2020 Olympic Marathon Trials 9th place Finisher, Nell Rojas, gives you insight on how to compete at the highest level.
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Full Transcript
Rich Ryan: [00:00:00] Yes. Yes. Yes. Some really excited to bring you this episode with no Rojas now is a professional runner and endurance coach. She made a brief stop and OCR there, but ultimately put her focus toward the us Olympic trials for a good reason, because she went there and finished an amazing night. Please. so during the episode, we dive into that quite a bit and how she made that transition into an elite marathoner.
[00:00:26] We also talk about how to develop a mindset and how to beat that imposter syndrome. she’s very focused on her strength strings. We talk about that and how she uses plyometrics during a strength training routine and give you some really cool tips and takeaways, and also how to evaluate your performance and to determine what you can do to take your results to that next level.
[00:00:45] So those awesome. Really enjoyed the conversation. We did the rapport round for the first 10 minutes or so, and then really kind of get into the good quality content. I think you will enjoy it very much. So let’s get into
[00:00:57] Nell Rojas: [00:00:57] it.
[00:00:58] Rich Ryan: [00:00:58] Here we go. Now.
[00:01:02] Okay. We are on no Rojas. Hello.
[00:01:04] Nell Rojas: [00:01:04] Hi.
[00:01:06] Rich Ryan: [00:01:06] What’s going on? How are you today?
[00:01:07] Nell Rojas: [00:01:07] I’m doing pretty good. It’s hot out there, but so far so good.
[00:01:13] Rich Ryan: [00:01:13] For sure. Yeah. I’m totally excited to dive in and really talk about some of your training. Kind of like where you are currently talking about your story a little bit, and then just dive in and do the goods.
[00:01:22] But we do a couple of questions to get things rolling and call it the rapport round. So are you ready for a system? Like random questions?
[00:01:28] Nell Rojas: [00:01:28] I’m ready.
[00:01:29] Rich Ryan: [00:01:29] Alright, cool. Let’s do it. So what is your favorite movie?
[00:01:33] Nell Rojas: [00:01:33] Oh, I’m ready for them. Never ready for that
[00:01:36] Rich Ryan: [00:01:36] question. You should have that. And it’s like, ready?
[00:01:39] Let’s release two, then you’re like, Oh, okay. Yeah.
[00:01:42] Nell Rojas: [00:01:42] Well, it’s funny. I don’t like rewatch. I don’t like to rewatch movies and like, I’m not like the biggest like, movie by for like, I don’t really watch, like TB or series or Netflix now or anything. So like when people ask him that question, like my first instinct is like to talk about, to say like movies that were my favorite movies, like 25 years ago.
[00:02:05] So that’s when I was like, so I would say like love and basketball and Greece. well, yeah, that’s what I would say.
[00:02:15] Rich Ryan: [00:02:15] Okay, well, I’m in basketball’s class, but I need to go back and watch that one again. Cause yeah, I think I was in like middle school when that came out and that was like a thing that everyone would do.
[00:02:23] It would just be like some, some like a group of girls would go hang out with a group of guys and they’d watch love and basketball and then just sit in different corners and then. And then go home. I’ll accept it. That’s good. See, so you do have answers. You have that ready? So maybe nothing new, but no, one’s going to deny the love and
[00:02:38] Nell Rojas: [00:02:38] basketball.
[00:02:39] Oh, it’s a great movie. It’s a Mike Lee movie. I mean, it has Omar Epps in it. It’s got a good. It’s got a good, you know, romance. It’s got some basketball in it, so yeah,
[00:02:51] Rich Ryan: [00:02:51] that’s good. That’s a good answer. Well, we’ll accept it. cool. So this kind of is pertaining back to when you were younger as well. So what is something that you thought was cool when you were younger, but now looking back, it it’s probably not that cool.
[00:03:07]Nell Rojas: [00:03:07] Wow. Oh, like everything, but probably, I mean, I used to through high school, probably my main outfit was like wife beaters and like fast ball shorts down to my knees. So that’s probably not that cool.
[00:03:27] Rich Ryan: [00:03:27] Is that not cool? I don’t know. yeah. Fashion choices in high school, fashion shirts. Did you play basketball?
[00:03:35] Was that like. Yeah. Yeah. So all of his life and, and the fashion part. Yeah.
[00:03:46] Nell Rojas: [00:03:46] Everywhere. Yeah.
[00:03:48] Rich Ryan: [00:03:48] Cool. But like the fashion back then might not be as cool.
[00:03:50] Nell Rojas: [00:03:50] Okay. I don’t think people would appreciate a wife beater with. With basketball shorts is quite as much as I walked around with them now.
[00:04:00] Rich Ryan: [00:04:00] Yeah. Yeah. Probably, probably better not to test it out.
[00:04:03]what is an investment that you’ve made, that has made a big impact in your life? This could be like money. It could be time. It could be energy. Like what’s an investment that you can think of. They used to been like turned out really positive.
[00:04:17]Nell Rojas: [00:04:17] I’d say getting a dog when they got a dog. Most of my dogs turning one pretty soon here.
[00:04:23] And, I mean, that’s like a financial and time investment. that took me about. Six or seven months to be happy about and sure about, just cause it was so hard and especially because, cause it was like the trials were coming up and I had this puppy and so like, I like I’m finally like in the time where I’m like, Oh, this is like, I’m like really happy.
[00:04:52] I have a dog. And like, I’m like confident that like, it was the right decision and like I’ve reaped a lot of like, reward from it. And like, you know, now. You know, instead of being like, Oh my God, what have I done? You know, my friends are having like kids and stuff, but like I’m still working on like dogs.
[00:05:09] So, so yeah, I’d say, you know, my question most recently it’s a dog.
[00:05:17] Rich Ryan: [00:05:17] Let’s go on. What, what led you to get the puppy? Was it like, cause it sounded like after you had it, it was like, Oh man, like the time that I need to focus on. My goals and the time it’s going to take to have this puppy, some things might not get the full attention.
[00:05:33] Was that kind of it? Or what made it like. Weird upfront.
[00:05:39] Nell Rojas: [00:05:39] Oh yeah. Just like the lack of sleep. I was getting and, you know, looking back, I’m like, Oh, I probably could have like put her on a crate in a different room, but like, I that’s just like, I don’t think I would ever do that. It’s just like, not my style at all.
[00:05:56] So, I’m just like, yeah. Lack of sleep, leading up to the trials. And like, I probably missed a couple of workouts because of her, you know, like, Oh, I have to go home and get her old. Like she pooped on the carpet. So now I miss my chance or, you know, just like, and this like energy, like when you’re like training for like, Big races or marathons or whatever, you only have so much energy.
[00:06:19] And, so yeah, a lot of things,
[00:06:23] Rich Ryan: [00:06:23] cause you’re tired a lot and like a dog also needs to exercise and like you’re already wiped out and then you got to deal with this dog. Who’s who’s looking at you like, Hey, what. Can, can you help down here?
[00:06:36] Nell Rojas: [00:06:36] I’m ready to play. And I’m like,
[00:06:39] Rich Ryan: [00:06:39] yeah. It’s like, I’m going to bad.
[00:06:41] Yeah. We, we, we actually just got a puppy, at the beginning of, or mid March, like as soon as like the pandemic really started. So that was a good time. Perfect.
[00:06:53] Nell Rojas: [00:06:53] Yeah, everyone was doing that and I was like, Oh, that would have been perfect. That would have
[00:06:58] Rich Ryan: [00:06:58] been that it wasn’t planned that way, but it worked out so well just to have some bottles, whatever attention and a little bit of joy in our life.
[00:07:05]so yeah, we had opposite ends. There’s gotta be a happy medium in there somewhere though. so last one. What are some bad recommendations you hear for like young and aspiring runners or triathletes?
[00:07:18]Nell Rojas: [00:07:18] Oh man. I mean, it depends how young, like. I mean, I coached a lot of high school kids. I coach a lot of middle school kids and running and I mean, it’s just like, like a lot of kids have, especially in Boulder, like they’re highly motivated kids and they want to be good, but you know, coaches tell them to go out and run.
