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#517 Marathon Pacing, Mindset Hacks & Mobility
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In this Thanksgiving weekend episode, we dive into how to pace your best marathon, explore the Get Gritty Tip: Rewrite the Code for upgrading your mental game, and share the Workout of the Week: CARs for Mobility to keep your joints healthy. Plus, don’t miss our fun segment, The Leftovers Gauntlet, where triathlon meets holiday chaos! Sponsored by Grit2Greatness Endurance Coaching and Vespa Power—helping you train smarter and fuel better.
TriDot Pool School CS 2/28-3/1
Link - TPS @ Colorado Springs CO- February 28-March1-Pool School
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Grit2Greatness Community Meeting
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Rebranding 303 to Grit2Greatness Endurance Podcast
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Ask A Coach Sponsor: G2G Endurance
Hey team, let’s talk about smart training. Grit2Greatness Endurance Coaching has teamed up with Predictive Fitness to help you train with precision, purpose, and progress. From effortless onboarding to personalized plans and deep-dive analytics—you’ll know exactly how to improve. Try it FREE, then keep building for $14.99/month. Check out the sign-up links in the show notes and start your smarter training journey today!
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Transcript
Introduction and Thanksgiving Special
00:00:23
Rich
Welcome to episode 517 of the Grit to Greatness Endurance Podcast. We're your hosts, coaches Rich Soares, April Spilde and Lauren Brown. Thanks for joining us for another week of coaching questions, get gritty tips, workout wisdom, and of course, a little bit of fun.
Using Thanksgiving as Endurance Fuel
00:00:39
Rich
It's Thanksgiving weekend. And while most of us are still recovering from turkey trots, turkey legs, and maybe one too many slices of pecan pie, today we are giving thanks and getting gritty today. Because endurance isn't just about the miles that you run. It's about the mindset you build. So grab your leftover pumpkin spice lot, coffee, settle in, and let's talk about how to turn holiday indulgence into fuel for your next big goal. Coach April, Coach Lauren, you ready to roll?
00:01:07
Lauren
Ready.
00:01:08
April
Like a cinnamon roll. Heck yeah.
00:01:10
Lauren
Yeah.
00:01:11
Rich
Roll like a cinnamon roll.
00:01:12
Lauren
but
00:01:12
Rich
Love that. Right out of the gates.
00:01:15
Lauren
yeah
00:01:15
April
but I do got to ask y'all, what is your favorite Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Side dish dish. What's what's the one thing that you cannot have Thanksgiving meal without?
00:01:26
Lauren
Sweet potato casserole.
00:01:27
April
right. With the marshmallows.
00:01:28
Lauren
With marshmallows melted on top.
00:01:29
Rich
Same.
00:01:30
Lauren
and Yes, it has to have marshmallows melted on top. Otherwise, it's not Thanksgiving.
00:01:35
Rich
Oh yeah, totally. A hundred percent. It was some, and a little bit of like that, like a maple syrup glaze too, maybe, you know, just like in the sauce.
00:01:41
April
hmm.
00:01:43
Rich
Oh,
00:01:44
Lauren
Yeah. Because like, you never make sweet potatoes like that unless it's Thanksgiving.
00:01:48
April
That's right. Yeah.
00:01:49
Rich
right. Oh, it's amazing.
00:01:52
April
I got it.
00:01:52
Rich
How about you, April?
00:01:52
April
I got it. Yeah. The same vein. i just go with the good old sweet potato pie.
00:02:00
Lauren
Yep.
00:02:01
April
With the with the good whipped cream.
00:02:02
Rich
Well,
00:02:03
April
Yeah. m
00:02:05
Rich
I love, I love pecan pie and I was just up at dinner having dinner with my family and I said, I cannot wait to come back and have some post podcast pecan pie.
00:02:16
April
I'm doing post-podcast pie as well.
00:02:16
Lauren
postpo
00:02:20
Rich
So there you go. Wow. All right. Well, April, what do we got going on today?
Podcast Announcements and Fun Segments
00:02:25
April
We've got a lot, so we're going to rapid fire this here. We have our announcements and news. There are so many great things that we're going to share with you today. Our ask a coach is all about how to pace your best marathon inspired by one of our athletes.
00:02:34
Lauren
and I think it's not a good it's a It's a It's a It's a good It's a It's a It's a It's a It's a good It's a It's a
00:02:39
April
Our get greedy tip is rewriting the code and I'm not going to give too much away because there's a lot there that I, uh, can't wait to unveil with you all. Coach Lauren's going to bring us our grit to greatness workout of the week.
00:02:53
April
cars for mobility. And then our fun segment is all about the leftovers. We're going to go through a gauntlet. That's why I asked that question in the beginning, guys.
00:03:06
Rich
It's been leftovers all day. So let's just go. I love this. This is great. All right. Well, you ready for some announcements and news?
00:03:15
Rich
We need a drum roll. is's like Is there, do we have a drum roll?
00:03:17
April
I know we did drum roll here.
00:03:18
Rich
Like, we yeah, we need the sound. Yeah. We need the soundtrack there. Oh no. hey Hang on. We got this,
TriDot Pool School and Ambassador Program
00:03:26
Rich
but that's not quite the same thing.
00:03:26
Lauren
That's like the Pope one-liners, though. That's like the Sidman role.
00:03:29
Rich
Yeah, that doesn't quite count, right? Anyway, so we have the TriDot Pool School, Colorado Springs style. April, this is so awesome. This is our third Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy Pool School. It's coming up this February 28th through March 1st. It's a Saturday, Sunday event.
00:03:48
Rich
And this is going to be our biggest and best one yet. I just, I know it.
00:03:52
April
Yep. It just gets better and better, Rich. And I agree. I think this is going to be our best one yet.
00:03:58
Rich
I have the times from our first pool school that we had a while back. And I'll bet you have have one of those cards too in your in your basement somewhere, huh?
00:04:08
April
Yes. Yeah. I, uh, I've got a stash now. Yeah.
00:04:14
Rich
Stash of them. Yeah. These are all the improvements that our athletes make from the first, uh, first to the second, uh, I guess from the first to the second day. And really because, uh, those times are just before they start doing pool school basically.
00:04:26
Rich
And, uh, coach Lord, you've got one coming up here yourself next week.
00:04:30
Lauren
Yeah, Boston.
00:04:31
Rich
Austin.
00:04:32
Lauren
That'll be December 5th, December 4th, that weekend, first weekend.
00:04:38
Rich
Awesome.
00:04:38
Lauren
And this will be my first time coaching on deck, training to coach on deck.
00:04:38
Rich
Coaching on deck.
00:04:43
Rich
Yeah. you're going to have blast. You're going even like every time I am on deck, I always learn something new, either from another coach or just, you know, something that works for an athlete or, you know, or, oh, I guess we were supposed to be doing it that way.
00:04:58
April
it's It's also a good learning lessons for us as coaches too. I've noticed.
00:05:01
Rich
Sure is.
00:05:02
Lauren
Yeah, I'm excited.
