, I'd probably do it in the next one or two. I wanted to finish my master's first and then, you know, still run, qualify for Boston again. And then once I'm done with everything, I'd probably look and be like, all right, I ran another 243, 245, whatever it is when I'm back. All right. That's what I need to do now. I have so many friends out there and the coaches, I know. So it's like,
00:52:48
Speaker
It's there. It's just my life has been so busy. I'm just not ready to invest all that into running yet. You know, I already already jam-packed a lot of stuff.
00:52:58
Speaker
Yeah. It seems to me that there is a direct correlation of volume and hitting those more and more elite numbers. Yeah. Getting to that a hundred mile weeks and stuff like that. I was curious if you thought adding that more volume would be an answer. I think maybe adding volume candy. I talked to a guy who was training at
00:53:23
Speaker
My track in Sedona, a lot of the Olympic athletes and stuff like that like to come to us because we're still elevation, but we're not 7,000 feet. We're 45. So they come down to our track for their workouts and all that. And our facility is amazing. It's one of the top in probably the world, but beautiful landscape and all that.
00:53:45
Speaker
You know, he was a two, I think he was a 223 marathon or something like that. Or he just was, just missed the Olympic trials. He was 227, that's what it was. And he was trying to qualify. And I was just talking to him, you know, just investigating and got his card and all that. And I said, what do you think was your success to get close to that Olympic trial thing? Or what do you think he was missing? And he said, you know, I was talking to Ryan Hall, who was his coach, Ryan Hall, you know, obviously one of the greatest runners ever.
00:54:14
Speaker
for Americans. And Ryan told me I need to up my volume in the miles, but I don't need to train at the speed I was. I was always going out hitting those six minute, five minute runs. And he's like, Ryan's like, why are you always running this fast? Like you're going to get hurt.
00:54:36
Speaker
more importantly, lower the speed, increase the volume. And he said when he started hitting those about 80, 100 mile weeks, that's where he started seeing the difference. So I would definitely say, I would definitely say,
00:54:51
Speaker
adding the miles for sure because I was running, usually I was comfortable when I was doing well about 40, 50 miles. It was what my body would take but I was running so good the last year and a half before I got hurt. I started doing about 60, 70 and obviously I was doing well but it might have been too much of an increase or not enough decrease at the training blocks.
00:55:12
Speaker
And, um, but I mean, you know, it's knowing your body as well. I really think you got to know how much your body can take, you know, exact bitter ultra runner dudes out running a hundred something miles a week. And he does almost every day doubles, but he changes his pace all the time. He'll go out and do some tempos at six twenties and do it for 20 miles. And then he'll go out in the afternoon and do just a short four miler at nine minute pace. Yeah.
00:55:38
Speaker
Yeah, super polarized training. Yeah, super polarized training. So it's different for everyone. So I would definitely say, yes, adding volume is important, but it's knowing where your range is and knowing how to cut back. And that's something, when I'm coming back from injury, that I want to throw in more is less kind of tempo slash faster runs. So I go out and I'm like, OK, six and a half, seven is easy for me.
00:56:08
Speaker
But, I mean, the Kenyans, when they're training, they're at seven minutes. That's their, that's their easy, you know, that's their recovery pace. So that means like my recovery pace should be more like eights. Yeah. And I need to throw that in. And that's where the volume will come from by just kind of gliding and adding the volume that way. Building that base mileage. Exactly. Yeah. So it's a learning lesson for me too.
00:56:33
Speaker
Yeah. And that's, I mean, that's one of the cool things about running is that as our bodies change or, you know, athletics, not just running athletics, but as our bodies change, our training changes, the equation changes, how we approach things changes, and you have to be adaptable if you want to succeed.
00:56:49
Speaker
Exactly. Right now, since I'm in the pool, the last month or so, I would usually maybe do a couple days a week. I started dabbling in the triathlon stuff, being a cyclist and starting to build the swim. I would go twice a week, maybe do 1,000 meters, 1,600 meters on a good day.
00:57:12
Speaker
Well, now that I've been doing this every day, I started at 1600 and now the last three weeks, I've now built the 2000. I'm feeling comfortable. I'm going to do that in the pool every day. So I've progressed and increased, but in a smarter way, not just like, okay, I'm going to go to 2000. If I was doing that three weeks ago, it'd been like, oh my God.
00:57:33
Speaker
What am I doing? You know, but it was finding that base and just building slowly. So like the next couple of weeks, I want to start going from 2000 and just increased to like 22, 24. Yeah.
00:57:46
Speaker
You know, one person, yeah, the smart bill. Like one person told me one time, they're like, if you want to start running, you know, just go out for and run a hundred meters and just every week start building at 10%, 10%. Well, eventually, you know, over a year, think of how much that 10% adds up. Yeah. Yeah. And that's in any sport. Yeah.
00:58:11
Speaker
It's so true. And man, it's nice that you're in this beautiful place to train for you, particularly that pool. You get to train outdoor pools. Yeah. I got trails right around here. You go around Sedona, there's no bad view for sure. Yeah. It's such an epic place. It is.
00:58:33
Speaker
If you ever want to come visit, let me know. I'd love to. I'd love to come out, come hang and do some running with you. Man, thank you so much for doing this. Yeah, of course. No worries, man. Appreciate you having me. This was so great to hang and learn from you. I want to do it again. I want to talk more. There's definitely a lot of info that you have to offer that was really great to learn about. Yeah, of course. Yeah, I'd love to. Do you have team VPA teammates in your area at all? Do you have your hang or training with anyone?
00:58:59
Speaker
I know there's a couple down in the valley. I think there's like one or two and then I've met a couple traveling around. When I went to San Diego, I met Daniel. Daniel comes down here. He comes down here a lot for the Iron Man stuff and whatever races because it's so close. So I've met like I think three or four I met.
00:59:17
Speaker
forget what her name was, but she was nice. She was here doing some mountain biking and we went to yoga and all that. So yeah, it's great to be part of that community too, just because, you know, there's not as many vegans around here, but just being able to see them on Strava and, you know, see what other people are doing. It's just it's nice to be in that community, even though it's online.
00:59:38
Speaker
Totally. It's so great to, you know, for our community and also for other people to hopefully, like we were saying, to inspire some people and show other people that it can be done, you know, you can be a vegan and chicken ass. You can, that's for sure. Been doing it almost 14 years now, so. Yeah, you are a clear symbol of that, man. So, yo, thanks so much for doing this. This was really great to hang. Yeah, man. I appreciate you having me, David. Thank you.
01:00:04
Speaker
Thanks so much to Sean for joining and to Team VPA for connecting us. If you don't know about Team VPA, please check us out, Vegan Powered Athletes. Vegan athletes of all kinds out there crushing it. And if you haven't figured out his username of Nikeathathlete, maybe try writing it down. I've got a really special guest for the next pod, so stay tuned. Peace.