Breaking Barriers: Jill Wolf's Journey from 3:44 to Sub-2:50 Marathons

DFW Running Talk: Jill Wolf
===

Chris Detzel: [00:00:00] Welcome to DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Deel, so let's get started.

Alright, welcome to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel and today's guest is Jill Wolf. Jill, how are you? Good, how are you? I'm good. I'm so excited to finally talk to you. We had some, I know times we had to, change and all this other stuff. But I know you're a busy person, but here you are.

So it's exciting.

Jill Wolf: I'm glad to be here.

Chris Detzel: And we'll talk about this in a minute, but I was looking back at some of your accomplishments and a lot of accomplishments, but one big one was this January you PRD at Houston Marathon, right? We'll talk about that in a minute to say what that is and it's super fast.

So that's exciting and lots of other really good stuff. But before we go into that, let's talk a little bit about you and when you started running and stuff.

Jill Wolf: So I've been running since I was in seventh grade. My father, I was a big soccer player growing up, played baseball with the boys, played soccer, pretty much travel [00:01:00] league a lot.

And my dad was like, let's put you in cross country. 'cause travel soccer wasn't with a school. Makes sense. So it was like, okay, you can do school cross country as well as travel soccer. And ended up seventh grade, just probably I was beating all the eighth graders and was like, oh, okay. So maybe pretty good at that too.

Maybe I'm just better at the running part than just actually playing soccer. Ended up. Running from seventh grade all through high school was, varsity all four years for cross country and track. All right, so

Chris Detzel: let's I know you wanna keep going here. Yeah. But I'm gonna stop you a little bit.

Is, so you're running in seventh grade and then high school. Let's get into that a little bit. But, varsity for it sounds like you did really well. What was the miles that you were in, the, for the was it a two mile or three miles? What was that?

Jill Wolf: In middle school was the two mile.

Yeah. And then when high school, it was the 5K for cross country. And then for track I was a two miler and miler. I ended up always getting thrown into the four by eight, which was the first event of the event and, or like the track knee. And I absolutely hated it. Anything below a mile is please get me, stop picking me for this [00:02:00] race.

Chris Detzel: I remember in high school, and that was a long time ago for me, but, I they put, I did the mile and two mile usually, and two stories. One story was they put me in the 800 and I just wanted to do it for fun and I won it on that track meet. I won the 800, barely like by, so I couldn't believe it.

And I didn't really run that much, but then I ran my fastest mile on my senior year. And look, for me it was fast. It was a five 12 and I got dead last, that's

Jill Wolf: still really fast though.

Chris Detzel: I know. It was for me, but it wasn't that fast for varsity, track.

So anyways, tell me a little bit about your times and things like that back then. I'm curious. Yeah, like a 5K or

Jill Wolf: so, my freshman year is when I had my best year for no way in high school. So yeah, I was, 15, barely 90 pounds, like this short little thing. The girls are all towering over me.

And my 5K pr from my first year was 1923. Okay.

Chris Detzel: And.

Jill Wolf: I proceeded to never get even close to that for the rest of my collegiate or for my high school career.

Chris Detzel: That's crazy.

Jill Wolf: I just, for some reason [00:03:00] was not getting anywhere close and that ended up being the high school record until about, I think it was like 12 years ago.

Someone broke it. No way. So I was really ha really happy to hold onto it for as long as I did. It was something that someone had to have be 19 minutes. It was, the girls

Chris Detzel: nowadays feels, I dunno if the professional

Jill Wolf: runner Emily Infield was when I was up, born and raised in Ohio.

She's a professional runner. We used to work for race with Nike. She was like miles ahead of the rest of the, gosh, ridiculously fast. So race against her is a loose term, but she was raced

Chris Detzel: with when she was racing in

Jill Wolf: close proximity.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Jill Wolf: So I went to states my freshman year up, actually back then it was top 16, got to, got a place to go to states, just individually.

And then what ended up ha I was 15th, just barely sweeped in on a snowing thunder mud, probably up to the middle of our shins race. And it pro run was the gaunt it essentially. And cross country was that up in northeast Ohio? It was trails and all that. So went to states had a [00:04:00] terrible race, that's to be what it is.

Then I never got closer to that. I never got back to that 19 minutes in high school. I had That's so interesting. Used the rest of the time. You

Chris Detzel: did? Okay.

Jill Wolf: The two mile, I was, got the high school record for my high school at 1144. That's my freshman year as well okay. Again, freshman year was my year.

Chris Detzel: Wow. After that had

Jill Wolf: just it band issues the whole time and never, could, never, could make it close back again.

Chris Detzel: Do you think that's because like you just didn't know what to do with the it bands? Or was it just you're young and dumb and you're just like, yeah, whatever,

Jill Wolf: yeah. I think back then I still loved running.

Yeah. But I was, but after my first year and was like super, I had a really good year. I stopped really caring about the other stuff. I was like, our tool, you, we used to go run to McDonald's and get ice cream all of our easy day, 30 minutes. 'cause back then no one had, smart watches.

So everything was Timex and, be back in 35 minutes. So our watches are just running. No one knows how far we ran. 'cause we didn't really run, we ran to the the playground. And we did we goofed off. And if my coach ever [00:05:00] sees this, I'm so sorry, Laura. I know you know the ans that this happened, but I'm sure she knows.

Oh, she does. Because when I've gone back there, she says oh yeah, they're going to the same po. I'm like, yep. We, every year it just, yeah.

Chris Detzel: Is she still the coach?

Jill Wolf: She is still the coach. She was the assistant when I was there. Now she's still the coach and I ke I keep in contact with her when I go home.

Chris Detzel: That's pretty cool. Yeah, I like that. It's pretty

Jill Wolf: cool. So yeah, after freshman year I just, it band issues. I was still, my case was in the 20 minute range. I was still like 12 low tools for the two mile, but never got back to that peak of what I was my freshman year

Chris Detzel: and doing just say research, but just trolling your Instagram or fa I don't remember, but I saw you've already hit 18 something in one of the five Ks, like not all that long ago.

Jill Wolf: Yeah, it's, it's crazy. Back then I was, 15 and now I'm 32.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Still young ti

Jill Wolf: essentially 17 years later. And I'm st. I'm faster now than ever. So it's been, it's cool to see that you're like. Age really doesn't really matter, and frankly, hard work will [00:06:00] continue to, you can get better if you really want to.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. I think, the difference is that, you're a lot smarter, you're a lot more focused. You've probably been around a community of people that you know are also the same way. That don't, back when you were 15 or 16 or whatever, none of us thought that way, no, unless you're just have a hardcore, kinda, especially cross country, cross country is like the low on it's low thing on the totem pole. Nobody cares about it. It's no, throw that coach there, pretty much. All right, so you started, you did some stuff in high school, and so I didn't mean to go so deep into that, but I'm very interested then what happened?

Jill Wolf: So I, I was recruited by multiple colleges across the state, some in Indiana, Illinois, and a couple others. I ended up going, funny story. I went to, I ended up going to Miami of Ohio which is small, a D one public school by Cincinnati, my junior, going into senior year. I went down for college. Wait, did you get a

Chris Detzel: scholarship or.

For running. Okay. It's just you were still recruiting? No, was

Jill Wolf: I was going, I was, I went down there, 'cause that was like my top pick and I actually ended up meeting with the coach there at the time. Okay. Three weeks prior, I [00:07:00] was out hanging out with friends at a pool that, by the way, I wasn't supposed to be at, 'cause my parents didn't know I was there.

Ended up stepping on one of those pool they, no, they know 'cause I,

Chris Detzel: he had to call 'em.

Jill Wolf: So stepped on one of those circular pool drains when you're running around a pool, which they tell you not to do. Yeah. Stepped on it. Pinky toe. Caught the edge and almost ripped my toe off. Holy cow. So I ended up having to run, go to the hospital, four stitches between my toes, which was terrible.

And then I, go on this college visit, meeting this collegiate coach as I'm in a boot with stitches between my toes. I'm sure. This is coaches is what the hell? This is a good look. I'm never gonna make this team. So it was at the end of the day, I ended up not competing in college. Okay. I was so done with cross.

Like I was so done with the injuries was just k was just as we I know now and I still can't stand it. I don't like going out all springing. It's hard. Or three miles. Ks are the worst. Terrible Ks, 10 Ks, anything like that. I like longer distance. It's pretty fast

Chris Detzel: at five Ks now.

Jill Wolf: When I'm being forced to do a time trial and just throw myself in [00:08:00] there.

But I don't do 'em very much anymore. I probably have one or two a year and only maybe like a Turkey, a nice Turkey trot.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Eight miler or something here in Dallas. Yeah,

Jill Wolf: exactly. So I gave it up. I gave up running completely for all co all my co college years. I did try to pick it up every once in a while just because I was like, I feel like I miss it.

I wanna try again. It just, the it band just immediately flared really. And I'm like, what? So I just was like, you know what I'm just gonna not run. And I focused and stayed in school for, the time I was there. So you didn't do any

Chris Detzel: exercises though, or at all, or

Jill Wolf: Not really. I was very bad at college.

Okay. I was pretty much, I went to the gym once a month, maybe I was pretty bad which is crazy. Yeah. 'cause I can't even imagine going one day now without doing something. 'cause I'm just, I'm sure. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: All I thought we were gonna be talking about a lot of hard work here.

So far.

Jill Wolf: I know just how lazy,

Chris Detzel: all I heard is, some slacker stuff.