00:05:03
Rich
You bet. and it's great because it allows us to you use that skill outside of pool schools one-on-one with athletes too, which I know we do, right? Right. All right. Second announcement here, uh, 2026 ambassador applications. The application window is still open for just two more days, folks. Uh, grit to greatness is accepting applications for our 2026 ambassador program.
00:05:27
Rich
We have about a a baker's dozen or more, applications already in. I'm really excited to do the announcement and we're going to announce when Lauren?
00:05:36
Lauren
we'll announce, I'm going to give it the start of the second week of, uh, of December, don't the calendar in front of me. So we'll call it around the 10th, around December 10th.
00:05:47
Rich
is when we're gonna announce the names.
00:05:49
Lauren
We'll announce, yeah, we'll do an announcement. Anybody who's applied, you'll get notified from us and you'll get invited to all of the the resources, calls and everything that's going to be going on for 2026.
00:06:03
Rich
Woohoo, awesome. All right, well, that's exciting, can't wait. And the link, if you have not applied, is right here in the show notes. Next topic, Grit to Greatness Community Meeting is coming up this coming Tuesday, 6 p.m. Mountain Time, 8 Eastern. Link here in the show notes. just It's a Zoom meeting, just like all the rest. You'll see us on Facebook. We've got an event out there at Grit to Greatness Endurance.
00:06:27
Rich
And yeah, so join us. We're going to be going into a deeper dive on some of the following things, including... Next topic, a grit to greatness webinar. This is our monthly webinar series. We do this every month. It's the third Tuesday of every month.
00:06:44
Rich
This time we are covering the topic. Greatness is a habit. How to build yours in 2026. It's December 16th, 6 p.m. Mountain Time, 8 p.m. Eastern. Again, there's a Zoom link here.
00:06:54
Rich
If you want to go ahead and register ahead of time. and then we are, this is awesome.
New Strava Club and Velocity Partnership
00:07:00
Rich
I should really let Coach Lauren talk about i'm just going to tease it and then maybe let Coach Lauren talk about it just a bit here.
00:07:03
April
Thank you.
00:07:06
Rich
We now have a Grit to Greatness Strava Club. Coach Lauren, tell us about it.
00:07:12
Lauren
So this is hot off the press. We we just started Grit to Greatness Drava Club. So it's going to open to anyone who wants to join along and the link will be in in the show notes.
00:07:24
Lauren
And we're really just getting started. So it's going place for us to, of course, celebrate each other. we can brag a little bit about our workouts if you get a QOM or you know any of your medals.
00:07:38
Lauren
And it's also going be
00:07:40
April
You bump your dot.
00:07:42
Lauren
If you bump your dot, yeah yes, April coach, April bumped her up significantly bumped, significantly bumped your dot her swim.
00:07:44
April
yeah
00:07:45
Rich
Get your unicorns in there.
00:07:49
April
yeah
00:07:49
Lauren
wide So you get to see all of that cool stuff happening. And I'm going to just. Tease and say that I am sure we'll be doing some kind of little competitions and things along the way where, uh, you know, we'll get to celebrate some more and link it a little bit to what's coming up next on the announcements.
00:08:12
Rich
Yeah. So, but wait, there's more.
00:08:15
Lauren
There is more guys.
00:08:15
Rich
So we are thrilled to announce that a grit to greatness endurance is going to be using velocity as a cycling program. We are thrilled to announce, and this is going to be something we can do in, in connection with Strava being on Strava.
00:08:32
Rich
This is a platform that really specializes in cycling skills and Skype cycling performance. really giving us the ability to do things that we have been able to do in the past.
00:08:43
Lauren
just
00:08:45
Rich
We're going to be able to do group sessions, one-on-one coaching through Velocity. it really helps us teach skills like, you know how to, you know,
00:08:55
Rich
gear choice and how to how to shift and still hold power and how to maintain a certain cadence and balance cadence and power, you know, and, you know, how to, you know, hold hold a consistent power, whether you are going uphill, up a grade or down a grade, you know, all of those kinds of skills. So it's going great. We're going to have structured power-based workouts, both individual and group.
00:09:31
Rich
You know, it has some really cool features that are really good for one-on-one coaching.
00:09:32
Lauren
Thank
00:09:35
Rich
And then some other things are really good for having group sessions, including the ability to replay something. So, We are talking about having, you know, a scheduled morning led live group ride with an evening, perhaps of a replay of that if you aren't able to make it to the morning session.
00:09:51
Rich
But again, still have still build a meetup with your fellow Grit to Greatness athletes and do a studio bike workout with but really also teaches some very specific bike bike skills.
00:10:04
Rich
So we're really excited about that. And then last but not least, And this is really
Transition to Video Format on YouTube
00:10:10
Rich
exciting. We are, as you know, we are rebranding 303 to the to Greatness Endurance Podcast.
00:10:15
Rich
And as we speak, this is now a new video podcast on YouTube. but We have our YouTube channel. The link here is in the show notes. So check us out, come in and follow us.
00:10:27
Rich
We are going to be promoting the heck out of this. You will also see clips posted to the same channel. So you'll get the full length podcast right now. This thing's all in video. going to do some props here in a second to show this off.
00:10:40
Rich
And then we also, you're the, you'll, you can also follow us if you just want to go audio on Apple podcast. We're out there, pretty much anywhere where you listen to your podcasts and we are going to be adjusting our format a little bit. You're going to see a little bit more content for runners. you know, there's 50 million runners out there. There's 55 million cyclists out there. There's 10 million mountain bikers out there. There are 300,000 triathletes, uh, you know, uh, registered here in the U S. So,
00:11:07
Rich
You know, we, uh, you know, we're gonna, uh, you know, you're gonna see a little bit more content from us, a little bit more range from us. So we're excited and we're really excited that this is on video because I wanted to do a show, show and tell Lauren and April.
00:11:22
Rich
These are our ornaments that i'm mailing out to our athletes.
00:11:25
Lauren
and I'm ask Woohoo.
00:11:28
Rich
And,
00:11:28
Lauren
you to
00:11:29
Rich
So this first of all, this is really cool. They're all kind of fired up and ready to go.
00:11:32
Lauren
do a job.
00:11:32
Rich
But what I also found, and so this is still going I don't think this is too much of a, of a spill the beans, but I found this when I was out there shopping for like stationary and stuff, these cards, they're called crush your goals.
00:11:33
Lauren
going to a good job.
00:11:47
Rich
And there are 40 super inspiring quote cards to jumpstart confidence, but kicking list, making and stuff doing. and There's a quote from a different person, a famous person in each of these.
00:12:03
Rich
let's see if I got, Oh, this is a pretty easy one. Fear is boring by by Elizabeth Gilbert.
00:12:12
April
Oh, I like that.
00:12:13
Lauren
Words
00:12:14
Rich
Yeah, exactly. There we go. We'll just maybe call that the, uh, the, the tile for the day. But anyway, so i I found one that I thought would be, you know, appropriate for each athlete and I just slipped it in there with her card. So,
00:12:27
April
I love that.
00:12:27
Rich
so there you go.
