How Consistency and Community Inspired His 70lb Weightloss Journey and Push Him to New Heights with Patrick Alejandro Loera

Patrick Loera: What I learned from there, one was to always have enough hydration, you know, and not just one. Two, to always have enough nutrition. And even if you're not going to be out there long enough to have more than you needed, but what I learned is that, okay, now I know where my end is, so what am I going to incorporate in the next one? Kevin Chang: Hello and welcome to the RaceMob podcast. This is episode number 57. I'm Kevin entrepreneur technology and fitness nerd. And I'm joined by the head coach of RaceMob and master motivator, the incomparable Bertrand Newson. One of my favorite parts of our podcast is being able to highlight incredible members of our community. You know, when I first met Patrick last year, he was a newlywed preparing for his first marathon, a virtual event that he was able to complete. Thanks to the help of Coach "B" and too legit fitness. At the time he was still learning about tapering and what it meant to tow the line for 26.2 miles. Little did I know the incredible fitness journey that he's been on and how he's lost nearly 70 pounds since 2018. In this episode, you'll learn how Patrick rekindled a love for physical activity after a long sedentary period. The advice for overweight runners that he wished he knew when he started. Why a chance encounter on a race course changed his fitness journey and the benefits of having a running coach to help you hit your goals. All of the show notes can be found online at https: //racemob.com/podcast. And without further ado, here's our conversation. Bertrand: Hello, RaceMob family. Patrick Loera. A runner who loves the trails, loves the road. Someone who's found his love of running later in life and is completely flourishing. Looking forward to hearing his story. Welcome, patrick! Patrick Loera: Hi everybody. Hi Kevin. Hey coach. Thanks for having me having me on. Kevin Chang: Awesome. Yeah. And I know Patrick, we met just about a year ago. . , we were in the midst of a pandemic, no live racing happening. So you were completing these virtual marathons, these virtual races, and we know you, you kind of got into running later in life. So tell us a bit of your story, a bit of your background and how you got into. Patrick Loera: Sure, sure. So I'm originally from Eastern Washington Sunnyside, Washington, which is this is outside of, of Yakima. I don't know if you guys know where that part of the world is. But it's very flat, very hot in the summer. Very cold in the winter. And my dad moved us down to California in the early eighties. and so I grew up in east foothills to San Jose right up and down, those, those Hills over there. And it was a local kid that, you know, went to elementary school, high school out there. And yeah, I pretty much started running kind of in those days, you know, I play all sports. you know, basketball, football, baseball, soccer, and most of the times I was the fastest on the team or in the school. And so, you know, I kind of went through life, doing that. I left high school early got my GED, jumped into the workforce. And so sports for me kind of took a back burner at one point, but you know, just kind of kept going you know, on through life and what got me into running that really didn't start happening up until about 2018, you know. And the reason for that was was just life changes. You know, I got into running because of things in my life that changed my health mentally and physically, you know, there were, there were starting, I was starting to have some troubles there. And that's just accumulation over time of not exercising. So to kind of jump back just a tad there, I went back to college. After high school, I just got, I just started working and then I went back to college at about 31 years old. So it was a late bloomer and it was in an interesting time, you know, in my life. And all I did was study, eat, drink, and study more. So very little exercise. And, and within that time span, I think I accumulated maybe about 50 pounds, 60 pounds, right. And in 2018, I was having chronic headaches back pain. I was having leg issues and I love basketball, but I couldn't play basketball anymore because things are starting to hurt. You know, these little things I couldn't get up in the morning without, with some really bad backs. So I went to the doctor one day because I was having some chronic headaches and he said, they're going to have to make some choices here. You know, you are obese. Now at this point I was, what about 255 pounds? And he said, you're going to have to make some choices because it's just going to get worse with us here. And I mean, for a five, seven Mexican dude who loves tortillas and beer and, you know, everything and fried foods, you know, I, it was difficult to make some changes. But I committed, you know, so that day I went home and I said, you know what? I need to step up my game. So I stopped drinking alcohol. Boom. That was the first thing. First thing gone and then moved on from there. It took me a couple of days before I decided to go out for a run just to get my head clear and, and body kind of thinking it was in shape. And I still remember that first run. It was, it was me the night before preparing all my clothes as if I was going out for a race, got my iPod set up, you know, a nice little actual track playlist. And then I set out that the next morning, you know, I thought I was going to get up at 6:00 AM and go for a run. It ended up being nine. And I finally dragged myself out and ran down the street. I made it to the end of the block and I was gassed. Kevin Chang: Been there. Yeah. We've all been there. Bertrand Newson: All been there. Kevin Chang: I mean, the important thing is that you started, right? Yeah. Patrick Loera: Yeah. Yeah. So I started out and I walked back home and, and that day my legs were sore. The next day I was sore and it's kind of funny, you know, comparing it to today. But I went out the next day, again, eight out of this time, I wanted to try to run two blocks, but it was still that block. So I said, okay, this week, I'm just going to run up and down the street. That's it. Two weeks later I finally made it, you know, I'm down the block and around the block. And it really took me about, I don't know, about three weeks probably to run a full mile without stopping. You know, my, my back was kind of hurting. My legs had started to hurt a little bit more and ice was my best friend. I was in stretching at that point and just kept going, just kept moving on. And for me that was the beginning of running right there. And I thought, I feel good. You know, I'm a month in two months in and I feel good so far, so good. You know, let's just keep going. That's when things kind of changed for me. My aunt Alaina had passed away in April from cancer. She lost the fight and she had been struggling with it for, for years up to that point. And she didn't smoke. You know, she was a wonderful woman, you know, as healthy as can be at one point, but she caught cancer. Somehow it was lung cancer and it just finally took control. So in April of of 2018, we lost her. And then about a month later, I lost my grandma. And so just two really big hits in my life. And, and I had just started running. So running for me became that, that outlet, that way to kind of soothe my nerves and to get over some of these things that, you know, like anger, for instance, I had this just this, you know,building rage inside of me. And I don't know if it was from stuff, from not drinking anymore or from not having, you know, comfort food. We'll say. But it was just this ongoing rage that I couldn't get out without running. So then I became addicted, I guess you could say. Cause whenever I start to feel this, you know, sort of urge, particularly after driving home from the bay area traffic, I would jump in, you know, on rent it, just go down the block, you know, and try to run it out. And I did and I got home and I was calm. I was, I felt great. And it also helped me deal with a lot of that, that loss, you know, the grieving that I had going on in me. And that's when I decided to use that as, as my why. My aunt Elaina was, was big in the church and she would send me daily, daily prayers every day. And I, and I saved all of those prayers. So I held onto them whenever, you know I highlighted them in my, in my Bible as well. And I started using