The Steep Stuff Podcast
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The Steep Stuff Podcast
#128 - Amanda Koslosky
What if you didn’t grow up on a track and still became a force on steep, thin-air courses? We sit down with Colorado Springs native Amanda Koslosky to trace a candid, practical path from soccer fields to summit podiums—top ten at the Pikes Peak Ascent, podiums at Telluride Mountain Run and Bar Trail—and the bold decision to go part-time at work to chase what’s possible.
Amanda opens up about the moment a Golden Trail–stacked Ascent proved her ceiling was higher than she thought, and why a coach, community, and course-first strategy changed everything. We unpack the mental game—pre-race nerves, stacking confidence with small wins, and holding a belief that borders on audacious. Then we get tactical: altitude prep with 3-2-1 uphill sessions, Rampart Reservoir loops, and smart long runs that build climbing economy without frying the legs. With Moab ahead, her training pivots to speed—three-minute reps near six-minute pace, downhill economy, and the quad conditioning needed to finish fast.
Recovery and longevity take center stage. Amanda shares how she replaced “smaller is better” with fuel-first thinking—pairing protein and carbs post-run, dialing hydration, and protecting easy days. Nightly rolling, consistent stretching, and monthly massage keep the system absorbing work. TRX strength provides the chassis: core stability, single-leg control, and full-body resilience that pays off on steep climbs and technical descents. We also cover race-day strategy on the Ascent’s W’s, when to sit on a steady runner, and how to time the move past A-Frame.
If you’re chasing a sub-three at altitude, eyeing Broken Arrow, or wondering whether your fastest years can still be ahead, Amanda’s story offers a blueprint: train for the course you’ll race, treat recovery like a pillar, and let community sharpen your edge. Follow Amanda at run_cos_run, then hit play and take notes for your next build. Enjoy the conversation, and if it helps your long run, subscribe, share, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.
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Welcome back to this Deep Stuff Podcast. I'm your host, James Lariello. I'm so excited to welcome Amanda Kozlowski to the show. Amanda comes on uh just after a really crazy and really well a really solid 2025 season with top ten finishes at the Pikes Peak Ascent as well as uh podium finishes at the Telluride Mountain Run and the Bar Trail Mountain Race in 2025. Um Amanda came on the show to talk a lot about her whys and what motivates her for the sport. Um we also talked a lot about goals, we talked about structured training and coaching. Um we also talked about her background. Amanda comes from a very non-traditional background, not a traditional cross-country track runner, but more of a soccer player, um, which is kind of cool. Um, kind of shows that you can compete at a high level without having to come into the sport from a traditional pedigree. So all kinds of good stuff there. This is a super fun episode. Um Amanda's a native of the Colorado Springs area, so it's exciting to have her on and uh just discuss her whys. So without further ado, hope you enjoy it. Amanda Kozlowski. Ladies and gentlemen, wait. Amanda Kozlowski, welcome to this Deep Stuff Podcast. How's it going?
SPEAKER_01:It's great. How are how are you doing over there?
SPEAKER_00:I'm living the dream. It's almost Friday. I'm yeah, doing my thing. Just got home from a run and feeling stoked, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That I'm a little jealous, I'm not gonna lie.
SPEAKER_00:Uh did you get your run in today yet or no?
SPEAKER_01:I haven't. I'm such an afternoon runner. I am not a morning.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Yeah, I can't run in the afternoons. I'm like dreaming. I wake up so early that like by the time like three, two, two or three o'clock. Like all my friends make fun of me because like by the time two or three o'clock comes, I'm like, I don't want to do anything. Like my day's.
SPEAKER_01:No. And see, I try to set my alarm for six in the morning, especially on summer days. And I'm like, no, I could sleep for another hour, I'll run later. That's I that's what I'm gonna do. So wow.
SPEAKER_00:Afternoon runners. You're a rare breed, strong, strong breed of humans. So let's let's get into it. Let's talk about you, learn more about you. Uh you know, you and I have known each other for a little bit now, and like I'm super excited that we were finally able to do this. Like, you've had an amazing 2025 season that I think deserves a lot of recognition. Um thank you. So let's let's chat chat more about your story. What's what's your background? First of all, where are you from?
SPEAKER_01:Technically, I'm from Chicago. Okay. Um, that's where I was born. My parents moved us out here when I was five. Um, and so I guess technically Chicago, but I almost consider myself a native. Um yeah, so they moved us out here. They owned a hot dog stand and um took over from my grandpa. And so yeah, just been living out here since and um never really, never really gotten to the running scene. My dad was a runner growing up, nothing super competitive. He liked more road, um, short distances, 5k. He always tried to get us to run when we were younger, and we just well, my my brothers and I wanted nothing to do with it. And um I tried, I tried a little bit in high school, like cross-country junior and senior year, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't, it was more to be in shape for soccer, I guess you could say. Um, and then just dropped off the bandwagon into college years. And it really wasn't until I would say, I mean, I started running a little bit before COVID, maybe a couple years before COVID hit, but my true like pedal to the metal, I need to, I need to take control back and um kind of find my niche was during COVID time, right after COVID time, when everything started opening back up and got pretty determined and just, you know, hit the gym more, hit the incline more, um, and just started seeing improvements in my running. And and it's been kind of a whirlwind since.
SPEAKER_00:So I love it. It's it's interesting to me because and we'll we'll dissect your story and talk about it and get into a couple different aspects. But one of the things I really appreciated, because I see a lot of myself in you. Like I didn't start, like I played soccer competitively for a very long time and then stopped uh in my undergrad years, and then kind of like uh like totally just didn't do anything until graduate school, which was around COVID for me. And that's when I started like running and getting very serious into the sport. And I don't know, I just find it very interesting that like you're you're a good pillar to show that like you don't have to come from this like this background of cross-country and track at a super high level D1 or whatever, and like and you could still do well at these races if you don't uh you know come from that background in the sport. Like the sport is still like uh I guess you could say wide enough that people from all kind of backgrounds can still compete, which is kind of cool.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, a hundred percent. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Like um, a lot of the people I watch for sure do have that running background, or um, they just come from that running family. And um, I think it just is kind of a testament to um, like you said, it does it's just that determination, I guess, that you find in yourself. And then once you get it, I think you said it earlier, you just get addicted. Yeah. And you start seeing the results, and then you start feeling bad if you don't go out for a run or um just kind of getting upset if you don't PR in a race, and it just it does, it drives a whole different side of you, I think. So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Let's let's talk about soccer. What uh how long did you play soccer for and what position did you play?
SPEAKER_01:Oh boy. Um, so I was not competitive in soccer. Um, I tried really hard. I don't think I have the anti-coordination. Um, I started I probably started in elementary school in like a park and rec's league, and um just really had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends. I did play in high school. Um, I was on the JV team. The only reason I was on varsity as a senior is because seniors had to be on varsity. Um, so I practiced with them, but I didn't really play very much. If I played, I was more of a midfielder. So kind of that running component of it. Um, but like I said, it wasn't anything super competitive. It was more a social aspect for me. So super cool.