00:12:27
April
I actually got that as a gift from one of my athletes. So to see that yeah it's kind of this ripple effect. Yep. Like mines.
00:12:35
Rich
That's right.
00:12:36
April
Yeah.
00:12:37
Rich
This is our community, you know, just, uh, helping, helping inspire and push each other and
00:12:39
April
Yeah.
00:12:44
Rich
and and supporting each other. So anyway, we're excited about the rebrand and that is all of the announcements.
00:12:51
April
I got one more thing I want to share with you all. and this is, this is so cool. So first off, right. We, we have been doing a lot of changes with the podcast. We've added new segments, we've got new voices and it's really gratifying to hear that you all are loving the changes. We got a review in from Shannon Hogan the other day, saying that she loves it, that had her laughing and crying all at once. Uh, it was just amazing to hear from you all. And we want to encourage you, if you like what you're hearing, please give us a five-star review, write a review for us, because that really does help with getting the the message out there and spreading that positive impact.
00:13:33
Rich
That's awesome. And thank you, Shannon Hogan. What a blast having you on our podcast.
Marathon Pacing Tips
00:13:39
April
All right. Let us jump into our show sponsor for our ask a coach section. And that is grit to greatness, endurance coaching. Hey team, let's talk about smart training.
00:13:51
April
Grit to greatness, endurance coaching has teamed up with predictive fitness to help you train with precision purpose and progress from effortless onboarding to personalized plans and deep dive analytics.
00:13:59
Lauren
Thank
00:14:04
April
you'll know exactly how to improve. You can try it for free, then keep building for as low as $14.99 a month. Check out the signup links in our show notes and start your smarter training journey today.
00:14:18
Rich
Awesome. And you know what, Coach April, I, you know, it's, a it's the post Thanksgiving show and we are wearing our Turkey trot shirts.
00:14:26
April
know we haven't even mentioned it yet. Yeah.
00:14:28
Rich
We haven't even mentioned this. Like how are we like this far into the podcast?
00:14:31
April
I don't know, but it's awesome.
00:14:31
Rich
We haven't even like, and it's our video podcast. Come on. We got to get used to this video thing. And Coach Lauren, like you're there in spirit. You were there with us.
00:14:42
Lauren
you Thank you.
00:14:42
April
Yes.
00:14:43
Lauren
I know I didn't get to do a turkey trot this year. It just, it didn't line up for me and I was pretty bummed. So, well, good. I'll find another one, but.
00:14:52
April
Yeah.
00:14:54
Rich
Well, we are going to stay on the run theme here for the Ask a Coach section. And I have been really inspired by one of the athletes I've been working with recently. Well, not recently, all year long, actually, Max Davidson. But but more recently, he has had two back-to-back marathon performances. and This is a big focus for him this year, was really being able to pace a good marathon.
00:15:20
Rich
And he had the New York City Marathon the first weekend of of November.
00:15:22
Lauren
Thank
00:15:27
Rich
And he raced that in a time of 3.05.43. But when he was done, he was pretty wiped. like He was starting to slow down in his last few miles.
00:15:52
Rich
And so we adjusted some things. He was really committed and disciplined about this. And just three weeks later, this past weekend, Philadelphia marathon, he finishes in a time of three Oh four 21, you know a minute and 22, a minute and 22 seconds faster than the New York city marathon and a personal record.
00:16:13
Rich
And he was also finishing. I think that last mile, he was literally at like a six 30
00:16:19
Lauren
That's amazing. Like, go fast.
00:16:21
Rich
And he felt great.
00:16:24
Rich
So he's a he's an inspiration. He's also really excited about his really big goals. I don't know that I have permission to share these yet, but I mean, like some big, like big goals. Boston is one that's a pretty...
00:16:39
Rich
Yeah, but Boston is definitely doable for him. I think he's really close. He will probably, my guess is he'll, you know, I think we can get him to qualify this year.
00:16:47
Rich
But he has some like really incredible ultra goals too. And even, we've even joked about maybe even doing that Taco Bell 50K next year, next October.
00:16:47
April
Mm.
00:16:59
Rich
So Anyway, so we have some tips for you folks on the the question is, how do you pace a perfect marathon? And here are the tips that we have for how to, how to do this. So let's start by being conservative.
00:17:12
Rich
Begin 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than the goal pace for the first three to five miles. This helps avoid early glycogen depletion and keeps the heart rate in check. I hundred percent agree with this.
00:17:25
Rich
Max and I took this a little bit further. we actually, we actually were more like 20 to 30 seconds per mile slower at the beginning. then we started to ratchet it up around 10 mile, 10 12 mile mark But it wasn't until after 13 miles that he really started to step on the gas and go faster than what was the goal pace. And you can see in the show notes, the splits between the first half and the second half, the first half, first 13.35 miles, second 13.23 was a 128.06.
00:18:01
Rich
the second thirteen point two three was a one twenty eight zero six
00:18:05
Lauren
Wow. That's awesome. And that goes right into, yeah, to running those negative splits, number two, right?
00:18:08
April
Negative split.
00:18:13
Lauren
So aim to run the second half slightly faster than the first. And studies show negative splits lead to better overall performance and reduced fatigue.
00:18:24
Lauren
And For me, I always think like if I put in my brain that I want, I'm focused on running a negative split, it forces me to like really go out and slow down in the beginning because it's so easy to start a race.
00:18:39
Lauren
And I would say you, you start like a five-year-old in a, in a one mile fun run and going into it with the mindset of negative split forces you to just slow down. you're strong at the end and not.
00:18:53
Lauren
like holding on at the end.
00:18:56
April
I'm just imagining that Lauren, that's such a good visual hold your horses. Yes. no. What your goal pace is. That's actually perfect. and you want to use the pace of your current training, right?
00:19:12
April
Set realistic targets. Don't use what you were using in a high school on the track team for your goal pace for a marathon.
00:19:20
Lauren
Thank you.
00:19:22
April
you can use tools like training peaks or pace calculators to set realistic target targets. We also have this amazing thing in and the run dot app, as well as try dot called race X. And you've heard us talk about this a few times, but this is a, such a great tool for helping you understand what a goal, a good goal pace is a good target is for not only your heart rate, your running pace, but also power if you run with power. So I love that tool. It's probably one of my favorite features of predictive fitness. And, that's something you definitely want to be using to pace marathon.
00:20:00
Rich
The next tip, by the way, that that is spot on RaceX is a great tool for doing that. And obviously you can also like program in the individual segments. You can import the course. It knows the entire course.
00:20:13
Rich
Lots of benefits to RaceX. Using effort and not just pace, uh, hills, wind, and heat can skew pace, monitor perceived exertion with heart rate to stay consistent when conditions change.
00:20:26
Rich
Lots, good lots really to unpack in this, you know, first, yeah, hills, wind, you know, those are forces that, you know hills, you can sort of get around that a little bit, you know, with a great adjusted pace display on your, uh, watch in order to like, kind of know what the relative effort is.
00:20:41
Lauren
Thank
00:20:44
Rich
and then out Wind. so you know, you know, sometimes just to go by feel, right? You know you just, you don't have any gauges to tell you other than this rate of perceived exertion.