those. And, and reading those every time I'd go out for a run. And then I just, I just kept moving. You know, I've used that that was my fuel to get up every mind to keep going. And then when it started to hurt, I would say, you know what? This is nothing compared to what she had to go through. She's in heaven right now. She's looking down at me and she's probably yelling at me saying, go, you can do it. You know, you have the ability to run, so run and, and get it out. And one of the things that she always would tell me was just be happy. She was one of the first women in my life that showed me unconditional love, just to be happy. You know, didn't need anything else in life or, you know, just be happy. And so that's what I did. And when I ran, it made me happy then. And so I fought through the pain. I fought through the, you know, the struggling of all these different issues and kept moving on. So after, I guess that season of a funeral's past, I decided I'm going to run a 10K. And I signed up when I signed up for Wharf to Wharf. That was a very first race. And Wharf to Wharf for me, had a, had a history because I would always go out with my, with my mom and dad and aunts and uncles, you know, who were all runners growing up, you know, they're all athletes. So the competitiveness in my uncles and my dad and my mom, you know, which is, it was, it was crazy. Yeah. Every year. And so I remember that, and then I saw Wharf to Wharf and I thought, okay, I'm going to do that. And boy, was that a tough run? Because up to that point, I hadn't run farther than, than a 5K you know? And I couldn't, I couldn't sustain that that much in my body. So that, that was the first one, but that was what I did. And yeah, I think I think after Kevin Chang: to Wharf is a, is a 10 K or I thought it was a little bit longer than a 10K. Bertrand Newson: Six miles, six miler. Patrick Loera: It's a six mile run. Yeah. And at the time I thought it was a 10 K, but I didn't, I didn't really know 10K six. Kevin Chang: It's about the same. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. About the same. Yeah. Yeah. I, to war, if, I mean a fantastic event down in Santa Cruz area, right? I mean I think Scott McConville, who's close friends with the run local crew. He's been running and race director here for that event for, for years and years and years. What was that first race experience like? And I know you, you want it to run the entire thing. Not everybody runs that entire race. So did you have to pause, take a break walk? What was that first experience? Patrick Loera: It was interesting. I started way back in the field, probably wouldn't, you know, one of the last corrals that was there. So had a lot of time to sit there and stretch and think about my strategy. And of course at the time I didn't have a strategy, you know I think I might've looked at some, you know, a couple articles online, so running articles, you know, on how to, how to run a 10K you know, or six miles at this point. And it was all just a bunch of the same stuff. So one of the things that stuck was to walk up the Hills, you know, if this is your first time ever running something and there's, there's going to be Hills there, I decided to walk up the hill. So I run on the flat, try to walk as much as I could up the hill and then and follow the people that ran my same speed. And it was funny for me growing up, playing football. I would always mimic those moves, particularly when I'm in the mall or I'm with my friends or, or something like that. So running in a race where there's a lot of walkers, I started to feel the same way. You know, I started to get my little Barry Sanders jokes going on, you know, and... Kevin Chang: I love it. Patrick Loera: Kind of moving through the people, figuring out my lines, you know, and I'm thinking, yeah, yeah, let's go. You know, and then my body just naturally I started to feel this energy. I started to pick it. up. I was having a great time, you know, in fact, I think I even started to cradle my, you know, I started to move my arms almost as if I was carrying a football, you know, and just kind of watch out, you know, Bertrand Newson: Yeah. Patrick Loera: I had my music blasting and it was just, it was a great experience and about halfway through. I think it was probabl down Cliff Drive, San Jose state was there. I mean, they just had a big set up, they had oranges out there. They had, you know, fruits and other things. And that was big for me. Cause I think at that point I might've started to crash, you know, I don't remember exactly, but I was out of energy for sure. So that orange helped me out. I grabbed some water, walked it out a little bit and thought I'm gonna incorporate a one, a runway. Strategy from here on out. And, and so that's what I did. I would, I would run for about a minute, two minutes and then I would walk for about the same amount of time. And so, and then I would just, I would see people, you know, and when I started seeing guys and, you know, men and women who were older than me pass me by that just started to light fire. I need, I need to run. Let's go. You know, and that competitiveness in me just told me, Okay. just stay with them. If you could stay with them up until the end of the light, then you're going to be fine. Then you don't. And so I would do that, then I would walk and I would find somebody else, you know, and, and move on. And when I started to see the end of the race there's a downhill. Well, right before that downhill, there was a big bridge and there was a photographer up there and I thought, I need to run. I'm not going to walk and do my picture taken by this walk. No, to look good. Let's go. And so that's what I did. And I passed the photographer and now today, downhill leading into Capitola, just a beautiful scene. When you look it to the right, you got a cliff right there. It's just ocean, that specific ocean out. Right. And and I started running and that downhill just felt great. I felt the wind, you know, that ocean breeze kind of, kind of come over me. And I just started jamming down the hill and I thought I was sprinting, you know, but I was probably going pretty slow and it just, it felt great to move downhill and to feel, you know, just my feet to feel my body kind of do this for the very first time. And I crossed the finish line. And he was just. I was high. I felt this, you know, before feeling kind of come over me to sensation. I have my, my dad who was there, who had braced the, you know, who'd run this race, you know, several times throughout the years, my girlfriend at the time, who's now my wife, she was there as well, cheering me on. They were both really excited. She didn't give me a hug right away, obviously, cause I was sweating. So it's probably drenched. And my dad though, on the other hand, you know, he embraced me and he said, great job had, I didn't think that you would do it. And I didn't think I could, could've done it. You know, I, for, for a short time there, my legs hurt. And, and I just, I didn't think I was gonna finish. And I just walked it out, ran it out and walked man around. And finally I was there. So it was great feeling to finally finish. And then at that point I knew I could do more. I could run longer, but I don't want to stop running. This is where I want to be. Bertrand N: That's that's great. That's a great story, pat. We can thank you for sharing that. First, first race and we all have that and we've all been there. We've all had. You know navigating, the wheels getting a little wobbly, you know, dealing in the pain cave. Maybe starting out a little too aggressive and not knowing what our patient is. Certainly in that race, when you start out in some of the talented, the you're navigating, you're weaving through a lot of walkers and runs. So you had you, like you said, your inner football player had come out, but also just kind of taking a step back where you set your, your family. You have a fan come from a family, runners, your parents, and particularly your father who was there on site. And for you to finish your first race, we're talking with 2008. Patrick Loera: Yep. Bertrand Newson: Yep. So you're in your late thirties at the time. Your father, a lifelong runner who probably wanted his son to run a little bit more. And for you to do that, you know, with him present, I can only imagine how proud he was and then to see where you are right now. And we'll going to fill in some of those, those life, life