Jill Wolf: I'm just joking. The special,

Chris Detzel: We'll see [00:09:00] you get outta college. Do much or hardly any running and no exercise. What happened then? So I

Jill Wolf: ended, went to work.

Chris Detzel: I assume, I know

Jill Wolf: I got a full-time job in Columbus

Chris Detzel: Uhhuh. You're still in Ohio?

Okay.

Jill Wolf: I'm still in Ohio at the time, this time. And I was just, I, when you work nine to five and you come home, you're like, okay, I'm bored. Yeah. I don't really wanna spend time watching Netflix and get,

Chris Detzel: you get, it gets old,

Jill Wolf: it gets, you get too much into that routine, right? Yeah. And you're like, oh my gosh, I am, I need to do something.

And the one thing that always was like, Hey, running's still there, you still enjoyed it. Might as

Chris Detzel: well you were good at it once

Jill Wolf: getting back at some point in the past. So I. Right, exactly. So I decided to sign up for my first half marathon. So yeah. Wow. No dipping the toe in. I was like, you know what?

We're going full cent. I need no 5K, I need some type. No, I need some type of goal. I need something to Okay. Strive towards because I just didn't enjoy the 5K. I was like, maybe I'll enjoy the half, maybe I can frankly, at that point, [00:10:00] 13.1 seemed completely unrealistic and so IF signed up for the Columbus half marathon, and this was 2015, I believe.

Okay. Yep. October of 2015. Yes. And so from there I jumped right back in and back then I did like the run coach, which is like that like online program where it like tells you based on what you ran the week before and your heart rate and all, it's all on your phone. Which it was fine. It did what it needed to do and ran the race and ran a one.

1 56. Oh gosh, no dog. We're not doing this second here. We're squeaking the toilet. It's all

Chris Detzel: right.

Jill Wolf: So yeah, I ran a 1 56 my first half, so I was like, that's not bad. Okay,

Chris Detzel: that's pretty good.

Jill Wolf: This is maybe we got something here. So how'd you feel

Chris Detzel: like, was it, oh my gosh, this sucked? Or was it like It was definitely

Jill Wolf: hard.

Chris Detzel: Yeah,

Jill Wolf: but it wasn't like, I actually enjoyed it because again, the it during your first half you're like, I can breathe. I'm not going full send, can't breathe you. Like your breathing is fine. It's your legs that start giving out. So it was something that I'm like, oh my gosh, this is awesome. I love [00:11:00] this stuff.

Chris Detzel: So how did you, what'd you think about like your first and hardly any of us know what to do on that, but when you think of, how'd you fuel, did you fuel at all? Or was that just eh, there's some water on the side so I'll drink it? No, not

Jill Wolf: at that time. Okay. So I wasn't running with a group.

I had almost, no, you just

Chris Detzel: did the online plan.

Jill Wolf: Did the online plan. I didn't use gels. I was essentially following this program that was like saying this is what you run. And I was able to do it just fine. If I had gels, could I have gone faster? Probably. But it was so new to me and I didn't have a community to help me and understand it was one of us do that.

Let's see if we can do it.

Chris Detzel: So that's a typical story, right? That's exactly what I did. I'd go out, I remember I was probably 25 or 30 pounds overweight. I was 39, I think 37, and just went through a divorce and all these things. And then my brother, I've got a twin brother, and he is dude, you need to do something.

Because you need to lose weight and there's a lot of stress that goes with this thing. Said, all and so I did, and I started off running a mile, right? And I [00:12:00] did cross country in high school and all this stuff, but that was a long time ago back then.

And so I'd run a mile.

I allow myself to walk that mile for five days straight. I'd go run a mile. And then on Friday, I was hoping just to jog the entire mile, and then eventually I get up to a five and 10 K and I would run it as hard as I could every time. Can I beat yesterday? Hashtag beat yesterday.

You know how the app does with Garmin? No.

Anyways, go ahead. But I think we've all kind of been there.

Jill Wolf: I talked to so many people, they're like, oh yeah, I'm just, I'm better than I was yesterday. I'm like, that's great. But there, that doesn't matter. It doesn't do anything for the long run.

Yeah, exactly. No.

Chris Detzel: All right. So you run your first half, you're excited. That's good. Six or whatever. What, so you wanted to keep going obviously.

Jill Wolf: Yes. I, when I did my first half, I was always like, I do wanna get up to the marathon, because it's something that's just like really, that's, I knew I wanted to try something and I saw Boston on TV and it was one of those oh my gosh.

That's it. That's what I gotta get to. That's the amateur elites. That's where everyone, if you're a series runner, that's what you wanna do. So I ended up [00:13:00] moving to Dallas. Technically I was living in Uli at the time. I used to work for the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, nice.

Yeah, that's a problem. Texas, you're a cheerleader or what? No, the most least flexible person you'll ever meet. You're a runner, so that makes sense. Can't touch my toes. The same my life. But no, it was something that I moved to Dallas, lived in Eli. Pretty much isolated as close to the stadium as I probably could get, and was like, you know what?

I want to train for my first full, and this was now 20, 20 17 was my first marathon. And I started with the Luke s locker training program, which at the time was the official training partner of the Dallas Marathon. Yeah. So all, so back up.

Chris Detzel: Did you do any half marathons since 2015 or did you just did one

Jill Wolf: more in, but I did it was like two hours in a minute I think at Glass City in Toledo.

So that I did two of those and then started training pretty seriously for Dallas.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: And so Dallas was, I ended up making feeling like I'm part of a community and I was, they had because you're at Luke's the different running

Chris Detzel: with people. Yes. Got it. So

Jill Wolf: they had the, I think it, gosh, now I'm gonna remember [00:14:00] Blue, green, yellow, like the Pace groups had different, they had different pace groups.

I remember

Chris Detzel: something like that.

Jill Wolf: Yeah. So ended up doing that program and there was one of our friends that lit. It was fun. 'cause I was, waking up at five in the morning, getting in my car from Yuli, driving to White Rock Lake every single morning, man. And just getting fully, I know and not much different than what I do now, but just fully immersing myself in saying, I'm gonna give everything to this because I wanna do it and I've never done it.

A lot of my coworkers probably thought I was crazy 'cause I was, 26 at the time and they're like, Hey, let's go out and party. And I'm like, ah, I gotta five kinda long run up at five. Sorry. Yeah. So it was something that like, was really a challenge and I really wanted to do it. And I don't, I think I missed maybe one Saturday and I think it was 'cause I was out of town, but I threw everything at it.

I was like, you definitely don't wanna

Chris Detzel: miss that many Saturdays for long runs because

No. They, those miles add up.

Jill Wolf: Yep. And especially as it got to like the eighteens the twenties. Yeah. And you're like, am I've never done it really about to run this. Yeah. And not that the marathon's not [00:15:00] 26.2 miles.

Like you gotta get pretty close to it in the training. So it was one of those oh my gosh, I'm doing this. And it was so hard. I'm like how am I supposed to do this? And back, no one's using race shoes. Everyone's using those like chunky, like I had ASIC Nimbus and I still use those. I did too.

I used to use those.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Jill Wolf: But those were my long run shoes too. And those things were heavy. Yeah. So by mile 18, 19, 20, you're like, oh my gosh. But they're very cushiony for your foot. They're very cushiony.

Chris Detzel: That's the beauty about the Nimbus. Yes. But Asics forever just had these heavy shoes and I'm like, I'm tired of heavy shoes.

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. But I did love him for the comfort anyways.

Jill Wolf: Yes. So it was so hard and I like just the training and then they, there was one of the girls in the group was like, you're, this is the hard part. Once you get to race day, that's the easy part. Like just get to because you've done all the work.

Yeah. You've done everything you possibly can and there's not, you're gonna finish Yeah. Unless you're definitely something, unless hopefully nothing bad happens. Like a car driving on the course, which does happen sometimes crazy [00:16:00] enough with not closed courses, but you're gonna finish. You don't spend 16, 20 weeks training for something and saying you did the work.

I'm just gonna give up.

Chris Detzel: You said it earlier and I think you said it, I don't if it's pre-show or not, but doing the work is the key at the end of the day. You did it.

Jill Wolf: Absolutely. You did. Yep. So ended up running my first marathon in 3 44 at Dallas.

Chris Detzel: Damn, that's really great. I was really, that's when you think of like your two hours.

And 1 56. Who knew you could do under four hours,

Jill Wolf: yeah. It was, that's great. It was awesome. And it was the com, like a like validation. I needed that, I'm not that far off from the bq, which at the time was a three 30, and I knew going into training that I couldn't bite off the whole elephant in one bite.

I needed to take, get one under my belt and then focus on the next

Chris Detzel: one. Most people can't. Let's just, I think the reality is there are some very talented people. Period. Including yourself. You're extremely talented, but you've had to put every ounce of work to be that talented.

Yes. So if you want to hit your true peak talent it takes maybe a few years, two years, [00:17:00] whatever, right? Or longer to get your body used to that marathon kind of stuff. I'm not saying you won't make really great strides in getting better in the time, I've seen plenty of people that you know, that they have the talent they're gonna hit.

If they keep going, they're gonna hit some great times. Whether it's absolutely marathon or half marathon. A lot of times these people, oh, it's my first marathon and I'm gonna bq. I was like you might, but that's rare. You could be good. It, it is rare for your first time to go out and run a marathon to be q

Jill Wolf: you, you don't know what you're gonna see.

You don't know the dean like anything. Fight at 23. You don't know anything, 20, you have no idea what you're in

Chris Detzel: for. Exactly. And generally they don't. I'm not, I've seen people that do, I'm not saying that they don't but I would say 90 plus percent, you're probably not gonna hit that. But let's keep going.

