Welcome everybody, and it is officially underway. Dry January. Welcome everybody. Amy's TJ here Robes is doing this for the first time ever. It's a new year and a lot of people do dry January. You're doing it for the first time.
You've inspired me. You do it. You've done it every year for the past ten years, except for last year, which is understandable.
Why what was different about last January?
It was a top January. So yes, but we're in this together now, and I have never done it. I've always done what I like to call a damp.
January, which is it makes sense though when you.
I reduce my drinking, but I wasn't willing to completely cut it out. But this year, this month, I have agreed, and I'm actually excited about it.
I have agreed. I have agreed that it's a negotiation.
I have agreed to have a dry January, and I'm excited because I do like a challenge and this will certainly be one for.
Me, and it's more so it has been for me. Open now I feel great. It takes two or three days and you just forget about drinking. You get into a new habit and new routine. Of alcohol not being there when you have lunch or whatever it may be. But it's just it's an exercise in personal discipline. Is why I like it more than anything but the health metadit. I feel great.
Yeah, you told me in like three or four days, I'm gonna feel the best I've ever felt.
You're gonna feel great.
I cannot wait.
But then you're going to be at a restaurants he's abody to order in April sprits and you say.
Yo, TJ, this is killing.
But that is a lot of folks out there, a lot of you that are listening. You have a new Year's resolution, and most people, the overwhelming majority, do, have something related to health fitness in some way. Google puts out their resolutions related searches. Their top searches and working out, eating healthy were the top two.
So can you tell the fine folks what number three was because you shared that with me this morning and it was disturbing.
Brushing teeth, you know, if it's brushing.
Teeth more often or three times a day, but this is just in general brushing teeth.
Well, maybe everybody has something different that they filled in the blank with brushing teeth more often brushing teeth every other day. I don't know what they put in there, but maybe just brushing teeth was the search.
People deeply concerning.
Okay, but working out, eating healthy. Go ahead.
Well, I was gonna say, I love you had some really fun stats for me this morning. You also told me so. Strava is this app that we use a lot of runners, used to monitor how many miles we run, what our pace is. And it's fun. You can it's kind of like an Instagram for runners. You can follow other people, they can follow you, so you can get inspired by someone else's run. And they actually compiled a list of stats for last year and it was really funny.
So well, it's funny that they are able to pinpoint. And I know this is just the first week of January, so I don't want to be a downer on some of you all's health goals and resolutions that you've made, but many of you listening to me are going to fail miserably here in just a couple of weeks, just three weeks. Yeah, they have proof, they have the evidence
of this. They can tell in people's trends they go way up while right at the beginning of the year because everybody's working out and then they start to see them and that's usually the third week of January when people start to fall off.
There's an actual date, right January nineteenth.
This was one that was given years past. I can't remember which year, but yes, jov they put out this was the specific day that they saw this happen.
People just said, I'm done.
It's a wrap.
They just say, I hate running.
But it's not just running, it's gym memberships. This is the biggest month for gym memberships. A lot of you all have new ones. If you signed up for one in January, chances are in six months eighty percent of you are going to be done with your gym members July.
You got Yes, they're done. You're done. So everyone, I think, know what it's like to have a goal, to try to be disciplined and then maybe to fall off the wagon, so to speak.
Oh my god, I mean, can I speak on that?
Okay?
Because there was no you may remember it. There was something called fall off the wagon day. Oh okay, that's a different day. I can't remember. I'm sorry. I can't give credit to what organization put it together. But they looked at activity the trends in fast food consumption and the trends in working out and fall off the wagon. Day is when they noticed that the trends in fast food activity go up and the trends in working out
go down. Wow, so we start to balance out again and people right go right back to the fast food and right back to not working out.
Well, you know, I think we could all use a little inspiration. And there is someone here in studio with us who is probably the most disciplined person I have ever met. And there's no day of rest or saying I don't feel like it today, or any of that sort of mindset. And this is somebody who TJ and I met a little over a year ago and we're so amazed by and we thought, what a perfect person to bring onto the podcast today. He's here in studio with us because we could all use a little inspiration
as we start our health and fitness goals. His name is Helicity Bay, and this is well, he's got a lot of really amazing fun facts that I think are going to blow your mind. First of all, he was the first black man to run across America from New York to Los Angeles. Took him eighty four days average thirty six miles a day. You're going to get to ask him in just a moment. He is a former professional soccer player. He was born in Molly. He also, and this is wow, he is what you call a
run streaker. It doesn't mean he runs without clothing, which is where my mind went first. I'm sorry, am I the only one?
You're the only ones? You actually are the only one.
He's a run streaker, meaning he has run every single day, regardless of the weather, regardless of what he did the night before, since twenty seventeen, so that's over six years. His rules are that he imposed upon himself that he has to run outdoors woo, and he has to run at least two miles. But I believe he says he runs on average seven miles a day. So, without further ado, please welcome Hella into the iHeart Studios with us.
