Ultramarathoner, K-9 Lover, Epic Road Trip Fitness Adventure and CBD Athlete Jimmy “JQ” Quilenderino
Introduction
In this episode of the RaceMob Podcast we are joined by Jimmy Q. If you're looking for some motivation, inspiration, and focus to help fight all those common excuses then this episode is for you.
Listen to JQ share his humorous and engaging personality. Lots of straight, no-nonsense talk on the building blocks that made him the athlete that he is today, and the art of optimizing strength training and running, fueling him to multiple marathon and ultra-marathon finishes.
He shares some of his most challenging moments in the midst of hundred-mile races and how CBD has helped him with performance and recovery.
He also opens up on the profound impact that man's best friend has had on his life, that's made him an avid canine runner, and how a youth football experience set the tone for his toughness and grit in the years to come.
Links For the Show
Podcast Transcription
The following transcript is provided for your convenience. It was created through a program, and may not be entirely accurate to our conversation.[00:00:00] Bertrand Newson: What do you think was missing in that training build up that caused you to feel the way that you did that our audience can learn from as they go about their future training journeys?
[00:00:09] Jimmy Q: Respect for the distance. Now, not just respect, I gotta run 26.2. No, no, no, no. You have to build up to it or else things will hurt.
Can you complete a marathon? Running, tapering up and sure, sure you can. Absolutely, absolutely.
But you'll run better if you taper up and get those long miles I'm sure there are plenty other people that have other reasons for that, but my main reason for that is your body's not used to the pounding that it's going to take if you don't run those distances.
Intro
[00:00:38] Bertrand Newson: Hello and welcome to the RaceMob podcast. This is episode number 95.
I'm Bertrand, head coach of RaceMob and founder of two legit fitness. I'm joined by my dear friend, Kevin - entrepreneur technology and fitness nerd, and founder of RaceMob.
We're joined by Jimmy Q. Yes. That Jimmy Q!
If you're looking for some motivation, inspiration, and focus to help fight all those common excuses that we're too busy, too tired, then this episode is for you.
Listen to JQ share with his humorous and engaging personality. Lots of straight, no nonsense talk on the building blocks to made him an athlete that he is today, and the art of optimizing strength training and running, fueling him to multiple marathon and ultra marathon finishes.
He shares some of his most challenging moments in the midst of hundred-mile races and how CBD has helped him with performance and recovery.
He also opens up on the profound impact that man's best friend has had on his life, that's made him an avid canine runner.
Also how a youth football experience set the tone for his toughness and grit in the years to come.
All the show notes can be found online, and I hope you enjoy this conversation as I did recording it with JQ.
Start of the Interview
[00:01:52] Bertrand Newson: Hello everybody! Welcome to another episode of the RaceMob podcast.
I'm joined by my good friend, teammate, and athlete, endurance athlete, Jimmy Q who now resides in Texas by way of California.
Jimmy and I ironically are from the same hometown, same actually um, military brats by way of the Army. And Seaside high school alum.
Also I'd like to share that my cohost and good friend and the founder of RaceMob Kevin is not joining us as he is away tending to a funeral as his grandmother passed away.
So our deepest condolences Kevin are with you on behalf of the entire RaceMob family.
And with that said, Jimmy, how are you today, man?
[00:02:32] Jimmy Q: I'm doing good, my man. Thank you for having me. I appreciate this. Been looking forward to it for a while, man.
Jimmy's Origin Story
[00:02:36] Bertrand Newson: Yeah, we both have, This is by popular demand. So man, where do I start? Actually let's, for the, the members of our audience who may follow you on social media.
But more importantly for those people who are just getting to know you right now, let's go back to your youth, your childhood. Sure. Yeah, kind of back your, your, your origin story , Jimmy, the superhero . Tell us about you as a youth growing up, and then how you found sports and what kind of start from there.
[00:02:59] Jimmy Q: Yeah. So, so with me, I always I had older brothers, right? The small, smallest. I was always the smallest. But they lifted weights. And so that gave me a path to start lifting weights.
And so if you're going to go back to when I first started working out before I started running it, obviously it was , fourth grade, fifth grade into sixth middle school into high school.