SPEAKER_00:And what were your what were your college years like? Did you play any sports or what you just party? Like what you what would you do?
SPEAKER_01:I'm like, I got a thing back because I didn't play sports and I didn't party. Um so I went to UCCS actually. Um I was I lived on campus and so I ended up being a resident assistant. Um that's probably where most of my time went. Yeah. I um I found a good group of people just kind of being in that then in that group of resident assistants. It was a lot smaller back then, um, obviously, than it is now. So we had a good group of like 25 college people who just found found a similar um liking to it, and that was fun for me. Um and then I think I might have had like little odds and ends jobs, you know, that I would do. I worked at Cave of the Winds as a tour guide, like little things like that to pass the time. Um and but other than that, just kind of focusing on studies. So interesting.
SPEAKER_00:So what was it with running then? Like what did you run a 5k and you're like, oh my god, I I I love this. Did you run like was there a specific race or a specific thing that like you're like like got you like hooked on it?
SPEAKER_01:So my like I said, my dad growing up, he was always a runner. So even though I didn't really train a lot, I would go and run some of the races with him. Like some of the races I remember were more 5K's. Um, Colorado College used to have one that I would always run. Um, and so that that probably was always something I did. Um, my mom and I started going to the gym right outside of college, I think. Um and that kind of got me going in terms of just like the strength training and elliptical. And my mom and I would just walk for like an hour on the treadmill and we go for walks outside. And it's actually really funny growing up. My parents always try to get us to go for walks with them, but they're like super fast walkers. And so our little legs could never keep up. And so when I started going to the gym and working out more, I was like, oh, I can actually finally keep up with my mom on these on these walks. And so that was kind of motivating for me. But um I don't know, I think it was just like a lot of little things all coming together and clicking, um, starting to see improvements. I do the incline a lot. So I started to see improvements on that. And I think just putting more effort into um getting my body in shape made running feel a little bit easier and a little bit easier. Um eventually I was like, okay, I'm gonna try a 10K. So I tried a 10K a few years back and I could do that. Um, and then I know my mom and I had talked about going, we wanted to go to Disney World. So I tried a half marathon in Disney World. And it was just kind of taking each race to the next level and seeing if I could do it. And then eventually things got easier and then I just started branching out a little bit more. Um, I always I was definitely road racer at the beginning. Just I think trails made me nervous for the animal portion of them. Didn't want to get attacked by a mountain lion or anything. Um, but I don't even remember what my first trail race was. It might have been the ascent that that completely changed the game for me of like no more, like I will road race, but if I could, hands down, I'd trail race any day. So so yeah, just a lot of little things that kind of all came together.
SPEAKER_00:And then sequentially from there, what when did you make the switch and you're like, okay, like I'm good at this and I want to continue to improve?
SPEAKER_01:Um uh so what year was that? It was I would say it was 2020, what are we in? 2023 maybe. So Golden Trail series was at the ascent two years in a row, from if I remember correctly. That's right. And I it was the second year that they were there, and I want to say it was 2023 that I so I had gone from a four-hour mirror um ascent time, and I had knocked, you know, 20 minutes off the next year, when like post-COVID when things started clicking, and then I knocked another 20 minutes off. And I think the year that that um golden trail was here, I went like a 307. And I was actually pretty like I was a top 20 finish among some of these really elite athletes. And so I thought, you know, if I am doing this just coaching myself, really, with very naive about it. I wonder what it would be like if I had a coach who understood and could help me a little bit more. And I talked with my husband, I talked with my mom and dad, and um talked with my principal a lot at school to see if it was something I could possibly manage. And luckily, so many supportive people were able to make it work that I was then at that moment, I was like, I'm just gonna take a leap of faith and see what we can do here.
SPEAKER_00:So that's so cool. Like it's I just love people taking the risk and like going after something that is kind of uncharted territory. It's like, yeah, you're good at this, but you don't know how good you can be, you know. And so it's like, how do we, you know, where do I fall into this? Um by the way, that 2023 race, I don't know if you know this, but like that was mathematically, if you were to sit down and crunch the numbers, I think till this day that was the most competitive race ever assembled on American soil.
SPEAKER_01:That's really like speaking. There were yeah, like neat I think it's Nikki Brinkman. Do you remember that name?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, she was so Sophia Lockley was there, Judah Wider, Maud Matisse, like everybody. Allie Mack, um Yeah, Ali Ostrander.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Everybody. So to be in the mix of a race like that is I mean, it's gotta it's gotta be amazing for you from a confidence perspective. And we'll talk about confidence in a little bit. Um thing I want to pivot to is maybe talk about what it's like to take that leap and have the conver like how that must have been a very difficult decision to take a step back from what you were doing with work. I think you, if I remember correctly, uh when I was doing research for this and just talking to you before, I think it was you you kind of pivoted to go more part-time in in your job, right? To pursue running. Talk about that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so kind of like November after that race happened is when I started tossing out the idea of getting a coach and doing a little bit of research. And at that stage of my training, I was, I mean, I was at the gym a lot, but I was probably only running about 20 miles a week. And I was still, man, there were long days of getting up at like 5:30 in the morning, coming to school, teaching full time, trying to get some runs in, and then not getting home until like 7:30 at night to just in time to eat and go to bed. Um, so I kind of knew that if I was gonna make that jump and really wanted to like take it seriously, um, I was gonna need to jump back at school, which is hard because this is, I mean, I've been teaching now for 18 years. So that was at that time 16 years of everything I knew. Um, and where I was super confident jumping into something that I didn't know if it would work out or not. I didn't really know the ins and outs of it. Um, so that's where like just I talked a lot with my husband. He is super supportive in letting me do this, take a step back. Um, definitely took a hit in the savings aspect, but um he's right there with me whenever he can be to cheer me on. And it's been kind of fun to travel to different places and he'll get to go with me. So that's been a lot of fun. Um, I talked to my mom and dad a lot about it, just bouncing ideas off. Like I said, I, you know, I had some different ideas of how I could make it work here at Aragon, the school I work at, um, and had like my path all planned out and talked to my principal and she opened up a position at school that was just perfect for what I'm doing here. So she was super supportive. And I think when you are making such a big decision like that, that's what it takes, is just that community around you to not only support you, but kind of give you that confidence that you can do it. And if it doesn't work out, then you go back to what you were doing. But if it does work out, what a story it'll be. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Uh it's it, I I love, I love those stories and people chasing those goals. How do you like we'll talk about your why in a little bit, but like confidence and belief in yourself? Like, what is that like for you? Like, do you do you struggle with believing? Like, I I I know I I can, I mean, I can speak for myself as an athlete. Like, I go through periods of like sometimes I really have a lot of confidence, and sometimes I I hate myself and I hate the sport and I don't want to do it at all. Um how do you deal with that?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I'm so working on it. I think I would be surprised if anyone in our position wouldn't be like coming into races just nervous wrecks, you know. Um, like before the ascent, my mom is so funny. She's probably the one that has been on the most trips with me and gets to see me like a long time before a race. Like, let's do this, mom, let's go to Chicago and run a marathon, up to like a couple days before, where I'm pretty stoic. Like I am in my head talking to myself, thinking about like, well, if you don't do it, it's gonna be okay if you don't hit your goal, but what if you do hit your goal? Like, and I'm very stoic, I'm very quiet. Um, to then she sees me like after the race, when if it goes really well versus if it doesn't go well. Um, so I haven't figured out necessarily how to fully get that confidence in me. I think every time I toe the line like and have a good race, that helps. Um, every time I have a decent training day, that is super helpful as well. Um I have a lot of people in my corner that that do support me and um kind of help me see that everyone has their own story. So just because I'm not um like at the world trail championships doesn't mean that my story isn't important and that I'm still doing the best at my level that I can. So just all of it comes together, but I'm still working. I'm still working on it.