Yeah.
I feel really cool to be sitting with you guys.
Oh please.
The last time we were together was really fun. Love your energy. So it's a privilege to be here and I'm talking and chatting on with you guys.
But it is so and I wish more people could see you right now because this is one of the things we walked away with when we first met you. That dude just makes you feel good. You want to be around, you said, have a smile and a joy.
I really do. Since that interview, I was just like, Wow, these are the people I want to be around. No matter what happened, you leave, your chicks are heading. I remember saying, all laughter and fun, that's what I like, That's what life has to be about.
And you have a real joy of running. But it didn't always start out that way. So can we ask you? I said you were a run streaker. I explained what that meant. How many days are you on right now?
So after I ran this morning, so it's day twenty four hundred and twenty. Few consecutive runs.
Every single day, no matter what. What's the biggest circumstances challenge you had, like like a logistic change, the logistical challenge you were traveling, or something that you could.
So going to Australia in twenty nineteen, I had gorpro who had invited me. So I called him really sad, I said, I can't do this because I'm going to miss my streak. And I said because of running. I met you guys, and I don't want to compromise it. I was really sad because I wanted to go to Australia. It was twenty six hours. So they said, how can we make this happen. They connected me with a travel agent, so I took four flights so I can get to Australia, so I can stop and get off the plane and
might run it. Oh, so we made that happen. So I broke it out. I did a whole full YouTube video on it, like explaining the whole scenario, had video clips how I kept the streak alive. So that was a little tough logistically, but after that I got the routine of it. When I went to South Africa, I stopped in Germany for fifteen hours so I can run.
When I went back home to Mali recently, I make sure that there was plenty of time when I landed that I can run before the twenty four hour window was closed.
So you don't like direct flights, I don't like flights.
I can't do it lesson. It's like in the trans continental which is why I'll have plenty of time, but I have to stop now.
You said those were some of your challenges what is kind of the you remember a wacky or a weird thing you had to do or a place you had to run that normally you wouldn't.
Well running across America. And also with the first Black Man, it's unofficial, but for one hundred percent concept first African because there was all these like, well, these guys did this, so I was just like, Okay, I'm just gonna saity. Unofficial with that, but running through Arizona was really sketchy and really scary. Yeah, I was scared for my life and many times I went through some times where like literally there's like a black figure that's being you go
through the day. It was just like whoa. And those areas I've never had to run so fast in my life. I'd be so disturant, so beat out. But I was just like, you got to pick it up so you can get out of those areas. Those has happened and getting chased by dogs and things like that. But there was a lot of more beautiful part than that. But there's been some sketchy areas during the chance what.
He described, I've driven through some places in the South.
Running is a little bit different though, right you're a little bit more exposed there can I ask you, what was the day that you said? Today's day one, and I'm going to do this.
So day one I said May fifteen, twenty seventeen, but it happened three days before. I just don't have proof of it. So May fifteenth, I started using my watch. There's like run every single day from May fifteenth of twenty seventeen up until today. But I started like a few days prior to that. I just got to a point where I was just sick of everything that was happening in my life, and I just wanted to stop
making excuses. I grew up playing soccer. I went to the University of Massachusetts playing soccer, and I had professional potentials. Pro Teams were coming after me, and then they always come down to hell, I we want you, but visa status, we got to try to sponsor you. It's a lot of money. We'd rather pick a domestic player who was a resident, even if they have less talent than you. We can develop them and get them to where you are. What are having to pay all of the money, all
the visa stuff that's not even guaranteed. So I wanted to stop pointing fingers. So I was depressed. I was always been a happy person, but my dream was getting pulled away. The first dream was being a pilot that was pulled away since ninety eleven you can't be on a visa, and I had finished ground school already, it was ready for air school. One day, stripped out away. Soccer was my next dream, stripped away. So I just say, you know what, face something you're afraid of that you're
scared and running. Hit me immediately because it was used as a punishment playing soccer, so I went for it.
You use it, you said. Those were two dreams, yes, right, that were kind of taken away, pulled away for whatever reason. What did you have a third one? Right? Was there even something else that was a backup? Playing to back up my third one?
That was the last one. That's why I just went into this dark space that I couldn't get out of. I was miserable. You would look at me amy, I'd be pissed for nor you would smile at me. I don't want to look at me, like, why are you smiling at me? That's how stuff I was. And I'm not a professional, but looking back, it was definitely signs of depression, signs.
Of depression, and I recall you were you were in a tough spot financially as well. Correct.