00:20:57
Rich
And what's really, you know, kind of it's a really useful tool for really kind of sensing and getting in tune with what energy system that you are in. And so, you know, kind of getting used to, you know, what your respiratory rate is at a zone one, like a recovery pace versus a zone two.
00:21:14
Rich
and
00:21:14
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:21:16
Rich
The being able to do that by feel, you know, when you, when you start to feel that respiratory rate come up and you feel that stress come up, it's a probably a good sign that you're starting to get anaerobic and get out of an aerobic zone. But understand what those paces are and how they relate to heart rate when things are normal. And that way you can also help identify when things are not normal. Like when your heart rate is high for the given rate of perceived exertion, it might be an indicator of things like dehydration.
00:21:44
April
Rich, I got to say, I'm sorry, Lauren, I got to jump in here. I was definitely in the anaerobic zone on our turkey trot. I did. i was i was the competitive Karen, if you will, of the group. I would use the turkey trot as a 5K assessment, which I thought I would never do Found out from Rich on the day that this course was super hilly and just was like, okay, we're We're here. We're going to do it. But it was actually it was epic. It it was awesome.
00:22:14
April
But yeah, I was I was huffing and puffing, trying to dodge the corn stalks and the the Thanksgiving meal accoutrements in the in the jogger strollers who were throwing elbows. It was it was so it was a riot.
00:22:29
Rich
Yeah, you had to blow a lot of energy in that crowd.
00:22:29
Lauren
I would say 5k in my opinion, i feel like a five k and I've said this before on one of our podcasts where I feel like a five k is harder for me than a half marathon.
00:22:42
Lauren
Like you're going hard.
00:22:43
April
Yeah.
00:22:46
Lauren
for 20, 25, 30 minutes. And it's like, it's so uncomfortable, but I do love the idea of RPE and having that pass to know that trust your body, because I'm totally a fall victim. I'll say to being, having wind in my face and getting so frustrated that I'm Obviously, my paces are harder to hold. And you have to remember that your RPE can sometimes be more important than looking at the time on your watch.
00:23:19
Lauren
If you want to go long and not fatigue and and fail. So... Tip number five fuel and hydrate strategically. i love this one. So plan nutrition every 30 to 45 minutes and hydrate early.
00:23:35
Lauren
Poor fueling often causes late race shutdowns more than pacing errors. And if you're waiting until you feel like you need to have a gel or you feel like you need to have a sip of water, You've probably waited too long. And my last 70.3, will say my hydration strategy on the half marathon was the the best I've done. And I got stronger as the run went on because i was taking electrolytes and water in at every single aid station and I didn't have cramping. And i literally, as the race progressed, was feeling stronger. So fuel and hydrate strategically,
00:24:16
Lauren
if you wanna go long.
00:24:19
April
Lauren, that's a huge testament to that strategy. I rarely have I heard that people get stronger as they go on, especially in a half marathon in a triathlon.
00:24:30
Lauren
Yeah, it was, and I normally have it like pretty decent cramping at the end of the race. not It doesn't really happen while I'm running necessarily, but often when I stop, I'll be like, oh my God, wait my calf, holy crap.
00:24:43
Lauren
And this time it was, I literally felt, and again, I know it was like the electrolytes and everything too, but i was really, really thankful.
00:24:43
April
Oh,
00:24:53
April
Hmm.
00:24:55
April
Well, one other thing that we can do to help with the mental aspect of a long distance race, such as a marathon is how to divide it into thirds. And I think this absolutely has been one of the strategies that has saved me for a long run, especially when we're talking about 26 miles.
00:25:14
April
It's really hard to think about a full 26 miles where you're trying to hold a certain pace and that effort level and that just staying mentally in it. So learning how to break it into thirds can really help with chunking that up so it doesn't feel so intimidating or daunting.
00:25:32
April
And what you can do is the first 10 miles have a strategy where you hold back, just like coach Rich shared with, with us, what his strategy was with max doing that for yourself, figuring out what your pacing strategy will be so that you're not at the top end of your pace, right out the gate.
00:25:51
April
You want to save those matches for the last 6.2 minutes.
00:25:55
Lauren
think good question.
00:25:56
April
For sure.
00:25:57
Lauren
I that's good question.
00:25:57
April
So breaking it up the first 10 miles, holding back second, 10 miles or the middle lock into that goal pace.
00:26:00
Lauren
think that's question. think that's a good question. I think that's a good question.
00:26:04
April
And then that last 6.2, give it all she's got and, uh, throw down there.
00:26:09
Lauren
think that's good question.
00:26:11
April
Uh, that's, that's a really great way to successfully pace a marathon.
00:26:16
Rich
Perfectly said coach April. And just like you would break your race into segments, it's a great way to even practice. And when you're doing your training and you're training those race paces in your long runs, we call these stamina runs when we are doing your sort of race specific race day simulation for a marathon, which is you going to be mostly in that kind of that zone three range.
00:26:39
Rich
And, but if you build into it and you practice, you know the discipline of holding yourself back for the first third of that long run, and then building into it, just like coach April said, it'll help really build confidence for your ability to pace it on race day.
00:26:54
Rich
And, you know, the closer you get to your marathon, the closer you are getting to actual race pace.
00:27:00
Lauren
Thank you.
00:27:01
Rich
So, you know, I know coach April and are both reading the Marathon Excellence for Everyone book. I think it was a recommendation out of USAT level one from Bobby McGee.
00:27:13
Rich
And, and it, you know it talks about and the closer you're getting, you're getting to that 95% and then that 97%. And then that basically, you know, like 99% of your marathon pace as you get closer and closer. And then when it comes to race day, you're going to have to adapt, right? Keep your eye on the weather because first of all, that's one of the variables that's going to happen, right?
00:27:33
Rich
It might be cooler than you you prepared or hotter than you were thinking, making sure that you have the right gear and equipment to adjust to that. And knowing, you know, going into this, hopefully you've in your preparation, you've in your nutrition, hydration preparation, you have been recording your sweat rate at different intensities, at different temperatures. And so, you know, if that,
00:27:55
Rich
temperature changes, what your new hydration rate is going to be or sweat rate. and therefore, hydration rate needs to be. So, yeah. then of course, uh, no penalty for being early, uh, as my, as I like to say, so, uh, get there early on race day and finish strong.
00:28:13
Lauren
I love that. Get there early. well I'm all for being early and ready to go.
00:28:19
Rich
Right, April.
00:28:21
April
Yeah, right.
00:28:25
April
Nobody's throwing me under the bus today. i get there just in time. That's the, that's the air force of me.
00:28:31
Rich
I
00:28:33
Lauren
like as long as you get there before the gun goes off.
00:28:34
Rich
i was.
00:28:36
April
Yes.
00:28:39
Lauren
All right. Uh, well let's roll into our get gritty tip sponsor Vespa power Vespa power endurance helps you tap into steady, clean energy. so you stay strong, focused, and in the zone longer Vespa is not fuel, but a metabolic catalyst that shifts your body to use more fat and less glycogen as your fuel source.