SPEAKER_00:I feel like I so I've been tussling with this a lot lately about my why and about just like this sport in general and like where just a lot of the meta stuff. And I almost feel like, yeah, you have to believe in yourself to the point of delusion. Like I really like truly like I don't know. I I've been fortunate enough to meet some of the best athletes in the sport. And and I like I said, I think it really what it comes down to is obviously fitness is hugely important, probably the biggest indicator, but at the same time, too, I think what's between the ears is very important as well. And the believing in yourself to the point of delusion is just like I don't know, it's it's interesting, but I think it's a little it's a legit real thing, which is kind of cool.
SPEAKER_01:I a hundred percent agree.
SPEAKER_00:Like I was watching a lot of those um championships over in France that were for worlds or yeah, yeah, it's uh Spain, Conference Spain.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, same, same. Yeah, and just in even um Golden Trails series and watching those girls, and they all come across the line and pretty much just collapse. Like the effort and like you can just see how like they have put everything on the line for those races, and that's so inspiring. Um, it makes me then go into my head and of like, how far could I push myself to that point where I just feel like I've left it all out there? And I think that is a huge confidence thing, especially when you have longer races, um, just kind of having that confidence to go all out from the beginning and trust that you're gonna be able to keep it up towards the end and leave it all out there.
SPEAKER_00:So true. How how has your why changed from the time you started the sport to now? Like, what is your why now?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So when I started the sport, um, it was more just social, like have fun, go to just stay in shape, um, kind of yeah, go to the races because races are just there's they're such a good environment. I love anything from like Boston Marathon to a local 5K to a trail run. They're all just the the racing scene has just always been super fun for me. Um, I think over the years, though I've always been a competitive person, um, seeing the successes that I have, my why is now um achieving that next goal. So one of my ultimate whys and the biggest thing is um, well, one of my ultimate goals, I would say, is getting a sub three on the Pikes Peak Ascent. So that is a super driving thing. I love that the ascent is kind of towards the end of the racing season, just because I feel like all my other races kind of come together as training for that big moment. Um another why that I I put in there when I decided to go part-time and do what I'm doing is I kind of like the travel scene too. Um, being able to go to I I'm going to Moab in a couple weeks, and I've been to Sierra Zenal and um done a race in Poland. So just all over um the US is just that's another why of being able to experience the world in a different way, I guess, has been a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00:So cool. I I mean, what a great I I don't know. It's cool to see people's whys and how they evolve over time as well. And yeah, yours are interesting. For you with pikes. I mean, you've it's so interesting to me because like uh pikes is a funny mountain, right? It's such a weird, weird thing. You've raced it now, what, five times, something like that?
SPEAKER_01:Actually, I think this was my tenth. Oh, really? I I had no idea. They I don't know if you know, but they put on a ultra sign up.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I just didn't go, I didn't go off of like the pikes results. I did ultra sign up.
SPEAKER_01:So they they I would have had no idea, but they put it on the bib this year of like nine time finisher or whatever. And so I saw that and I was like, holy cow, that was nine. I think this was this last year was my tenth. So that's a pretty good yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I will say 304, like you're right. That I mean, you are literally a matter of like it's not really fitness in the sense where it's like you're just a matter of like a having a good day with pressure at the at the summit, and you're right, you're 259.
SPEAKER_01:Like it's right there. Yeah, yeah. I think you know where I need to, and it this is actually nice in a sense, is where I need to lose some time is from the base to bar. I those W's get me every time. Once I get past the W's and kind of or not the W's, but bar and I'm on my way to A frame, that's when like I just and I don't know, maybe because I'm close. I'm like, I really like the climb above the trees. That's my favorite part. So my thing is uh getting out of my head for the W's and up to bar.
SPEAKER_00:So well, the race starts out so fast too. I like I think that's such a make it or break it section from really from uh the start to up the W's to the top, and it's such an opportunity to blow yourself up. It's like uh it's a very honest aspect of the race. Whereas I feel like you can hide in other sections, like there's a small little downhill section, the no name is not that bad. Like there's quite a few sections where I feel like you can exploit time, but yeah, if you're not running a certain pace, like on uh I don't even know. I I should think about I honestly the the women's times escaped me, but like the if you're not running, I don't know, what 650, 630 gap somewhere in that range at that section, like yeah, it's kind of uh I don't know, it's a tricky race. How how did the race unfold for you this year? Was it like, were you neck and neck with other ladies racing? Were you in no man's land? Like how how how did it unfold for you?
SPEAKER_01:No, so I'm trying to think. I so I started off in the first wave. Um, it's so funny. I was actually running with Marissa, I might script her last name, Baronas Barinasquez. Do you know? I don't know if you know her. She's I think there's a different person that we both know. Um, so anyway, a girl that moved here like a few years back, and we always end up coming in races together. And we both started out kind of with the pack, but towards the back, and we're like, man, those girls are going out fast. And so we were probably sitting back like 50, but it's not long before you start kind of picking them off, the ones who haven't done it before. Um, so I I would have to go back and look at my numbers. The nice thing about the results is it tells you where you are at certain points in female. Um, so kind of what I do is I settle in behind someone who I know is running a good clip, but I feel like I'm gonna be able to stay with them and not just completely die. So one I was running behind a girl for a long time and she just was setting a really good clip all the way to no name. And at that point, I kind of was like, Okay, I think you're feeling good. Just go around and I was able to scoot around her um and a few other girls. I was always running with somebody, but eventually I got into where I was running with a lot of guys. Um I I'm not yeah, Andy Cornish, I know she was running, and I ended up passing her, and I was like, Oh, there's another girl. Okay, let's see if we can pass her. And I looked and I saw it was her, and I was like, Oh, that's that's like I I know she said that she was just not feeling super great that day, but it's kind of a boost when you pass someone like her, and you're just like, oh my God, she's such a badass. And and so I just felt so like I think that helped me a little bit, be a little like, okay, you got this, keep going. Um, and then I there were a couple girls, it's hard to look back on that race because you're gonna fall on your face, but I looked back a couple of times and there was like this one girl who's right on my heels. So that was inspiring for me to not let up and run as much as I could. That was in my brain of like run as much as you can, walk if you have to for 10 seconds, then run again. Um, and then once I got above A-frame, I think I passed maybe three or four other females who they were just, they were just flatlining and you could see, and I was feeling pretty good. So at that point, then I just I just put my head down and hiked and ran as fast as I could to the top. So um, I do know I was able to catch a couple girls at that top point though. So that was nice too.