Yeah, yeah. When I signed a professional contract in Seattle for one year, which was a US second division under the Seattle Sounders Kisse Hap Pumas, and I remember the first week we were going to do grocery with teammates and I had zero dow on my bank account and I knew that, so we went to a store similar to Aldi. We went to a cheap place. Everybody filled up their card. I did mine too, and I get to the checkout line. Something told me, my God told me,
your card's gonna get rejected. Because I've had times where I purposely know I had zero dollars and I'll swipe the card, it'll charge it, and I'll be negative and I'll be charged the fee. I thought that was gonna happen, but something told me, hell and not today, So in a way, I was up. Next. I moved my card, I sneakly went into the aisle and started putting stuff away. And when we were finished releaving, my teammate said, hell, I you didn't get anything. I said, no, I don't
think I like anything in this store. I'm not really hungry, but I was dying hungry. So I snugged my room and call Bank of America at the time. I said, hey, I know I have zero dollars in my count can you guys a lot overdrafting? So I'll be I'll charge I'll be charged with the fee and everything. And I said, I promise you I'm getting my first check the following friday. I'm a professional soccer player. You can google me. There's articles everywhere, and then this is how much I'm gonna
get paid. I'll pay you guys. They didn't want to do it, so I asked for a manager. The manager came in and said, hey, I don't know if that's guarantee or not, even though you're showing, even if you're on the internet, but I'm going to give you thirty dollar credit so you can go get grocery. So that was life changing. Thirty dollar credit got me a week worth of food. It was like at the time I was in vegan, but I got turkey slices, I got bread, I got cereal bars. So that was a full week
of grocery. So that day I was at the bottom. I was embarrassed to ask for family members, Hey can I give money? You're a pro? Who does that?
You know? So?
But to the lighter side, last year, Bank of America invited me to speak in front of six other people one percent top bankers said, what a full circle? Wow?
Hell, how do you tell folks who listen? We got here for the inspirational story about your running. But a lot of people just listen to what you said. And we've all at some point in our lives had a scary moment at that grocery store, had that scary moment of this card going to go through. But for you, what is it about the embarrassment? Because I think we've all been ashamed to ask for help.
Gentimes, Yeah, you get looked at and a weird way. I was on Facebook pages twenty players selected out of four hundred, so people expected you to have everything, and even having own family members saying why don't you get a real job. You're chasing this dream that's not real. And as far as and I tell my dad, my dad was like no discouraging even when I got into
this run stuff. So people who were even closer to home, so it's like I can't even go and ask them because they don't even think I'm serious about life or I'm trying to better myself. So there's so much behind it, and you're kind of hiding it and bottle it up, and you don't know what to do, and you don't want to ask for a helping hand even though you should.
Wow, and it's pretty incredible. You said for Full Circle, that's an understatement with the Bank of America. I love that story. That's phenomenal. I also love how you said you took something that was a punishment in soccer, which was running, and owned it. How did you get your mind to flip that.
I being an athlete, I knew that I'm in control of my physical movement, even though it can be tough. So I just told myself, hey, do something that you're afraid of running hit me because it was like I couldn't sleep nice before fitness there, so it was just so bad. So I decided to just said, let's try that. Give it a chance, and ten minutes a day, no pressure, no coach is yelling at you. Why in the back of the line, it's just you that gets to decide if you want to stop or keep going.
How it always works? You tell me, I have to do something. I'm pissed.
Yeah, but I decided.
Folks, we got Hella in studio with us, and you can tell probably already why we love this guy. We're going to continue with our conversation with him when we all right back here, Amy TJ with Hella in studio with us. A run streaker who is on what day? Tell me the day again? Three three days.
Running twenty six? Right? You said you just can't prove it.
I don't count it.
You know. I was curious what happened that guy? Do you know whatever happened to that guy? And it? Did? You talk to him again? The Bank of America guy who gave you a thirty dollars credit I was.
There with, literally was one of their CEO. I said, can you find somebody in Washington? I would love to thank him because that day, imagine you have to performance the highest physical being and you don't have any food, you don't have the energy. So he saved me that day, the whole week leading up till I got my first check. So I wanted to thank him. I said that to them, if they can ever find and I took some numbers down to follow up. But I would love to thank him.
But again, this is a guy who this wasn't a matter of some Bank of America policy. He just made wow.
And I know they can find it because they told me that I have history with them. If they look up my name, my Sulcer security, they can find my account and I'm sure they can track back and see the history thirteen yeah, ten years ago.
Maybe he's listening. That would be pretty cool, Hella. I obviously you ran across America averaging thirty six miles a day. You were going through mountainous terrain. You've done ultra marathons, and yet we ran our first marathon, I believe, on the same year, in New York City Marathon twenty nineteen. But you didn't train for it from what I've read. But you, the three of us all ran this last marathon, New York City twenty twenty three, and you were nervous before running it.
This one that I guess you.
I read that you trained for it for the first time.
Yeah, Boston Marathon. Oh, the Boston Marathon.
Yes, okay, How how would someone like you actually still have nerves?