'cause I think it's a good point though. You made huge strides if you think about where your your half marathon was

Compared to where your marathon. Yep. Geez. That's great.

Jill Wolf: I know. I was ecstatic. Yeah. And I knew, and it was, again, it was all I thankful for Luke's.

'cause based on the program, like you knew, [00:18:00] okay, if you're pacing this at your long run, this is your race pace. And they gave you a very detailed, again, it, at the time it was very like, not beginner, but it was like I was running maybe 40 miles a week at max and it was like,

Chris Detzel: that's not that much.

Not much. When you think about what much Oh no. A lot of people do now.

Jill Wolf: Not what I do now. Like it's just oh my gosh. That would be nice. Like a 40 mile week. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I would love that.

Chris Detzel: That's all I do now.

Jill Wolf: That's what I'm doing right now for my taper week. So it's just it's crazy.

It's ju it was a great program though. I wish they had kept up with it. I know that they no longer do that program, but it was. And I definitely still see Carrie and Matt and all them out there all the time. So it's really good.

Chris Detzel: Do you know Duncan?

Jill Wolf: Yes, of course.

Chris Detzel: Everybody knows Duncan. I'm trying to get him on, but and he said he'll do it.

I talked to him the other day, so I gotta get his email.

Jill Wolf: There you go.

Chris Detzel: So you run your marathon, you're excited and so it's gotta keep going. So what's next?

Jill Wolf: Yeah, so at that point, it was like two days after Dallas, I'm like, struggle busting to walk the [00:19:00] downstairs, like this thing, this is terrible.

And my family all flew out from Cleveland to come watch me race. Wow, that's awesome. And ironically they, at the time, remember the line bikes that were everywhere scattered in Dallas? I do, yeah. Before the scooters. Yeah. So they had biked from like point to point all over the course. They're complaining of how they hurt so bad.

I'm like. Like that. Like you didn't run the, I know you biked around the course. Probably a little

Chris Detzel: sore I guess, but you biked. Yeah.

Jill Wolf: And funny enough, one of our family friends who was with them too, who do live here in the Metroplex, they got me a poop emoji, a balloon. So I could always spot them in a crowd.

Genius. That's awesome. Genius. Yeah. Genius way to find people if you ever Yeah. Want ideas on how to find, for your runner to find you balloons. So two days later, I'm literally in so much pain contemplating my life choices of everything. I get the email that, I got into the Chicago marathon for 2018, so I was like, gotta do it.

Oh gosh, here we go again. Two days post marathon. And I'm like, it's a good marathon to do, to have it back potentially. It's a great marathon. And I [00:20:00] absolutely loved Chicago. So at that point I'm at a 3, 3 44 time and I'm like, alright. I think I got 10 months. Let's see where I'm at and let's try to bring this time down.

Hit that three 30. So at that point, Luke was not doing their program. I ended up getting a referral to fas, which obviously I've been with him ever since to fas. And this was back when, he was like, was coaching probably 10 runners, maybe mostly, BQ women who were, Ashley and Annabelle and all the, or the original Cynthia.

And they were all

Chris Detzel: I don't know any of those peoples.

Jill Wolf: I they That's good. You haven't seen them in so long. Okay. So I missed them. They need to come back and start running with us more, but it's I got connected with him and we started the program. Like we just started training. And it was back then when he literally sent you your a weekly plan in the body of an email that just said Monday run.

Yeah. And then it was just so okay, this is how I'm gonna get my bq. I just randomly like just. Crazy plans. Random miles. Yep. And it was, of [00:21:00] course, I went from running Dallas, which I trained mostly from August through the fall and the winter, where now I'm training through the peak of summer in Dallas.

Chris Detzel: But that's, it's actually good though.

Jill Wolf: It's so great for you. It sucks, but Yeah. Oh, it's terrible. It's absolutely terrible. But it's is really good for you. 'cause the, they say, heat is, the poor man's altitude, so I would Exactly. That's what they say. I don't, I fully believe that.

So at that point, I was training peak of summer on the Katy Trail. Running up and down Just by yourself? Pretty much. I did not, I didn't have a group. I was still doing it solo, but at least I had some experience

Chris Detzel: and a plan.

Jill Wolf: I had a plan, I had a coach that knew what he was doing, he could get me there.

And so Roland into Chicago of that year, and he gives me this crazy race plan and I'm just like, there is no way he gives you a race

Chris Detzel: plan. That's pretty, yeah, he gave

Jill Wolf: me a race plan, so he's you're gonna, you're gonna hold the eight minute, because at that point it was three 30, so it was an eight minute mile.

You're gonna hold the eight minute mile and then in mile 18 you're gonna start to speed up. And I'm [00:22:00] like, what? What do you mean I'm gonna speed up? He's yeah, you're gonna speed up. I'm like, okay. And then by 20 you're at like full cent. I'm like. Yep. Okay. Yeah. So I'm going into this race thinking I'm gonna die.

Going to, I'm not gonna finish. This is gonna be terrible.

Chris Detzel: You're gonna finish. I have no doubt. But yeah. So I hear what you're saying.

Jill Wolf: It was a rainy day. It was probably like in the high fees. Okay. Ended up latching onto another girl that her and I ended up running together just in front of the three 30 pacer.

Okay. 'cause it's, it was Chicago's a giant marathon, so trying to get Yeah. Even near a pacer is difficult.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Find one.

Jill Wolf: So we ended up, I executed the plan. Yeah. Negative split by five minutes. Wow. Ended up getting a 3 24 on my first marathon or a second marathon and getting a bq. So look at that.

I was like at.

Chris Detzel: This shit works.

Jill Wolf: He wasn't wrong. And I obviously he's never, he frankly, he's never wrong. He's always spot on with where he was. I can't believe you said

Chris Detzel: that. Live. He's gonna hear this. I'll say

Jill Wolf: it to his face. It's fine. He knows it. I'm, [00:23:00] 'cause I mean I got a story from my fir first sub three and again, spot on.

Every single time you just gave

Chris Detzel: it away, right? Your first sub three. I'm sorry, but that's all right. That's alright.

Jill Wolf: So we're getting there was super happy. 3 24, had a qualifier for Boston 2020, which again, also another spoiler alert of what's about to happen down the road. I heard that yesterday.

Chris Detzel: That's from somebody else. Yeah. That's a big spoiler for a lot of people.

Jill Wolf: That was

Chris Detzel: that. Yeah. Okay. So you, you execute that plan, which is pretty awesome. You have to be really focused and dedicated one to do the work during summer by yourself. I know you had a plan and coach helps, but, it's gotta be tough. It's only your second marathon. And then he says, okay, I need you to run, eight and then run faster. And so probably freak out a little, but now you've gotta have all the confidence in the world.

Jill Wolf: Yeah. It's now become, yeah. It was the confidence builder that it's okay, I can do this.

And frankly, it's that race has solidified how I like to race, period. Yeah. [00:24:00] I do like to race that hold back in, in surge at the end. I don't like the slow fade. I know we don't all, we don't try to slow fade. It never is a plan to slow fade, but

Chris Detzel: it's way better to go faster at the end.

It's better to go faster at the end 'cause you feel better, but you've gotta allow your yourself to be able to do that, which I correct. Think that's awesome that you can do that.

Jill Wolf: Yeah. It's, it was, it's always a lot of discipline. It's hard, it's that, and frankly, it's more just that mental barrier of I don't think I can speed up, but you actually can, your body, you're then gonna start use different muscle groups to then, because you've been pounding at the same part of your leg for so long.

Now you're gonna get on the front of your feet a little bit and go get a little harder and you're gonna, it, you feel better, which is the, it's a weird mental concept, but you do.

Chris Detzel: So let's talk a little bit about nutrition on that second one. Then I want you to as you think about the rest of this journey stick and I want you to add in how, what you've learned about the nutrition piece.

I think it's so important, especially with marathon runners. Yes. So your second marathon, you ran great. It's [00:25:00] crazy. What did your nutrition look like then that you remember? Is it better than the first one or?

Jill Wolf: I was still using the same gels, which back then I was using those honey stinger golds, which taste like straight sugar and honey.

And you couldn't pay me to eat that now. 'cause it just too sweet. I like bland. I need something. Just get down the hatch.

Chris Detzel: And how many did you do? Like how many did you take?

Jill Wolf: Normally I take every six miles and that really has not changed.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: Ever.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: Now if it's a super hot day, I will alter that a little bit.

Like I'll carry a water bottle that I bring with me for a little bit and then chunk it, chug it. But I've had some bad races where I've gone into full leg locking because of sodium problems. And that's has altered how I've done some nutrition going forward after my third marathon. So it's been okay.

It's been a, it's been a whirlwind.

Chris Detzel: So you did stingers for.

Jill Wolf: So two races, two race ended two, and then I changed to Martin is what I've been transitioned to. That's what I used to, which is still really great. The problem with Martin, and I still love them, I still use them [00:26:00] depending on the race.

They don't have a lot of sodium sugar. And if you're a heavy sweater, it's pure. If you have, it's pure sugar. I like to say it's a heat that you put in a blender and that's the consistency you're gonna get. It's a, it's, yeah. I don't know how else to describe it

Chris Detzel: takes hot pills at all, or those I don't either.

I've never done that. No. I've tried '

Jill Wolf: em and they just don't really, they don't really work. I've learned I need to, I've, me being thinking I'm smarter than I am, I'm not gonna take Gatorade on the course 'cause I don't train with Gatorade. I've learned that lesson the hard way. So now I take Gatorade early and often to try to get that sodium and, the electrolytes in early so that, 'cause it comes back to bite you if you don't.