SPEAKER_00:What did you do in the lead up to the race to get uh more acclimatized for altitude? Like did you do three, two, ones or anything like that? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I did three. My coach had me do three, two, ones. He puts me on Rampart Range Um Reservoir, not Rampart Rampart Reservoir, that 14 mile loop. Yeah, um awesome loop. Yeah, love that loop. We I was on Rampart Range, rode a lot, just getting a lot of hills in. I had also done um the Telluride Mountain Run, um, which that thing was insane, so epic. Um, probably one of my favorite runs, but that that was very high training because not only are you high elevation, but um the gain in elevation is probably like 5,000 feet and six miles or something like that. So that was great training for the peak as well. And then I had done um shoot, rendezvous.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the rendezvous. Yep.
SPEAKER_01:And a jacks and hole. Yeah. So, like I said, a lot of the races leading up to the ascent I kind of used as training races as well.
SPEAKER_00:So that's amazing. Yeah, well, and it's like such an epic race. Well, we'll talk about your season and debrief it uh as we go. One of the things I found so inspiring, like I bumped into you the day of the marathon and we were uh cheering on athletes, and like yeah, I I thought like one of the things that really stuck with me about you was you had kind of duked it out with Chrissy, who won on like who went on to win the race at TMR. You finished just behind her in second place. But you were at the race at Pike's Peak, uh, just after the the marathons for the listeners, the marathon's always the day after the ascent. But you were volunteering, cheering people on, and you were like making such a big deal to cheer Chrissy on as she came down to her podium finish at the marathon. So that really stuck with me. I love that level of sportsmanship in in the sport.
SPEAKER_01:And I think like even just like I said, I know I mentioned like Golden Trail a lot and all these other, but man, I just feel like that's across the board in this sport. Like, yeah, we all go out there and we're racing to beat the other person, but I also think we're racing more against ourselves than anyone else. And to have someone like Christy who lives local, and um, I that was the first time I met her was at TMR, and she was such a cool girl. And so we chatted before, we chatted after. We've actually gone on a like a couple training runs together. Um, and so I just think this sport brings so many people together, and it's it's just super addictive, not only in when you're seeing personal growth, but meeting all these cool people and wanting them to do well just as much as you want it for yourself.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, it's it's very special, like that level of yeah. I don't know, I it's this level of like doing battle, and then like after the fact, you like you're you become friends because it's like we just we we're like drama bonded because we just did this thing together.
SPEAKER_02:100%, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's weird, right? Like, I don't know, it's it's a very it's a weird, it's a funny sport in that way. Like yeah, I I find myself being yeah, fans of everyone. It's it's interesting.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, everyone's so humble and so kind. And yeah, I mean, even I've gotten to know Christina Masarenis over the over the past few months. Um, she goes to my gym as well. So it's just nice, I think, to have someone to talk to about, oh man, I have this little nagging pain. How are you feeling? Or how did you feel after this race? Or what are you doing before this? Like just little things. And I know that some of the other people that were up at that Telluride race, they have a crew that runs together down here. So they actually all traveled up to Telluride together um and got an Airbnb. So it's just a it's just a cool community.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, for sure. What is it like, especially with Christina and just the local community as well? Like, because I don't know, it it's I find I meet some people, like I have a lot of good friends, but like a lot of my good friends like to run by themselves, and I find sometimes find myself in in that spot as well. But then I'll go through periods of time where I like to train with other people. Um do you ever like bounce ideas off of like Christina? Is that like because she's got such a resource and such a good like breadth of knowledge like about everything with the sport?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I've you know, I've had a couple, I've been pretty fortunate, I should knock on some wood that I haven't had any like um training, like stop stopping injuries or anything like that. But I've always had little like nagging pain. Something always seems to be nagging me. And so a lot of times, you know, I'll ask her questions about that, like, hey, have you ever had this happen? Or what are some thoughts on this? And, you know, she's the one who recommended me to the PT guy that she uses here, and he has been super great and helpful. Um the yesterday, my training run that I had, um, I had to do uh eight by three minutes at like a six minute pace. And I'm just telling her, I was like, I just wasn't feeling that. So I used gravity as much as I could. So I got up as high as I could on my warmup and then used gravity to help me run downhill fast. And, you know, just her perspective on it was like, you know, um hitting that pace is hitting that pace, and it's the mental of being able to achieve that training run. And so I don't necessarily pick her brain in terms of at yet um like different training runs she does because I kind of just watch her on Strava as much. Is kind of like that mental component of it. Um, and she's just yeah, she's super cool about just chatting through things.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, she's amazing, and one of the smartest, like interesting minds. Uh anybody that can run that fast down Pike's Peak and not destroy themselves. I know. We're gonna talk about a tough brain. That is an interesting unit. Um big, big yeah, kudos to her. Um thing I want to pivot to to is uh training. So I know you work you've been working with a coach for a while now. Let's let's talk about like your training. Like what what do you like? First off, I know you're building towards a race in Moab, but like what have you guys been working on? Like, what do you put emphasis on? Is it more heart rate-based training? Is it more you had mentioned pace, is it more pace stuff? Like, what are you guys specifically like working on?
SPEAKER_01:I think so. Right now it's more pace stuff. Prior to, so he's really good about taking whatever race I'm focusing on or is coming up and addressing my training to meet that. So when we were getting ready for the ascent, it was a lot of uphill, a lot of vertical, um, three, two, ones, that kind of thing. Now that we're going to Moab, um, Moab does Moab does have some vertical in it, but it's also going to have a lot of downhill fast. So we've been pulling in a lot more speed training. Um, the first couple of sessions are a little rough because my legs were used to just that uphill grind, um, nothing super fast. So the first time he put me on a speed thing, it was like six and a half minutes. I said, excuse me, my legs aren't there right now. Um, but now we we're working up to like that six minute pace of just trying to sustain for three minutes or whatever. So when he's having me do these trainings right now, that's a lot. What we're focusing on recently is speed training. Um and then long runs, he has me running more trail long runs. So I was on Rampart Range the other day, just getting some, not only some vertical, but some pounding on my legs coming down to strengthen the quads. Um, he'll put he's having me go out onto the pineries next week um in Black Forest for the up down because that's gonna simulate more of what Moab's gonna be like. So he's pretty good at really researching the races, knowing what terrain I'm gonna be racing on, and then it's adapting my training to that. So I like that.