And what I would do is back in the nineties we had sitcoms. What I would do, I'd be watching, home improvement, fresh, fresh fresh, prince of air, that type of stuff. And I'd be doing my homework, commercial would come on cool, drop down, set of pushups, and I'd be back to doing my homework when the when the show comes back on.
And then commercials try to do sits for the entire two minute break.
And that just kept going year by year until I got a wait set. And we got a , me and my brother got a wait set and started lifting weights. And at the same time, my grandfather had moved in with us and my dad, and they both loved baseball.
So I started playing baseball, started following baseballs. Had a love for the sport for a very long time. Still do. Just diminished as you get older. start playing baseball and then when, when , when you screw up, right? Go run a lap. I, with my, with my attitude, not attitude, but with my character, with my everything. I was running a lot of laps, , I was running a lot of laps, but I loved it. I absolutely loved it. How many laps you wanted to go?
One about two and and so that, I just always had this drive. There's always had a drive since I was a kid. And then it has obviously magnified into where it is today ?
[00:04:23] Bertrand Newson: Great. And how many brothers? Two older brothers. Two older brothers. Two older brothers. So they've had an influence on you?
[00:04:29] Jimmy Q: Big did, Yeah. Yeah, yeah. When my brother was uh, so I have two older brothers. The oldest one, he's, he was like about 10. It's about a six year age different, didn't live with us, different family situation, what have you.
But I would show up and he had to have this chest. I'm like, damn, I want that chest. I want those muscles. Right? I was a little kid and the, my brother, my, the one that I lived with same bedroom, walking around with the six pack. We were kids. I'm like, I want a six pack too. So I would take those two and kind of fueled me into like that fireman. Get going, Get moving.
[00:04:58] Bertrand Newson: Love it. Love it. Any sports idols growing up?
[00:05:02] Jimmy Q: Now body building is not a sport, but people call it a sport. But I mean, Arnold, how could it now be? Arnold? Arnold back in the day, Stallone come on.
But yeah, you're looking at it was mainly baseball. McGuire, McGuire with those thick, beefy arms, those thick thighs. Conseco... say what you want about the P.E.D.s and everything.
Hey, but the size of these men you know, I'm 58 180, they're 65, 2.50. Right. It took me, now it took me a long time to realize I was never gonna be that big, but man, I tried. I tried for a long time.
A Football Story
[00:05:32] Bertrand Newson: I seem to recall a football story of yours. You may wanna share what it was.
[00:05:36] Jimmy Q: Well, you talking about me breaking my own collarbone and saying, Nah, I'm good with this.
[00:05:39] Bertrand Newson: Well, let's hear it.
[00:05:40] Jimmy Q: So I never played football in my life, right. Other than , BS tackle football with your friends in the backyard and stuff like that. Two hand touch. And then I was 5, 6, 1 15, 1 25 freshman year. So, I mean, a big honking dude. No, no, that wasn't me. But we did have those guys.
Remember Seaside, a lot of Samoans, a lot of black dudes Everybody's big. And I was, I was this little white boy, this little honky dude running around and lined up. And I was, at the time, I was, I was afraid. I was afraid to hit , because I was so small.
But then I realized, oh, when I did start hitting, I got a little bit more respect on, on the team by certain players that I was looking for respect cause they were team leaders or what have you. And so anyways, so I started hitting more, hitting more. I'm like, Okay, it's not that bad.
Well, there's this one drill, I don't know what it's called, but it's two right in front of you, but then there's a third behind them and there's a football behind him. Cool. Gotta get that football.
Now what do they do? They put the two biggest dudes on the line and then a really athletic individual behind them. And everybody lines up and you go line up and go.
So I line up and I'm thinking, this is my strategy. I'm like, Oh, I got this. I'm gonna get that football boy. Cause one of 'em wasn't so big, right? I'm gonna go head up with him. I'm gonna spin off and then I'm just gonna go as hard as I can and die for that fall.