[00:07:42] Like some of them are running 10 Ks. Some of them are running half marathons and really. You know, they’re being advised to run six, seven days a week. And thing that I could advise more than, or a kid, you know, who’s a not full grown B, just like can’t handle the mileage or running volume, like depending on the age, like, I’d say run three days a week, cross train, do other things, you know, play sports.
[00:08:15]so I’d say. Bad advice is just run a lot for kids.
[00:08:22] Rich Ryan: [00:08:22] That’s, that’s a good thing to bring up. And I think, you know, people since podcasts have been mostly obstacle course racers and there is that whole kids element to that as well on it. And like, there’s a competitive part. There’s like a kids world championship, I think anyway, there was last year.
[00:08:36] A lot of times, a lot of runners or a lot of the participants in these OCR athlete at events, they might not have been runners coming up. So they don’t, they might not know that I’m a kid. That way there’s like what they’re doing is running more. So they probably would just put that on the kid as well. So that’s really a good advice.
[00:08:53] And I was, I’m talking to Mark mattress who was on the show previously. He also just the middle schoolers and he’s like, we barely do any miles at all. Just kinda like do drills and just like, kind of do, and then just have a little bit of fun. And then.
[00:09:06] Nell Rojas: [00:09:06] And they’re
[00:09:06] Rich Ryan: [00:09:06] on their way.
[00:09:07] Nell Rojas: [00:09:07] Absolutely. Kids should always like want more.
[00:09:12] Basically they should like leave practice being like, Oh, but it wasn’t hard enough, you know? Or like they should leave practice, you know, being able to do a lot more than they would do, you know, because mentally and physically, the most of the times you kids that you see that are rock stars when they’re in middle school are not.
[00:09:33] Successful when they’re in college or even post-college like, they barely make it there. So it’s like, they just have to have fun and you know, not destroy their bodies.
[00:09:46] Rich Ryan: [00:09:46] You’re right. Yeah. And you, and you brought up like the mental part too, like physically? Yeah. Like they will wear down just as anybody would, but I can’t imagine like trying to be that gung ho about training for.
[00:09:58] A race competition for your entire life. That just doesn’t seem like fun at all.
[00:10:03] Nell Rojas: [00:10:03] Yeah, I think, do you get a little burned out on it when you’re a kid or you, you feel pressure like once you’re like really good as a young athlete or you have good performances, like you’re going to be under pressure if it’s not from everyone else, you think it’s from everyone else, but it’s really from yourself, you know?
[00:10:23] Wherever it’s coming from, you’re going to have that pressure on you to perform well. And that is not easy.
[00:10:31] Rich Ryan: [00:10:31] Yeah. Yeah. And in a sport that is just, there’s no one else around it is just you, so you can really kinda eat at yourself. And with that, with that kind of pressure, I could imagine as a young kid would not be that fun.
[00:10:44] Right. So good advice. Good advice. so those are the random questions. So now let’s just kind of get into a little bit, tele the listeners a little bit more about who you are as an athlete and as a coach.
[00:10:56] Nell Rojas: [00:10:56] Okay. so yeah, I grew up as a multi-sport athlete. I played basketball. I was really passionate about basketball, wanting to go into the w MBA.
[00:11:06] So that was like my main focus, up until I’d say mid high school when I started really sucking. and then I played soccer. And then obviously I ran. So I ran in college. I walked onto the university of Northern Arizona, which is, one of the best running schools in the nation. and I got really lucky and, you know, walked on there and then, you know, cause I was good in high school, but it wasn’t the best.
[00:11:33] I wasn’t like if you compare my times to like the California kids, like. They were mediocre. so I ended up getting, you know, more money each year, by the end of my college career, I was on full ride scholarship. so it ended up being a really perfect fit for me where I had opportunity, even though I was a walk on and I, it just was like a good level for me.
[00:11:58]since NAU competed in track and field and cross country. graduated in 2010, became a professional triathlete for maybe three or four years or five. I don’t know. that was a little hazy in my life because you’re just like so tired all the time. and then after being a triathlete, I, you know, I quit and.
[00:12:24] Decided that I had to focus on my career because I wasn’t, you know, we’re making enough money to support myself. And so I want it to be, independent and so. I just started kind of training for local races, fun races for myself, and continuing to build my coaching business, which, my dad’s a coach.
[00:12:46] So I, I started coaching, right out of high school. My dad would make me coach for him or assistant coach for him. And then it kinda just went from there. And then that leads me to now where in 2018, I jumped into a couple bigger races. I jumped into a marathon, finished really well, finished seventh at nationals, USA marathon, national championships.
[00:13:16] And from there, it kind of like was history. I kind of like just kept on winning some big races and, Now I’m, I’m lucky that I can call running, like one of my main focuses and kind of career paths.
[00:13:31] Rich Ryan: [00:13:31] Very cool. And topped off with, Olympic trials, there was a grandma’s win. Right? So just your, your times what, from our two 28 in the full, right.
[00:13:40] And then you finish ninth just at the Olympic trials this past February, correct?
[00:13:45] Nell Rojas: [00:13:45] Yep.
[00:13:46] Rich Ryan: [00:13:46] Which might be the last race that ever happens. That might be the last thing. So let’s work on that.
[00:13:53] Nell Rojas: [00:13:53] Yeah, it was really like, we, like, we were all like, Oh my God, thank God that happened. Like, it was the last thing that happened before quarantine
[00:14:04] Rich Ryan: [00:14:04] because it’s the same weekend as the Jacksonville race was, or no, the weekend after the Jacksonville race for, for obstacle course racing.
[00:14:11] And because I was still in, I still happened to be in Florida. I just like hung out there. And I knew this, like, there was this, this coronavirus thing that was happening or you’re hearing about it. But looking back, I was like, Oh my God, I can’t believe they had the trials like whole, like, it seems crazy that we had our race, you know, though I was not at home at that point.
[00:14:28] That that was a that’s
[00:14:29] Nell Rojas: [00:14:29] absurd.
[00:14:31] Rich Ryan: [00:14:31] And so, yeah, like Andy, the Olympic trials is fun because it’s like a way for fans and everything that kind of supports some of our homegrown athletes. And I actually had this, I got looped into like this pool. It was more or less like a fantasy marathon. Trials done. So it was kind of like cross country style.
[00:14:54] You had a, you got a certain amount of money. Each athlete caused a certain amount of dollars. And then at the end you’re you finished your, your team score was like cross country style, top five men’s women’s total thing, whatever it was great. And yeah. And so like I bid on you took, took you on my team. I was like, yeah.
[00:15:11] Okay. She’s done some obstacle course races. So she’s, she’s my girl here. And you did great finishing that does a huge finish for me. Okay. And, I could only imagine like, How that felt building up to that. And then, and then, now I curious because of, of how everything has gone down and after such a big buildup and a couple of months removed from the, that big race, like, how was it, Ben, are you, have you been.
[00:15:35] Able to kind of continue to work, work hard and think about racing or like, what was that feeling like a couple of weeks, couple of weeks after the trials of like what you had accomplished and, and like, what does that mean for the future for you? Like how are you feeling about that at all?
[00:15:50] Nell Rojas: [00:15:50] Yeah. so I mean, even just running, like, so during the trials there was like, 12 or 13 girls that basically ran, you know, 20 miles together.
[00:16:06] And then at 20 is where the moves were made, which was pretty typical. but you know, I, kind of faded at 20 and couldn’t hold on to, you know, the girls and made some new. Some fueling mistakes, which I learned a lot from. So initially when I, when I finished the race, I was like, you know, ecstatic, like top 10 in the U S like, That’s that’s a pretty big accomplishment.
[00:16:35] And, you know, I beat some really big names that are like, you know, people that I look up to and people like famous runners, you know? And, so initially I was really happy. And then, you know, as I, like, as the days kind of went on, I w and I kind of like analyze my race more. I was less and less happy because I had just like, realized.