SPEAKER_00:And he's local to the springs, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so he he knows a lot of um like he had introduced me to Rampart Reservoir. I know that's probably like you've lived here for how many years and you didn't know about that? Um I'm going there on Saturday. It's amazing. I love that. Yeah, it's so I can't wait to get back up there again. And um, yeah, so it's been that's what's really nice about having someone local is he knows the different places to get hills, the different places to get um rolling hills. So it's been helpful.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, that's that's amazing. You know, uh another great place. Um I I don't feel bad blowing the spot up on the podcast because I know no one's gonna go do it, but just the the roads out east, like Black Forest and stuff like that, the dirt roads. Yeah, I know a lot of uh like Hillary Boar, a lot of like the Olympic guys go out there and train, and it's just it's like it's awesome because it's higher elevation, it's like 7,000 feet up near like Greenland and Black Forest. And yeah, that's where I go every weekend. It's amazing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Really? Okay, so like I live in Falcon. Okay. Um, and I've I've love those, I mean, driving those hills. And so sometimes I'm on them. The other day I was on one and I was like, man, this would be a good running road, but there's like no shoulder.
SPEAKER_00:So do you ever feel I just go where the I'll send I'll send after this podcast, I'll send you a link to where I go. Because I I did one in Greenland and I thought I was gonna die. But then I did another one where I found a better, a better route that someone sent me. And I'd like it's just yeah, like it's it's cool. And you have it's like herds of elk everywhere too, which is kind of cool. I'm like, why are there elk out here? Yeah, yeah. It's it's it's it's outside of that. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah. Um want to pivot really quick outside of training. One of the things that's what really impressed me about you is you're 39 years old and you just keep getting like you had a banner season this year, you keep continuing to improve. I think that throws out the door for anybody that like age is just a number in a lot of ways. That like especially because you compete at Short Trail. You know, most of the races you're doing are 50k and under. Right. But do you attribute that to maybe starting a little bit later? Do you attribute that to your training now? Like, what do you think about that?
SPEAKER_01:I do, I I do think part of it with training starting later has made it so my body hasn't hit that exhaustion phase, like maybe some other people who might be closer to my age. Um, but then at the same time, I see people who are older than me crushing it too. And that's super inspiring. That makes me hopeful that I'll be able to keep improving and doing better. Um, I think the the chick who finished second or third in the ascent was maybe 42, 43. Um, so that's just super inspiring. Whenever I see someone older like that doing what they're doing, it makes me realize, okay, maybe you could do this for like another year and then maybe another year. So um yeah, I I do I do think that starting later and not put putting so much strain on my body earlier um has made it so I'm not completely dying in my almost 40s. So I love it.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. How do you how do you view it though? Like, do you I don't know because this is like a mental thing. Like I see so many people hit 40 or 45 and they're like, I'm done, I'm gonna start slowing down, or I'm gonna start falling apart, or I'm ouch, my back hurts. Like, I think that's like so mental. I think that like if you just ignore the fact that you're in your 40s, like I don't think it really matters. And it means at least that, yeah, maybe your VO2 will lose like a f a point or two. Right. Doesn't really matter for most of the races that we do, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I think you hit it on the head too. I'm like, it'd be interesting to do this, what I did in my 30s, to see the difference in how my body would respond. Like, I'm not gonna lie, I wake up in the morning wobbling. You know, it takes me probably longer than some other people to um shake off the soreness or the tiredness. But um I I agree with you. Like, yeah, I'm 40, but at the same time, I'm like, I don't necessarily always remind myself of that. I just try and go out and do the best that I can um with what I have been given. And, you know, talking to my coach a lot, he is very much, he really believes that my fastest years are still ahead of me. Um, with the fact that I just, you know, I am still pretty new to this sport um and really going all in. I've probably, I mean, just for two years with him. And in these two years, I've learned so much about, you know, not only the training aspect of it with running, but nutrition and still playing with that. So I know I don't have that 100% down. Um, the recovery aspect of rolling every night and stretching every night. And um, so there are still things that I need to play with to make it so that I'm performing at my best. Um, so I'm hopeful that that I still have some faster times ahead of me for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, definitely. I mean, honestly, like if you just take this year as a sample size and start to like look at it, you're like, oh yeah, like you have a long runway. And I just think it's so cool because um, yeah, you just have more and more opportunities to continue to improve. And I don't know, like, you know, yeah, stop three hours at Piked might be a thing of the, not just might be a thing of past next year, but you might be targeting, I don't know, 245, 250. Like there's plenty of uh, you know, runway for that, which I think is kind of cool.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Let's talk racing a little bit. I mean, we'll we'll talk about some of your uh the races you did this season, but I I'd be very curious, especially given the fact that you've run series and all already, like what's a bucket list race for you? Like what's something you haven't done yet that you want to do?
SPEAKER_01:Um this one's more, this one's closer to home, but uh broken arrow, I really want to go be part of that series. Um, either the 18k or the 23k, I'd be happy if I got into either one of those. So um just when you watch that whole weekend unfold, it's like that racing community, like you said, it just looks really cool. Um, there was one in the Golden Trail series that was in Spain. Um can't remember what it was called. Zegama Zegama.
SPEAKER_02:Zegama Zegama. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Great race. So I mean, I don't, I I would love to run that race, but just running a race over in Spain or you know, any any trail race over in that area um in Europe would be a bucketless race. I don't know, um I don't know about like UTMB getting into something like that, but I would love to run in that area, shamanny, and get some experience in, but those mountains look crazy. So um local would probably be that broken arrow series, and then I mean anything over in Europe I'd be I'd be game for.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, that's so cool. I uh you would crush the 18. I mean, like you easily get on the podium of the 18k. And I think like you should seriously think about doing the 23k too. Like that's 23, another great race, but it's it's just more competitive, which it makes it more fun. Um I hope the 18k gets more competitive. I've looked at that. That course, in my opinion, and diehards might like hate me for this, but I think the 18k course, in my opinion, is better than the 23k course just because it's just vertical-wise and just yeah, shortness. It's it's just a different race. Um, yeah, I might do that next year. It's on the list. We'll see.
SPEAKER_01:I know it definitely, yeah, it was supposed to be, but I sat on my or sat on my hands on in terms of like registering, and so I was on the wait list for the 18k. And by the time I found out, I already had so many other races lined up, and yeah, it just wasn't gonna fall in. So that that's gonna be one that I is like in for sure.