Chris Detzel: Okay. So the second marathon, you still did really well, but you just took the honey stinger things, for Yeah. And that was it. You didn't do Gatorade or anything, but then the third

Jill Wolf: Nope. Just water. Got Honey Stinger and water.

Chris Detzel: Water. No. Gatorade. Yeah.

Jill Wolf: Nope.

Chris Detzel: Okay. That's, I'm sure there's some lessons learned here.

Jill Wolf: Yep.

Chris Detzel: Can't wait to get to that. So let's keep going. Pretty much.

Jill Wolf: So then anything

Chris Detzel: like, besides just the marathon, was there any halves that you did in [00:27:00] between after the set, and that you got excited about? Or was it still the marathon that you're cared about the most?

Jill Wolf: I've always used halves and I still to this day, like I ran Dallas half last year.

I use halves as a training tool. I use it as more of a I'm gonna go out there and put myself in a race scenario and then do half at MP and then half at faster. Okay. And so that's just I don't, I like the half, I just, I never, it always seems to fall in my marathon blocks, so it's I don't really want to, you do a

Chris Detzel: couple a year, right?

At least.

Jill Wolf: Yeah. So it's one of those, I don't wanna, and we do half marathons pretty much every day. We run our long runs anyway, so it's like,

Chris Detzel: what's a half?

Jill Wolf: Exactly. So it's one of those, it's a good training tool in the middle of a block. But I don't ev, I haven't raced an all out half in probably seven years.

I just don't, I just don't do it because I'm always focused on the next marathon, trying to bring that time down, and maybe I'll go back to a half one, one when I'm done trying to get faster in the marathon, but I don't, I run 'em enough that don't care about it. Really need to. Yeah, no, I don't care.

Chris Detzel: Right now it's a [00:28:00] marathon still, so

Jill Wolf: I, and I love it.

I do.

Chris Detzel: Sounds like it. You said the last seven years. All right. We don't have to necessarily go through all the marathons, but I do wanna make sure that we hit the highlights because, so right now you're hitting prs like crazy and really pretty fast time. So you get into Boston, do you do one before Boston or do you go right to Boston after that?

I did. Okay.

Jill Wolf: After Chicago actually had, at the time, this was the first time New York City Marathon. Ends up being my 2019 marathon, third marathon, second World major, which is really cool. But at the time they did that Strava virtual challenge where you did the virtual marathon a year beforehand to get you a guarantee entry into New York.

So I did ran, I think I remember that. Yeah. So I did a marathon around White Rock Lake. November. Super fun. A month after I did Chicago and just got my check, check it off the box and you just

Chris Detzel: jogged it, right? You didn't probably go all out or anything. Yeah. No, I was just

Jill Wolf: like, just check it off and get it done.

So I go into New York in 2019. I am registered for Boston, 2020. New York was gonna be [00:29:00] solidify my spot for the next Boston is what I was planning to do. End up having to this day, still the worst marathon I've ever had. Like I said, sodium, I've learned the hard way with Martin that on a hot day, and you're not being smart with Gatorade and electrolytes, your legs will start cramping.

And at that point I actually called my husband, my boyfriend at the time now husband being like, I don't, I think I pulled something. Congratulations. Thank you.

Chris Detzel: It worked out.

Jill Wolf: It worked out. So that's good. I called him and I said, I think I pulled something. I don't know if I'm gonna make it. And I'm like, in Queens at this point.

So I am like.

Chris Detzel: You had a phone on you. That's I did. Do you always carry a phone? And that's

Jill Wolf: No. Normally now I don't. Okay. Back then I did because I listen to music. 'cause

Chris Detzel: back then you used a phone. We all did. Yeah. Now you don't have to.

Jill Wolf: No, I don't use it pretty much forever. So at that point I called him.

I don't think I'm Lily leaning against the bridge in New York. Legs can't, won't move. Wow. I'm so and I ended up, I think it was walking the last eight, walking, running the last eight miles. Just get to the next water, stop, chug a water, chug a Gatorade, get a banana, get whatever [00:30:00] I could find to try to just keep myself moving forward.

And it was just, it was a gauntlet, but I finished. I'm not gonna of grit. I'm not unless I'm pulled off the course on a, on in an ambulance, I'm not quitting. Yeah. It's just, that's not how my mind works.

Chris Detzel: I love it.

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Don't know if I'd, I would recommend that, there's nothing wrong with grit and look, you're trying to take in drinks and things like that.

And not telling people to go hurt themselves, but that's what it takes to run a marathon sometimes.

Jill Wolf: And I knew what it was. Once I, I figured it out. I'm like, okay, I, we got some, we got a problem here. And I You start feeling

Chris Detzel: better once you started drinking the Gatorade? No. Okay.

Jill Wolf: No. It

Chris Detzel: was the same.

No. Alright. So

Jill Wolf: unfortunately it was I finished, it's too late. I think it was like a 3 36. So it was still, time-wise was better than 3 44. I know, but I was going for a three 15. Yeah. I was like, I was trying to Yeah, mean you're

Chris Detzel: going really fast for a long time. I know. And then just kind, just show, it was probably a tough one.

Yeah.

Jill Wolf: It was tough. So I went into that and I was like, Ugh. I

Chris Detzel: remember telling. So I get your mindset. I'm not like, oh my gosh, he did a 3 36 still. But no [00:31:00] I was talking to Brent Little and he goes, he won the, not so long ago, like the last, dRC half or whatever. And I said you won.

He goes it's not what I wanted. And I was really sick, but he still won it. And I go you still won. He goes, yeah, I see what you're saying. He goes, but I didn't hit what I was. Trying to hit from a time standpoint. I get that. It's hard

Jill Wolf: And I've had to, I have to watch myself too sometimes.

'cause like we can all have bad workouts. Yeah. But our bad workouts are some people's dream wouldn't even anticipate, couldn't even imagine running that fast. It's, you do have to be cautious on how you word things because. I

Chris Detzel: think the reality is different. I don't disagree necessarily but the thing is that you have goals that you want to hit and a 3 36 was not a goal that you wanted to hit.

You've already hit that. And and you're in pain and you still suffered to try to hit that 3 36 even. Yeah.

And so I get that, but we all wanna hit kind of our goals.

Jill Wolf: And luckily again, not parent, again, my parents were there at that one too.

And I [00:32:00] they were nervous 'cause they knew that I had a good Chicago. And they're like, oh, is she gonna be upset? And I was like, I'm like, why can I be, I'm not upset. Because I did everything I could. I left everything out there. That's good. Can't, you can't be mad about it just wasn't your day. The weather, you can't affect the weather.

You can't affect how that's gonna it's just another learning lesson and there's always gonna be another race. And that's ended up what I did. I ended up turning around in eight weeks and ran Houston. As a 'cause I was really like, I need to get my BQ for the next Boston. Got it. That was like my, I need to do it.

And I'm glad I did because, so I ended up getting a three 17 at Houston. Damn. So I had a great race. Almost Houston's great

Chris Detzel: race, by the way. Oh,

Jill Wolf: I love Houston. I love Houston's one of my other favorites too. It's logistic. We'll talk about

Chris Detzel: that in a little while.

Jill Wolf: So ended up getting the three 17, but luckily I did because when Boston gets canceled, they push obviously to the fall.

It gets October gets canceled again. Yeah. And then they open it back up for the next year. And when the buffer went [00:33:00] to seven and a half minutes, I wouldn't have made it with the time I had from Chicago.

Chris Detzel: Oh, from the 3 26?

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Wow.

Jill Wolf: So I was really lucky that I was like, you know what? I really do want to get another crack.

'cause I knew I was in better shape than what New York had showed me. So I was like, I gotta give it another crack. And I'm glad I did because I wouldn't have made Boston. I wouldn't have made Boston for the fall of 2021.

Chris Detzel: Wow. Yeah. Good thing you did do Houston. I

Jill Wolf: know. Crazy.

Chris Detzel: I, we were there actually, I think I had Covid.

I was supposed to run the half, my wife was running the full in.

I was so sick that I did get up to watch her come in. That Houston, and then I just went back to bed. I was like, all right, good job. And I looked for our founder, and then I was like that's when we didn't know about we knew Covid was, but we didn't know.

Jill Wolf: No. Yeah. We had no idea. I thought I had the

Chris Detzel: flu or something. I don't know. I don't know what I had, but it was covid like symptoms, because I have had covid. So this was before

Jill Wolf: the announcements that were coming out. Like it's covid, like no, no one had anything.

So yeah,

Chris Detzel: we were there. We were there for that one. It [00:34:00] was, it looked fun. I just wish I could have run it. I was so disappointed. So that's good. Then wait a year, to do any other run. Besides virtual running, which sucked.

Jill Wolf: It was terrible.

Chris Detzel: Were you running with Pegasus then, or what was kinda the

Jill Wolf: So what ended up happening was Pegasus got created right before New York City for me, for 2019.

Okay. Fons and I talked, 'cause I had always believed his training was amazing. I still, to this day a hundred percent support him and believe in him and believe in the method to his madness. And so in 2019 I was like, we need to create a brand around your coaching at the time. And so it was one of those, like right before New York, we actually had the name the logo, the old logo now.

And it was something that, we were working on it together. Now going into COVID years, I guess this was. Very new. It was like we still were having organized small group runs. This is when people were still afraid to meet together, even in a parking lot distance, all, there [00:35:00] was probably a good core group of 10 to 15 of us that met up every single Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and none of us got covid during any of that time.