00:29:02
Lauren
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00:29:17
Lauren
e for twenty percent off your purchase
00:29:21
April
I just realized what you were hurrying referring to, Rich. I got to go back. we Okay, I'll throw a little bit back here. Rich and I did Xterralori this last summer, right?
00:29:33
April
And I was staying in an Airbnb. of My husband and I got it because the place where we race is a little bit further away. Anyway, we planned to meet up at the Airbnb to drive over together.
00:29:43
April
Rich... shows up an hour early and we're talking like 3.30 in the morning.
00:29:53
April
Bing bong, who the hell is that? Yeah, so Rich is a big believer in early bird.
00:29:59
Rich
Like, you haven't showered or anything? What are you people doing?
00:30:03
April
Yeah, no, Peter is still like in his pajamas. and Yeah, it was awesome.
00:30:08
Lauren
Wow.
00:30:08
Rich
and that And that's at least a mile, that was at least an hour drive from my place.
00:30:13
April
Yeah, you are insane.
00:30:16
Lauren
Wow.
00:30:18
April
I just meant we got to spend more time together. It was great. And he helped me put my Garmin computer back on my bike. Like it it all worked out, but yeah, love it. I love it. That's a great quirk that you have by Fred.
00:30:33
April
but Okay.
00:30:35
Rich
That's
00:30:35
April
Now that we are good and prime for our get gritty tip, let us talk about rewriting the code.
Mindset and Self-Talk for Athletes
00:30:42
April
As athletes, we talk a lot about training the body, including building endurance, power, durability, and skill.
00:30:49
April
But as you all know, there's another system, a system that is running the show long before race day ever comes. And one of the, my favorite coaches that I listened to coach Jordan freed, he turned this system human AI or human automation intelligence.
00:31:09
April
It is the part of us that learns through repetition. And when we talk about greatness as a habit, we're really going to go into one of the habits of learning how to talk to yourself and rewrite the script.
00:31:19
April
So every thought you replay, every reaction you default to every belief you rehearse, whether or not it's true, your mind quietly installs it like software, not because it's good, not because it's true, but because it's familiar.
00:31:22
Lauren
Thank
00:31:37
April
So human ai might be efficient, but it's not intelligent. It never stops to ask you, is this belief helping you or hurting you? Is this reaction strengthening you or sabotaging you?
00:31:51
April
It just repeats whatever it's been taught. So for athletes, this matters. If you repeatedly think, man, I'm slow in the water or I always fall apart on the run.
00:32:02
April
I'm tired late season. This is just how I am. That's your human AI installing that identity and you live it out on autopilot. But here's the powerful part.
00:32:14
April
You can rewrite the code. You can become the conscious programmer of your own operating system, your beliefs, your memories, your imagination, the story you tell yourself.
00:32:25
April
You can upgrade that version of yourself. At any time, and you can start by paying attention to the stories because your stories are the voice of your beliefs.
00:32:30
Lauren
Thank you.
00:32:35
April
And I really love this. Jordan actually gives a simple tool and it can really work brilliantly if you start to apply it into your life. So asking yourself, what is the story you're telling?
00:32:47
April
And if for, and for that story to be true, you would have to believe what, so asking. What is the story I'm telling myself?
00:32:57
April
Am i telling myself that I'm a good runner? Am I telling myself that I am strong and fearless in the water?
00:33:02
Lauren
Thank you.
00:33:04
April
And what do I need to do for that story to be true? What would I have to believe? You can start to imagine that and start actually putting that into your daily practice.
00:33:16
April
You can suddenly move from that kind unconscious to conscious. And the minute you see it, you have that choice. You can choose the story you want to believe and start to work and move towards making that a reality.
00:33:32
April
And just like the psychologist Carl Jung once said, until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. Your training, your confidence, your resilience, none of it is fate. It's programming and you have the power to rewrite it.
00:33:50
Rich
Yeah, and this is super powerful stuff, Coach april April. I love that we go here. I mean, this is like what makes the difference between, I think, Grit to Greatness and other like you know groups of coaches is that you know we realize that our limiters are not just physical limiters.
00:34:08
Rich
You know, we know that, you know, there's there's a lot of performance out there and and performance in life that comes from things that are just between the between our ears. So this is fantastic stuff. So let's do this as a reflection now. let's Let's slow this down and make this real for you because this isn't just a mindset exercise. This is real performance work.
00:34:29
Rich
This is self-awareness work. This is resilience work. When you hear George's framework, the story I'm telling myself is, I want you to think about your training, your racing, your self-talk. we have We have moments where our human AI kicks in and runs the show without us even noticing, just as Coach April said, this is this is programming.
00:34:52
Rich
So, you know, What I want you to ask yourself and really take this moment to reflect on these when you're out there, you know, tomorrow, if you're out there for your long run, what story do you tell do you tend to default to when the training gets hard? Is it, I'm not strong enough, I'm behind, everyone else is fitter? Am I, I always fall apart here?
00:35:15
Rich
What belief is said is sitting underneath that story? Is it a belief about your capability? Is it a belief about your worth, about your failures, about your preparation? How do you see yourself as an athlete? These are things like like it's worth like writing this down as you and you know play this back and go back through it.
00:35:36
Rich
When you look at the belief, honestly, is it actually true or is it just from from just familiar?
00:35:42
Rich
When you look at yeah what you believe honestly, you know, is it actually true or is it just familiar, right? Remember, human AI doesn't care if it's true. It just automates what you what you repeat. So if you, you know if you want to install a new belief, it's one that that one that actually supports you.
00:36:00
Rich
What would that be? Write it out, practice it. you know you know This is again, like just like Coach April said earlier, this is like installing software. you know What you read, what you say to yourself, these are things that actually start to program the subconscious and come back to you. how would you so How would your training change if that new belief became your new default program?
00:36:26
Rich
Would you make better decisions? Would you be more consistent? Could you be a little bit more stable and you know and and less emotional or or reactionary to turbulence? Would you have more confidence? These questions matter because your body will always follow the software your mind is running and you get to choose what you update it with.
00:36:48
Lauren
I love this. And I, again, feel like I bring up with the swim often and how I always, and I even did like a blog post about it where I was a self-proclaimed head case in the water. I'd always say, I don't race in the water. i race on land. I just survived the water. And it was this constant narrative that I told myself. And then eventually I was like,
00:37:11
Lauren
shift that narrative. Like would, I would perform fine, but I just had this old belief that I kept telling myself and I would tell people this.
00:37:13
April
Mm. Mm.
00:37:20
Lauren
And it's like, I feel like again, 2026, I had this shift world and that's 2026. We're not there yet. 2025. I had a shift where i changed the story and i my swim again was recently one of my, my, was my strongest leg. So just want to put that out there. The power of belief. You talk to yourself more than anyone.