It's for running, because the one hundred mile race I had zero nerve. Both of them let the one hundred zero Nerve Western one hundred, which is the oldest hundred mile race zero nerve. Because I had experience running across America, you learn how to deal with your body and your mind, how to fuel when you need to, how to force feed yourself when you don't have any appetite because your body is still burning calories. We're talking about I've burned
thirteen thousand calories over one hundred miles. So I had the tactic and logistic to figure problem solve because I did it for eighty four days, so that was nothing. I just know how to put the workout in and I'll be fine. But the Boston Marathon, I'm trying to run out of threshold pace. We're talking about holding no less than six minute thirty six miles six minut thirty six seconds per mile. So knowing that I have to hold that pace is another challenge within itself. So that's
why I was nervous for the Boston Marathon. And as clearly as the course is that as more.
That makes a lot of sense.
Oh my gosh, six thirty I can't run from the cops the six thirty pace. That's what you say, now, we'll test that theory, and how.
Did you do? I missed my goal by a little bit, and the sub through is by one minute thirty four. But I actually this is for the first time I'm going to say I was thinking, like, no slower than two fifty. I trained really hard. I went to the Boston course two times and ran on the course, went over Heartbreak Hill, the toughest part of the race, holding six thirty six for mye I did a twenty three mile long run. I did an eighteen mile long run, seven out of ten level. So I was fine that
day of the race. I don't know what it was. I was just stuck in this space I can get out of. So this year's redemption year, and I'm going out there. I'm finding a flat horse and I'm going to I'm saying this publicly. I'm going to run a fast marathon. I'm preparing really well for it.
I believe you, and I.
Think you will you for you, what's a fast marathon?
I needed too forty five. And I don't like to put my goal out there like that. I just like keep it quiet and then say hey, look, but I'm going to say it because I'm going to work hard, whatever it takes, if anything within my control, I need to get a two hour forty five.
That's it's so funny that you say that, because it's probably the biggest question people ask when they find out you're running any race, a half marathon, a marathon, even a ten k. What do you want your finished time to be? And I never want.
To say you save yourself from these Too much pressure.
It's way too much pressure. And every race is different, the weather, the terrain, what you ate last night.
I mean, it can be best prepared and then you get humbled. Oh I didn't know that's going to happen. Let's stop, make sing a little funny. Why does a little stomach.
TJ actually had to stop. We were on such good pace this past marathon.
We were crushing it, rushing it.
Yet not by your standards, but by our standards and my stomach. At mile twenty two twenty three, I I actually threw up on myself and then I had to go off to the side and finish.
I felt awful, and we with the two of us standing there, Hey, everybody, it happened. Get a look.
My parents were tracking me and they were like, what happened? Five minutes and I was like, yeah, I might have been vomiting.
We did finish, Yes, that's all that matters at the end of the day.
And it was still my best time ever. But it could have been so much better.
Yes, imagine, isn't that amazing to know if that didn't happen? So next time, we hope that doesn't happen.
And hell please, this was not a quick little she We were on the side five plus minutes, maybe even ceased.
I mean, it was seizing and I had to let it do it, you know.
But it's not even just about the time you wasted. Is the rhythm that you just got, so you going back to picking up that rhythm, it's much tougher, So huge quotas to you because going back in there to that flow, because as soon as you stop, especially of course, like your leg starts to tense up, your muscles starts to and then it hunts you. So you guys are trooper to stop that long and resumed the run. Well that's why I don't even want to stop.
I know, I was grateful. I was grateful to him. I was like, please keep going. He's like, obviously I'm not. But I would have been totally understanding if he had, because as a runner, you know what it means to have to stop your rhythm. In terms of understanding runners, I'm sure you get this A lot. People just ask why why? Because it's hard, it's not easy, and all of us have runs where we want to stop and we don't want to keep going, and a lot of ones where we don't want to start. Yes, why do
you run? What's the joy?
It's changed my life in so many ways, not even like the extras I'm talking about how I feel good mentally. I just find myself smiling because I feel like I conquered something that day. Even today was freezing when I started with twenty six degrees, but when I was out there, I felt like I was a trooper. You feel like a warrior, Like I can go out there and.
Battle this cold that I.
Get to just endure for an hour, which is nothing out of my whole day, and then when I'm done, I just feel accomplished. I feel in vincent. I feel like nothing can stop me. So that feeling alone was everything to me, and it makes me when I get out there every day to keep proving to myself. But what really helps me nowadays is running is a privilege that everyone has. There's people out there who can't watch run.
I see it all the time. The more you run outside, you see people who are emputee by accident, by war, by birth. So it's almost like insult to me that I'm not using my privilege. They would do anything to have the ability that I have. So in my back, in my mind, I'm doing it for them every day because that would love to have what I have.
You see the back of your mind. And I wanted to get to the mental part of all of this. The physical to hear you run an ultra marathon, you run one hundred mile. That's just insane to most people, right physically that you can do that, But the part about the mental still right, sometimes you don't want to even go. But then there are some times where you're out there you don't even want to stop. How does
how do you have you tricked your brain? Even as much running as you do, How much tricking of your brain are you still having to do?