[00:17:01] My mistakes and like, realize like that. I think I could have been up there had I had done a couple things differently. whereas I entered the race just, just almost like happy to be there, you know? And so, and it’s weird being in a, you know, a top 10 position as a, you know, as a runner in the U S because you’re like, Okay.
[00:17:28] What does that mean? If I was a, any others type of athlete, like I would probably not have work, you know,
[00:17:39] there’d probably be people calling me. Right. So when you think, you know, as a runner, you’re like, okay, like I know I could get, I know I could get some sponsorships. are they like knocking down my door? No, they’re not. I could probably get 30 grand a year from different companies because that’s kind of what the girls are getting that are around my level.
[00:18:02]and so you’re, I’m kind of in this far enough, but you know, all the companies have. They’re not taking any more athletes on because of COVID. Right. So I’m kind of in this position where I’m like, okay, you know, I do believe that I have a long future in this. I believe I can get faster. you just kind of have to be patient and wait for next year for more races and, you know, I’m okay with that because.
[00:18:30] I love I coach as well. And I love what I do and I’m still running. I’m still training, so I’m fine. Cool.
[00:18:38] Rich Ryan: [00:18:38] Yeah, it seems like, all right. Yeah. It’s like, all right. It’s the next day. So just, I guess I’ll run in train. And what was that mindset like going into the race? Like how, like in the prep, I know when I’m getting ready for a big race, I always have visualizations.
[00:18:53] Some that might be a little bit too realistic, or like not giving myself enough. Of a credit to like really put myself in the position where I need to be, but there’s other times where I’m like, I’m going to win this race. I’m visual in myself being the best possible version of this. How often would, w w what would happen more often than not during your training runs?
[00:19:11] Was it like, I hope I’m in that top 20 or something like that, or do just like, I just want to mix it up, or we were like, I might go to the Olympics.
[00:19:19] Nell Rojas: [00:19:19] Yeah. yeah, I had a lot of people. Like pretty credible people, like really well, I’m known like coaches or runners or people who live in Boulder because everyone lives here.
[00:19:35] Who’s a runner. And, you know, tell me, like, I, I really believe that you can make the team. And like I thought they were just bullshitting me. I was like, I don’t know why people would ever say that, you know? but you know, so. I did not rule it out. I thought, yeah, anything can happen in a race. It could be a possibility.
[00:19:57]I honestly had no idea what was going to happen. and I, I was just hoping to be up there and I was hoping to at least be in the top pack and I knew I could be in the top pack. That’s like, what? I didn’t know. I was like, I know I can run with the top pack. I hope I’m in position. When the time comes basically.
[00:20:17]but you know, yeah. Kind of in, you know, visualize being in that top three and you know, it’s, it’s fun for probably you, because you also know your competitors probably, you know, like I know those exactly like what those girls look like, how those girls run. So it’s like easy to like visualize specific things.
[00:20:39]But yeah, I was kind of all over the place, you know, trying to be positive, but yeah.
[00:20:46] Rich Ryan: [00:20:46] Right, exactly. And like, like you said, like putting yourself in the mix and at least be in that front pack, at least you can visualize that. And that happened. Right. And that was how the race was going. So at least you were prepared for that moment.
[00:20:57] At least it wasn’t like, well, maybe I’ll just no matter, cause. W what would have happened? What would have need to have happened for you? Not to be in that top pack? Like it blows apart right away. Someone runs like five, 10 out the front or something like that. And everything just gets stretched. Where you going?
[00:21:09] No matter what or where, like, was that, was there any, or were you like, I’m just going with the facts no matter what happened.
[00:21:18] Nell Rojas: [00:21:18] Yeah. And that’s the fun thing about running. Like you learn up and you’re like, Like Sarah Hall. She likes to like, usually runs super fast out the gate. So I’m like sitting here, like I think she might go for it because her training runs have been insane. She’s very aggressive. So I was super surprised when we started jogging for like three miles.
[00:21:40] I was like, Oh my God, this is going to be the easiest marathon I’ve ever run. but. But yeah. So no one went, but no, if, if someone’s going to go off, I would’ve, I would’ve let them go.
[00:21:52] Rich Ryan: [00:21:52] Yeah. But luckily, and an erase of that magnitude, chances of that happening are so slim with someone just blowing it from the jump because the marathon so long and so unknown that you can’t, no matter how fit you are, you can’t think that you’re going to be able to outlast.
[00:22:07] So you’re better off just hanging on. And like I said, running a 10 K finishing as hard as you can.
[00:22:13] Nell Rojas: [00:22:13] I mean, girls are, all of them are conservative. So if you watch the girl’s leg race, like yeah, it’s a championship race. So like, usually that’s how it is. Right. You stick together and then it becomes like a race at the end men’s race.
[00:22:31] I don’t know what those guys were thinking, but there were like two or three guys that. You know, names, you were like, who’s that guy or off the front.
[00:22:41] Rich Ryan: [00:22:41] Right. And I do remember saying that exact thing two or three guys, and, I was watching my girlfriend, Amy, and she’s like, why would they do that? I was like, this is the one shot.
[00:22:49] Like maybe they hang on, like, this is William. Cause everyone else knows that they won’t, but maybe. They will. So like there’s always a couple of guys and will do that. Yeah. Yeah. That was the only then thinking about, pre-race like, I’m going to go out hark, take this race down from the throat. so you mentioned a couple of the mistakes.
[00:23:06] Would you care to share any of them? Like what kind of takeaways did you have? I mean, that was, has to be such a crazy experience and, you know, anytime in a marathon, something different is probably going to happen. you mentioned fueling and I feel like that is like kind of an ongoing process, but, what are the kinds of things happen or what did happen with the fueling.
[00:23:23] Nell Rojas: [00:23:23] Yeah. So I mean, this race, like there were, this was my third marathon, so I still have lessons to learn in the marathon and I had never raced at that caliber. So, you know, I came in this knowing how to race a marathon, but with a lot to learn, In unluckily or luckily? my two first, my first two marathons wind.
[00:23:51] Smoothly, like the most perfect. They could go. My last five Ks, I think of both were like my fastest 5k, the whole race. I never bonked, like, you know, people say they hit the wall at 20. I just like progressively got faster. I felt good. I had people to run with, good weather, you know, like those marathons just were like, Easy.
[00:24:15] Perfect. You know, so like it really, like didn’t give me a chance to learn anything or learn like some pretty hard lessons. and so, you know, the number one reason that people hit the wall at mile 20 is a glycogen depletion. and then there’s also like if you go up too fast, I don’t believe I did go out too fast.
[00:24:36]I felt like we were jogging for the first. 15 miles and it, you know, it was a hilly course, but our times were even slow for a hilly course on the miles. So, you know, I didn’t really focus during my training on my fueling. Like I was like, okay, I’m going to take this gel. You know, like I took the gels every 35 minutes.
[00:25:04] I was like, these are disgusting. I don’t like them. but like, whatever, I’m just going to get them down and I’m just going to keep running. I can just get them down, you know, instead of like making sure I liked ’em perfecting it and like, realizing like that’s half of the race, like you’re fueling is just as important as your training.
[00:25:24] Like you could train and be in the best shape ever and not feel properly in your races. Screwed. So my first gel, I took, I took it in and immediately like puked it back up and it was just like, disgusting. I hated it. It didn’t feel good. And I was like, I can’t take another one of those.
[00:25:47]
[00:25:47] And so I did it.
[00:25:53] So I didn’t, I did have scratch in my bottles and like that also tasted weird, you know, I’ve never had the experience of, of. My fuel tasting differently. I’ve heard people say that before, but in this race, like scratch tastes like coffee, medicine. I had, like, I had like a gel that had green tea caffeine in it, which was just like terrible.
[00:26:15]and so like, I really just like. Through my fuel plan out the window and like was trying to get down as much as I could, but I really didn’t get down enough as opposed to, like, if I look at my two marathons before that, like I was eating the entire, the entire race, I was just like taking things down. I was like drinking.