SPEAKER_00:So this season you got second to TMR, you got second at BTMR. Um I talked to you obviously just before BTMR. Oh, yeah, yeah. How, how like, I don't know, like it was such a good season for you. Like looking back and reflecting, like, what are your thoughts? Like, do you are you hard on yourself? Like, oh, I've got to win these races. Are you just happy to be on these podiums? Like, how do you kind of approach it mentally?
SPEAKER_01:Um, definitely happy to be on the podiums. It's just definitely a competence booster for sure. I think more times than anything, um I go into a race with a couple of goals. And my first goal tends to always lean towards uh based on time. And so my like the first race of the season, I started out in San Francisco on a road race, um, a 15K. And I just my main goal was to just get a sub um 60 minute 10 or 15k. And I'm pretty sure I did that. That's a long time ago. Now I can't even remember. Um, my second goal is then to always like be competitive with the girls, be in that top three, um, but if not top three, top five. And so um, you know, some went, some went time-wise, they were good. Some podium was good, but time wasn't good. And some I missed the mark on both. So the season was definitely super fun, but there were some races that I kind of I felt a little defeated on. Um, like Garner the Gods 10 mile. I think I was I was a minute slower this year. BTMR was actually a little bit slower this year. I just couldn't get my legs under me on the down. So I tend to beat myself more up more when I don't hit the time mark versus the podium mark. So I feel like you can control time more than who shows up for the race.
SPEAKER_00:So no, 100%. Are you like looking at like basically splits before the race and kind of figuring out like, all right, coach, like I want to run an hour 10 on this or an hour five, and like you're that's basically, or is it personal? Like you don't talk about it with coach, like how how does that dynamic work?
SPEAKER_01:No, we do talk about it. Um, we talk a lot about um pre-race strategies. He's really helped me with understanding how to get my body going in the morning, what to eat, um, when to do my warm-up, get some strides in, which has been super, super helpful. Um, and we always talk even before that about, you know, if this is our goal, um, these are the this is the pace you'll have to hit for these parts. He'll even give me pointers because he dives into the races quite deeply in terms of the first couple miles. This is the elevation you're gonna expect. So, you know, grind here at this mile is when you can expect some reprieve. Um, so kind of let your legs loose here. And at this mile, you're gonna go down. So he he breaks the course down quite a bit for me and definitely gives me some pace, like just some idea of where I should be at different points in the race. Um sometimes, like I said, sometimes I hit them, sometimes I don't. With BTMR and Ascent, really, those ones, like my splits of the different checkpoints, are definitely in my brain. Um, I try not to dwell on them too much if I don't hit them. Um, but then definitely get really excited if I'm like, oh my God, I'm totally ahead of pace here. And so it's just, yeah, we definitely talk about we all we even talk about like what kind of gear I should bring. So um, and sometimes I don't know, TMR, I ended up wearing a camelback. A lot of the other girls didn't. They just had handheld, so it's kind of hard to know on that, you know, too. But he always gives me pointers of I would just bring a water bottle for this one versus I would wear a camelback for this one. And so helps definitely with that pre-race prep.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. No, it's amazing. I love the well-roundedness. Yeah. I one question I have, um, what did you think of Ronde like Rendezvous Hill Client? That is such a sick race, and I think it's kind of kind of under the radar. Like not enough people talk about that race.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, if you can do it, do it. That race is so cool. I ended up, I had another race out there, maybe, oh man, I'm not, I don't know, a few years back. That was um the SERP 30K. So they have another series out there that is in that same area, and they're just longer races. So I saw this, my coach had recommended it actually, and I was like, heck yeah, any chance I can get to go to Jackson Hole, I am totally there. Um, it was a little intimidating because Anna Gibson was there, Jane Moss was there. Um, I can't remember the third place girl. So I mean that that was definitely intimidating to be toe in the line with them, but that course is phenomenal. Just, I mean, it's a grind from the beginning to the end. The end you kind of finish climbing up some rocks. Um, and then there's just like at the very, very top, there's just a grind of a road, like a service road to get to the finish line. But um, kind of like Pikes has the donuts, they have a waffle, like the famous waffles up there. So um, I I we were about to get on the gondola and my husband told me about these waffles, and so we had to pivot. And because we have one of these waffles, it was so good. So if you do it, do get the waffle. Um, and then the other cool thing is you get to hang out at the top kind of like pikes, and then you get to ride the gondola back down. So yeah, it's it's it's a very cool race.
SPEAKER_00:And you're like destroyed, but in a different way, like you recover so much faster because it's just an uphill race. It's it's yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It was we actually we so we drove there and we're driving back the next day, and my coach had recommended a rest day on Sunday, but I my legs felt fine, and so I ended up like be bopping up another ski area, like area just because I wanted to um get some more trails in in Jackson Hole, and it was my legs were fine versus TMR. There is there's no way because the downhill on my legs were done, they were out.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, TMR is a beast of a race, especially like I didn't realize like you gained literally 2,000 feet in the first like mile and a half like on that ski road. Like it's stupid. One of my training partners and best friends did it. Uh I don't know, did you meet Brad Barrett out there? He's from Colorado Springs, also he runs for Arctaryx, but he um yeah, I don't know about it. He was out there, he got he got like fourth or fifth, he was like right in the middle. Um and yeah, he like he was like, dude, like I don't know how many times we could have done reps on Long's Ranch Road to get me ready for this, but like that ascent is stupid hard.
SPEAKER_01:It's insane, and you think that you're at the top because there's nowhere else to go, and then you turn a corner and there's just another. I mean, there I slipped going up. That's how steep it was. Like you were just pretty much crawling up one section, and then there's like a really cool metal staircase that you have to go up towards the very end of it, and they make you go around a peak. Um, and that's where I figured out all of their disclaimers about making sure that you realize that this is not your traditional trail race. Because we were literally like, there was no trail there. We were just holding on for dear life, hiking around the tip of this peak before we went down the stairs. It was, it was crazy. And then you think, oh, okay, I've made it to the top. Now it's just downhill. But that downhill was steep, narrow, and rocky. So there was not, I mean, my legs were just had no idea what to do, but I do it again.