Yeah, everybody has a story. Everybody has a plan. They get until they get punched in the mouth. So I went head up with the first, I did my spin move. Ooh, look him so smooth then probably, it's probably about two 30 at the time. The other dude said, Cool, I like what you're doing. I'm gonna rule your plan.
Came around the back and just laid me out. And you remember Charlie Brown? Yep. When he would spin shoes would come off . That's pretty much what happened to me.
Broke my collarbone. So I went from here to here, stayed in the skin, which was nice. Now this'll get into how I am today. Later on in the conversation, I'm sure.
I was done playing for the day. Cool. Went home. My dad was bowling, so I called him up, say You know,, I, something happened to football. I need to see a doctor. Ah, just sleep it off. Sleep it off. Go to practice tomorrow.
Okay, Pain, all this pain, And so did what he told. I did what I was told. Woke up in the morning, got ready, went to school, strapped up next day, first hit, man, it hurt so bad, so fast, so I had to stop playing, right? I took a couple of them. Then it just got to the point where I had to take my pads off.
So I called and again, next night he's bowls bowling. So I call him up again. Something's really wrong with my shoulder. Like, can, can we do something about it? You know, I'm little you know, ninth grade or whatever. So I might've been in tears, welling up or whatever. Try not to show my weakness to my pops. And he's like, Fine.
Comes home after bowling, now, mind you, so you got his game in, Hey, good job, dad. Come by, swoop me up. Went to the doctor's on duty right there in in Monterey off of probably Del Monte. Anyway, it was actually across from the bowling alley, right?
So, hey , So it run X-rays and run x-rays. Sure enough, I got the I got that Wishbone look in my collarbone. And the doctor comes in and I remember this clear today. He slaps the x-rays on the table as well. You're not a wimp. And we look and he says, See right here. This is what, that's what's broken.
He says, See the crack right there? And he says, So the next thing I got this strap on. I'm like, This, my old brother's helping me get dressed in the morning. My dad's laughing at me. And it's like, Oh, it's good times. Being a small dude with the big heart you know,, as far as trying to. play some football, but yeah, you take your lumps, man.
So I was like, Now let's go to baseball.
Body Building
[00:08:45] Bertrand Newson: Great story. I mean again early signs of your grit and toughness and resilience.
So for what you shared with us so far, JQ, you were a strength athlete before you were a runner. Oh, yeah. Yeah. What'd you say? Yep.
[00:08:57] Jimmy Q: Strength. Just body building There's bodybuilders and there's people that build their body. And I, I build my body , I, I never had to diet down and walk across the stage. That is bodybuilding. Building your body is doing all of that without walking across the stage, without doing the dieting, without all that stuff. Right. Putting yourself through hell for those 12 weeks. No, no, I never did that, but.
Yeah, just bodybuilding more than, more than strength. I've never been a really strong guy. I've been stronger than your average dude walking down the street, but never super strong. I just don't have the bone structure for it.
[00:09:24] Bertrand Newson: Well, for those of you who are just listening to this podcast and don't have the benefit of seeing the video, Jimmy's in fantastic shape. And the backdrop is his wall of fame medals from left to right. And that's just a, a, a small slither of his running accomplishment.
Jimmy the Runner
[00:09:39] Bertrand Newson: So let's talk about Jimmy, the Runner, and what piqued your interest, your first race, and maybe we'll fast forward from there to your first marathon, then get into some of your other fantastic accomplishments.
Yes. We wanna talk about that first marathon.
[00:09:53] Jimmy Q: You, you don't have to, you don't even have to. There's not even a big jump. Oh, I'm damn. I get right to it.
So my running started back in about 2008, 2009. About 2009. I got a boster on, it's a French hurting dog. And this one that I had, not, not the one that I have now, but that one previous was, it was very dominant, very, I wouldn't say aggressive, but he held his own, he treated him with respect, right? And, which means he had to be ran, he had to be moved. He had, he's a hunting dog, he's gotta do something or else go get violent.
And so I'd wake up, I, and I lived in an apartment too, and so I needed to make sure that he was taken care of before I go to work. Just like a lot of people, but especially this dog. So I'd wake up freezing, go for my runs, you know, morning after morning. So that started the running.