[00:26:36] I had a water bottle in my hand, basically the whole time. So this time, but like the second, it was like the second I got to mile 20. Like the whole body and you can feel it where you’re like, Oh, like there’s nothing, you know, like you just run out of sugar. and like at that point I had okay. Left and I was just like, okay, I need, I don’t know how I’m going to finish this race, but I know I need to keep moving forward.
[00:27:04] And then at the time, like there was people that like dropped out. by me and, or I found out, dropped out, cause I’d like, turn a corner. I’d be like, where’d she go? And I’m big. Okay. Just keep moving forward. And it would be like, okay, I’m in the top. you know, 10 fine. And then like, as I was running, I was like, you know what?
[00:27:24] Like, I’d be happy with like the top 15.
[00:27:30] Rich Ryan: [00:27:30] Yeah.
[00:27:34] Nell Rojas: [00:27:34] But like, Actually no one passed me ever or caught me. So, you know, I think it’s typical for runners too. To, you know, hit the wall or die. So I think a lot of people accept it. I think it’s not acceptable. I think there’s ways to run the marathon where you shouldn’t die. But, so that, that was my huge, that was my big mistake.
[00:28:01] Rich Ryan: [00:28:01] And that’s like unforeseen. Right. And like, if you went back and had to do it again, because, Would you just have experimented with different things during training or, I mean, you, in your previous experience, it seems like things went well. Right. So you’re like, alright, I got it. We’re fine. What could you have, would you have just like been able to kind of go back and tell yourself, like, just suck it up and eat this?
[00:28:19] Or would you have had like, like more stuff available or would you have made sure that the, what you have was like what you wanted?
[00:28:26] Nell Rojas: [00:28:26] Yeah. I would have perfected my fueling and practice. I would have like taken the time to, Have just like nailed it. And, for summary or yeah, I would have used different gels to be honest.
[00:28:40] Rich Ryan: [00:28:40] Yeah. And how do you, when you’re coaching someone, how do you kind of help with them? Practice their nutrition plan, because to me it’s so hard, right? Like, cause because it does boil down to personal preference in my opinion, a lot of times, because when you look at the nutrition facts of all the products are all basically the same, no matter what the marketing tells you, but like they just kind of taste different.
[00:29:01] Like the fact that it’s different and everyone has different preferences and they wear different clothes. So like how do you have, like how do you practice or how would you have like the athletes that you coach practice, like the actual fueling and training.
[00:29:15] Nell Rojas: [00:29:15] Yeah. So, I mean, usually people like already are like partial to something.
[00:29:23]so they’re like, usually when I get an athlete, they’re like, well, I really like, you know, like the triathletes are like, they’re either like, I really like eating food and I don’t like liquids or like, I really like this brand. and so I’m like stick with them. You know, what’s your past experience?
[00:29:39] Did it work? Did it not work? Okay. It didn’t work. Okay. Let’s try something else, you know, because you’re right. It’s all like people’s stomachs reacts differently to everything. And so no matter how good these companies are at marketing, it’s all marketing. You know, straight up marketing. So, you know, Martin or Morton is like, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but relatively new and like just marketing, you know, like I tried it I’m like, doesn’t work for me.
[00:30:15] I got a cramp. so, you know, I just recommend that you. Try it’s it’s it’s it has to be, it absolutely has to be tested and tried. And that’s how you have to figure out what’s good for you.
[00:30:31] Rich Ryan: [00:30:31] Yeah. Cause I, I agree a hundred percent of the marketing and it just, it’s hard for me to answer questions when people are reciting marketing to me, I’m just like, Oh my God, I can’t explain how this you’ve been tricked.
[00:30:44]but I liked them. I liked them more. It’s an, I think I just like that it doesn’t have a lingering taste and my stomach is strong. Like I noticed by myself. So like, it doesn’t really matter. But to me, it’s like how I feel like where like a goo it has no matter what flavor, there’s a zillion flavors, but no matter what flavor, there is always something residual that I know it’s a go like what?
[00:31:03] So what do you like, what, what, what do you like and why?
[00:31:07] Nell Rojas: [00:31:07] Oh my gosh. who, well. The problem is that, I’m sponsored by one company.
[00:31:14] Rich Ryan: [00:31:14] Wow. I was going to ask that too. I was like, are you sponsored by one?
[00:31:19] Nell Rojas: [00:31:19] You know? And, that’s always interesting because, you know, I do like this company and I do think they make really good products.
[00:31:27]but I think during a race and I use them a lot during training, but I think during a race, It’s not really for me. So, you know, my first two marathons I use, goo, like do you, work? I really, really liked it. when use it again. I also use scratch. I really like scratch, so I would use it again.
[00:31:47]But yeah, I think I just need more experimenting and I’m nailing it down. You know, another thing is like, I wanted to mention, I, I read a Stacy SIM’s book. Do you know who she is? The roar, which is a great book. Yeah, it’s so good. And I was like super passionate about it and, really, really liked it.
[00:32:14] Lot of information in there. So it’s like, how am I supposed to take all this information and actually apply it? Cause there’s just so much coming at you. And, and so one leading up to the trials, I was like trying all these things based off of my cycle. Right. Cause that’s how she does things based off of your cycle.
[00:32:34] Women are not small men. Their hormones vary a lot based on where they are in their cycle. And so one day I did everything she said, and I like almost puked during my workout because like I was like, okay, I need to take the preload. Cause it has more carbs in it and more salted. And like, I’m like, okay, okay, well that doesn’t work for me.
[00:32:57] You know what I mean? And so it’s like, I think her science is good, but I also think science only goes so far, you know, because we’re all so different.
[00:33:07] Rich Ryan: [00:33:07] Yeah. And that’s, what’s really hard, especially from nutrition on that today. I just go into the background on, on state of Tennessee, our book’s called roar and it is about that, right?
[00:33:15] Like women are not small men. And most of the studies, especially in exercise are done on men like college age men, and there’s nothing that’s really available to, to women. So yeah, like, and, and how the cycle affects our training and this and that. And like, I actually used that app for a little bit. The fitter FTI are, have you seen that?
[00:33:34] Do you use it? Yeah. Which is pretty cool. It was, it kind of will give you that, that recommendation of what, like you might feel like or what potentially you could feel like with that. but I found it right. Oh, 100%. Yeah. And so it makes a ton of sense. And just to, to see that information and be like, okay, yeah, this is interesting.
[00:33:52] This is how I feel like, okay, let me try some of these things too. Be as optimal as possible, but on a lot of the literature, when it comes to nutrition, like the numbers that they found that work in, like these studies, they’re just like a lot and the regular person the minute. Yeah. They might not be able to eat that much.
[00:34:09] That will feel terrible when they do it. Or like, it’s just not going to work across the board. So just being able to like work on those things is really, is really important.
[00:34:18] Nell Rojas: [00:34:18] yeah. Like if you watch the Africans race, I don’t think they eat a lot of now, but I don’t think some of the, you know, like records maybe, you know, before Kip Togi or before recently, like I think those were off of maybe a couple sips of water.
[00:34:38] Rich Ryan: [00:34:38] It’s just like the ultimate efficient beings are so just didn’t want to waste any time. Don’t need extra energy wasted energy. They’re like, I got it. Don’t worry. I’ll make it there. yeah. And just kind of going back a little bit, because like your, your story is interesting in the way that you went from tri and then into this high end running route, like typically set away.
[00:35:01] Right. Isn’t it, the most people kind of come out and like, Give their hand at running, and then they’re like, okay, now let’s go. I’m going to try stuff. so the kind of do the circuit if they stay and gets at that point where they’re at at the trials again. So they kind of know everybody, like you mentioned, like, you know who these, who these women were, what they looked like and.
[00:35:19] They kind of have taken their lumps or been able to learn a lot along the way. So like what kind of things did you have to do now coming into like this level of running from a mindset perspective, just to like help you understand that you belong in like this group of runners.
[00:35:38] Nell Rojas: [00:35:38] Yeah. I’m so I’m still, I’m still.
[00:35:45] Doing this kind of stuff. and I’m still, you know, in the process of doing that, but I think, you know, you, you really have to put yourself out there and you have to race and you have to get experience and you have to. Race, you know, like the more you race, the more I don’t race every weekend, I don’t race that much, but like the more you race in those high caliber races and the more like, you’re like, okay, I beat this girl.