You have to be crazy enough to tell yourself that you can do it. You got to literally tame yourself, be a child, imagine, oh I can do this. But also you got to be smart enough to do the training while tricking yourself in that way. But I always tell people, we go out there to do these races and we get mad and we complain, why who's you up? You did you do so? I said, I sign up for this. No one made me do this, so I
better shut up and just keep going. If I want to stop, hang my bib up, and that's okay, walk off the course. No one's gonna come and say, hey, you sink, but you tried. At the end of the day, you try. So I have it in the back on my I sign up for this, and I have this mindset no matter the circumstances. If I have to crawl, I'll crawl. I have thirty hours to finish one hundred miles, which is good to know, but whatever it takes, I'll
get it done. And then you have to also know with these races, as the high gets to the highest point, don't get too excited because it's gonna dip right back down. But low as low as you are, just know that hold on a little longer you're gonna get a new high again. So you just up and down. So whenever you're up, no you're gonna go down whenever you're downe No, you're not gonna stay there. So you just have to play that game. And sometime when you're down, you think
it's coming soon. It comes forever, but there's a hope that it's going to come. So that's gonna get you. Oh, I just cover another thirty miles waiting for this. I had to come again. Now I see it. But you just cover thirty miles. But you were suffering, but you were expecting it to come, which helps mentally.
And I know that you said among your rules they have to be outside. The run also has to be at least two miles. What's a two mile day for you?
Are you?
Did you have too much fun the night before? Did you not sleep that well for you to say I'm only going to do two miles today.
So there's two example. One just happened recently. So when I was leaving Mali to come to the US. It's really tricky with the flights. So I got up five in the morning and there's a big field behind my house. So I did laps for two miles and I just did circles. I just want to make sure I get my run Downe so five in the morning and Maley was midnight here, so it's already the next day. So I wanted to be saved before I get on a flight. I get trapped in the tarmac for twelve hours. Next
thing you know, I'm landing, it's already midnight. I don't want to compromise my run street, so I did that. And though crazy thing is in Mali you have to be at the airport for three hours before the flight. It's not like here you can show up you have like tsa pre check. No, you got to shove early like anybody else. So the earliest I could do was five am there, so it's at least midnight. If I want any earlier than that, it would be still the
same day before. So when I did that, when I got to the US at seven thirty pm, I got home ate something and I got out there again at ten pm and did an extra two miles, so it was four total. So that got me to add a little more to it. And another example was when I had a wisdom teeth issue. So I had a wisdom tooth that was coming out and there was a molar going up that was the wisdom tooth was blocking the molars.
The molars coming down on my jaw in the bone, so it's making the bone very thick and thin and fragile. I could crack. So I got the wisdom, removed the molar shape, and I had to do an endplant so there's no gap back there. So when I did that surgery before going in, I got up to run six in the morning. Surgery was at eight, and I told my dots. I told the author's surgeon, Hey, if I
can't run, I'm not doing this. He's like, well, you're not going to have a teeth and you're going to actually lose sensitivity in your nerves and you can't talk anymore, so you decide. So I said, my paints sound was pretty high, so he only prescribed me high advil. And so the next day I waited till eight at night and I went out to run two miles. The reason I kept it at two miles because he did say something that blood pressure. So the more I was out there,
my mouth was getting full of blood. So it wasn't about I couldn't handle more than two miles, but it was safer for me to stop the bleeding, so I just tapped.
Ay, wow, nothing is going to stop this streak.
That's my goal. Physical within my control, that's it.
And you haven't had an injury issue that stopped you from the streak.
I've had injuries, but it didn't stop me, and it was so bad. I've had pustration injury where lasted sixty plus days where I get home I'm in so much pain I go hide in the back of the room stopping myself from crying and pain. And I've had that. So the second time it happened, I cut my mileage from sixty miles a week to twenty one, which is three a days. That wasn't working. I cut it to two a days to fourteen miles away until I got
rid of this injury. But there's no really way for me to say, hey, I'm going to because I look at running as life. I'm not going to tap out and throw my talent in the back and say that's it. I'm just gonna do my best with with it whatever circumstances I'm dealing with. So that's the goal.
I'm sure you've had people come up to you and just say you're an inspiration, but I can't run even though they're not injured and they actually, we know physical, we can run. What would you say to somebody who wants to start a regimen nothing like yours, but maybe just to even run a mile a day or two miles every other day. How do you motivate someone to say, this is actually something that can be beautiful and joyful and beneficial in so many ways.
Yes, So first, being peckable with your word. Whatever you say is what you're gonna do. So be nice to yourself. Say it may be hard, but I can try. You don't have to say I can't. I can try. And I said, do something attainable. You don't have to go out there and do ten miles. I know if I were to start five miles a day, I could have done that. I would have been done within a week probably. I said ten minutes. It was time. It was in distance, so I was covering at just over a mile. So
do something attainable and do a pressure free. The pressure free was the biggest one for me because no coach was yelling at me. It wasn't anyone pointing fingers, Hey you're too slow. How come you're in the back of the pack, how come you're not up front? It was Milen will. So if you do it with pressure free, that's amazing, which meaning if you can only jog for thirty seconds at a time and you gotta walk for two minutes, I count that as a run, because not everybody.