progress from a running perspective and other just yeah, good stuff, man. Kevin Chang: I do want to dive into a couple of things real quick, and that is how much did you weigh? You know, when you're out word for word. So you, you talked about 250 pounds. You know, what was that weight journey like? Especially in those first couple of months. And then I think a lot of our listening audience would really get a lot of value. If you talk about tips that you learned, especially when you were, a little bit on the heavier side how you actually got your body up to a six mile event, because that is quite an accomplishment. So talk to us a little bit about that initial journey. , getting yourself off the couch, initial motivation, some of that stuff up to the first time. Patrick Loera: Okay. It was consistency for me. I had a little bit of drive in there, the grieving and some of that, those emotions that I wanted to get out and I wanted to print every day. But, but you're right. The weight held me back a lot. And so some of the things that I did, obviously I stretched, I had a small foam roller at the time, and I knew that foam rolling was, was a way to kind of work out those kinks. So I would do that every day. And I, for me was, you know, my best friend at the time and it still is, you know. But yeah, I was, I was 250. I had, when I stopped drinking, I might've lost maybe it just a little bit, but I wasn't paying much attention to my diet at the time. All I knew is that I had to get out, I had to run, I had to run this off. And in my mind, I thought all I need to do is run. It'll just magically disappear. Yeah. But that wasn't the case, of course. And so as, as I started to move And ran down the street and started to pick up the mileage. Particularly AF you know, leading up to two world war. I had a lot more friction, you know, I had man boobs at the time. And as I'm running now, I'm feeling this extra weight, you know, I'm feeling my belly kind of, kind of move and jiggle around and it was embarrassing. I felt embarrassed. And then the shaping started to happen. You know, I'd get pretty bad chasing between my legs. I'd get it in, you know, in my chest. And at the time all I had were basketball shorts, so I didn't have any running shorts. And so it would happen between my knees as well. And it was uncomfortable the entire time I would start to run. It was just really uncomfortable and not to mention when I would get into the shower afterwards, you know, and that was, you know, alcohol on an open wound. And so these, these types of things I started to, I would just Google them. Okay. How to get over chasing. Okay, vaseline, you know, or, or maybe it was band-aids on the nipples, you know, it was, you know, other types of, of gels that would help with, with chasing, you know, like the glide tech stuff. I started to discover those and, and so those helped with chasing, but now I had this extra weight, so I'm carrying around this extra weight. And at the time I didn't know what to do with it. And it took me, I think, a few months after Wharf to Wharf when I finally found weight. Somebody had, had mentioned, Hey, a lot of runners do weight training, and this might help you particularly because you know, you're heavy. And I thought, okay, let's do that. So I started training my legs. Didn't really start looking at Hills, but I just started looking at things on the treadmill and different plans that that would help me out. Started doing little, little things, you know, a five mile run. Okay. Let's try that. Let's do a two mile run uphill, you know, or maybe it's up and downhill little programs on the treadmill that kept me moving on the weekends, it was looking at different workout plans on my apps. So I use the Nike app as well. That would give me beginner runs. And, and at the time. I didn't know what fartleks was, but that's what was incorporated in a lot of these, you know, giving your best effort right now for the next 60 seconds, it would say. You know, so I run as fast as I could, you know, and, you know, get that wind under my wings and thinking I can fly, but I'm really just probably trading at about 11, 12 minute mile, you know, but I felt great. And over time the weight started to go down. It was about 230, maybe 220 ish in that area when I got to August, you know, so some gradual changes were, were, were being made. Kevin Chang: I mean, that's only a couple of months. I mean, for our listening audience, that's what we're talking to. You know, what like four or five, six months, something like that. And we're talking about. 20 pounds, 30 pounds almost. I'm in weight loss during that time. Wow. That's fast. Patrick Loera: Yeah. Yeah. And I think really. Okay. So it's not, so I'm drinking alcohol in January and then Lent came, you know, so, so I'm Catholic and we practiced the season of lent. And I decided to stop drinking soda. And that, and that was huge for me because soda in itself, I mean, I'm not going to get into all whatsoever, you know, does the body, But it was tremendous. It almost started dropping. I almost started dropping weight right away just by killing soda from my diet. And, and, and the one thing that I did to supplement that those bubbles was a carbonated water. And so that, that really, I still, I kept running, stopped drinking soda. On the other hand, I was kind of still eating like, like a mess. You know, I was eating pizza. I was eating burgers, my comfort food, because these are the things that I felt made me feel better. You know, if I can't, if I'm not going to drink beer and I can drink soda anymore. All right, then what else do I have? Okay, I got pizza. I got hamburgers. I got French fries. You know, I got the munchies and these things made me happy. Kevin Chang: right. I mean, getting, getting rid of the alcohol and getting rid of the soda, those two, those are two big things that really do lead to obesity in America. And so, you know, getting rid of those two things and then incorporating a little bit of exercise. I mean, at that point in time, when you're not exercising very much, you have a lower minimum effective dose. So, you know, even going down to the, to the end of your block, or even going down two blocks, you are starting to increase your metabolic rates, right? Your body's just natural metabolism. And so just the, just those small little changes in your life can lead to big shifts, you know, and then I'm sure you're starting to feel more energy. You're starting to feel a little bit more confidence. You're starting to see changes in your life after doing a little bit of that exercise. You said the consistency was the biggest thing, the most important thing. So was it a daily exercise? And if it, if it was daily or a couple of times per week, then, you know, I think what has worked well for a lot of people is not necessarily putting like, Hey, I have to go this distance or this many miles, but just getting yourself out the door , and putting those shoes on. So talk to us a little bit about the consistency. What worked for you in terms of consistency? Patrick Loera: Finding the time was, was always there. I had a full-time job as well. Fortunately, they had a gym so that we're thinking pre pandemic. So what got me out of the door, really? I would, I would wake up earlier and I would start to incorporate those my runs a lot earlier, just so that way I could, I could work during the day. And and if I miss that, let's say I wanted to sleep in. I thought at the time I needed to run every single day, whether it was one mile or three miles, four miles, you know, probably at the very most five miles, I think on the weekends, I would consider those my long runs at the time. And so I would just, in my mind, I thought I needed to go every day. So I would get out there and I would do that. I would go into gym and do that. I would strength train every single day. And I i had no concept of what rest meant I need to do this. This is something I need to do. Okay. Why do I need to do this? I need to do this because my cousin, Mike is here. You know, leg issues. He can't go my mom and dad, they can no longer run. I need to run for them. And this was me kind of putting everything on my back and just moving through when there was a lot of pressure, I put the pressure on myself, I need to run. And so that is what kind of started to help me out. And then I started to see the physical changes. I started to feel the mental changes, the clarity in my mind, the