[00:36:16] Or like, I was a second behind this girl, the more you believe in yourself, you know? So it’s just like, it’s just like doing it and, you know, like, There’s obviously, you know, I still, I still, you know, have imposter syndrome. Right. Which I think a lot of coaches have a lot. I don’t know. A lot of, a lot of people have with anything and with running, I’m still like, You know, it’s a little weird because I didn’t, I didn’t grow up being, you know, I was, I was good, but I didn’t grow up being like the best.
[00:36:53] So, I’m still working on it. and I think, you know, you just, you have to have a positive mindset. You have to write, you know, a couple of things that you did really well in that workout. You have to make a lot of notes on, you know, and yeah, look, last year I ran a two 20 at marathon and these were my workout times this year, my workout times are faster.
[00:37:14] So, you know what. Maybe I’m gonna run a two 26, maybe I’m gonna run a two 24 and guess what? They’ve run. That’s what they’ve run. So, you know, so it’s, I think you have to just put yourself out there and, you know, if they let you know, running is like cold, hard data. So it’s like, You kind of know
[00:37:34] Rich Ryan: [00:37:34] yeah. If, if the workouts are there, then there’s no like the race happened, those times exists and like that, that should be able to work.
[00:37:43] So it was journaling part of that process. Do you, will you look at the data and. Just be able to confirm it to yourself. or is it, does it be, is it more intuitive of how you felt in that workout? Cause I’ll do that sometimes. Like, Oh, I did this work before and I remember my splits then were this and this time it’s this and I feel better now.
[00:38:00]or is it, is it kind of both wrapped up or is there some like a set like system that you have to help kind of keep that confidence?
[00:38:09] Nell Rojas: [00:38:09] Yeah, no, there’s no set system. it’s a lot of like, you know, remembering like, okay, I remember I did this like 12 weeks ago and like, it went a lot better or, you know, like the, the, the workouts you do all the time, just like kind of remembering where you were at.
[00:38:25]Or it’s, you know, I journal a little bit, I journal, especially if I’m like ramping up for a big marathon or a big race, I’ll write more because I think it’s more like I get nervous and you’re, and then you like, You know, I think a natural thing to do when you get nervous is be really negative. So like I have to work on like, just keeping it positive.
[00:38:47]you know, I remember leading up to the trials. I was like, I’m so slow and I’m running less miles. Oh my God. And then I compared my training log from. Like the last marathon. And I was like, Holy crap. Like I am way faster and I’m consistently running more miles.
[00:39:11] Yeah. Training logs are just like, like again, like I like cold, hard facts, you know? It’s like, that’s where you’re going to get, you know, your confidence and that’s. You know, so, yeah.
[00:39:25] Rich Ryan: [00:39:25] Yeah. And I liked the, and that’s kind of a battle I fit with some OCR type of things. Is it was fun when you got an OCR for a little bit or when was like, Oh my God, it’s going to get this new OCR competitor.
[00:39:36] And I didn’t know what your marathon time was when I first met you. I saw you in obstacle course racing. And I was like, it’s, what’s, it’s like. She’s not gonna be doing OCR with us. Like she’s got to go after this, but having like repeatable workouts is something that is like hard for people in OCR to cause they want, cause there’s so much different stuff and they want to do different, fun, weird things.
[00:39:57] But like having that repeatable workout, like, okay, I do a workout where it’s 10 by thousand, you know how it goes and then you do it again in six weeks. And then there it is. So is that, is that pretty classic and the things that you’ll do, like do you have go-to workouts that you like to. Return to, or is it just kind of whatever you’re preparing for and then having it set along the way?
[00:40:18] Nell Rojas: [00:40:18] Yeah, there’s definitely, definitely go to workouts, that I, and they’re basically workouts that like, I’m like, I know this has worked in the past, I’ve had success with it. And so like in the next cycle, it happens again, you know, like what, what I do and my dad coaches me, but we can see, we kind of like talk about it.
[00:40:37] And what we kind of do is like, Well for the last three marathons, like it’s been basically the same training plan. And then we tweak a couple things, you know, if I’m like, Hey, I think that I need more of this, or like trying this, or like, you know, depending on like what my lead up races are or like it’s one, or, you know, I’m really gonna need more foot speed or, whatever it is.
[00:41:02] But basically my three cycles of marathons were the same because they were all. I had a great marathon, you know? So it’s like, why change it if it’s not broken?
[00:41:13] Rich Ryan: [00:41:13] Exactly. Yeah. And you just adjust the pacing based on your fitness and ideally keep making progress. And there’s a couple of camps when it comes to, you know, the different types of runner that you might be.
[00:41:25] If you want to break it down to like fast Twitch or slow Twitch, or what kind of workouts. you respond best to, do you really prescribe to that? Or do you feel like you need to have more of like a well rounded approach to running? Or do you know like, Oh, if I do three minute Hills, that’s big hell, but you’re in Boulder.
[00:41:43] So if we do three minute Hills, I do well with something. I was like, I don’t think I have that. but, but yeah, it was a, is it like a along those lines where, like, I know when, if I do this work, it makes me super fit. Or do you try to like make every, all the time. Like every type of fitness kind of fit into what you got going for a training plan.
[00:42:00] Nell Rojas: [00:42:00] Yeah. So like, I know that I’m a really strong threshold runner. Like I can hold my threshold for a long time. My long runs are like, you know, great. I’ve got great long runs. So like you tap into those, but I know I need to work on my speed. and so like, I’ve been really working on that. So usually what I do is.
[00:42:31] So start off a training cycle with speed work, because I’m like, I need to work on this. it’s not as, race specific for me, so it’s like, we will, we kind of transition in that race, into that race specific after my speed cycle. just so I can like, Basically build off that speed that I need. and then it transitions more into like thresholds race, specific, big, long run focused.
[00:42:59]and, and so that’s how I do it, but there’s, you know, there’s many ways to skin the cat, right. Sometimes I, you know, like if, if your middle distance runner, I usually do it opposite. I usually like, okay, let’s focus on like some longer stuff, some threshold stuff that like, you. Are not strong at, because we know you’re fast and then let’s like, go into your speed and get you ready for your specific race.
[00:43:23]and then I’ll throw in some, you know, longer stuff along the way. So you don’t lose that. But, so that’s what I normally do.
[00:43:30] Rich Ryan: [00:43:30] Yeah. That makes sense. And making sure that you’re not just doing cause. For you, if you’re like, I crushed threshold, I’ll do threshold this entire time and feel good about every workout that I do.
[00:43:40] Like that’s easy for people to kind of fall into. Right. It’s like, well, I know I like eight hundreds. I’ll just keep doing eight hundreds. so is there a part of your training that like you don’t really look forward to or, or, or, or do you kind of understand that process and appreciate it along the way?
[00:43:54] Or is there stuff that you’re just like, I just don’t want to do this.
[00:43:58] Nell Rojas: [00:43:58] Yeah, no, I’m. Like, luckily, like, I like it. Like I can honestly say, like, I like it all. Like I love, I love speed work, even though like I’m not maybe the fastest, but like I could do two hundreds. I could do four hundreds all day and like be super, like, excited and happy about doing them.
[00:44:21]and then thresholds, like. You know, I’m in long runs, like they’re kind of my jam. So like, I’m like, yeah, I got this, you know? So, you know, luckily, like I think why I’m like that is because everything’s like written very appropriately, appropriately for me and I, and I go into every workout, you know, knowing, you know, with like, It’s appropriate.
[00:44:46] It’s not like too hard, you know? So I think that really makes a difference as to why, why I like really like all my workouts.
[00:44:54] Rich Ryan: [00:44:54] Right. Because you know, you can hit them hitting a workout, makes a workout much more enjoyable.
[00:44:59] Nell Rojas: [00:44:59] Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Like the workouts were like, Whoa, I, you know, and I rarely will walk away from a workout being like, I didn’t hit my times or like I really sucked or like, I just, I rarely do.