Then uh, my girlfriend at the time had a brother, or I guess she still does have a brother, but he ran from San Jose to San Francisco, roughly a 50 mile stretch.
So he ran that, and I thought, How did he do that? Like, how does somebody run that? How did he train? What did he do? She says, Well, he went to CrossFit. I said, Okay, okay, so I wanna do CrossFit too, because I wanna be a runner.
And at the same time, I heard that there's , 0.001% of people that are walking the earth that have ever completed a marathon. I thought I would love to be in that percentage. Right? I'm sure it's grown now as the sport has taken off or what have you.
So, anyway. I thought what? I wanna be a part of that. So I looked, I was like, what are, what? Where can I find a race? Marathons in the Bay Area, San Francisco. I'm like, Okay, when is it? June? It's February. How far? What's the longest distance you've ran? 3.1. And I'm having this conversation with myself. Can you do this now? So you gotta go from 3.1 now to 26.2 in four months. Good luck.
And so I went down to CrossFit Moxi and had told the head coach there, he's like , why'd you join? Blah, blah, blah. And I told him that story. He looked me up and down like, Okay, ooh, should not have done that. Should not have done that. He should not have done that.
And the reason for it, I, I, after all these accomplishments, I've, I've, Hey, remember that time you looked me up and down? He always laughs He remembers, he remembers. I told him I got four months to train for the San Francisco Marathon. I said, That's, that's my goal right now. Can, can we do it? He said, Sure.
Then I'd go to Moxi. I had to wake up a little bit earlier, run the dog, then go to Moxi, then go to work. And my work never knew what time I was getting off. It was a very laborous job. Tough and tile refinishing. And then I would get off and go straight to Moxi.
So I was hitting double days most days and then still had to take care of the dog and all that stuff, right? And so I was getting, I mean, who gets good sleep nowadays or any day early? So I was getting terrible sleep. I was training, I was training, I was training.
Showtime comes June, probably 16th, 15th, somewhere. There was like Father's Day right around that time. And I towed the line. And in my first, first race ever was the San Francisco Marathon. And pulled a respect. I like to call it a respectable 4:32.
CrossFit Training
[00:12:33] Bertrand Newson: For you to run, be running a 5k Um, before you decided to tackle the marathon journey and have a four month lead up time and for you to choose arguably the hardest road marathon in the western United States, so in California, with San Francisco with all that Elevation gain, and for you to run the time that you did. So just to finish an accomplishment. Okay. So four 30, Great job. Yeah, great job.
Let's kind of go backwards a bit. JQ with your CrossFit Moxi trainer. Take us through some of those workouts. So for someone who was just running a 5K to being able to finish the San Francisco Marathon, what did those workouts look like?
And what was your training, what kind of fitness were you in at that stage before you embarked on that short marathon training?
[00:13:13] Jimmy Q: So it was a lot of, it was mainly body. So I was new to CrossFit and new to CrossFit, endurance. CrossFit. Endurance is separate from CrossFit. You have your CrossFit your barbell works your, your pull ups, your kettlebells all that, right?
All that's CrossFit Now, CrossFit endurance is a lot of sprint work. So raise that threshold and then lower it, and then raise it again and lower it and just keep pulling that elastic, that rubber band and making it bigger and bigger. And that's what we, so it was a lot of sprint work.
And put it this way, I did not run over eight miles. Yeah, there was no long, there was no long runs. There was nothing. There was nothing. No double digits, nothing like that. I didn't taper up to 20 miles and 22 didn't taper. No, no, no. It was just a lot. It was an hour, basically an hour of sprint work resting , a lot of resting, as long as it took you to do , whatever it was.
And then shorten the rest, shorten the rest, but run harder. Keep your heart rate this, keep your heart rate that , use metronome all that stuff. But it never went past eight miles. And so I was doing that in the morning. Then I'd go to work and then I would do the barbell work, the snatches, the cleaning jerks, the pull ups, all of that. And then it the next day.
First Marathon Race Day
[00:14:13] Bertrand Newson: Nothing like the first time marathon. So take us to race day. We want to take us through . No, no audience in full disclosure. I've had this conversation with JQ before and and we've all been there in our first, in, in some cases, first race, our first half marathon, marathon.