calmness throughout my day after I would run. And then when I started to see the decrease in weight, oh man, that was even more of a motivator. You know, now I got this fire, right? No. You know, particularly when, you know, things started to shaping up towards the end of the year. But Yeah, I think part of the consistency was, was the fire to get myself up and out to use the energy, the extra energy that I had to get out and go for a run. Kevin Chang: Yeah, we see a lot of success with people, you know, streaking. So going on kind of these longer extended streaks and the streaking doesn't mean that you have to go at fast paced, quick pace, you know, wearing your body thin and, and but sometimes, you know, just every day doing some level of activity, whether that be a walk, whether that be a slow pace, you know, something aerobic or whether that be strength, training, and adding a little structure to that consistency. So now that we've dove into like what works for beginners, cause I'm always curious, you know what, especially for them later in life athletes, you know, I'm later in life athlete. Bertrand, you know, this has been an athlete all his life. Later in life, I'm always particularly interested in what was that switch? How did you turn it on? You know, what was that life change that life changing moment. Now that we've dove into that a little bit. Talk to us about your running journey, where you've been kind of these last couple of years, and, and now we see you really crushing it every single week. Patrick Loera: Well, well, things progressed, you know, after 2018, I thought, okay, let's, let's go January. I'm going to plan this out. Let's let's really do this span. And later in 2019 the Silicon valley half showed up and I thought, okay, this is a great 10K, let's go do it. And I chose the story because this is particularly when I met to legit fitness. This is when my, my running game, completely changing the Silicon valley half marathon, right through downtown San Jose.I had initially signed up for a 10 K and when I went to go pick up my bib and my shirts, I saw that they had these really cool backpacks. And I thought, how do I get one of those? And this really nice young lady came over and she said, well, if you upgrade to a half marathon, you can have this backpack. I said, okay, let's do it. They charged my credit card and I walked away happy as can be, you know, it's free stuff. Let's go. And I get back to the car and I think holy smokes, I just signed up for a half marathon. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I saw was free stuff. I need a backpack. And you know, honestly today I'm still kind of in that same mode. And so I went through that. I went through that experience. I said, okay, I'm not going to go take this back. I'm just going to go forward. That's moved through and now. That run was the first time I had ever run a half marathon. And I thought before that, I thought I need to train. Let's go, let's go do some training. And up to that point, I still hadn't run a half marathon. You know, I hadn't even gone over eight miles before that. And I thought I'm just going to do it. Just get out there, run, walk, follow somebody, you know With a nice pace in this move. You're just, just keep going. Just don't stop one foot in front of you and just keep moving. And so that's what I did. And once you came across me, I was, I was dying. I was ready to give up. I was probably mile 10 mile 11, and I wanted to cry because my body hurt it was, you know, that, that physical feeling, I think I think I can equate it to those moments when you're lifting so much weight that your body's just like, whoa, you know, it's screaming at you and then you, and then you stop and then you feel that you're like, oh good I finally did it. Well, that's what I was feeling at mile 10, 11, my body was screaming. I was ready to give up. I was walking. Didn't want to run and all of a sudden this big, you know, this group of guys, just group of people, sorry. Came, came from behind me and started yelling at me. Come on, man. You got it, you can do a, come on. Let's go. And boom, fire let's go. And I started running and that was one of the people was the professor was Jason PV house. Another one was, was Randy. Who's, who's also in the group and I just started running with these guys and all the people around everyone, he looked happy and I was upset. I got so happy. Come on, man. This is for the urge. But I pushed through. And when I got to the end, I was happy. I won, I won this time. I wanted to cry in, in enjoy. I made it, I, I'm not dead. I can do it. You know, my legs, they hurt, but I'm I'm here. And I didn't I found those guys. I took a nice little picture. I blogged about it as well. And and then, and then the rest was history because after that, now I have this courage I can get out there and I can do it. Even if I have to walk it, I can make those. I can make those miles. So for the very first time in my life, I thought let's, let's move on. So that was the very first moment where I felt accomplished in, oh, you know, in these longer distances. And so then I moved on 2019, went by 2020, I thought, Okay. I'm going to try to run another marathon. Another half marathon later this year. Let's see what happens. And that turned into a marathon. Okay. Wait, let me back up a little bit. And at the end of 2019, I had met Bertrand and I had met more of two legit and he put this fire under me that said, Hey man, you could probably run Taji 100. And I said, Okay. well, let's give that a shot. What is it? This is a, you're going to run a hundred miles a month. Oh, hold on, hold on, wait a second. A hundred miles a month. I don't know, man, because it's intimidating, you know, you hear 100 miles in you're intimidated. You know, and I say that as, as we pass by Western states, right. These people running a hundred miles in, in, in, you know, in one sitting Kevin Chang: Yeah. Patrick Loera: Two Kevin Chang: Or in one day. Patrick Loera: Right? You know, three hours. And I thought, I can't do this in a month, but he said, okay, well, what are you running every week? I said, maybe about 15 to 20 miles at the very most. And he said, yeah, you can do that. And it's a shorter month, but you can do that. And I said, okay. And really, I think what that was, was the motivation from somebody else to say, you can do it rather than myself here, you know, trying to walk through my, you know talk myself up and say, yeah. you can do it. You can do it mid, mid run. This was somebody else saying Patrick, you're, you've been putting in the work you've been running consistently. You can run a hundred miles in a month. You just have to believe in yourself. And I did it, I signed up and and at the time I got a shirt that was an XL. And I, I love this shirt right now because I wear it and it's like a pair, right? 2000, 19 Tazi, 101st time ever completed it. Boom. And now I'm hooked in this group right. Too-Legit Fitness just can't get rid of me after that, because now I see these, these inspiring runners, people running marathons, people running half marathons, smiling, most of the way through. And I wanted that. I really wanted that. And then 2020 came and pandemic. Boom. Okay. What am I going to do? I'm pleateauing right now at about 180 190. So I've lost a few more ponds there. Pandemic hit I moved in with, with my wife or at the time was my girlfriend. And then my diet changed, you know. Up to this point, I hadn't drank soda. I just stopped. I gave it all up. I was it, no alcohol, no soda. And then When I moved in with her, my diet changed, it was rice, veggies and meat. And that boom, it started to decrease again, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick down about 170. And the energy start again, energy filled up. And I, I moved through, I, I continued moving through the pandemic, continue to run, signed up for all these virtual friends. And that was fun. But one virtual run really stood out above all the others. And that was the big Sur and the big surreal challenge was, was one race after another, not a race, but it was challenged as, you know, friend what was a two mile check-in, you know, something like that run 10 miles run, you know, and I had done those. I had done those. And so after I signed up for that, it was all of a sudden let's run 80 miles, but I didn't know, we were gonna run 80 miles that one day. This is August. This is August, 2020. Yeah. That's how we're going to go out for a nice 10 mile run, you know, eight to 10 miles. It was. And through the evergreen Hills and boy was, I enforced surprise that day because I had, and not just because we ran 18, but because I did it and I didn't do it alone, I did it with, with a team. So if there's anything that helped push me through, it was finding a group of people who wanted to do the same thing that I did. It was people who were happy, running for happy with the discomfort and all they wanted to do was get up the hill. And I thought, yes, I need to be around that because more I was around that. It became contagious and now I want it to run next to them. I wanted to run back and then run with them again. You know, I wanted to make sure that nobody was left behind and I just want to keep going. Now I'm not alone. After the 80 miles, I thought, okay, What's next. Let's just let's keep moving. The biggest real challenge was that motivation to, to run a marathon. I think it was September, I think September Coach? September, October, or something around there when, when Boston... Kevin Chang: It was September. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Patrick Loera: Right. So now we're running virtual Boston. And as he, everybody out there who didn't prepared emails and text messages are getting sent out and I thought, you know what, coach? I think I can do it. He said, you're damn right. You can do it. Let's go. He didn't say he didn't say damn, but Bertrand Newson: Maybe God damn. God damn. Patrick Loera: okay. And so I said, you know what, let's go. Let's just let's do this. Kevin Chang: If you like our podcast and sign up for our newsletter, where we give you weekly tips on how to run your best race and have fun in the process, just go to RaceMob dot com and sign up today. Patrick Loera: And so I laced them up and that day I went out to, well, you know, with everybody else that that was an experience that I fought. You know, mentally, that was something that I never thought that I could do a year before that 2019 August or September, I would have never thought I could actually run a marathon. What, what was I maybe put 40, 50 pounds, 50 pounds heavier a year before now. I'm I'm even, I'm even lighter. And I have more energy, 2020. Now I can, can actually pick up some of these miles and I did it. I started out half marathon, went through like a breeze. Wow. I feel great. Let's pick it up a little bit. That was mistake. Number one. It was me thinking I could fly, you know, just about to jump and no, I take it out, got to about mile 20, 21, maybe 22, I think. And then boom, realityhits. You know, I started to feel a little bit of pain in my legs. I started to cramps a little bit in my, in my left leg and sure enough, there's there's Mr. Inspiration, right there. Coach B waiting for me at a pivotal part in the race. Because now my body's starting to say, Hey man, it's it's it's time. You should probably start walking and he's and he's right there. And moments before that moments, before I saw Coach "B" ready to run with me, I was hurting and lady in our group, Barbara. She had told me, find a spot and just run to that. Tell yourself I'm going to run to that. I said, okay. I found a tree boom, run to the tree, walk to the next tree. Okay. good. I'm going to do that. And then I continued to do that. Walk, run, walk, run the entire time. Now, all of a sudden I'm back into work. You know, my very first race I'm walking in, I'm running because at this point that was what I knew. That was what I was comfortable with. And, and her words just saying to do it small little bits, little by little was, was the motivation I needed. So now with Coach "B", I'm running after mile 22, he's he's talking to me and it wasn't so much what he was saying, but it was more of the conversation. It was I with you and you don't have to do that. Doing something alone has been my, you know, my motivation throughout the entire time from not drinking to now not drinking soda, to running in these different races. And now here I am, again, the same theme is, is coming back and saying, Hey man, you don't have to do this alone. Let's finish this together. And so we got through walked a little bit, ran a little bit, and all of a sudden we're rounding the corner on a mile 26 and he just yells out, come on, guys, let's hear it. Let's hear it. How sun, just, just this anxiety came through my body, you know, and I want a script, you know, and obviously I couldn't really sprint. But I, I pushed, I pushed myself and the crowd, you know, I mean there, the whole team was right there. People in Boston jackets inspiring me just by wearing the jackets. Now they're cheering for me and they're running and we cross the line, but my watch didn't say 26.2, you know, so I kept running. They was like, Hey, No, you have to keep going. Just stop right there. I'm going to look good and shit, because I watched it. So I didn't really do it. Right. So I finished it at 26.2, you know, stamped it on the, watch, your stop, my watch, you know, Stanford in the books. And that was, that was the very first one that was very first time. And not only did I feel accomplished because I finished it, but I felt part of this group, I felt part of a fitness family. And I had found something that I can. And, and after I posted that people started reach out pat, great job. You look great. And I really looked at my photos. I looked at those photos from when I ran it and I compared them to a year earlier, you know, where I'm the elephant and tank top ballerina, you know, have you guys ever seen an elephant ballerina? Well, that, Kevin Chang: No, I saw the hip hippo ballerina. Patrick Loera: Hippo ballerina that's what I'm thinking about. Right. but I kind of, you know, tiptoeing across the, you know the the floor and they just gingerly tabbing. Right. And that was me a year earlier in 2008, 2019, 2018, even, and now, you know, 170 pounds and I just finished it marathon. And in that comparison, those two photos, man, they're just they're night and day. And, and today that's part of the motivation, you know, it's additional motivation on top of everything else is seeing that and thinking, okay, I want to keep that. So friends reached out and I, pat, what did you do? What did you eat? You know, what, what, what are the changes you made? And, and, and so I just told them, I just, I ran every day. I made small changes here and there. And in up to that point, I hadn't really changed my diet to be honest, you know, it was still comfort foods. It was still things like rice, chicken, you're not chicken, but just rice, meat and veggies. That was, that was primarily it at the beginning of the pandemic. We couldn't order much. Right. Couldn't order out. And so as, as things started lighting up, now I'm able to eat more foods. And so my weight also started to fluctuate and that's what I told them too. I was honest with all my friends that, Hey, this is what I did. And maybe it worked for you, but you just have to get your butt out and go for a walk, go for a run. Do you know, even when you don't want to. So now where am I at today? Today. I want to say that I got high earlier in, in 2018. And I don't mean like physically, you know, I went out and smoked some weed or anything like that. No, I, I caught a runner's high. I got a runner's high and I started to sign up for everything. 