Chris Detzel: You're outside too, so it's not, I think that was, they didn't know at first, then it was like you can meet outside. It's fine. All right, so Pegasus started. And you got to run with the group. Yes. So that was good. During Covid and,

Jill Wolf: yeah.

Chris Detzel: What was, so then was it New York you did, or Boston?

Jill Wolf: What was the No, it was Bo the next race. I didn't go, it wasn't until Boston of 2021 in the fall. Okay. Was the, so it was a long time coming the fall. I had qualified in 18 in October. Yeah. And I was waited three years.

Chris Detzel: You didn't do any kind of marathon since then?

Or I did the

Jill Wolf: virtual Boston because it counted towards my streak, but at the end of the day, I don't really count it. 'cause

Chris Detzel: Did you race it virtually? Not

Jill Wolf: really. Not really. No. Okay.

Chris Detzel: It's hard. All right. So I wanna hear about the Boston, your first Boston Marathon. Really? Technically,

Jill Wolf: I, apparently I didn't learn from New York 'cause I had more cramping, went back to Martin.

[00:36:00] So by then I'm like last three

Chris Detzel: years, you forgot. I know.

Yeah. How to race.

Jill Wolf: Still, Boston was amazing though. Even with as hard of a day as it was in it. And it was weird because remember it was the rolling start year where we all got on a bus and then we just walked to the finish start line and we all just started whenever we pleased.

It was just I heard about that.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Jill Wolf: It was strange. So it was, that was the

Chris Detzel: one in October, is that? Yes. Yeah. I didn't go, like my wife went, but I didn't go.

Jill Wolf: It

Chris Detzel: is probably 'cause I didn't wanna deal with the Covid thing, yeah. It was weird.

Jill Wolf: It was really weird. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: It made sense for me to not go for sure.

Okay. All right. So you ran the Boston october, weird. And how'd you do, what'd you think? Yeah, it was awesome, but I

Jill Wolf: did literally like a 3 32, I believe. Okay. If my memory. But you felt the same

Chris Detzel: way as you did at the the one in New York? New York, yeah.

Jill Wolf: I cramping again. I'm like, okay, maybe you shouldn't travel

Chris Detzel: for races.

Jill Wolf: Maybe not. It was something just, I, it was, I figured it out. It was Martin. Martin didn't. Just for with how I sweat and [00:37:00] everything, it just doesn't work for me. So you sweat a lot was like, okay. I've

Chris Detzel: seen some of your quick videos like that. You're coming in from a race at the end and you go pretty fast at the end.

I think, people like are taping your video and you're like, I gotta doof go fast at the end. I don't know. The two or three that I saw, it was like, dang, she looks like she has a lot left up at the end.

Jill Wolf: Wanna finish on empty?

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Yeah. I can tell. That's why I like to do it.

All right. So you did Boston. Not so great. It was decent. Boston's hard anyways, from my under. My wife said, out of the 12, or she'll be, she'll hit 12 here shortly. Wow. But the 12 that she's done, or 11 that she's done, that she might have had three really good Bostons. A few decent ones, or she is three thirties but she's had three or four that really just, you know, and so it's

Jill Wolf: not easy.

It's such, it's a hard course. It's a hard course.

Chris Detzel: I say bomb one. She did bomb her very first one. She bombed.

Jill Wolf: There's more people that have a problem on their first than anything else because you're just like, oh, you're feeling great the first 10. 'cause it's [00:38:00] net downhill. Downhill and it flats out. And then you start climbing and it's a gauntlet and people underestimate it every single time as their first, and it's yep, that hurt.

And the videos and the pictures don't do justice. How steep those hills are.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. In the close. Yeah. I've heard a lot about it, obviously. All right. What was next?

Jill Wolf: So I didn't, did you

Chris Detzel: talk to Fons and say, Hey look, I don't know what's going on, but this is my second race in a row. What's going on?

What, when? When did you figure out the salt thing?

Jill Wolf: Yeah, it was something that like we had talked about 'cause we're like, something's just not, I don't know what it is. And we narrowed it down to a nutrition issue. And at that time I was not as well versed with the cramping side because if it's a cold race, you really don't even notice it.

You don't notice your lack of things with when it comes to nutrition. But at that point I was we were like the only common denominator is two hot races. So something you definitely on a hot race cannot just go, I'm just gonna show up and take my gels and not drink water and taste some gels. Exactly.

And from there it was, now it's taking [00:39:00] higher sodium level gels, taking Gatorades and I still never cramped during workouts, but I'll cramp during like braces if sometimes it's just scary race day. 'cause

Chris Detzel: you're going really fast. You're holding it for a long pace. Yeah. At all time. Yeah.

Okay. So figure that out. I think we'll see. Yeah.

Jill Wolf: I figured out, out by then, and then after that was Houston. I went back to Houston in 22, so it was like three months, la three, four months later. Actually before that I actually ran, I paced my husband to Dallas Marathon at a four hour pace. So I went from, okay.

Yeah. Did Chicago or Boston in the fall? Dallas Marathon pacing, and then I raced Houston 2020. So

Chris Detzel: I got a question just outta curiosity, does your husband do, is he a runner or is he not, or does he sometimes do it? What's the,

Jill Wolf: he's done two marathons so far now. He's racing, he's doing Chicago with me this coming fall, so I guess I'm, he gonna try stay with you or no.

He is just wants to go out there and have fun. He'll wanna get the sub four is always his goal. And so he, we paced him to a sub four [00:40:00] for his first in Dallas in 21. So that was, it was fun.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. That's awesome. Did does he do other things like, besides running or,

Jill Wolf: gosh, does he do other things?

Chris Detzel: Like what

Jill Wolf: He, I always make fun that he can only, he has so many hobbies that he can only have three hobbies in rotation at one time. Yeah. Because he just has too much, whether it's rock climbing, golfing, working on his car, he'll running's thrown in there.

Chris Detzel: Let's just do all kinds of things.

Jill Wolf: He, but that's, it's good.

He's active, but he's very active, which is great. Absolutely. Because the positive is about

Chris Detzel: that. Think about this. So both my wife and I run, and she, she does more of the marathons. I remember I've done three marathons. I've, we've done, I've done 50 Ks and lots of halves and things like that.

But 10 years ago, maybe 11, I was so upset about whatever marathon I was about to run or whatever. She goes, you really complain a lot about running, these marathons and the training. Why do you keep doing this? You seem to hate it. Why do

Jill Wolf: you do? Yeah. And I said,

Chris Detzel: you know what?

She goes, you don't have to do it. Because you're around these people that are doing it all the time. And so you feel a little pressure. I was like, you know [00:41:00] what, I'm not gonna do any more marathons. And I haven't done, we've done like 120 miles in six days up mountains. We do 25 mile.

You know what I mean? We've done awesome. Amazing. Things, long run things, but for me, when I run a marathon, I just want to go all out. And I'm just, back then I had a, 5-year-old, 6-year-old or whatever, and I just couldn't do it, and so I just quit running marathons.

I just did halves and I'd do 20 milers and things like that work.

Jill Wolf: There's days I'm like, why am I doing this to myself?

Chris Detzel: Exactly. And my point about this whole thing was that I think it's good to have a partner that allows you, and you allow them to do their thing, but understanding like you're gonna go out there and probably run now 60 miles plus a week, and that takes a lot of time and effort on Saturdays and Sundays and travel to Boston and New York and wherever else you're gonna go.

So it just does, and so you have to be supportive of each other. He is.

Jill Wolf: And I think it's important. He's been incredibly supportive. Yeah. And he's always been like, if I, 'cause again, I have weird sleep schedules and I have certain things that I have to [00:42:00] do that he's been nothing but supportive.

It's in regards to deciding if we go on trips and all that stuff. He's been nothing but nope, we're doing this. So I couldn't have asked for anyone better to spend a life with 'cause he's done. He's been my rock. Yeah. And I think that's, I couldn't do it without him. I really couldn't.

Chris Detzel: And I think that's important.

It's, we won't get too much into relationships, but I do I remember Warren Buffet says, the most important decision you'll ever make in your life is your spouse. And not just for money, which money is important, but for everything. And especially if you wanna be active and focused and running, I think that makes a big difference.

All right. What was next? You run Boston.

Jill Wolf: You

Chris Detzel: do? Okay. Not great. So let's go into that. So

Jill Wolf: I'm, I head back to Houston, which I, obviously, Houston is one of my favorites and still is to this day. Sitting down with f like I said, Fons is always right. And this was exactly, the fons is always right.

'cause at that point I was like, I just wanna, I wanna come out of a three 10. 3 0 5, 3 10 at Houston.

Chris Detzel: That's great.

Jill Wolf: Now becoming more and more terrifying. Yeah. Of how the paces [00:43:00] that are like, I'm like, oh my gosh. Like how is this, how am I gonna do this? So Fons and I are sitting down at literally flying saucer in Houston, which every time I go out there now, I go and had lunch at flying saucer the day before.

That's just now it's a tradition. And Fons and I were just talking, we talked race plan, we talk about pace and he goes, you can go sub three. And I'm like no, I'm not ready for that. No.

Chris Detzel: Right here. I like it. I

Jill Wolf: know. So a lot of us

Chris Detzel: do like that. Yeah. I've said this a thousand times. Anyways, go ahead.

Jill Wolf: Yeah, so he just, he put it in my head. I start off the race and I'm hitting 7, 7 0 5, like splits and I manually lap my watch. So I knew I was like where I was the whole time.