When you're running those longer distances and your body's still getting acclimated to repetitive motion nutrition, GI issues the importance of sodium and aid stations and cramping and all that other stuff, it's a learning experience. Ultimately, Jimmy, you finished.
But take us through, via your eyes on that first San Francisco marathon journey.
[00:14:52] Jimmy Q: So when you line up with board shorts and BS running shoes that have hurt you the entire time that you were training, it's not really the best idea.
And I also had , I didn't have a handheld. I was holding an Aquafina one liter bottle you know, and carrying it basically like a football. I got a picture of me crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, basically carrying it in a football for , a third of the race, what have you. But it was going good. I remember it going very well, very, very well.
I mean, I got into double digits and I thought, Wow, I'm, I'm in double digits , This is, this is great. And then about mile 18 as 16 17, 18, 18, somewhere in there, the race said, I'm glad you're having a good time. I really am. But here's the thing, this is a marathon, so we're gonna take your legs and we're gonna make 'em into telephone poles.
And then, oh, your meniscus , your shock absorb? Now I'm gonna wipe that out too. Not one leg, both legs. So now I got, every time I step my knee, it just hurts cuz it feels like it's bone on bone. At, that time, right? Mm-hmm. , hamstrings lock up or quad's locked up. My calves locked up, up my back a little bit locks up.
And so doing the as best I can, that little March, March run that people do. Mm-hmm. , back and forth on, on legs these two little telephone poles just moving along. I call 'em telephone poles cause it can't bend my leg anymore. Yeah. And so, and I'm trying to run more so on the toes.
So I'm doing this, hop on the toes , because you hit your heel, that's what sends the shock up to your knees and that's what hurts. So you gotta stay away from that.
But then , as you're doing that, other things start to hurt because that's not your normal gait. And so you gotta adjust and then you gotta stop it and things hurt and the whole time and you're looking at like, I thought I'd get a sub four
I thought sub four. cuz ,at the time I was watching Hell's Kitchen, Chef Gordon Ramsey, man ran a three 30 marathon. I'm like, Oh, this guy, if this celebrity can run that thing , I got this! I'm half his age, I'm in shape. I CrossFit.
Nope, nope, nope. Looking at the time, well 3:50, 3:55. Pacer passes me, four-pace passes me, I got miles to go, 4:10, 4:15. Luckily the 4:35 or 4:40, whatever it was, did not pass me.
But I finished and I was with two people who did not understand the pain that runners go through after their first marathon or any race that they're in.
They were like, Oh, cool. You done with the marathon? Let's go to this bar. Let's go there. Let's go walk over here and what are we doing? Everything hurts on me
[00:17:12] Bertrand Newson: Well, thank you for sharing that story, and I wanted you to kind of open up about it because several people on this, listening to this or viewing it, have been in your shoes before.
And others that are embarking on a future marathon, marathon distance, 13.1 or 26.2, or looking at 2023 and their bucket list or goals or wants. Could that be me one day? Could I tow the line? Can I put in the work?
And what can we learn through your personal experience, what would you tell, because you've done other marathons where you didn't experience the telephone pole, legs and, and the discomfort and, and you've changed your shoes and nutrition, all that other stuff.
What do you think was what was missing in that training build up that caused you to feel the way that you did that our audience can learn from as they go about their future training journeys?
[00:18:00] Jimmy Q: Respect for the distance. Now, not just respect. I gotta run 26.2. No, no, no, no. You have to build up to it or else things will hurt.
Can you complete a marathon? Running, tapering up and sure, sure you can. Absolutely, absolutely.
But you'll run better if you taper up and get those long miles I'm sure there are plenty other people that have other reasons for that, but my main reason for that is your body's not used to the pounding that it's going to take if you don't run those distances.
distances So when you start feeling these weird pains at 16, 18, and they, by, it's not each mile, it just gets a little bit worse. No, no, no. It magnifies. So it, it, there's big jumps in pain from , mile 20 to 22, 24, 20, and then you finish at 26, build up to the distance and respect the distance.