[00:45:16] And I think it’s because I like, even if I feel terrible coming into a workout, I’m like, you know what, I’m going to start easier. And I almost always end where I’m supposed to end.
[00:45:29] Rich Ryan: [00:45:29] Hmm. And do you
[00:45:31] Nell Rojas: [00:45:31] starting 18. Okay.
[00:45:33] Rich Ryan: [00:45:33] And do you think that is, like being able to. Workout. Well, essentially, do you think that is a skill or something you’ve worked on or do you think that’s a byproduct of appropriate planning and coaching?
[00:45:47] Nell Rojas: [00:45:47] I think it’s both for sure. I think it is. I mean, I get athletes all the time, new athletes who are like, wait, there’s a thing called pacing. And you’re like, yup. They’re the thing, literally they’re like, I thought you were just supposed to go. Hard all the time. I’m like, no, not at all.
[00:46:08] Rich Ryan: [00:46:08] Very, very infrequently.
[00:46:10] You go hard. It’s the opposite.
[00:46:14] Nell Rojas: [00:46:14] And like, I have to program my athletes just start easy or to go easier. so I think it’s, I think it’s a skill, you know, and I think it’s also a byproduct of a coach. Slowing you down.
[00:46:33]Rich Ryan: [00:46:33] yeah. And then just being able to being able to work at that, cause yeah, pacing isn’t is not intuitive.
[00:46:38] Even with all the technology we have available to ourselves that you still won’t do a good job of knowing where your threshold is. Even if you’re looking at exactly at your exact pace and your heart rate and it still won’t go well for a long time, just kind of, kind of keep plugging at it. Another thing that I wanted to ask you about was, you know, it seems that most runners understand that there is.
[00:47:04] Like at least a perceived need to do strength training. And that seems to be something that you’ve you’ve bought into. had you had a dumb raggly on the show before? I know you worked with in terms of strength, training and everything. So, how would you, like w when did you start to adopt strength training into your programming?
[00:47:23] Was that something that. You had done since the collegiate ranks or through trial, or like when did that, when did you start to know that you needed to do that?
[00:47:32]Nell Rojas: [00:47:32] You know, I think I got, I got really lucky and my dad has been in a running coach for my whole life. hasn’t been my running coach until post collegiately.
[00:47:43]but he always believed in strength training. and so like, I would be out in the garage with him as like a middle schooler. cause I was really into basketball again and you know, we’d be doing, I’d be doing at work, but we’d be like, you know, he’d be like, all right, lot Rose, you know, and I’d be like, okay.
[00:48:00] And you know, and we’d just be doing basic strength training in the garage. not, not anything heavy. and so like, I think I’ve always gravitated towards it because I am like, you know, more, I would say athletic then. other runners, whereas they’re just like, you know, good runners. yeah. Yeah. And
[00:48:21] Rich Ryan: [00:48:21] so,
[00:48:27] Nell Rojas: [00:48:27] okay. I don’t know. I think I’ve always done it. We did it in college. You know, I think like the football coach was our strength coach and he didn’t care about us and was like, just do these things like bench, press and dah, dah, dah, and you know, nice stuff I do now, or why would ever prescribe now? But. I would say post-collegiate I got into it.
[00:48:49]and I think I just like really realized that it helped me. I enjoyed it and, yeah.
[00:48:55] Rich Ryan: [00:48:55] Yeah. And I I’ve found that with strength training, once you’ve put it into your. Your program because of the push back a lot. It’s like, Oh, I don’t have time, but it’s like, okay, if I go out or rather run, like running is going to do more for me and like, to get fast, you need to run.
[00:49:10] But if you don’t, if you give strength, training a chance and then you get to feel how you feel running while you’re doing strength training. And then I think you’ll find a place for strength training, just because you like the way running feels better. And you can run consistently. Yeah. Like in, in your you’re helping yourself run and be consistent and stay healthy and feel better.
[00:49:30] And, some of the things that I see you use it, I don’t use too much in my own. Is you supply owes. so are you using plyo is often, like how does that work in, in your training? Is that like the bulk of your strength training or are you mixing up a bunch of different things?
[00:49:44]Nell Rojas: [00:49:44] no, I’m mixing up a bunch of different things.
[00:49:47] It’s I wouldn’t say it’s the bulk of it. I’d say I do. I do apply while I was doing a now jump twice a week, but I was doing before the trials, I was doing three days a week. I was doing two ply was kind of mixed in with my strength training. And that’s, that’s just like, kind of like a method, like where you’ll do, like I’ll do, like, you know, we squat recruit all the muscles and then you use that to like gain power and kind of.
[00:50:21] You’re able to like really use that power to whatever, go high or go far. and so that’s kind of like how we were using it. And then I did one session of Hill plyo. So that was like, you know, we use like a 35 meter Hill and we just found it up them single Lake hopped up, broad, jumped up them, walk back down.
[00:50:45] So. You know, I think, I think there’s a difference right now. I’m not doing piles with my strength training. I’m doing them separately. which I think is also fine. I think there’s a lot of ways to do it and it’s what works. It’s what works with your time schedule and, and like kind of like what you like to do.
[00:51:05] Rich Ryan: [00:51:05] Yeah. And they make sense and being able to. To be able to recruit that much and then put it into practice. And it’s a coordination and stability thing as well. And we’d like the bounding. Would you do the bounding as part of. Like, would it be separate from a run or would you run to a place and then do that and have it be in the middle of your run or was it still its own strength thing?
[00:51:27] Nell Rojas: [00:51:27] I think, best case scenario you, you like have, you don’t do it. In a run because you, you kind of want to be like pretty, recovered for, for, for . So I would do maybe like, you know, we do like a five minute jog just to like warm up, do some dynamic, stretches, always, always do some dynamic, stretches, always do a couple drills and then we’d get into them.
[00:51:57] Rich Ryan: [00:51:57] Yeah. And that makes sense because yeah, if you ran civilized cause. Plyo is in power. Production is about, you know, max effort. If you run someplace for 30 minutes, you’re going to fatigue his muscles and not be able to get the most power out of them. So that, that makes, that makes total sense to have it in there and just it’s been consistent.
[00:52:13] So you always try to have that worked in, is that like a non negotiable or as, or did you kind of start dropping things as it got closer to race day or is it just stay consistent throughout.
[00:52:24] Nell Rojas: [00:52:24] It was pretty consistent throughout. you know, there was a couple of things that like, I really fully believe that helped me a lot in my marathons and, and one of those was pliers.
[00:52:35]and one of those was strength and obviously, yeah, then there’s the running, And like those, you know, you just feel you’re, you’re just like way more efficient. your coordination is better. Your, your body knows when to turn on, turn off muscles. It’s just like a feeling like you said, like if, if someone gave it a try for like, you know, a solid six weeks, you can tell a difference.
[00:52:59]so I, I try not to miss a day of pliers, stop doing plyo, knows about, you know, they did take her off, like the last month and the last few weeks, like I would do. Probably like one third of the amount of pliers that I was doing.
[00:53:18] Rich Ryan: [00:53:18] And were you cool with that? Cause I know that like that like taper brain you’re like, huh?
[00:53:21] Do I still get to keep doing these tasks, these pliers, like, am I going to be okay without doing them? Or did this like the whole process kind of, could you taper off everything? But I know how the brain works. It’s hard.
[00:53:32] Nell Rojas: [00:53:32] Yeah. The hardest part for sure. And the people who are good at tapering will be successful.
[00:53:38] But if you look back and look at the trials and see the people who didn’t taper very well, you’ll be like, you didn’t race very well, cause you could not handle the taper.
[00:53:48] Rich Ryan: [00:53:48] I know. And that’s like part of the process of doing that. Like how did you, do you just buy right in? Have you always been good at tapering?
[00:53:55] Because, I know in my own struggles, like more, I don’t have a problem physically doing it, but just like mentally handling. Like in, like, I’m just like less happy in like those two weeks getting up, you know,
[00:54:07] Nell Rojas: [00:54:07] and you feel terrible and you feel depressed and you’re nervous and
[00:54:13] Rich Ryan: [00:54:13] it’s done. There’s nothing else that you could do.