2021 that's the year, let's go! Well, things didn't pick up as, as I had planned because I had planned to, to pace out some races, you know, a half marathon every month, right. And again, compare that to 2018. I'm a TennCare. Yeah. So now half marathon, every month let's let's move forward and the pandemic didn't let it. So all those races got pushed out and now all those races are in the fall and winter, all of them. And I'm, I'm a week, maybe some races, others may be a week, a weekend between the races. It's intimidating. It's very intimidating. You know, there's two marathons in there or a virtual Boston there, and then their CIM at the end, you know, there's lots of trail races, all half marathons. ,ffYou know, I think the only thing that's, that's not a half marathon. It's a 5k the day before the half marathon for San Jose rock and roll. And so, and, and, and you know what, it's intimidating, it's scary. And, and, and what's been happening to me is I've been navigating an injury. And, and this is this, these are the consequences of, of not letting my body rest, you know, what's happening in, in what's happening in Patrick and, and I'm not, I'm not Superman. So, one thing I learned in that first one, when I very first marathon was, I need to wait. I need to rest. And and, and what I didn't do was I didn't rest because I I'm feeling myself, you know, Q Mac Dre, boom. You know, and, and I was just, I was, I was feeling every bit of it. I'm feeling good and I didn't, I didn't wait. I just kept signing up for races. In fact, I even signed up for CIM at the end of 2020. And and so I did it. I went out and I ran a virtual CIM last year, which hurt a little bit more than the big Sur, because the same thing happened at mile 22. Boom, got a cramp. I didn't hydrate enough. I didn't have enough nutrition. And, and I didn't really know what I was, how to pace that stuff out. So knowing that I was going to have all these races in 21, I decided I decided to hire a coach. I decided to hire somebody who knows the terrain better than I do. Who's who's probably went through a lot of these things and really it was for somebody, it was for somebody to tell me what. Hey, pat, you should probably run five miles a day. You know, let's talk this out and I didn't really have anybody else to talk to you about that. I'm part of this fitness group, you know, and asking people what they do. But after a run, I forget it. You know, I'd go home and think, Okay, well this person uses GU, oh, Okay. This person doesn't drink water. This person carries water. Okay. And I'm trying all these different things that some worked some didn't, but what's helping me. I felt that I needed somebody else to say, pat, this looks like it's working for you based on on, on your data that you're putting out. This looks like a good point apart where you could probably take a break. Do you know, or this looks like a part where you can probably pick it up, you know, your heart rate looks good, whatever, you know. And so analyzing the data with somebody who understands what this data is supposed to mean what's supposed to look like was just a game changer for me, lo and behold, I ended up getting injured because. Why I didn't listen. Kevin Chang: I mean, I can, I can see Coach "B" over here. Just, just beaming. I mean, Just happy as can be with you actually finding a running coach. Cause yeah. What can a running coach do? One, they can push you a little bit further than you think you can go, right? You signing up for your first half marathon, you signing up for the Tazi 100, you know, things. We put on the calendar because we know that you can achieve these things. And if they're not on the calendar, you know, you may just say you may not be able to push yourself to those, to those limits. So what can a coach do? They can motivate you. And then what can a coach to you? They can pull you back sometimes from injuring yourself, right, from going a little bit too far from actually having a little bit too much faith, a little bit too much confidence in what your body can do, and they have the experience and they can help you strategize plan. Right now, all of these races being pushed into the fall, which ones are going to be your goal races, which ones are going to be just your scenic, pull them back. What should your pace be? What should you be shooting for so that you don't get injured. So let's talk a little bit about the injury that you currently do have and how you and coach B, how you guys are navigating through, you know, the injury and the rehab and what. Patrick Loera: Okay. So the pain that, that I've been feeling, I want to say it it's the same pain that I felt in a big Sur marathon. It's the same pain that, that was also, that also came and CIM and it's kind of stuck around. And it got a little worse just after the new year when the first new year came, I had this crazy bug up my butt that I need to go to the highest peak near me, and I need to watch the sunrise, you know, and not only that, but I need to do it as fast as I can. Okay. This is, this is mind you. This is only what. two, three weeks after, after CIM, I just run a marathon, like, yeah, come on man. But you know, again, I w I had a runner's high. I felt invincible. I felt like I could just, I could, I can navigate through these things. Kevin Chang: So what kind of pain is it? Patrick Loera: The pain is in the hamstring. It's behind the quad. It starts to feel like a cramp. Initially takes a form of tightening. Then it? became achy, you know, and it's it's a cranky feeling back behind there. That is it's not a sharp pain. It's more of a dull pain that kind of radiates through, through my leg. Sometimes it's in the higher cab, the upper cab area. Sometimes it's in the lower quad. Sometimes it's in the lower hamstring. Sometimes it's in the higher hamstring. Kevin Chang: Is it always in the same leg? Is it in between both legs and you're kind of describing a couple of different areas of your leg, but same leg or... Patrick Lo: always the same leg. And so I think a couple of days after I, I, I went up mission peak, which is the one I did on years. I tried to go out for a little, a recovery run and it felt like somebody had kicked me in the back of the leg. Literally, you just heard it wasn't bruised or. anything like that. I even looked behind me to see, you know, what was going on. And that was the first day of injury. Because I, I didn't know what was what's the doc. And they took some x-rays x-rays didn't. Show me anything. There was no broken bones or anything like that. Then we took an MRI. Now the MRI showed nothing in the leg. I think it was wrong in the mix, but it did show some bulging disc in my lower back. And my initial doctor said, pat, you need to stop running. I laughed like, come on, man. Really? I'm not going to stop running. And then I asked them, Hey, I need to see a NEC a sports doctor. And he says, well, no, you need to stop running. And so it was some back and forth with my insurance and, and finally I got to see a sports doctor and this was after kind of a couple of weeks of back and forth and email them saying, Hey, you should see a physical therapist. And so finally, finally, I got to see the sports doctors. Of course, doctor took an MRI, looked at everything that we have going on, guys, a couple of bulging disks down there, which is a result of, of age one and two it's it was weight and it was just, you know, not smart decisions growing and you know, in my thirties and now I'm seeing the results. Do you know? And, and that's unfortunate. So what's happening is that with these balls and discs, now, the pain is, is, is hitting some of that sciatic nerve. So the other nerves and area as well, and that's radiating down my leg. And so it's become strengthening. It's become, you know, constant recovery, you know, before. I mean, it's, it's very, precovery, it's post recovery before every run and it's understanding. Kind of where the pain is and how to overcome some of that pain. And now it's more than just running through the pain. You know, now it's, it's not running through the pain because it is running through some of that pain I've learned based on my experience that that will cause more injury. Now that will, and even seeing some of the other runners, you know, in, in my group, suffer from the same type of thing, a hamstring injury, you know, I think if you were to put a list together of the most constant injuries to runners long distance runners, what would probably be the, you know, the top, maybe top three, Kevin Chang: You know, I love you getting such a detailed description of this injury. What you described is actually your sciatic nerve, right? So this is the nerve that actually runs down from your spine across your hip and that feeling of pain in your hamstring and kind of your lower calf. Some people may think, oh, this is a muscular injury, or this is something that is, you know, related to those specific muscles. It's actually something that's related to your nerve, getting pinched up here near your hip. So I'm a, you know, a lot of these like hip opening types of stretches, a lot of these hip opening types of movements and exercises, some of this, you know slow flow, yoga, these types of things, you know, a lot of times the end people don't realize, you know, sitting on a chair all day long, right. It, it, it really kind of makes your hip flexors, all of these muscles really, really tight. And so, yeah, we really should be looking at, you know, what are the other ways that we can help you open your hips