I can't tell somebody because you didn't do a mile, it doesn't count. If your capability is thirty seconds at a time and then you have to walk and repeat, that that counts. So this is why I love run shrinking. But there's a run strict association that I disagree with. I don't like that page. I hope it didn't exist. They said, if you don't run a mile a day,
it doesn't count. And I said, who am I to tell somebody who is physically not able to do a mile without if they can only do five minutes, If that's not covering a mile, you're now going to tell me that. I'm going to go tell them, Hey, that
doesn't count. Their capability is five minutes. So whatever pressure free is the best, and you do how you want it, You say your own rules, and when you do that, you find yourself going longer, further, being better because you're getting better and you're feeling comfortable and you don't have to worry about the outside notes, which is really hard to do.
All right, we are here with Hella quick break, but when we come back, we're going to ask him as we wrap up, about two things when it comes to running, if you're just getting started, that are going to be key to your success. We continue in just.
A moment, Amy and TJ back here with our good friend and constant inspiration for at least my running is Hella, and he is here to talk a little bit about how to motivate all of us to keep up maybe our own run streaks, maybe not quite the way you do it, but one of your tips. And I love this because TJ and I live this. Is it better when you have someone running with you.
Absolutely, I'd rather wrong with people than by myself. It just time. It might not be the fastest pace, but it feels like it was the fastest time. You could be running a ten minute mile pace for ten miles you're like, oh, we finished ten miles already. Because there's so many conversations going on, there's so many things that you get to share with each other. It makes the time just goes so much quicker, and you don't think about the pain of running, because there's you're with each other.
There's that African proverb, right, if.
You want to go fast, you go along. If you want to go far, you go together.
I love it.
She has that acts all the time.
I love that. I live by that.
You talk also ahead.
I'll slow you down.
So oh no, no, no, you're the one that.
Got me out there in the first place.
So it never has their own little things that they bring to the table.
And I would much prefer always to run with somebody me too, always. And we were talking about Strava their stats, but one of them they put out is that their percentage of like ten and twenty percent people run, they go faster, and they go farther if they're with a group. Yes, they have statistics that you're.
Much And I run with people who are faster than me and they pull me. I'm like, well, there's no out have been able to do that by myself because I just don't. I don't have that capability in my mind to pull myself because sometimes you hold yourself back a little bit. So it helps them so many ways, it really does.
DJ's just asking me if he can now take the lead, and I follow him, so that he can pull me.
But it is we run different. He's different, naturally. I always run behind her and we don't talk during the runs. You do like talking to people, okay.
Yeah we did on vacation. Yeah, and it did go by very.
Quickly always, but you don't like to talk during the runs.
You know what it is, slow down, slow enough that you can have a conversation like this conversational pace, because that's also building a retal big strengths schedule on muscular strengths. You're not missing anything out of that. There's a saying run slowly, run faster. So if you feel like you don't want to talk because you want to focus on your breath, go much slower, then breath will be an issue and you will conversate and you're actually building a different type of fitness.
See. That's when I first I think I told you it was Matt, Matt James. I went on a run with him, a friend of ours, and he wanted to talk and we ran five miles like I can't talk for five that five miles went through, we were in natural conversation. That's when I said, oh, maybe I'm in pretty good shape.
Here, yes, yes, And I feel like you get so much different, like adrenaline through your body. We're like a pace like that. By yourself, you might be breathing a little heavier, but that also gets calmed down because your body is at a different state with people.
The other thing they say is key to success is setting a goal. Not just a goal of I'm going to run a mile to their happ but some people if you set a goal of I'm going to do the five k that's in three months, yes, you have a much greater chance of success.
I agree. My streak started with ten minutes of there for two weeks. It was a two weeks goal turned into six plus years, so I had to start somewhere. I didn't say I'm going to run every day for a year. After the two weeks ago, I'm like, I don't think I'm going to stop for at least three hundred and six five days. But I didn't jump to the three hundred and six five days at first. It has to be something small goal that leads up to the bigger picture.
All right, we heard your Boston Marathon goal, but do you have any other goals for this year?
Yeah? So I want to actually getting to rather down for this spring because I'll be honest, it's flatter. It's flat as pancake. So I want flat and fast. So that's the redemption from Boston. Yeah, redemption year. So also I want to do a run in Semany, France, which is the UTM. Have you guys ever been there?
I have been to show it is one of the most beautiful towns in the world.
I want two years back to back and it's amazing. During a UTMB, which is like the biggest ultra marathon.
Weekend, are you running? So I climbed. I did some technical climbing on the MIDI is what they call it. You're not running up there, are you?
You go through all the mountains I was talking about Switzerland, France and Italy and back into.
Twelve thousand feet thirteen thousand feet.