[00:54:14] You’re like, Oh my God. I’m about ready. Yeah.
[00:54:17] Nell Rojas: [00:54:17] Yeah. no, I’m still not the best papering. but, But I do it.
[00:54:27] Rich Ryan: [00:54:27] Yeah. So now, like be having, some, some time to reflect on it and, you know, thinking about. And still training and needing to, and just kind of like looking at like the whole package of everything and like, you know, you already do quite a bit and, you know, plows and strength and like with your background, you coach, so you know, a lot, what, what kind of things do you need to, do you think that is going to take you to that next level?
[00:54:48] Like what do you think you’re going to have to work on?
[00:54:51] Nell Rojas: [00:54:51] Yeah. You know, I think about that a lot. Like, okay. There are, you know, like I’m, I’m, I’m pretty good. but like, I would, like, I want to be at that next level and I want to go the Olympics in 20, 24. Like, that’s my goal. And I’m like, what does it take?
[00:55:12] And, they’re theirs. You know, I think I need to, recovery is huge. And I think the girls that are like highly sponsored have a huge benefit because they get to work out and then they get to recover all day, you know, like I work out and then I coach and then I work and then I’m on the computer doing work stuff.
[00:55:35] And then, you know, so I think, I think one of the big things I need to do is take a risk. because I I’m actually really in a position where I can I’m very little and start saying no to. Clients to one-on-one training two things I want to do to a traveling, to going to the movies at night to, you know, all these things that are teeny little things, things that I think will help me.
[00:56:11] And I just need to tell myself like, it’s okay. Like I surround myself with a lot of people who aren’t. Competitive athletes, you know, they don’t understand, or they almost give me shit for, you know, being too
[00:56:29] Rich Ryan: [00:56:29] for caring so much for getting a lot.
[00:56:32] Nell Rojas: [00:56:32] It’s hard to tell people, like, I don’t want to go out to dinner tonight because like, Hey, I want to eat healthy and be, I want to be in bed at nine.
[00:56:40]so I think my biggest thing, and if you ask like my friends, like if you ask Nicole miracles, she’ll be like, Your the, the, my biggest fault is not being able to say no. and I think like I’m getting a little bit better and better at it. And I think once I can nail that and, kind of sacrifice other things, then I think that will
[00:57:02] Rich Ryan: [00:57:02] help.
[00:57:03] Yeah. And advertise with that quite a bit, because in, in my own struggles, I took the same thing. Right. It’s like, I. Like needing to not go out to eat or needing to not have like drinks or something like that. That’s where like my balances gets out of whack too. Or like where, like you said, like the, the energy we have is finite, you know, like, and those other things take away from it, or it does not replenish the energy that you’re spending.
[00:57:25] Like ultimately it’s going to be hurting you. So like, when you think of that, and it is something that I do the same thing with, like, okay, I, if I can buckle down, like, I know I can make. Tremendous gains, but then I’m like, well, how long, like how long is that sustainable for like my life? You know, what do you, what do you think?
[00:57:42] Like, is it like, okay, the lemons are in four years, so four years of just clean or is it like when I have like six months of leading into like a big races or like, how does that work or is it, is it just about changing your whole life and being like, okay, I’m just going to be, I’m just gonna say no a lot.
[00:57:57] And this is just what my life is going to be like for the next couple of years. That’s
[00:58:00] Nell Rojas: [00:58:00] right. Yeah. That’s a good question. And I think, no for me, cause I, again, everyone’s different in what motivates them or what they, like. I think for me, it’s like, you know, I always need to have like a month, a year of like, just like chilling out, being able to relax, you know, like drink a couple glasses of wine travel.
[00:58:24]but then like, You know, during your lead up. Just like hunker down and make sure that you’ve set yourself out exactly how you want to for that race. Hmm. For me just like training, it’s going to go in cycles.
[00:58:42] Rich Ryan: [00:58:42] Yeah. And that that’s probably the more sustainable way to do it. And just making sure that it is more like systemized and just planned out.
[00:58:49] There’s more planning, but like that there might just be a house. That’s cool. That makes sense. At least. The way I look at it for my own self is like, if I can at least do these things that I think might be taking away, if I can just do it and my results don’t change, at least I know, you know, better. Like if they don’t change, that’s great.
[00:59:10] I’ll just go back to them. But
[00:59:12] Nell Rojas: [00:59:12] you know, that’s another thing, like you need to go into these races, like confident because you know, you did everything.
[00:59:20] Rich Ryan: [00:59:20] Yeah, right. And that’s just like a message for people out there. Cause there’s, everyone has their own thing, you know? And like when you get to the starting line and like, or when you finish in your race results, weren’t what you had hoped.
[00:59:32] Like there is that thing that’s there that, you know, have put off whether that’s strength, training, whether that’s nutrition, whether it’s, you know, staying out late, whatever it is, like, you know, it’s there. So like tried. Taking care of.
[00:59:44] Nell Rojas: [00:59:44] Right. Right. Or you’re just going to be mad at yourself or,
[00:59:49] Rich Ryan: [00:59:49] yeah, there’s just potential that’s, that’s left out on the table.
[00:59:53]and do you think about that ever? Like, do you think about if like you did not do the try route for awhile or does that, was that something that you needed to step away from just running or to, to scratch an itch or, like, do you think about like what you could have done if you had like two or three other Olympic trials cycles under your belt?
[01:00:11]Nell Rojas: [01:00:11] recently, I haven’t thinking about that, but no, I think, I think the triathlon helped me. I think it like I’m in the volume I was doing then was like, I just think it like really helped my endurance. I think it prepared me for like the training I needed to do for triathlon. I think it saved my legs a little bit.
[01:00:31]And then, so I’m happy I did it. And I think overall it’s going to be, it benefited me. Yeah.
[01:00:39] Rich Ryan: [01:00:39] Yeah, because you can just do so much, he just gets to do so much aerobic work. Do you still kind of do any of that, of those things? Do you incorporate biking or swimming for the sake of volume?
[01:00:49] Nell Rojas: [01:00:49] I do. so I, I don’t want to say, never do doubles.
[01:00:53] I never do doubles, but I rarely do double runs. but I almost always. Have at least two or three workouts a day. And, so I, I swim twice a week and I, and I bike I’ve tried once or twice a week.
[01:01:08] Rich Ryan: [01:01:08] Nice. That’s nice. yeah. And just like I said, the, save the legs a little bit more. yep. Well, cool. Yeah. I want, I won’t take, take up your whole day.
[01:01:16] I know you got some stuff going on, so there’s real quick. Like, what are you thinking as far as your goals for, I mean, you establish them for the next four years. Like, what are you thinking for the next, I don’t know. It’s hard to say for the next year, maybe after the next 12 months, like what are some things that you wanted to kind of go after?
[01:01:32] Nell Rojas: [01:01:32] So, so, so now the world championships, No, I’d love to make the world championship team in 2021. We’ll see you. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but if it happens, I would like to make that team. and that’s more of like an application process. It’s not like, you know, a trials to get into it.
[01:01:51] It’s like you apply, you tell them your times, you give them your resume and they make that decision. but I’d love to I’ve led from there. I’ll probably. Either do that or try for the 10 K trials next July. And so right now I’m training for 5k. I’m just trying to like work on my speed because like, I need to get my 5k down.
[01:02:15]and I think that’ll like very well translate up to my marathon. so I’d like to run some fast, shorter distance times. So that’s like what I’m focusing on. And then hopefully there’ll be a marathon that sometime in the future.
[01:02:29] Rich Ryan: [01:02:29] Yeah. Do you have anything like, like I up early, like, cause I’m doing the same thing.
[01:02:34] Yeah, I trained for those CRCs and I don’t think any of that’s going to happen. So I’ve like kind of been looking around for like some little races, like, is there like a marathon with like, 200 people in it that might map. Do you have anything like that or are you just kind of like, if there’s not going to be good competition, I’m not even going to bother,
[01:02:50] Nell Rojas: [01:02:50] so there’s a track race.