And while you're building up to the distance, maybe treat some of those training runs as race day. Get up at that time. That you gotta get up at , eat the food that you're gonna, even if you don't, in my, one of the biggest, eat the food, even though you do not, do not want to drink the drinks, even though you may not want to, when you wake up at 5:00 AM 4:00 AM whatever it may be, you will need it at mile 12, mile 15th, 18 and so on.
So, respect the distance train for the distance but also enjoy the distance. Enjoy.
You're running a marathon. This is something that not many people: 1) can do; or will want to do, and there's some people that want to do it, but may never be able to You know what I mean? But if you're signed up for it and you're, you're training for it, enjoy it. Enjoy it.
Put a smile on your face. Hey, you're going through pain. Guess what? That person is, that person is that person... everybody's going through the same pain.
So when you're running, don't complain about it. Have a good time with it, man. There's so much to the race, and when you pass, people at the aid stations don't be rude. They're given their time. And if you can't, this is a pet peeve of mine too. You get something to drink, throw it away if you can.
If there's no garbage cans, okay, and there's already a hundred cups, okay, fine. But if you pass a garbage can throw it away. Hit the mess down. Do a minimum best you can.
Nutrition Advice
[00:19:58] Bertrand Newson: Excellent advice JQ. Wonderful nuggets from a coaching perspective, from someone who's run a handful of marathons, myself, sage advice.
So, continuing that same vein what advice, granted, you're not a nutritionist and neither am I, but we do know that in nutrition does play a role.
What are some tips maybe you can give a new endurance athlete from a, just a kind of baseline nutrition perspective and the importance of protein.
[00:20:21] Jimmy Q: So try not to train on an empty stomach, cuz if you're training on an empty stomach, you may feel good in the beginning and then in the end you're gonna taper out, but you're done. Right. Oh, I got my seven miles in. I started to do cramp. I started to get tired. But what you want, if you're gonna run those seven miles, you want those seven miles to be full, real.
And if so, if you need the fuel before those set, then take the fuel. But if you can wake up and run a five , five miler and all out with no fuel, no water, which I've done countless numbers of times, but when it gets started sitting in a longer distance, I'll grab something.
I want that training to be, to be as beneficial as it possibly can be. And if you're not, if you're not fueling for those training runs, they won't be as beneficial. Make sense?
Protein, I look at a lot of runners. No offense to anybody that looks like this, my apologies for saying this, but you can eat more protein. The reason I say that is when you're running, your muscles kind of just, they get, they get soft. They're like, Yeah, you're lean and yeah, you're, you're thin. But it's kind of like a skinny fat.
It's like you flex your arm and it's, it may look alright, but then you grab it and you're like, Oh, mashed potatoes. Or your leg or something like that. Yeah. You got the muscles still run, you got the endurance to run, but you need to take your protein to keep those muscles, to keep building those muscles.
And also strength training with your runs. It doesn't need to be every day like me. It doesn't need to be five days a week , two, three times a week. How long we've been working together. "B, how long have you known.
[00:21:38] Bertrand Newson: I've known you since 2015. How many times have I been in 14, 15?
[00:21:42] Jimmy Q: How many times I've been injured?
[00:21:43] Bertrand Newson: You've always kept it moving. Yeah. I cannot think of a week that I've not known that you have been putting in work that I can't think of a week where you have not strength trained three to five plus days, something like that. Yeah. I know that you have done some impromptu on the fly.
Hey. Oh, a free marathon bid. We'll get into that too. . Yeah. Yeah. So that you'll go ahead and, and run it cuz you, you are always ready. On a dimes notice to be able to get up and get after it, so...
[00:22:09] Jimmy Q: So I eat the protein to help build these muscles and re and the carbs to repair the muscles or what have you. And I think that a lot of runners should do that.
Yes, get your carbs, try and get your carbs before, before the race, during the race , afterwards. Eat a healthy amount of protein , 0.8 per body weight, per pound of body weight.
I do , 1.2 sometimes 2 depends , on where my training is at or what have you.