SPEAKER_00:I I've run the course in reverse before. There's like a smaller teleride race a few years ago that is in reverse and it's so much faster in reverse. I mean, it's just because it's more on the road, but man, yeah, it's it's a good, it's a good route. Like nonetheless, it's TMR is, I think, another slept on, like, really I would like to see more elites go out there and have it be more competitive because there's it's it's starting to get more notoriety for like the longer, like the 24 and the 40. But the 13 mile course, in my opinion, I think that's the best one. They need to put a VK. I need to write to these guys. Uh if they don't do it, I'm just gonna do it myself. They need to have a VK where it because it's so easy. You just take the you could take the gondola down. Uh yeah, it's such an easy place for a VK because we don't have a lot in Colorado. Like, people might get upset for that, but like there's not a lot of places in Colorado for uh outside of like where you can have an actual race, like in the sense where it's either not in wilderness, or it has to be in a national forest or a ski place, uh, and you have to have a lift to be able to get people down, or else they get a walk down, which is kind of you know, tell your ride uh checks all the boxes. That's a great place for yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I agree. I think, you know, I my best friend actually ran that race um with me because she was training for the ascent as well. And um, so it was really funny because I had texted her when she was still on the mountain on the course and was asking her where she was, and she said, Why does it seem like this race is going to be longer than 13 miles? I said, Because it was a heavy hat. I was like, I didn't tell you that beforehand, but it was ended up being like 14.5 miles or something like that.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So that was that was a little bit of a shocker, but I ended up running, you know, some guy was, of course, he um was not feeling good. He had tossed his cookies multiple times. It was Connor. Yeah, yeah. And so I ended up passing him um a little bit, and then he ended up catching back up with me, and he was so cool, he just ran the rest of the race back with me on the uh once you got on the dirt road. And um, that was super helpful.
SPEAKER_02:I mean sweet guy.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, he could have flown by. He was feeling, I mean, he finally was feeling good, and he just hung with me, and that was kind of fun. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Super cool, great experience. Yeah, for sure. Let's pivot off races. I want to get to one more thing um with um recovery. Like, what do you what does your recovery look like? Like, what are you specifically doing?
SPEAKER_01:Um, so it's definitely some in another another area of growth, I would say. Um, I once I when I started getting my coach, you know, I was always one who thought smaller is better, right? So I need to eat as few calories as possible to maintain to be able to run as fast as I want, but um, I need to be as light as possible. Um, and so that working with a coach has definitely changed that mindset. You know, it's still a battle in my mind, but um, I've definitely learned to eat more after I run um protein, but then also learned recently that you got to mix the protein and then some carbs in there, or else the protein isn't gonna do their job. And so I've been really, really trying hard to get more um good carbs in, like sweet potatoes, that kind of thing. Um, just even bringing crackers to the gym after I run and coupling that with my quest bar. Um, so just kind of I think the eating component is a huge thing. Um, and then I have gotten a lot better at stretching, rolling um my foam roller every night. I've been using that. I do a massage. If it wasn't for the money, I do it like every weekend. But like I get do get a massage once a once a month and try to just kind of keep up with those little things, do some PT if I have nagging injuries. Um, and then typically we have at least one day a week where I'm not running. Um, and then the other thing he's really helped me with is on my non-workout days, like my easy run days, just trying to keep the pace chill. So not burning myself out every day. Um like I said, it's still a work in progress, but I would say over the last month I've started to connect the dots with finding the right kind of fuel, hydration, stretching, rolling, like that recovery component for sure.
SPEAKER_00:So stretching is is magic. I just started stretching this year. Dude came changing.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and that's like I was like, is it the stretching part or is it the food part? Is it all of it together? Um, but yeah, I feel like it was before TMR, but there were some days, some weeks where it's like everyone felt like I was pulling teeth. Um, and my body was just dying. And so I like I said, talked to a couple people and got some pointers, and then it's just been it's just been feeling a lot better recently.
SPEAKER_00:So do you do the ice bath at all? Dude, I I swear my coach hates me doing it. He's like, oh dude, that's science, it's so old. I love the ice bath. It's like my favorite thing in the world.
SPEAKER_01:I I haven't done the ice bath, but I have done, I used to do cryo spa. Have you done those before?
SPEAKER_00:I've done cryo before. Cryo's legit. It's it's super yeah, it's it's kind of difficult for like 30 seconds. I didn't really, or like however long they like stick you in there. Yeah, it's a little chilly.
SPEAKER_01:I yeah, I there's a place on Austin Bluffs and kind of biam, feet, fleet, fleet, feet. I always get those two mixed up. Um but they you put you're in a chamber and they like your head is still above, which is good for someone who's claustrophobic, and then they just like they just blast it. And there's a couple times I've gotten skin burn because it's so cold, but I do really feel like that was helpful for recovery. Um, I kind of stopped doing it just because my skin was getting burnt, and every time I went, it just re-aggravated that area. But when I think or talk to someone like you or think about it, I'm like, I should go back and try that again and see, even if I did it once a week, what what I what if that would be helpful.
SPEAKER_00:So I swear by the ice bath. Like I bought it, I bought a cheap chiller like on Amazon. Yeah, I've got it in my garage and I go in there. Like, I think Michelino had me, I think I've got to wait like five hours in between like when I run and then when I go ice bath, but still I make it like an everyday thing. I gotta say, because I have like for some reason like very tight hips. Like I'm always stretching and always like trying to fix and work on my hips. And yeah, yo, the yeah, I mean, I think that's like the reason I can like run at a high level on a daily basis is because of that ice bath. Like it helps a ton. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Interesting. I might have to invest in one of those. The whole idea, I'm sitting here and I'm like, oh, I'm already cold thinking about it.
SPEAKER_00:But so it's I mean, I set mine, I don't set mine super cold. Like I said it's like 49 degrees or 50 degrees.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:It's not like terrible. And I just get in there and that works for me.
SPEAKER_01:And how long do you hang out in there?
SPEAKER_00:I do six minutes.
SPEAKER_01:So my god.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I just put out, I bring my earphones and just sit on my sit on my phone and try and think you know what? Like for me, the hardest thing was my feet. Like my feet would get super I just go in there with socks, and socks seem to do the trick for me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Interesting.
SPEAKER_00:It doesn't bother my feet. So yeah, that's crazy. Sitting there and uh yeah, eventually, like around like two and a half minutes, three minutes, it it it completely goes away. Like I don't feel anything.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Wow, that's you know, that's something to think about. But definitely I know a lot of people also talk about just doing the strength training to help. You know, I don't know that that's necessarily a recovery thing, but um, I do love just being at the gym and doing different strength things. So I feel like that's good.
SPEAKER_00:Well, that's what I was gonna ask you about was TRX. Um, do you think that plays a role? Because like that's like very good for I don't know, kind of full body. So that's gotta like play some sort of role.
SPEAKER_01:I a hundred percent do. And I guess thinking back to some of the questions that you've asked, I I started really going at TRX harder sooner than I did running. And I do think that that has helped with my running. Um, it just you're right, it is a full body workout. Um, but the things that you can do with like squats and lunges and um the the core definitely, it's like my the classes that I run are 45 minutes, and really if you're thinking about it, you can engage your core for that full 45 minutes um with that type of workout. So I do think that that has played a huge role. Um, it's been an interesting kind of story, not story, but just go with that, because initially when I what when I started TRX, I actually was just a participant in the class. Um, and the lady who was teaching it, she was phenomenal. Um, but it was only her. And so she needed someone to sub for her, but you had to be certified. So then I decided to get certified, um, was able to get a couple of my own classes, and then she ended up leaving. And so now now I took over her classes, and some of the people that took with her 10 years ago are still there and still coming. So um definitely a different way to work out. It's fun to work out with people and yeah, just different than hitting the weights.