Chris Detzel: You manual you do that? Yeah. For every mile. Really. Okay. So

Jill Wolf: you know when you get like a funky mile where the mile markers over there?

Yeah. And your watch goes off. I don't have that problem. Okay. I know exactly what pace I'm going at all times, which is what I don't, it drives me nuts if I don't know.

Chris Detzel: Love it.

Jill Wolf: I'm going early by mile. It was mile 19. I always remember this because my watch, I hit my watch manual and it goes one [00:44:00] hour, 59 minutes and change.

And I'm like, I have nine miles left. I have an hour of running. Can I go sub three? Because at this point I know what the pace was. I thought at the time I thought it was like a six 50 pace. And I'm like, averaging like seven flat. I'm like, okay, all right. Are we gonna, are we gonna do this? And I took off and I was like if we're gonna, if we're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna try.

And it was just one of those it was a perfectly beautiful cold day and Awesome. Ended up being 2 59 44. Yep. So at one point I thought I could, I didn't, I, one, I think it was like mile 23 where my, runner math is going in your head and I'm like, I don't think I got it, but I'm gonna get as close as I can.

Just squeaked in. It was, yeah, they were probably like six 15. I, you can, I could just, no

Chris Detzel: way. Oh, my guts little story. And I wanna make sure we get to the end of this because I think yours is so important because we're still not done with you. I know two years [00:45:00] ago I was running a half marathon and look, I get it, it's downhill.

It was the one in Utah. The Revel race downhill. I was running faster. Look, I'm not a slow runner at all, I'm not like, Jill Wolf fast either. So I was running and I was running faster than I ever have, so I was hitting 6 15, 6 13, 6 twelves. I was like over and over.

It wasn't just once, I was like, how the hell am I hitting this? I feel pretty good, I might as well just keep going and allowing myself to, to just do it now.

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: My first mile ran a little slower than usual, but I didn't know, but it was pretty much all downhill until the last three.

And the last three, it was pretty straight, but it felt like it was up

Jill Wolf: Of course, because your quads are gone. Yeah, exactly. For 10

Chris Detzel: miles, man, I'm just, I'm flying. I've never flown before. Like seriously, it was so awesome. I was, I hit a 1 28, so I was happy with that, but there you go.

Yeah. But it just reminds me of a nice cool day and when you're filling it, you just gotta [00:46:00] go after it. And you did it. And I love that. And that's, I felt like that before at a race. Not quite like that, but pretty good like that. And I think once you hit that, just don't stop know, allow yourself to go.

Jill Wolf: There are more people who are afraid to take that 'cause they think they're going to blow up their entire race. And at some point you have to make the decision that I'm just gonna go, I can either fall on my face. Or it's gonna be an epic story that I'm never gonna wanna forget. Those are the races that will always stick in my mind as like the best that the best experiences Houston is.

That sounds great. Houston 22. It will always be like, wow. That was the

Chris Detzel: breakthrough I feel like. Yeah, I know.

Jill Wolf: My, yeah,

Chris Detzel: so it's crazy because you've had a lot of breakthroughs. You went from, running. Not slow half marathons, like two hours and one fifties, to three 40 something to 3 30, 26 and whatever.

And fairly fast. But then you had some hiccups, which Yep. Probably [00:47:00] you learn from. And that's a good thing. And wow, you went from, what was it, three 17 all the way to 2 59. It took a little while to get, but you've had Yeah. A few years to get to that. But yeah, I mean

Jill Wolf: they, they were definitely, those ones were big jumps Yeah.

In regards to, there was a lot of time between them. But again it's the unknown of I didn't even think it was possible and was just beside myself and you're in your own head.

Chris Detzel: What I tell people is, if you don't think you can do it, you probably won't. But you took a chance on yourself.

A big chance. This, this is a big,

Jill Wolf: It was so risky,

Chris Detzel: but I love it.

Jill Wolf: It could have completely imploded and

Chris Detzel: Houston's your race, it seems. Yes,

Jill Wolf: it is my race.

Chris Detzel: You did Houston 2022. Under three. That's pretty impressive. And what else happened

Jill Wolf: after that? I went right back to Boston.

Okay. So I went, I did I think it was a 3 0 4. Nice. So in my red, my redemption of, yeah. The really crappy Boston night was like, and that was within six months. I was like, I'm coming back and I'm gonna not let this thing beat me up. I have

Chris Detzel: to give you some confidence though. I would, I'd assume, say, I [00:48:00] went low threes again you went 2 59, you didn't PR again, but still you did 3 0 4, so it wasn't a fluke,

Jill Wolf: did, went from 3, 3 30.

I did a four hour marathon with my husband. I did a 2 59 and then went 3 0 4 and the span it from October to April. Geez, not, I don't recommend doing that, by the way. That was a lot of miles and really exhausting. And I didn't race again that year until Houston, the following year. Okay. 'cause I was like I need to take a, I like the long builds.

Yeah. I don't really like to race more than two times a year. And that was too much. That was way too much on my body. At least you

Chris Detzel: saw that. And were smart about it. All right. So you did that.

And then you waited half a year. About a half a year to do Houston again.

How'd you do that? Yep.

Jill Wolf: That was a 2 56, so I improved by three minutes again. Yeah. So I was like, okay we're rocking and rolling. This is still love. The, that was a 80, 70 plus degree day. So that was what, that was more of a win from the nutrition side. Huge. Because I was like, gosh, here we go, another hot day.

Like [00:49:00] I, this is where the cramping comes in oh no. So I learned my lesson. I didn't have any cramping issues and came away with another pr, not as big as I wanted. I was on pace for sub 2 55. Yeah. But I will take a PR any day of the week.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. It's hot too, so just think if it wasn't, oh gosh.

It was ridiculous. You would've killed it. Yeah. But we'll find out how you did kill it. So that's 2023.

Jill Wolf: 23, yeah. Yeah. January, 2023.

Chris Detzel: So was your next one Dallas?

Jill Wolf: No, I did Boston again.

Chris Detzel: Oh, Boston, okay. Yep. That makes sense. So

Jill Wolf: I did Boston again, come away with a 2 54 on a rainy day. So another two minutes off The times 2023 was just a good year.

I mean it, yeah I so was 20 and it was the year I got married. Like just wins all around. Couldn't have had a better year.

Chris Detzel: Planning's gotta be always the challenge in running and all that stuff.

Jill Wolf: Yeah. Why not plan a wedding, go on a honeymoon and then try to run another marathon in six weeks after.

That's a great idea. I

Chris Detzel: think you said that earlier. So you did Boston, got a pr, which [00:50:00] wow. Big props on that one. And then you got married. And then to Dallas.

Jill Wolf: Yes. So DA Dallas. And now

Chris Detzel: tell me about this race. 'cause I wanna know more.

Jill Wolf: So Dallas, because you're actually

Chris Detzel: wearing the shirt. Yeah, I'm

Jill Wolf: wearing my shirt, the finisher

Chris Detzel: shirt.

So yeah,

Jill Wolf: there's something special about that one. Yeah, this one will always be special. And it was something that Fons and I went back and forth a lot about because we obviously have more time goals than we want me to continue to go strive towards. And Dallas is not an easy course. It's legis, it's desolate at the lake sometimes when it comes to spectators, but it was, it's my city.

I love it. I'm familiar with it. I could run the course any day of the week. So it was something that we went back and forth for a while of should I do it? Should I not do it? Should I do it? Should I not

Chris Detzel: do it? Oh, you weren't sure if you should do it. Got it.

Jill Wolf: The one positive and the reason we ended up saying yes is not only because I knew my fitness was there, but it also was, it was a, an Olympic year.

And I think Ma Maddie said this in hers where when she went to [00:51:00] Cowtown, everyone was going to the trials. It was a very similar situation for me that the cutoff for the trials was the weekend prior at CIM and then everyone who was probably at the top of leagues ahead of me is probably racing the trials or had just attempted it.

Nope. It's

Chris Detzel: whoever shows up and you showed up that day, Jill.

Jill Wolf: So I gave myself the best opportunity. That's where I did what I was. It was a perfect day. Whether it was literally probably the best weather Dallas marathons had in years 'cause it was cold and it was, but sunny and even with a new kind of course work through, it was just epic.

I have Why was it so

Chris Detzel: epic?

Jill Wolf: Because, just 'cause I could win. No,

Chris Detzel: you did win.

Jill Wolf: I know I did win. It's something that, it's still people in my group literally just give me, they like to always call, they like the champ. And I'm like, please stop. Like

Chris Detzel: you won. It's very sweet Dallas Marathon in 2023. What was the time?

Jill Wolf: It's one. So And

Chris Detzel: you PRD again? And

Jill Wolf: I [00:52:00] prd, yeah. Okay. In my city. So it, that was what made, I mean there was, that is awesome. At one point they were like, people weren't sure if I was leading because there was the relay, but I had the lead bike with me. So I knew that I was the leader just based on that.

But there was like people who weren't sure, so I was like. We're just gonna keep, we're gonna run my race. That was all I was ever gonna do. Not worry about anyone else but me.

Chris Detzel: That's awesome. So congratulations on a win. Thank. It's rare to be able to win a mar a big marathon. It's fairly big.

Yeah. Yeah. And in your Dallas marathon is now a big, look, Travis won it this year or this last year. Yeah. And the two 20, something like that. And then in

His first marathon, ridiculous.