up kind of release, loosen and relieve some of that tension on those nerves? You know, there's, there's a number of different workouts and those are the important things for us to constantly take a look at. But yeah, I mean you know, sometimes it is us taking a look out, what are the things that are really going to help you, you know, in this pain and injury recovery, as well as, you know, making sure that, that we take back, you know, some, some of the workouts or the exercises that may be, you know causing some inflammation and other things along the way, too. So I love that you gave us a description. I think that it helps us tremendously understand where the problem is, how we can help you, not only with exercises and, and, you know, it's dynamic stretching kind of alleviate the pain in the long run, but also, you know, make sure that the workouts are compensating for, for what you're hap what's happening as well, so. Bertrand Newson: To cap off your point, Casey, where the app. To be able to acknowledge and to share and to pinpoint and to drill down because there's always going to be the desire to want to keep pressing forward. We've built up some physical momentum. We've built up some cardio fitness. We've seen some recent positive race results or training runs. We don't want to take a break. We don't want to be told, stop running. And there's a way where you can stay active while still navigating injury. But we have to understand what the root causes, what measures are we taking to get on top of it, proactively strengthening, lengthening muscles, warming up, cooling down, doing all that necessary, busy work, all that self care do the prehab so we stay out of the rehab. So, and sometimes we need to get into the rehab and really understand and be a good advocate for ourselves and challenge the medical team that is saying. You know, you stop running. Because in many cases you don't have to stop running. But you just have to find what is really going on in that seeing a professional that understands the human body from an athletic standpoint, physical therapists, a sports doctor, et cetera, et cetera. So good point on your part, Patrick, to drill down and to listen to your body, because if you fell too, ultimately the body's gonna win. It will slow you down and take you offline for a bit, so. Kevin Chang: And absolutely like, what is that limiting factor for each athlete, right? Your limiting factor may not be the endurance of your muscles. Your limiting factor may be this injury. And so spending more time at this point in time, getting that better, you know, stretching and relaxing and making sure that is completely right, will help you in the long run. So it's working with each individual athlete, understanding what are your limiting factors to make sure that we can get you up peak performance on race day. So thank you for sharing that and I'm sure we're going to see fantastic results. I know that you have a lot of, you know, races on the calendar kind of later this year. If you could pinpoint one race, that is your goal race. What is that race free this year? Patrick Loer: that would be CIM. It's going to be the last race for me of the year. And I have to be honest, I I'm, you know, very tempted to sign up for more, you know, because they're all coming back, you know? So, so I have to, to not sign up for anything else and, and focus just on CIM. So everything, all these other races leading up to there, the hard part is going to be not going all out. Not, you know, I don't need to run out of 10, you know, I don't need to even run at an eight, just cruise it. These are all training runs, every single one of them because CIM, you know, just the psych coach says, you know, last rep best rep. And that's what I want to do. You know if I crash. Then, so be it. And that's what I've been doing this year. Because I've been testing those boundaries, you know, making the necessary adjustments with my body to know where is, where is that crashing point to know what, what adjustments I need to make with my health to help my body kind of recover, you know? And, and, you know, I don't, I don't mean to harp on, on the injury, but I had to make significant changes. I changed my bed. I bought a new mattress. So that way I could focus on that. I started icing my back rather than my leg, you know, in particular times. And that, that was a tremendous, there was tremendous changes, you know? And, and now all these training rounds coming up, I'm starting to think, okay, what can I do? And what is pushing my body too far? And CIM for me is going to be that, that ultimate test. And so now it's knowing it's seeing that, okay, that's there, but what's the road to get there, you know, and it's, it's a hilly road. It really is. There's going to be lots of climbing, you know, and I'd love to see my elevation at the end of the year, but before I get there, but, you know it's Yeah. It's going to take some dedication. It's going to take some, holding myself back as well. And I think if there's anything that I've learned this year, In having a run coach, it's learning how to be transparent. It's learning how to be honest, not just with, you know, with Coach "B", but also with myself, I need to be adult enough to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and not have so much pride. At the end of the day, it's my pride. That's going to hurt me. Because I can go out. You know? And when I, when I, when, when he says, pat, just run a four mile jog and I'm like, come on, Coach. I could run a 10 K with the crew. Let me go. You know, I don't need to do that. You know, I just need to go at about 11, 12 minute pace, jog it out, you know, feel the ground under my legs. I know a bit early on. I didn't want to, I didn't want to run just five months. I don't want to run just the 10 K. You were only 10 miles, whatever that was. I wanted to push more, but I had to reserve, had a hold back. Now I'm starting to see why, you know, well, months down the road, now I'm really starting to understand why I'm seeing the results. You know what I'm seeing, what works and what doesn't work. So, Yeah. CIM for me is that goal race, where could it be a Boston qualifier perhaps? But I know that whatever time I get, it will still be faster than the two I did last year. Bertrand Newson: Well said, Patrick, have you had any recent long run success where it's kind of all come together for you where you felt yourself? We had strategy on the front end, where you had done your homework from previous long runs with you, nutrition, nutrition, hydration. And you knew when to intake water when or electrolytes and the same thing with gels when you maybe weren't going out too fast on the front end. And there was a point in that long when we said, you know what, I want to go and leverage what I have in the tank. I felt I have energy reserves because of built up cardio fitness, but also from a nutritional standpoint that I'm not running at a deficit. And maybe where you did kind of press on the gas pedal. And you were, you were able to see where you're at. Have you had any recent long months. Patrick Loera: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. A recent long run in Santa Cruz. In fact, it was the work wars route pretty much, you know, so I mean, what a coincidence, right? That on that run, I strategized, I looked at what was working and this was kind of, this is coming off of a, of, of a Mount Diablo run where I crashed. I was down almost down for the count right there, you know, and luckily there was some hikers there that, that helped me through it. What I learned from there, one was to always have enough hydration, you know, and not just one. Two, to always have enough nutrition. And even if you're not going to be out there long enough to have more than you needed, and this is something Coach you know that, that you always told me, you know, if you bring enough for you and maybe enough for who you're going with. Well, I made the mistake of not bringing enough and not having enough water and not filling up when I had the opportunity to, you know, and so it, it could have been a drastic mistake, but I made it through and I, I didn't get injured. But what I learned is that, okay, now I know where my end is, so what am I going to incorporate in the next one? Santa Cruz, 20 mile run was on the map was on the calendar. So I thought, okay, how am I going to plan this out? Let's try something new. Let's get something. That's