SPEAKER_00:So it's so cool. Can you explain to the audience like what it is, more or less?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Um, so it's I think it's actually based, I think it's a military thing, but it's two straps that kind of tether up on a bar, or you can tether them to a door that come down. Um, and it's really like you do different moves based on your weight. It's body weight resistant. Um, you can do like pull-ups or push-ups, or you can hold on to these handles and put one foot on the floor and do squats. Um, you can put your feet into these foot cradles and do a like a hanging plank almost kind of situation. The nice thing, the cool thing is like the straps shift on you. And so they force you to really engage that core as you're doing like rollouts or um even some of the upper body stuff. So it really, so that way you're not shifting to one side or moving around. Um, it's actually really nice for people who have different injuries too, um, that can't, you know, someone who might have a hip injury where they can use the hands to go down on a squat versus um someone who maybe is feeling great, they can go down in a squat and then jump up. You know, so there's just so many different levels on these, on these straps and so many different moves that you can do. But definitely huge for that whole body workout.
SPEAKER_00:Interesting. Yeah, I think it's super cool. I I almost got like I had like priced them out a bunch of times, but like never went through the whole process of like installing them just because like the whole full body stuff you can get on is pretty legit. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And the actual like the TRX straps are like expensive, the name brand ones, but you can get some knockoffs that are just as good. Um, and then I happen to have an unfinished basement, so it can put it on a bar down there, but a lot of times they'll come with an attachment on the door. So you can just close your door um and then use them that way.
SPEAKER_00:So you know what my favorite thing has been lately? The ski erg. I love the ski erg. That thing is so dope. I yeah, it's like my favorite piece of if I do like any cross training besides biking, like it's usually like hours on the ski erg. I love that thing.
SPEAKER_01:That's funny, huh? I don't think I've tried one of those.
SPEAKER_00:So cool.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's I have to.
SPEAKER_00:10 out of 10 recommends. Um, yeah, I think we're almost uh we're at about an hour now. Um do you think anything we didn't get? I wanted to make sure we told your whole story.
SPEAKER_01:I don't think so. No. What's what's next?
SPEAKER_00:So we got Moab that's next, and then what's goals for next year?
SPEAKER_01:Um so like I said, Pice Peak, going gonna go back at that again. It's gonna be the 70th anniversary of that race. So just PR, hopefully sub three hour. Um, I am going back to Boston. That race in 2024, no, 2025, um, did not go as I wanted. Um, it just had an unfortunate situation at the beginning where my foot found a pothole and I was down and couldn't really get back to pace after that. So we're gonna go back there and keep our head up this time. Um I have an application into Sydney. I did qualify by nine minutes. I don't know if that'll hold up, but if that does, then I would be doing the Sydney Marathon in August, which would be like a dream vacation going there and then getting to race on top of it would be awesome. I will nine 99% sure do um broken arrow again. Okay. And then yeah, other than that, I mean I'd love to. If I don't have another race, I'd go back to BTMR. Um, but a lot of it'll just be kind of based around what other races pop up and what my coach recommends for training races.
SPEAKER_00:So very cool. Very cool. Yeah. So we got a lot of a lot of marathon blocks. I like it. We got an Early early season marathon block for Boston. That'll be super fun. I don't know. I feel like that's I think if you're gonna do a marathon block, that's the time to do it, is in the spring anyway, because it's like all of our trails are usually icy or snowy anyway. So you might as well just build a huge base and you know, run it and run it on the roads.
SPEAKER_01:So that's what we did last year for Boston. Um I think I had a couple, like so I had a half marathon in Vegas, and then I had that 15k um in January. So had some trail races built or road races to build up to that Boston race. We'll probably do something similar again this year. So and then I don't know, we'll see if Australia happens or not. It'd be pretty cool though.
SPEAKER_00:That'd be so dope. I yeah, the Aussies are super cool people. Uh I don't know how they live there with the giant spiders. That's the only thing I'm not not a giant fan of.
SPEAKER_01:Might make me run a little fast enough to be one of those. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:Well, Amanda, thank you so much for coming on the pod. This is a great conversation. Wishing you the best of luck, and uh, we'll have to do this again sometime. We'll do a do a round two uh after next season.
SPEAKER_01:Sounds great. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, thanks for coming on, appreciate it. What'd you guys think? Oh man, what a fun episode. I really want to thank Amanda for coming on the pod. Uh super fun conversation, and uh, you know, just a very inspiring individual. Kind of shows that you can continue to improve deep into your 30s and even into your early 40s. And um, age is just a number and it doesn't really matter. So all good stuff there. Want to thank Amanda for uh coming on. Guys, the best way you can support her is to give her a follow on Instagram. Uh it's gonna be linked in the show notes, but you can also find her at run underscore KOS or underscore run. That's run underscore cos underscore run. Um, and you can find her uh in the show notes and uh yeah, give her a follow, let her know what you guys thought about the episode, and I'm sure she'd love to hear from all of you. So much appreciated there. Guys, the best way you could support the podcast um is to give us a five-star rating and review on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, um, or drop us a note that um ratings and notes uh you know help more than you know and more than you think. So as far as like just the discoverability of the show. So definitely do that. Uh that would be much appreciated. And the last but not least, you can also support us by supporting our brand partner, Ultimate Direction. If you hop on over to ultimate direction.com and use code Steep StuffPod at checkout, again, that's Steep Stuff Pod, one word, that's gonna get you 25% off your cart. Um, and most importantly, just check out some of the new stuff they dropped. The new race vest 6 liter and ultra vest 12 liter vest are super badass. They're awesome, beautiful colorways. This new like onyx black color along with this green, as well as this beautiful white, um with this uh like beautiful blue edging on it is really cool. Um, so really beautiful colored vests, like aesthetic colorways, and just like super functional. Um, very dynamic and stretchy. Um, definitely unlike some of the other vests that have dropped in previous iterations. So, definitely uh something to check out, as well as the pole quiver. Pole quiver is awesome, big fan of the pole quiver. Um, if you guys are pole people, you're gonna need something to hold the poles. So definitely check out their quiver. It goes well on any of their vests. Um, last but not least, if you're a belt guy or gal, uh check out the comfort belt. Comfort belt is dope, and uh their race belt is also or utility belt is also awesome as well. So check all that out. Use code Steep Stuff Pod. That's one word, Steep Stuff Pod for 25% off. Guys, thanks so much. I've got some great conversations coming your way. Hopefully, these uh these episodes are good for your long runs on the weekends and uh help you get you through your runs. So really appreciate you guys supporting and uh have a great rest of your week.