00:37:41
Lauren
And every cell of your body responds to the words that you say to yourself. So with that action item. All right, team. So here's your challenge for the week. And it's one that can truly change the trajectory of your season, of your upcoming season, right? So at least once per day in training or in daily life, pause and ask yourself or say the story I'm telling myself is. So the story I'm telling myself is that I'm a head case in the water. So then follow with, for that story to be true, i must believe. And you want to make sure that you're actually having a positive story. So the story I'm telling myself is that I am a strong swimmer.
00:38:23
Lauren
Then follow it with, for that story to be true, I must believe that the training that I do translates to how I perform on race day. or whatever that, you know, that saying looks like whatever it is, write it down, look at it with honesty, and then decide whether that belief deserves to say, or needs to be rewritten. Right. So I've obviously rewritten my story because when you make the unconscious conscious, you stop running old programs and you start running your life with intention.
00:38:55
Lauren
That's how you train resilience. That's how you get gritty. And that's how you build an operating system that supports the athlete and the human that you are becoming.
00:39:06
April
Ooh, thank you both. Thank you so much. I think what I'm going to do because there are a lot of good reflection questions in here is I'm going to actually add this to our newsletter as well. so that our, our readers can also have this as a very, a visual reference to get their week and hopefully the rest of their training season and continuously on in their lives.
00:39:29
April
I see that improvement. So yeah. Fantastic job teammates. I appreciate it. Back to you, Lauren.
00:39:36
Rich
Great discussion. Great discussion.
00:39:37
Lauren
Yeah, no, that was, that was wonderful, April. Thank you for putting that together for us.
Mobility vs. Flexibility in Performance
00:39:42
Lauren
I, uh, I'll roll into our workout of the week, which is cars. So, is for mobility for anyone who's not familiar what with what cars are, it stands for controlled articular rotations.
00:39:55
Lauren
talking about rotations around the joint. So we're not talking about FTP tests, long runs, interval sets, all the things that we might first think of when we think of endurance training. We're talking about something that endurance athletes sometimes love to put off until the body is giving you little whispers and nudging you to fix me, fix this. And then eventually your body's screaming at you and it's in the form of injuries, poor recovery,
00:40:25
Lauren
dropping, decreasing performance. So diving into the mobility, and like I said, specifically cars, controlled articular rotations, it is an extremely easy and powerful tool that you can add to your training.
00:40:40
Lauren
Before we go into all of the information about cars, I want to talk a little bit about flexibility versus mobility, right? So a lot of times when we think of, oh, make sure you're doing recovery work or mobility work, people sometimes mix it up and think that,
00:40:58
Lauren
if they're doing a static stretch that they're doing something that's going improve their mobility. And that's, that's not true. Flexibility and mobility are not the same thing. Flexibility is passive. So if you think about it, to how far a muscle can stretch when an outside force is applied. So think of gravity. If you're bending down to touch your toes, or if you're using a a towel or a strap around your foot to help pull the foot towards you or grabbing your and foot to pull your heel towards your glutes, right? So that's flexibility.
00:41:31
Lauren
You're being assisted by a force. Mobility is active, right? So it's your ability to move a joint through a full range of motion using your muscular strength, your muscles, your strength, your control to make that movement happen.
00:41:45
Lauren
Because the reality is, is you can be as flexible as anyone, right? You can extremely flexible, but still move like a good old rusty door hinge. So mobility is where performance actually improves because mobility is the foundation for coordinated, efficient movement.
00:42:02
Lauren
And for endurance athletes specifically, when we're thinking about mobility, it's what keeps your swim, bike, run, any sort of endurance pattern from being so repetitive that tissues stop gliding joints, lose range. And then this is where overuse injuries start to creep in.
00:42:20
Lauren
So why mobility matters for endurance athletes as endurance athletes, we live in repetitive patterns. We do a lot of rotations per workout. So think of the rotation at your shoulder joint on the swim at your hip while you're pedaling on the bike or while you're taking a gazillion steps on the run.
00:42:42
Lauren
Mobility, incorporating mobility work helps by improving joint mechanics, reducing overuse injuries, allowing efficient technique, improving force production, reducing unnecessary energy leaks and keeping your stabilizing muscles awake and online. So think of mobility, think of mobility like brushing your teeth. You don't wait or any sort of oral care. You don't wait for a cavity to show up to start taking care of your teeth, right? You do things proactively, not reactively.
00:43:15
Lauren
And I'll also say that most endurance athletes don't need more static stretching. You need better control at the end ranges of your movement, which is yeah is exactly where cars shine.
00:43:31
Rich
Yeah, that's awesome. Yes. This is all so that we can have nice, beautiful movements as athletes, as triathletes, whether you're a cyclist, a runner, or a swimmer. And, you know, it's funny, these, you know, cars, and it's so, i it isn't until recently that I actually knew that, you know this is what I had been doing, which are called these controlled are articular rotations.
00:43:55
Rich
And we've seen people do this, right? it's just a fancy way of saying slow intentional circles with a joint acting in its full range of motion, right? How often have we either seen or done it ourselves at the, you know, you're at the pool, you're just waiting to get in and you're just doing those little small little circles with your arms stretched out to your side.
00:44:06
Lauren
help
00:44:15
Rich
And you're just doing those little circles out there. You're doing them backwards and you're doing them forward, right? And you might be, you know, doing the same thing before a run. You're doing that, you know, maybe a kneeling hip capsule rotation, right?
00:44:27
Rich
Where you're just moving that knee in a circle. Now you're holding that knee off the ground and holding it in a circle and just going around. These movements, these, you know, this, you know, this controlled movement that you're doing, you know, creating that stability, using the motor awareness and the deep joint, you know it really helps that, you know that create that deep joint health.
00:44:50
Rich
It stimulates that joint capsule and the, you know, kind of the, you know, the hydration of that capsule before you get started. It strengthens the end ranges. It helps you with the muscle activation in that joint capsule to around that joint capsule to make sure that all of the, you know, those stabilizer muscles wake up. It improves your proprioception so that when you're out there, as you're going out there either for a, for a, a swim where you're going to need, you know, need that endurance, right?
00:45:22
Rich
being able to really kind of have that full range of motion in that swim strokes, you get that full extension and that full catch and that nice finish. All of those things start at that joint capsule. So building that mobility,
00:45:36
Rich
So that you can actually use it in sport. It's a simple, scalable, and quick way to, you know, in a perfect way to prepare for all exercises at all levels. When and how often you should do cars, you don't have to do 20 minutes a day, but just daily two to five minutes just to wake up, you know, what it just is a little pre-work.
00:45:57
Rich
pregame show, if you will, a little pre, uh, pre training session warmup, uh, fantastic for priming the nervous system post-workout too.
00:45:59
April
Thank you.
00:46:06
Rich
Great for just, you know, helping, up that recovery, get some hydration back into that joint.
00:46:11
Lauren
and uh
00:46:12
Rich
You know, uh, you might have a little bit of swelling around there, you know, get that motion, uh, keep that tissue nice and healthy and, It's great for maintaining movement quality. So they're also there as your early warning system, right? You feel a tight spot, you feel a sticky spot, something feels off, you know, and and do do right and left and and feel like, does one feel different than the other? You know, do a little bit of self-comparison as you go through this.