Yeah there, You're high up there and it's insane. It's a tough race. So I'm not going to do the one hundred and six mile race there. It will be like the fifty plus Klimeter So over thirty miles that's the.
REA and then Gez come on.
Massive elevation, elevation, that's what I'm considering that the elevation is anything over nine thousand, Yes, you have less oxy.
I don't want to be a fool and then say I'm going a little shorter but higher elevation. But I will do one hundred mile race in October this year too, so it'll be two ultra marathon, one longer than the other in a marathon in the spring. So that's my ultimate goal, and I hope I can get out there for the Olympics and pairs just to be there.
I just love any.
Running events, so maybe I'll do their marathon. Because they're actually allowing regular people run marathons Olympics this time, so you can. Actually there's an app as well, where like you can do challenges. They'll say you have to run five k by a PM, so they'll select you and give you random bibs. So there's an app that I
have signed up for. There's challenges that if you can complete, so they're gonna get I think it's gonna be like twenty thousand plus runners, so they at least are gonna take off like a regular marathon like the Olympians, and then US regular average runners are gonna go after so people can run the Olympics this year. That's amazing so I'm trying to, like, if I can get in, I don't care about time at that point, I'm just gonna say I ran at the Olympics. We're not gonna start
an Olympian, but I run at the Olympics. There's connections. I'm trying to I'm exploring every option.
Way. You just massively peaked our interest.
Yeah, I think that would be epic, and you can go yeah, and then you go do something like that. You can just be part of the world coming together every foty year. That's what's best about the Olympics. So and running is one of the biggest things that bring us together. So I hope I can get into that as well. That'll be like a side thing. Just do it for fun, just do it for fun and spectate.
I mean, and I love what you said about running bringing us together. I feel like that at every race. I feel like that. Even when I'm running down the West Side Highway, you see other runners. There's just this there's a community, there's a camaraderie and you everyone's looking at each other knowing that you're probably suffering slightly, yes, but you're doing it anyway exactly. And there's some sort of I don't know, fun camaraderie to that commitment.
Yes, and helping each other too is big, like pulling somebody. One of my best experiences on last year was actually not even my one hundred mile race or any of that. It was I helped a blind runner and finish the New York City Marathon. It was the most fulfilling thing I've ever experienced throughout this run streak. So it wasn't about me and my time, but the smile of his face that we hit his goal and the excitement that he had. Rolando is his name, was just like, Wow,
this is bigger than me, and it reinforced that. So helping each other running does that. And we help each other in ways that we don't even know even, like you said, you guys running together, you're helping each other without even thinking about it. I think that's important too.
Yeah, in the past couple of years, I mean, on one hand, we could probably count how many runs we didn't do together.
See that's amazing.
Yeah, and you you are into helping others.
I know that you give back.
This isn't just about your personal goals or what you can accomplish. You want to give back and I know you found it in organization Sols for Souls. Tell us a little bit about it because it really is inspirational.
Yes. So, Social SOL is a nonprofit that take on one to shoes, newer youth and clothing and turn into opportunity. And their biggest goal is to you know, you feed up man. They live for a day, you teach them how to fish, they can live for it longer. So that's the goal. They've helped so many people by giving us shoes and new shoes that can turn into business and a lot of first world country and thorough all country,
so it's not just like thorough countries. Even in the US, there's people here that don't have a pair of shoes. And the reason this worked out perfectly, I grew up in West Africa. A pair of shoes doesn't come often. So we're talking about you have one pair of shoes, you have to use it for five years, and we take care of it so much. I wouldn't wear my new shoes until if it's occasion, if it's like holidays.
Otherwise it's not every day you're walking on barefoot or you have sandals on, and sometimes you outgrow their shoes It's not that you didn't take care of it, you just outgrew it and you don't know where your next pair is going to come from. So for running too, all you need is a pair of shoes. So it really works really well for me to say, you know what, this nonprofit is perfect to run across the country for.
Hello. The last thing I want to get you out of here on is a lot of people might be curious a guy who runs as much as you do, what your gear is. Do you have a favorite type of your shoes? Agree, that's okay, But your shoe, your watch, the app you use, what is your go to? I just want to make this clear. To run, you don't need any of the stuff that I have. All you need is your shoes and have your body parts covered. You don't even need a watch. You can just go
by field. But I love running shoes. I live by it. I dissected, I review them. I love super shoes, and I do think that they work. The shoe work if you work. If you don't work, it won't you have to work. It enhances your work.
I love those. I wear four watches when I run, and the reason it is not to stay out four watches because I am a YouTuber, I review these watches, so about to rotate my watches and get new ones that no one really talks about. So sometimes you don't have to worry about buying a eight hundred dollars watch. Maybe there's like a one hundred dollars watch after that's doing their job. So I like to do reviews like that let my audience know this can work too. So
I wear four watches when I run. I love my running fits because I think that running as tough as it is already. But imagine have you ever put on that sick running off and you're like, oh, I feel good? Yeah, So it is the accessories that makes it fun. So I love to try to look as fly as possible, maybe to be sometimes maybe someone look at you, this is not it as long as you feel good. So I love my running outface. I love my running shoes and my gadgets.