Jill Wolf: Like ridiculous. Aaron,

Chris Detzel: this woman, Erin, won it for women's. I forgot what she ran. And then me,

Jill Wolf: She did a 2 46, I believe.

That's right. And then Megan, who was also one of her training partners in the Arkansas group won it the year before. I did.

Chris Detzel: She did. Okay. So they all knew each other.

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Got it. Got it. And then Mimi won the half, I think. Yeah. So last year.

Jill Wolf: Three [00:53:00] times in a row.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. That's her three ti third time.

She's Yeah. Truly elite, right? She's Oh,

Jill Wolf: she's amazing.

Chris Detzel: All right we're not done because you have a couple other things. So what'd you do after that was, 'cause it's 2025 now, right? Yeah. Did you do Boston then or?

Jill Wolf: I went back to Boston 2024.

Chris Detzel: So you didn't go to Houston though this time?

Jill Wolf: No, because the I too close that was way too close.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Jill Wolf: Couldn't make that work within a month. And that's okay. Like I've still done it. Houston

Chris Detzel: be there next year, as we know, it'll still be

Jill Wolf: there next year. Yeah. So ended up skipping my, I love Houston, so it's I always say it's been my PR course every time I've gone out there, so I truly love it.

Went back to Boston did a 3 0 1 at Boston's, he got me again, but not in the sense of cramping, but it was just, it was a rough day.

Chris Detzel: 3 0 1 though still. I

Jill Wolf: know. I mean I feel like that's not

Chris Detzel: a consistent thing for you is Yeah. Now you can pretty much get under three and probably a 3 0 1 is probably a little bit not what you're wanting.

Jill Wolf: No, and I think everyone I spoke with was like, this weather is just, it. We got roasted in the sun and honestly there was some people [00:54:00] that unfortunately we say making decisions in the race and sometimes we, I remember that one to go to I'm gonna take off. But also making a decision that it's not gonna be my day.

I don't like, there's nothing I can do to fix this. I need to pull back, because there were people in Boston passing out on Leston. I know. And I'm like, you get all the way there and you can't fi like I know. That's crazy to me. So I make, I made a decision in Boston that I was gonna pull back because I did not wanna be that person I needed to finish.

And sometimes I'm glad you said

Chris Detzel: that, Jill, because a lot of us will just keep going and then just die, and nobody wants to feel that bad after a marathon. Marathon's hard enough.

Jill Wolf: It's just a race. I know. We spend time, money, yeah. And energy doing this, of course. But at the end of the day, it is just a race and it's something that we all enjoy, but it's now worth risking our health, our lives, for just to, all fors sending it.

But to the point where you are. Delusional passing out on the side of the road, having to have medical come get you. That's where you get, like I, I get very nervous [00:55:00] 'cause you never wanna go that far into the pain cave.

Chris Detzel: No.

Jill Wolf: That's dangerous. Look,

Chris Detzel: none of us are Courtney DeWalts here, and

Jill Wolf: Right.

Chris Detzel: Do you know who she is? I assume you do. Yes, of course. Yeah. But there is something said about going into the pain cave and then embracing that pain cave. But yes, sometimes there is the opposite of that. None of us are, for the most part, I'd say we're not elite runners and we're not gonna get paid for this.

This is what we do for fun.

Jill Wolf: Yes.

Chris Detzel: And yes, we can be disappointed about a race. But, my wife always said there's always another

Jill Wolf: one.

Chris Detzel: There's always every, there's

Jill Wolf: ev there's races all the time. Now they're selling out crazier than they ever have. Yeah. But there are always more races.

Chris Detzel: Just sign up early.

Jill Wolf: I sign up early. It there's is all forgiving yourself a chance, but don't put yourself in that position. And frankly you can. If you know it's not gonna be your day, that's okay. Still finish. And then give yourself more opportunity to recover and come back stronger for that next cycle. 'cause you can't affect the weather.

You can have the perfect cycle [00:56:00] and the weather could be absolute crap. And that's one thing you can't control.

Chris Detzel: So let's move forward because we still have some prs here that I wanna talk about. So after you did Boston did pretty good. 3 0 1 is, most cases really well. You good? What'd you do next?

What was your thinking now?

Jill Wolf: The big I went, so I did Dallas half just to, to get a training you did in the middle of this training block. That's not

Chris Detzel: obvious. I didn't know that, but you did. Okay.

Jill Wolf: Yeah I did, I try to, I still do try to run Dallas MAR Marathon or half every single year just because, so I've done the half a handful of times, but the, going into this, the big pr, I wanted to get another half under my belt to make sure that I was ready.

How'd you do in the

Chris Detzel: half? What was which?

Jill Wolf: I came in fifth.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: 1 23 deal. So yeah, I was really happy with that.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, you should be

Jill Wolf: like really happy with that. Is that your best on a half

Chris Detzel: or?

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: That was my pr, but I think by 13 seconds, but that's okay.

Chris Detzel: You've done a very consistent runner.

So one 20. I

Jill Wolf: try to, I'd rather be consistent, and then I went back to Houston basically. Okay. Where it [00:57:00] was cold. Cold feels at the start, I did the Austin half.

Chris Detzel: It was ridiculous, windy, cold, same thing in Houston.

Jill Wolf: Onesie pajamas like in the corral. My, 'cause I'm like, it is freezing. Did you run with the onesie

Chris Detzel: pajamas?

Jill Wolf: No, I did not. But I was in the corral waiting to start and I was warm and everyone else was like, shivering. I'm like, this is this smart, a good idea.

Chris Detzel: Smart.

Jill Wolf: So it was a cold day, windy as heck, obviously it was like myself, Fons. And two other of our training group Michael and Eli, who were all queued up together.

There was a Ramsey Patrick, other people that we knew that were also jumping in with us. But that was our four of us were really queued up and we're like, we're going for two 50. Okay. We gotta get sub two 50.

Chris Detzel: And that's been

Jill Wolf: sitting on my shoulder since before Dallas. Dallas. I wanted to go to sub two 50, but Okay.

I was very cautious with the hills and I was more like, let's, I. I would rather hold This is where, again, we make decisions. Hold the pace and just when you won it,

Chris Detzel: you're talking about when you won it that year. Yeah. Okay. Got it. Yeah.

Jill Wolf: So hold the pace versus take [00:58:00] off and well

Chris Detzel: hold the pace and win it or Right.

Exactly. Potentially blow up. I think I'll win it. That smart move. And that's where there

Jill Wolf: again it's a little bit, Alice was the first time I've ever been like, I, I just wanna win versus going for a time.

Chris Detzel: There's nothing wrong with that. No. That is actually smart. If you win it right now, if you blow up, then you're screwed.

Jill Wolf: In case some person came up on my shoulder, I wanted to have enough in the tank to go after her. So that was, it's possible decisions I made mean, yeah. Mean there's

Chris Detzel: plenty of women that's done under, that's done two 50 or under, it was, I was

Jill Wolf: not having any thought that I, it was like, just keep moving.

Smart. Keep moving, hold your case consistently. And that's what it, so Houston was I need that two 50. It's been after sitting on my shoulder. Yeah. Since 2023. I need to go get it. So January your shoulder. It's honestly, there's, and I'm sure some of the other girls you've had on here will say it is incredibly hard to go from like the two fifties to sub two 50, and it's it's such a men, it's more mental than anything.

Same as going sub three. Once you break that barrier, it's okay, I can do it.

Chris Detzel: And I say this almost in [00:59:00] every episode now because I think the mentality that you're having is, that's exactly right. Matt Campbell said, no I probably, you've probably heard this already, but he said, we have a lot of people that now can do under two 40 and then the two 30 ERs.

But what if we can get, under two 30, if I can get under two 30, then everybody else will be under two 30. Now we'll have a set of two 20 ERs. He goes, what's his name? Brent Whittle was the only one right now is the unicorn. I know Logan Sherman's done it, the point is like, there's not that many people that hit under two 30.

And barriers

Jill Wolf: are hard. Barriers are meant to be broken though, so it's something that like a hundred percent you just have to keep pushing. And I mean it, but it is such a mental can I get there?

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Jill Wolf: So it was one of those wanted it so bad and had probably the best training cycle I've ever, I ever had.

Nice. We were strong, all of us, we were all working together, but the race threw me through a loop a little bit because it was just like, it was so windy and even like we were watching the weather going in that we knew the weather from nine to 20 was gonna [01:00:00] be right in our face. And we're like, and it was not, it was like 20 mile per hour winds.

It was just gonna be, it was rough. It was just crazy. But we, what I didn't anticipate is that the wind whipping through the buildings the first nine, so not only were we getting it from nine to 20, we were getting in it early on too. And I'm like. Oh gosh. Like this, is this gonna happen today? Is it gonna happen today?

So we all are, at this point, we've actually create funds and all of that. All of us are clumped together and we've created this like moving pack of all of us going for 2, 2 50. There's probably like 12 of us, 12 random people just jumping in. 'cause they all see us wearing our matching stuff, right?

So everyone's like, how cool is that? These people know what they're doing. Yeah. Pegasus. Yeah, it was fun. It was a really, it was probably the, it was super fun to move as a group.

Chris Detzel: Yeah,

Jill Wolf: at one point though, I think we were at, it was 10 or 11. I am watching the watch and we're going a little hot, like we're in the low six twenties and I'm like, I'm feeling it more than I probably should by now.

This is we're about to go into the heavy wind section. Like I, [01:01:00] and, but unfortunately, like we're in a big pack, right? You don't wanna lose the pack. But it was just like.

Chris Detzel: Pack helps.