[01:02:51]the music distance carnival in Tennessee, August 15th and it’s an elite race. And so right now I’m planning on running the 5k there. I have not bought my ticket or made a recurrence because. I don’t, I don’t know if it’s just going to be canceled or not, but, so that’s the only rates I have now.
[01:03:14] Rich Ryan: [01:03:14] It’s fuck you on a track.
[01:03:15] Oh, sweet. Yeah. Yeah.
[01:03:19] Nell Rojas: [01:03:19] Oh, college
[01:03:24] them last week. And I was like, Ooh, I don’t think so.
[01:03:33] Rich Ryan: [01:03:33] Nope. Yeah. I can imagine I’m like, I would be scared to even train in them. I would be scared to run at light, like run like a mile at normal, like easy pace in them.
[01:03:43] Nell Rojas: [01:03:43] Oh, I did two of my two hundreds. I had like 12, 200. So that day I did two of them and I was like, Oh yeah, I forgot that I had plantar fasciitis.
[01:03:52] So
[01:03:54] Rich Ryan: [01:03:54] this reminder that will remind you real quick.
[01:03:58] Nell Rojas: [01:03:58] No, and like regretted, I wore them immediately and I’m just going to wear my 4%
[01:04:06] Rich Ryan: [01:04:06] for the five days. Nice. Yeah. We’ll do those help for 5k or are they just whatever
[01:04:12] Nell Rojas: [01:04:12] I think they do. think it’s different for everyone they saw your foot strike. and based on how you feel like I am really confident in 4% and, I would wear them for a five K I don’t think a lot of people would.
[01:04:27] Yeah.
[01:04:28] Rich Ryan: [01:04:28] Yeah. Because I want to, I might kick around that as if somebody, if I’m going to be on the roads more, I was like, maybe I should get a pair. Cause there’s no place for them and OCR. And I wish that were like, what would we do? So that’s another reason why I should just do a marathon and just so I can get the 4% and see how cool
[01:04:44] Nell Rojas: [01:04:44] I think they’re not as expensive because now they have like two versions down the line, you know, like.
[01:04:51] They have the alpha, they had the next percent in the alpha fly. So I think the 4% you can find pretty cheap. Now
[01:04:57] Rich Ryan: [01:04:57] I saw someone wearing them, like for like fashion, like the newer ones. Yeah. Like the alpha fly. They’re like these pink shoes. She had like a cute outfit on. I was like, wasn’t a runner. I didn’t ask.
[01:05:14] I didn’t, she wasn’t an elite runner. She made me run. I was like, what? I almost wanted to ask her, like, why are you wearing those? You’re like, it was crazy. Will you get the new ones that are so crazy? Like that?
[01:05:32] Nell Rojas: [01:05:32] That’s a funny question. so at the trials there was rumors of this, but when you, but there was only rumors and when you got there, people were like, you know, you get there like a couple of days before and people are like, Oh, did you pick up your.
[01:05:45] Free alpha flies and you’re like, wait, and they’re like, yeah, you have to go like in that building downstairs and then get your alpha flies. And you’re like, okay. And so this is literally the day before the marathon, everyone got a free pair of alpha flies who ran it, everyone. So there was like, what? 800 or 900 people.
[01:06:07] Yeah. And so Nike had this like, This like little booth in a weird building, no signage. And you just go and you’re like, Hey, is there free alpha flies here? Like the back room and you do to try and whatever size you want. And, and so everyone, Charles had a decision to make, to wear a pair of shoes.
[01:06:28] They’ve never we’re running before, but they’re alpha flies. Or to wear their, whatever shoes they’re wearing. And I don’t know. I would like to know the percentage. I don’t know what percent chose to wear the alpha flies. I did.
[01:06:46] My dad was like, don’t do it. And I was like, I’m doing
[01:06:48] Rich Ryan: [01:06:48] it. It’s like all due respect. These are on my feet. I know how they feel. It’s gonna be great.
[01:06:56] Nell Rojas: [01:06:56] So yeah, it was, it was actually pretty funny. I think a lot of the girls didn’t. I would probably maybe say 50% of the people were wearing the alpha flies.
[01:07:04] Rich Ryan: [01:07:04] Well, that that’s pretty, I mean, that’s so Nike, Nike, like, did that gorilla marketing thing forever. That’s like such a good way to like get them on board.
[01:07:13]yeah. Yeah. I was debating with some friends, cause it’s funny like how the divided, this happens in, like I said, we’ll wrap up here and it’s like, what? Now I’m on this thing. The, a friend like this divide kind of happened between the people who are pro and anti and the people who are anti. The like 4%, they don’t run it anymore.
[01:07:29] They don’t run anymore. So they think that they shouldn’t be legal, but the people who do run still are like, no, I’m going to give them, I’m going to wear them.
[01:07:38] Nell Rojas: [01:07:38] but once heard by other companies are like, this is BS and the people who are like, like, I’m like, I’m going to wear them.
[01:07:47] Rich Ryan: [01:07:47] Yeah. That’s kind of what my question would be.
[01:07:49] So for someone like you, where. And I don’t know if this will get you in trouble with anybody or that down the road or what, whatever, but like, if you had the option, like say you were sponsored by any like mid-major footwear brand and like you, again, you came to Charles like top, top 10 projected, like people believe that you could get there and like, You would be dropped by the footwear company if you didn’t wear their shoes, but like you had a better chance of making the trials with the Nike’s.
[01:08:16] Like, what do you think? Like there had to be women that face, I mean, Dez got forth wearing there, those Brooks, whatever, like. What, what, what do you think the general feeling is that what people would do?
[01:08:30] Nell Rojas: [01:08:30] And so that’s a huge thing with sponsorships now. It’s like, for me, I’m like $30,000 not worth it. I’m going to wear Nike’s because Nike has the fastest shoe right now.
[01:08:40] And, and like, it would take more than it would take a lot of money to. Bring me out of Nike’s. and I think I can run myself to a good amount of money in the Nike’s, but I was sponsored by Brooks. I was, I mean, it was a small sponsorship. They were giving me, you know, some bonuses, apparel shoes, a couple of perks.
[01:09:07]but I had to drop them cause I was like, I cannot, I cannot tow the line without Nike’s on. I can’t do it.
[01:09:18] Rich Ryan: [01:09:18] And they were
[01:09:18] Nell Rojas: [01:09:18] like,
[01:09:20] Rich Ryan: [01:09:20] and I followed because I used to work for Brooks. So I like know the company real well and like the product and they were, they were giving out that, that prototype of whatever they were wearing.
[01:09:27] Right. But from what I understand, from what I’ve read the reviews, they are not the same. so man.
[01:09:35] Nell Rojas: [01:09:35] Yeah. And I tried and then I was just like, Nope. And so, I think other, you know, I don’t know if other companies we’ll, we’ll like get there, but I think they’ll get closer at least. Okay. and I also think, you know, like who won the trials, Hoka won the trials.
[01:09:50]and then it was Saccone. And then it was the third place w female was wearing Nike’s the alpha flies, but it’s like, you know, the girl who won, I was like, She’s a lot faster than me.
[01:10:04] Rich Ryan: [01:10:04] It didn’t matter what she was wearing.
[01:10:07] Nell Rojas: [01:10:07] So, so that, that is really interesting. but so, yeah. Cool.
[01:10:12] Rich Ryan: [01:10:12] All right. Well, for those who want to get, give you a follow up, reach out where can people find you on social media or website or wherever is best?
[01:10:21]Nell Rojas: [01:10:21] the best places, Instagram, I think I use that the most, which is, I think it’s just Nell Rojas running and then my website is Rojas running and yeah.
[01:10:31] Rich Ryan: [01:10:31] Cool. I’ll make sure to link everything in the show notes so people can, can find pretty easily. cool. I’m going to press stop here. We’ll stay on here for a little bit just, but yeah, we’re just signing off. So, now I appreciate the popping on the great conversation and we’ll see you soon. Yeah.
[01:10:45] Nell Rojas: [01:10:45] Thank you.