00:46:37
Rich
left to right. And then how do those hip cars, for example, everyday endurance athlete needs this. Let's walk through the hip cars because strong, clean hip mechanics are everything in endurance sports. Your kick, your pedal stroke, your run stride, all depend on them. So the setup here is stand tall next to the wall or something, or, you know, something, or you know, light to hold, you know, hold yourself against for balance.
00:47:03
Rich
Brace your core, ribs down, hips level. So really kind of turn on those transverse abdominals. And then here's the movement. Lift your knee straight up in front of you in a controlled hip flexion. Open the knee out to the side of you without letting your torso lean. or letting your knee drop.
00:47:23
Rich
Rotate the hip inward so your foot starts to sweep behind you as your knee rotates in Extend the knee back behind you without arching your lower back and then return back to that starting position. That's one slow rotation.
00:47:38
Rich
The cues here, this is not a speed drill. Move intentionally with you know with purpose, but slow. You're not trying to wake up a sleeping doll or a cat. So you're just trying to, you know, just nice and controlled. You're not accelerating through this.
00:47:54
Rich
Nice, consistent speed. Everything stays still except for the hip that's moving. If you hit a sticky spot, hey, there you go. Congratulations, you found it. That's where you actually need to spend a little bit of time. Own the range that you have. Don't force anything that you don't have.
00:48:11
Rich
You know, this isn't supposed to be a a painful experience. This is really supposed to just be that kind of daily maintenance. Dosage, do this three to five reps per side, one to two rounds, done consistently. This is one of the best tools that you can have for your daily routine.
00:48:28
April
As Rich was talking, Lauren and I were also doing some cars with our shoulders and arms have actually felt really great. And I will tell you guys, you know, getting older, it's not it's not as easy as it used to be to just roll out of bed and go do things.
00:48:43
April
This morning, I actually woke up with a little bit of a kink in my neck. So I will be doing some neck rotations tonight before I go to sleep. And when I get up, so this is actually perfect timing and how we can integrate mobility into our week.
00:48:55
Lauren
Thank you.
00:48:59
April
So a simple structure for the busy endurance athlete can look like this. Daily spending two to five minutes on cars. You can use it before key sessions, such as the hip cars, which Rich just shared thoracic spine.
00:49:13
April
Oh, I actually sound so good right now. And shoulders after long sessions, you can use it to build that slow, low intensity rotation to help those joints decompress.
00:49:24
April
And then long-term, this will really help. Uh, help with that long-term joint mobility. You want to treat mobility just like you would strength. It's a non-negotiable piece of performance. So don't think of this like extra credit.
00:49:41
April
This is absolutely a performance enhancer and needs to be a part of your daily routine. So our call to action is to create your own mini mobility routine. And we're going to help you out with that. If you want a quick athlete, friendly mini mobility routine that you can plug in before workouts or on your rest days, we have put together a simple six move flow that takes about five minutes and hits all those major joints.
00:50:07
April
To get that, you need to sign up for our Grit to Greatness newsletter. That routine will be sent out in the next release on Monday. So. It's perfect if you're someone who knows mobility is important. And i I know you just heard it all from us. So we hope you changed your mind here, but also maybe pretends they did some stretching even when they didn't do that. That's pretty good. That's yeah.
00:50:33
April
So this is a commitment. We've all been there. We've all pretended like we got a good stretch in. No, this is going to be your recipe for actually doing the work to make sure that your joints are mobile and fluid. So that is your workout of the week, mobility and cars, simple, powerful joint saving work that will make you move better, feel better and race better.
00:50:57
April
We want you to take care of your joints. They're with you for every mile. So make sure that you sign up for our newsletter to get that, that, uh, six, uh, move flow. So you can start working on this specific area.
00:51:10
April
Thank you coach Lauren for this awesome workout of the week.
00:51:21
Lauren
Just as a habit, just saying.
00:51:21
April
Yeah. I'm excited for this. Yes. Yes, ma'am.
00:51:26
Lauren
yeah
00:51:27
April
Yes. Say that again, Lauren. Cause I think I cut you off.
00:51:30
Lauren
said, it y'all should establish it as a habit.
00:51:34
April
Yes. Yes. I love it. I, I am actually, really intrigued by this. So thank you for this. Okay. It is the end. And that means we have reached the fun segment.
00:51:47
April
All right.
00:51:47
Lauren
Woo-hoo!
00:51:49
April
And since we are coming off the end of Thanksgiving, what better segment than to talk about what we do with all those amazing leftovers.
00:51:59
April
This segment is called the leftovers gauntlet. So.
00:52:03
Lauren
Exactly.
00:52:04
April
Welcome to another very special holiday edition of our fun segment. Thanksgiving may be over, but the real endurance challenge is just beginning. Navigating the mountain of leftovers, still calling your name from the fridge.
00:52:37
April
Lauren and Rich, will you survive the gravy slicked swim start?
00:52:42
Lauren
I
00:52:42
April
Will your turkey sandwich maintain arrow integrity? And will you negative split your sprint to the pie before a family member claims the last slice? but There's only one way to find out.
00:52:53
Rich
Love that.
00:52:54
April
Yes. Let that leftovers gauntlet begin because the only thing more chaotic than T1 on race day is the family fridge the day after Thanksgiving.
00:52:58
Rich
Wow.
00:53:05
Rich
Awesome.
00:53:05
Lauren
love that.
00:53:06
Rich
Can't wait. What a setup.
00:53:08
April
All right, good. So our first challenge is the swim leg. I'm calling this the gravy glide. You have arrived.
00:53:19
April
All right. So the point of this is you are getting to the fridge before anyone else. All right. So this is your triathlon. You've arrived at T one only to discover that your kitchen floor is covered in gravy.
00:53:31
April
You must cross it safely. So you're going to choose your adventure one, the high elbow catch you channel your inner swim form and pull yourself across using countertop edges, keeping perfect technique, even in chaos bonus. There's zero splash.
00:53:49
April
Two, the dolphin dive of desperation. You commit, you dive, you slide across the gravy, like an overconfident otter. It's messy. It's questionable, but you get to the fridge the fastest.
00:54:02
April
And number three, the buoyant biscuit float. You stack leftover biscuits into improvised flotation devices and paddle your way across. It's slow, but it's undeniably innovative. Which one are you guys?
00:54:15
Lauren
I think I'm a
00:54:15
Rich
Coach Lauren high elbow catch.
00:54:16
Lauren
yeah
00:54:19
Rich
Okay. Nice technique.
00:54:21
April
You pull yourself across that countertop edge, keeping perfect technique.
00:54:24
Lauren
think my upper body, upper body pull.
00:54:26
April
Yeah.
00:54:30
Rich
I saw this, the, the dolphin dive and I just saw slip and slide all the way. i am going head first on my belly and I am going to just sail right to the fridge.
00:54:42
April
Yeah, there you go.
00:54:42
Rich
You know,
00:54:43
April
Dolphin dive of desperation.
00:54:48
April
I'm with you, Rich. I think I would absolutely belly flop dolphin dive right sli slick slide to the fridge. If it says it's the fastest. So that's the, that's the route I've taken.