What's your running shoe?
I wear Hoka all day every day. I started wearing hook I told you guys about this when I started wearing it. When I did my first I did the New York City Subway System Challenge, which is two hundred and forty five miles. That's the length of the subway system New York City. So the goal was to start in Labor Day and start Morial day and finishing Labor day weekend. So it's two miles a day. So I did it in one week. So I was doing thirty
five miles a day. And when I started this, I reached out to run and I heard about these shoes that's good for ultra. It was Hoka. I was the Clifton sixth. They gave that to me. I put one hundred and five miles on it and I fell in love with it. So I just started wearing Hoka and next thing you know, I'm sponsored by them. But it's my goal to shoes. If you want to shoes for comfort, the habit. If you want to shoot for walking even
though it's running, shooes to have it. If you want to shoot to just train the habbit, if you want to shoot to go really really fast, the habit. And there's a shoe that's about to come out that is beyond super shoes. And you know you hear sports cars. There's like sports cars supercars, and there's hyper cards. I don't know if you heard of that. So the hyper cars are like like Ferrari, Bugatti, like Pegani Coeni Zags and then there's no such thing. Have you ever heard
hyper shoes? So I just came up with this. So this shoe that I ran with this morning is going to be in hyper shoes is beyond. It's in bargod right now to us, so it will be available this year. But this shoe is extremely aggressive, extremely responsive, and I was screaming when I was running in it because how efforts I was moving for the pace that I was going at. But I love shoes like that because I depend on those. Two helped me hit my goals. I gotta get fit, but they helped.
Oh and I have to ask one last question because I see that you're vegan, and diet is such a big part of running, and it's so difficult to figure out what to eat, what not to eat, and I'm blown away that you have been able to, yes, be a vegan and run the miles you run.
I've been vegan. Actually next month it will be eight years. I started before even the run Streak twenty sixteen. So I went to school for public health and sociology. I learned stuff and then things that were taught to me that I learned after college. So I decided to take my diet very seriously. I want cold turkey. I watched that Folks of the Nights. That's all. It took twenty minutes in I was dumbfounded, and then I decided to
clean up a little bit. And the one thing I regret about being vegan is that I didn't do it soon enough, because as soon as I went, it works different for everybody. Mine was instant energy. I couldn't stop, and some people it takes about two weeks for your system to get used to it. So I think the reason I can go out there every single day because there's less inflammation in my body. We'll talking about less animal protein and fat and things like that, so that
causes inflammation. So my recovery is a little more efficient because of that, because of the plant based diet. So I think that's been a very crucial to my run streak. But being saying that, I'm not a vegan that's always so strict. I eat my fatty food. I love my cheeseburgers, I love my pizza. So I'm not gonna pretend here like I missed your perfect because even two days ago, I drove to Hoboken. I would have drove to New York City to go get the cheeseburgers, which is drill
better burgers, the best burger you'll ever eat. You won't even know it vegan. So I did that. I drove forty minutes to come, eat two cheeseburgers and a milkshake, to go back home forty minutes.
Wait, it was still a vegan burger.
Cheating, you're staying.
Yeah, I'm not cheating. I'm just saying I eat always healthy, because veganism is not always healthy too. It's about the ethics. You can be healthy, for sure, but also I want to also be transparent. There's on healthy vegan food. I also have my share for healthy.
And you're not a drinker.
I drink occasionally, I'm not. I can't. I can count in my hand how many time I've drink in a year, for sure. But if I do drink, I love Malibu baberries. That was introduced to you know, if you asked his uncle that drink is really cared And then I got stuck in my margery. Is the way with salted rims recently. They're delicious, aren't they those are delicious.
Count on one hand how many times you yeah, in the year we didn't get exactly.
Wedding, because that's the time where I'm like, okay, it's a wedding. We have to cheers. You gotta have agreed.
Agreed, yes, yes, well, cheers to you, Hella. This has been so much fun. I wish we even had more time.
Sorry, I'm taking that sip.
Round three.
It really hello. We will have you back for sure because you got a lot of things and the events and whatnot coming up, and we just always love having you, man, We love talking to you always always.
You know what we should do. We should do a run club, ay TJ Hella, good run club in New York City.
All right, we can talk the whole time.
Five k easy, one and a half mile up? Want to have a mile back? And we call it a day. We chat, we hang out, we eat and this is happening. We can talk about Come check out this deal podcast.
If Andy, why didn't you think of that? Man? All right, well, Hella, it's an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much. You all will be hearing from from Hella again here on this podcast.
This is incredible.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Hella and everyone don't forget. You can follow us, follow our podcast at Amy and t J Podcast.
Until next time, We'll see you Amy A.
T J.
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