Jill Wolf: The pack helps. But it was one of those if I ha stay in here, I don't know if it's gonna, I don't know if it's happening.

So I ended up turning to one of our friend, my friends, Patrick, who was also on the, we were at this point, we're falling onto the backside of this pack here. And I turned to him and I'm go, I'm gonna, I'm gonna slow down again. We're slowing down three, four seconds a mile. Not much, but enough to, we're gonna create a gap between that pack and we're gonna, we're gonna drop, it's gonna get fall.

He's I'm going with you. I'm like. Okay. Like he, we all, I was like, we're going, like we were going way too fast for what we were supposed to be doing and it was early. And so we fell off and you just see them slowly drifting away into the abyss. And I'm like, question your choice again. Back to making choices in marathon.

Should I've done that? Did I make the right call? Did I make the right call for me? So now we've gone from a pack of 1215 to a pack of three of us. One other gentleman ended up falling off with us.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: And we're just still clocking at this point. We're doing six 30, which is [01:02:00] pretty much spot on what we need to do.

We're going straight into the wind. We have no reprieve. 'cause we're all, it's just three of us now.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, you don't have the pack anymore?

Jill Wolf: No, and I'm questioning everything. We take a turn where the wind is going sideways now, and all of a sudden the pace just seems effortless. And I'm like, okay, just hang.

Like you. It's that mental game, right? I'm just like, hang on the pace. Don't drop the pace yet. You are almost out of the you. You've got three more miles to get out of this section and you're gonna be home free going straight towards Houston, like downtown Houston. So at that point, I mentally rechecked myself.

We were all just hold the pace. We take that turn at 20, no, it's actually 18, sorry, 18. That at the top of the cor, the course and the wind is gone. The wind's not affecting us pretty much at all. So at this point I'm like, now we gotta go. We gotta go catch 'em.

Chris Detzel: So you gotta catch him.

Okay?

Jill Wolf: So at this point Patrick and I both were just just do you see the person ahead? You just catch that person walking ahead and so we start [01:03:00] dropping into the sixteens and we were just, we were moving. Wow. And it was again, get us trying to negative split the this thing and trying to catch 'em and ended up catching fawns in them with a hundred meters to say he's such a slow point.

Not even,

He's weaving back and forth. Come on, let's go. Let's go guys. Okay. Yeah, exactly. I'm like, I've done this a few times. Yeah, exactly. This is my just normal day out in the office. So I'm like full out sprint, just trying to catch up. Come on. And he's just let's go.

I'm like, it's almost in my head, I'm like, I hate you so much right now. And I'm like, I got nothing left. We've all of us crossed with at 2 48 and changed. So we were really happy. That's this year, 2 48, but yeah that's back, just a

Chris Detzel: few months ago. All right. Wow. That was awesome.

Yeah. And now you have Boston coming up again. What's the plan there?

Jill Wolf: I'm going to go in and just figure it out. Okay. I don't really have a goal in mind. The weather is looking in the fifties, which clearly I don't really looks like warm weather. I'm my Ohio, it starts out at [01:04:00] fifties. I want thirties.

I want thirties and cold. Okay. And I wanna go out and just have a good race. I wanna have a good, strong race. Whether that means I am sub 2 50, 2, 55, sub three, I just, I wanna go out, have fun. I like how you said that,

Chris Detzel: It could be two under two 50. I know.

Jill Wolf: That's unfortunately, I know I've probably, yeah,

Chris Detzel: I feel like that's doable for you and the reason I.

I think that is because you hit a 3 0 1 in Boston. Once, and that's when you know you're hitting the two fifties, two 50. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I think that for you it's doable.

Jill Wolf: Yeah. It would be nice. And I don't, at this point, I wanna refocus to Chicago in the fall. So that turnaround from Houston to Boston is not the easiest.

Three months is not. Ideal for me regard you don't really gain much fitness, you're gaining backup to the mileage, and then you're having to taper again immediately. So you just feel like you're slogging the entire time when it comes to the training. Like nothing feels effortless, nothing feels like I'm killing this workout.

It's, I'm [01:05:00] just, yeah, I'm Check it off a list at this point.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. You'll have a great Boston and hopefully I'll see you there and see some friends there, but I think that, what's next for you from a, as you're thinking time, is it, Hey, I just wanna try to hit under two 50 again. Is there anything there that you're thinking or is oh, let's just hold off.

Are you scared to say, or what?

Jill Wolf: I'm terrified to say.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Jill Wolf: It's like I said, you don't take the off the whole elephant in one bite, and I'm just, at this point, it's one race at a time. I would love to go sub 2 45 at Chicago. Okay. That's where my brain's at right now. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

But I can only you're still

Chris Detzel: really young, so you have, you still have that, just so you know.

Jill Wolf: Not that young, but it's one of those pretty young time is. I don't disagree. As you get older Oh yeah. But right now you're

Chris Detzel: good. You're good. You're still pr No, I wanna start a family

Jill Wolf: someday.

Yeah, it's now we, unfortunately, it's, we that's time

Chris Detzel: now for the family or getting there. So I get that. Exactly. That's

Jill Wolf: where it turns into, we've made decisions to try to let me take a crack at some bigger goals before that [01:06:00] happens. We're gonna just we, we play it by ear and if I'm not progressing in the marathon, then that's just where we might just say okay.

That's okay.

Chris Detzel: I think too though is you can learn from Melanie and Maddie. Maddie. From some of that stuff. They're still fast, theyre still doing good things, that doesn't, no, it take away from, no, I'll always be a

Jill Wolf: runner, whether I'm a mom. It'll take away from your, I'll always be a runner,

Chris Detzel: I'm sure at first, some of the time that you have, 'cause you have baby.

That's just how families work. But that's awesome. Look, I'll be following you as we kinda go through Boston or did you go to Boston? I'm going, but I'm watching and throughout your kind of journey and we'll have you back on if you want. But that's, this has been really good, Jill.

As a matter of fact, we went like an hour and 20 minutes. Crazy.

Jill Wolf: Sorry I could get talking 'cause like I said, I, I said at the beginning, I'm just someone who just continues to show up and keep trying harder. It's just, it's never been, can tell I don't think I'm at my limit yet. And I wanna keep just getting better and.

It's taken seven, eight years to get there. But it's not so people are like, oh I could never do what you do. I'm like with that [01:07:00] attitude. That's true. Yeah. But it's, I have a

Chris Detzel: question for you because I meant to ask you this. So earlier you mentioned you, when you first started doing 40 miles.

How does that change? Do, are you big believer in high mileage, like 70, 80 miles or whatever a week or Yep. What does that look like now? Quickly,

Jill Wolf: I a, I like the high mileage. Okay. I definitely I'm sit, I like to sit above 80, 90. I hit a hundred going into peak week for me here. So it's something that, there's also like this mental side to it where you come, you can, you mentally just know I just did a hundred mile week.

I can hold this pace a little bit longer. My mo my body can hold on. So there, there's a mental piece to it that, not just the strength that's added from all that, but the mental side of it. For sure.

Chris Detzel: I think that. Something you were telling me was so intriguing during this Houston race that you did was, I made myself slow down three or four seconds a mile or whatever it was.

But then I sped up mile 21, whatever it was. You can actually do that. And I think, and it feels like some of that reason is because all the miles that you put in

Your [01:08:00] body, you're very strategic in how you think about. The race throughout the entire race mean you can push it hard, you can slow it down.

You know exactly what to do and you're I'm not saying obviously you've had struggles at some races, but

Jill Wolf: Right.

Chris Detzel: This is where now it's a tactical kind of focus. Yep. You know your body, you know what you can do and confidence is key, but you have that already.

Jill Wolf: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: And that was it's just a interesting eyeopener for me of what you just said. I, I mean you've just, you're meticulous now, you can be,

Jill Wolf: I always, I actually say this more about people who are trying to get to Boston. 'cause people are so set on that time goal and it's something that they refuse to run within themselves.

'cause they are so focused on what the goal time is. And I say this to all my friends, you can always make up time in the marathon. It is a long race. Don't go out like crazy. Stay calm. Because when you start to panic, that's when things can go really bad. But it's one of those things, I love the marathon 'cause you can make those decisions [01:09:00] and catch up.

You can also, but if you latch on to have to do this time and stop running within yourself, you actually, most times than now you blow up and you actually are farther away from your goal than you were if you just ran within yourself and did what you knew you needed to do. To be able to play the, throw down the gauntlet with six miles to go.

'cause that's when it's fun. Yeah. That's the my favorite thing in the ri like to when you just can just start flying. That's my favorite part.

Chris Detzel: And you've learned how to do that, and I think that's really cool. I've done it a couple times and that's, it's hard whenever you start beating, you start passing people and you start feeling good, but you have to be smart during that race.

And Wow. Congratulations on, thank you on amazing running career over the last several years. And your journey is just incredible. And I'm glad that you came on to tell it. You've got a lot of great wisdom for everyone out there, that that is trying to hit goals and things like that.

Just know that it takes time and effort. It takes a

Jill Wolf: lot of time. It

Chris Detzel: [01:10:00] just becomes smarter over time. But

Jill Wolf: just keep showing up. Just

Chris Detzel: keep showing up.

Jill Wolf: Keep showing up. It's, it will get there. You just can't give up on it.

Chris Detzel: Thanks everyone for tuning in to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Zel. Don't forget to rate and review us and hey, we are now on Substack, so make sure you follow us dfw uh.com at substack and sign up for the email newsletter.

Jill, thank you so much.

Jill Wolf: Thank you.