00:54:59
April
I don't care if it's ugly, but we're, we got to beat the, the, the sisters back.
00:55:02
Lauren
going in
00:55:05
April
You know, there's four girls in my family, so we can put down some food. So I'm, I'm going full in. All right. I do have a question. Do you prefer brown gravy or white gravy?
00:55:19
Lauren
Brown.
00:55:20
Rich
Brown.
00:55:21
April
Yep. Brown Brown. It is great choice. All right. Now we have moved on to the bike leg, the Turkey sandwich arrow test. You are assembling the perfect post Thanksgiving Turkey sandwich, but every topping chooses or changes.
00:55:38
April
Your aerodynamics, choose your adventure. One, the arrow purist, you go minimalist. You got Turkey and mustard, clean lines, fast profile. Your Watts go up instantly, but so does your envy for everyone else's stuffing.
00:55:54
April
You've got the stacked rotor disc upgrade. You add stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Your sandwich is now nine inches tall and produces more drag than a parachute, but wow.
00:56:06
April
The flavor FTP is unmatched. And then you have the precision fuel strategist. You measure every ingredient carefully, calculating optimal topping to bread ratio. You've run the numbers, you adjust the layers and you even consider sodium levels. This sandwich could podium.
00:56:26
April
Which adventure are you going to choose?
00:56:29
Lauren
Going for the podium.
00:56:33
Rich
Precision fuel strategist?
00:56:33
Lauren
Going to see.
00:56:35
Rich
Yeah.
00:56:35
Lauren
Because Because I want to, because here's the thing is I don't want just mustard.
00:56:37
Rich
That's awesome.
00:56:40
April
No.
00:56:42
Lauren
But then I'm like, if I could scientifically figure out the perfect amount of everything, I'll go i'll go with that.
00:56:51
Lauren
I'll ask ChatGPT to give me the ratios.
00:57:00
Rich
So I would normally be a precision fuel strategist, but I just have to confess that today with my lefter leftovers, I was an aero purist. I grabbed three things.
00:57:13
Rich
I grabbed a pretzel bagel or a pretzel pretzel bun, just the turkey, just the sliced turkey,
00:57:17
Lauren
Thank you.
00:57:18
April
Yep. yep
00:57:22
Rich
and Was that it? Maybe I just grabbed two things. Oh, no. And there was some cheese from a cheese tray. And I just took those three things. And that was the sandwich. Those three ingredients. Watts went up instantly. But so did my envy for all the other great stuff that I could have loaded in there.
00:57:40
April
I love this because I did number two, uh, I am, I will do number two. I have absolutely the stacked rotator disc upgrade. I've got it all on there guys. I stuffing gravy, cranberry sauce. Absolutely. My favorite thing is a cranberry sauce aside from the sweet potato pie. Like it, it, it has to be the one out of the can with the ridges like that, that level of cranberry sauce. So yeah.
00:58:05
Lauren
There was a post that was like, I only enjoy cranberry sauce in its raw natural form. And it was like out of the can with the ridges on it.
00:58:16
Lauren
That's the only way, right?
00:58:16
April
steady Standing vertical.
00:58:18
April
Yes. Yes, absolutely.
00:58:21
Rich
Thank you.
00:58:40
April
Are you the sneaky tiptoe trot? You run silently ba barefoot dodging creaky floorboards like you're in the stealth portion of a video game. Success depends on avoiding detection by family members or pets.
00:59:09
April
And then you have the diplomatic pacer. You offer to split it, then strategically take the bigger half a masterclass on both sportsmanship and dessert acquisition.
00:59:20
Lauren
want to go first, Rich?
00:59:23
Rich
Sure. you know i would be i know I would just be the diplomatic pacer. Yeah.
00:59:29
April
whom
00:59:30
Rich
iye
00:59:31
April
You're a dad. Yep. yep i get Yep.
00:59:33
Rich
exactly yeah
00:59:34
April
yeah
00:59:35
Lauren
Yeah. I'm the same though. I like, if I'm being honest, I would always be like, I never eat like the last piece of something. I'm always like somebody eat the last piece. So I probably realistically split it.
00:59:47
Lauren
But if I want to be true to my competitive nature, I'll say I'll sprint PR and eat the whole dang thing. But that's not true. So.
00:59:59
April
You both are lame, lame. but Okay. So it's just me and Peter if we got two cats. I am absolutely the all out fridge sprint.
01:00:10
April
I'm going for that last piece.
01:00:11
Rich
Oh,
01:00:12
April
No holds barred. And I am definitely not ashamed.
01:00:15
Lauren
Good.
01:00:16
Rich
what is P is Peter, the sneaky tiptoe trot.
01:00:20
April
No, he's diplomatic. This poor man
01:00:22
Rich
You'd be the diplomat. Okay.
01:00:23
April
is Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:00:23
Rich
Gotcha. Okay. Okay.
01:00:25
April
I am
01:00:26
April
but i am not ashamed to admit that I take advantage of his diplomacy. All right. Lightning round. We've got one last little bit here. You're going to pick your leftover superpower.
01:00:39
April
So best pre-ride fuel, turkey, cold turkey slices, stuffing straight from the container or pie for breakfast.
01:00:48
Rich
Ooh, definitely pie for breakfast.
01:00:51
Lauren
repeats.
01:00:51
April
Yeah, I think I'm going pie for breakfast as well. If I, if I, yeah, I think that's right for me too. Would you rather do hill repeats wearing a post Thanksgiving bloat or a 5k next to a relative who won't stop talking?
01:01:08
Lauren
he repeats
01:01:10
Rich
It depends on if I could run faster than my relative. Because if I can run fast enough, then they're breathing too hard. They don't have to talk anymore. So...
01:01:19
Lauren
Thank you.
01:01:21
April
That'll yeah. That'll quiet them down. You're not just not running fast enough. Okay. Last one, your endurance spirit leftover.
01:01:31
April
Is it green bee casserole mashed potatoes? Sorry. Green bean casserole steady mashed potatoes, comfort pace or cranberry sauce. Chaotic energy.
01:01:44
Lauren
Mashed potatoes.
01:01:45
Rich
Yeah, comfort pace all the way, you betcha.
01:01:48
April
I'm going cranberry sauce chaotic.
01:01:52
Rich
Chaotic cranberries.
01:01:53
April
Oh yeah. Chaotic cranberries all day. So whether you're building sandwiches that violate that structural engineering code or debating whether pie counts as car uploading, your leftovers are basically training equipment at this point, use them wisely or chaotically.
01:02:09
April
We're here to support both gobble on athletes.
01:02:13
Rich
That's awesome. Happy Thanksgiving to you both. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone who is tuned in.
01:02:18
Lauren
and that.
01:02:19
Rich
We really are so glad that we got to spend this with you. Thanks again for listening this week. Be sure to follow us at Grit to Greatness Endurance. And of course, go to iTunes, give us a rating and a comment. We appreciate it.
01:02:32
Rich
We appreciate you. Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey.
01:02:53
Lauren
Thank you.