not just water. I got, so I play around with. I put one noon in a bottle and then put that into my little water bags and I have 150 milliliter water bag and a 250 milliliter water bag. And so, okay. I'm going to take those and I'm also going to wear my hydration pack. And so I planned out to have one energy gel at, at an hour in, you know, sprinkle some water in there between now and then, but one energy gel then, and then at 1.5, I'm going to have a new, you know, I'm going to drink this 150 milliliters and I'm not, and I didn't really need that. I didn't feel like my body actually needed this in there. But I know what it felt like to be on the other end of that, where you need it. And now if you don't have, you know, you don't have that energy. Two hours. Okay. I'm going to, I'm going to work this, this one hour sequence every hour. It's, it's an energy gel every, you know, half hour after that one hour is, is 150 milliliters of, of noon. So I set out on this 20 mile run with a group and I had signed the pace, another runner, Gloria, who was had a temple run on the mat, you know, on the schedule. So, so I said, okay, I'll go with you. It had been planned out to run. What was it at? 9 45, 9 30 in the beginning. Come from like that. Right. So conservative on, you know, the first five miles and try to maintain that. For me, I have a tendency to run faster as I, as I go on. Do you know, I'm always speeding up. I get lost in the music. I want to pick up my, my cadence. So first five miles, nine 30 to 9 45. Anywhere between the end of school, next five miles. It's going to be 9:15, 9:30, right? Anywhere between there. You're good. The last 15, you know nine to nine 50, the last five miles right up to 15, 9, 15 minute mile. Up to that point at, at mile 15, I felt great. I was, I had stuck to my strategy for liquid and nutrition. I had more in, you know, than, than I needed to. So it was a little heavier than I needed to be, but I felt awesome. I had, I had strength and, and, and my left leg, you know, my, my little sciatic issue had come up periodically every now and then it would come and it would go away. You know, and one thing I tried to do to overcome that is this focused on my form. Am I using my quads? Am I using my hamstring muscles? You know, all the, this whole area, you know, am I not putting any pressure on my knees? You know, where's my foot landing. How, how do I feel? They're in my calves. And at mile 15, I felt awesome, man. I wanted to go. But I didn't want to leave my friends. You know, she, she said, okay, I'm good. At 15, I'm going to run a conversational pace. Well, I just couldn't allow myself to do that anymore. I said, okay, I'll see you at the end. And I climbed the final hill at a, at a reasonable pace. And then I just, I let myself go, alright, let's go. I'm going to crash if I crash. Cool. If I don't great, you know, but this is the finish of the final five miles that I have to go. And so I just let it go. I hit about a 7 37, 15 minute mile there, there at the end. And and, and just kept moving through, you know, stuck to my plan. I, I, there, there were times, you know, there's small little downhills on the way back to the car, but I, I try not to let myself go below 7, 15, 7 minutes Because otherwise I know it'll crashed earlier. And so when I got to about mile 2019, I wanted to stop because now I'm just, I'm, I'm burning on fumes. And I thought, okay, Let's just keep going. I'm going to slow down the pace just a little bit too, about 7: 30 -ish, little over that, and still felt good. I finished up and I still had more in the tank. I could've probably gone on had I slowed down a little earlier at mile 15 and kept that eight to eight know eight, 15 pace right there, but not 15. Sorry. But about eight, nine, right. 8 39. I would have felt good. Now I would have been able to finish the entire marathon like that. And so that particularly was a success in, in, in nutrition and in, in in my hydration, you know, so it's not just water that helps out. And what I learned, thanks coach, is that water. Isn't always the greatest hydration tool, you know? Great. We all need water of course. But you know, when it was described to me as you're washing, you're, you're basically cleansing out. all that salt and everything that you have in there. Those necessary nutrients that, yeah. Bertrand Newson: We're not replacing sodium, you're watering, diluting your system. Or if you're a heavy sweater, you makes you more prone to cramping. Patrick Loera: And I'm a heavy sweater. I swear when I'm done, if I'm, if I'm wearing gray shorts, they look like dark gray shorts, you know, it's just, just dreads. I could stand there and I'm dripping, you know? And so as a heavy sweater, I needed to find a way to supplement that, you know, how do I replace these, these things I sweat now. And you can see all over my face and I'm done with the run, you know, assault, you, you know, you can taste it on your lips and taking a step back and looking at what works and what doesn't work. And then trying something new in the training run was, was a big success for me. And so I'm looking forward to trying that on, on the next long run, wink, wink. Bertrand Newson: Yes, that's a whole nother podcast episode we'll be talking about as Patrick is going to be embarking on the virtual 2021 San Francisco marathon. And it's looking like that race. It's going to be on the 4th of July. So what do I conic day to take on such a, a distance meaningful distance you know? So certainly hats off to you. You will be prepared. You've, you know, learning by past experience, hydration, nutrition and it's not just the day of the event, the day of the effort, it's the week leading up to it, especially with hydration. The importance of what you're consuming, hydration levels up to, you know, two days out, three days out your mill, the night before your mill, the morning of and, and knowing, okay, you know, I've eaten this before. Three weeks ago, four weeks ago, five weeks ago, and how it impacted my long run. So the long run is key for all runners, but it's not just about the run itself. It's about all the other auxiliary components that lead up to and contribute to your overall energy systems and your ability to sustain that. And if you're looking to run for, for time and efficiency, it all plays a role. So and listening to this podcast is gonna have some aha moments for other runners that are still trying to find that happy balance. So thank you for sharing that, Patrick. Patrick Loera: No problem. Kevin Chang: Well, I know Patrick that you are a great follow on Instagram. So tell, tell our folks, tell our audience where they can find you online and how they can reach out to you. Patrick Loera: Sure. On Instagram, I'm at Patrick lenses, The same thing on Twitter and Facebook. I go by Patrick Alejandro. I admit my last name, Leora, because I mean, one thing, it kind of sounds cool. And, and, and to you know, it's just different story. Maybe we can talk about that over coffee sometime, Bertrand Newson: The part two. Kevin Chang: Part two two. That's right. That's right. That's right. I mean, thank you Patrick so much for joining us on this podcast. I know that you're going to be at a number of different live races down here in the future, and I'm sure our audience is going to want to say hi to you in person and just the ability to pay it forward. I mean, I think that's just so important because we can all remember that race where somebody came up from behind where we were struggling, where we were having trouble, even visualizing ourselves, making it across the finish line and having a team like to legit. And gave you that pat on the back, that extra motivation and seeing you pay it forward now, from now into the future. I mean, think that's what we're all about here. Finding that community that will help you get to the finish line and help you, you know, have more fun on race day. So thank you again so much, Patrick, for joining us on this podcast and helping pay it forward to the running community. Patrick Loera: Thanks, Kevin. Thanks coach. I really appreciate the time. Bertrand Newson: Our sincere pleasure. Kevin Chang: Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the RaceMob podcast. Check out all of the show notes or find a running buddy online at RaceMob.Com. Please subscribe to us on apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcasts and leave us a review until next time. Keep on moving.