But protein, not just for aesthetics, but just to keep your, your, your body , functioning. You'd be able to lift things , you need, you need that protein, you need to lift the strength train or else. And it, it also helps like all the muscles around ligaments and everything keeps everything strong.
And I, I haven't had a real injury where I thought, Oh, I need to stop running in a very long time. And I'm talking a very, very long time. I've had , foot issues that have slowed me down from running. I've had back issues that have slowed me down, but I've never been , I'm injured. I can't run, I can't lift.
And there's a difference between being hurt and being injured, hurt. You can work through it. Injured, you're done. You gotta stop, be smart and rest. And I've, I've never been there before.
[00:23:10] Kevin Chang: If you like our podcast and sign up for our newsletter where we give you weekly tips on how to run your best race and have fun in the process, just go to RaceMob dot com and sign up today.
Strength Training Advice
[00:23:22] Bertrand Newson: Great. And we want you to continue with that overall wellness streak.
I would like you to give some examples as a lifelong not body building, but building.
What did you, the term you used? I build my. " B a body build, building your body or...
[00:23:36] Jimmy Q: Yes. I'm not a bodybuilder. I don't want, I don't wanna step on stage. But I do build my body.
[00:23:39] Bertrand Newson: Yes you do. But being able to blend the world of strength athlete and endurance athlete, what are some strength-based exercises like two, three that are core?
If someone's gonna get into the gym , one, two times, three times a week, or either working out from home, because some people, if they're just getting into strength training, may be a little self-conscious. May feel intimidated getting into a gym setting. I know that you are not, you don't at this stage frequent going out to gyms because you have a fantastic gym at home.
But for someone who's curious and realizes and hears the importance of strength training, what are some body weight movements? And then as they can start to layer in some some weight that you would suggest.
[00:24:18] Jimmy Q: Always number one squats. Squats, whether it be with a barbell, with dumbbells body weight, but not only, not only the squat, but also getting your body used to squatting because I see a lot of guys and women that they may squat, but they're not going to depth unless you are injured, or you have some kind of pain when you squat, you should be breaking parallel.
This is just me saying this, but I think breaking parallel and opening up those hips have, not I think, I know, that has helped me that has helped me stay healthy after running hundreds of miles after running ultras and after running this, having being able to open up my hips. Chest up and squat down, standing up, squeezing the glutes, all of that, or getting all those muscles working. And that has helped me.
So I would start with squats for sure. Do squats. It doesn't have to be crazy. You don't have to put on a bunch of weight and be smart about it ? No, you go. And I wouldn't, even if you're starting out, I wouldn't even say, do you know three reps or five reps?
No, no, no, no. I'm talking do 20 reps do do a set of 15? Because what that's going to do is lower the weight. You're not gonna be able to do 15 reps with a set that you can only do three reps with. So lower the weight, get your ego, and get that ass down, chest up, ass down , legs out, squat, squatting for sure.
Step ups are good step ups and split squats, Bulgarian splits split squads. I say, I say that, that one in particular, that's the one where you put your foot behind you, It's on a bench, you step out, then you, you you lower your, your, your back knee to the ground and stand back up. So you got one foot on the bench, one out in front of you. It's kind of like a lunge, but you just lower and that's gonna light up your butt. It's gonna light up your glutes.
And if you love running uphill as I used to, you start to fly uphill. When other people are gassing out, you're like, Oh shit, this is some good stuff here. So those plus step ups both of them, I'm not saying they'll simulate going uphill, but it definitely helps going uphill if you incorporate those and then add the squats in too.
So for runners and if you want to focus on other muscle groups, just the basics. It doesn't have to be crazy. No, no, no. Learn the basics. Learn how to bench press. Learn how to stack your joints.
So here, when it comes down, everything, it's a piston going straight back. Your arm is a piston going straight back up. I understand that people can't really see that right now. The ones that are not watching, but you don't want your arm out, he out as your benching coming down. And now you have this angle that's going out. You want all your angles to go up. You want your joint stack, It's called stacking the joints.
So learn how to do a proper bench fresh. Learn how to do proper curls without swinging. Learn how to lift without momentum and focus on that mind muscle connection.
But mainly check your ego. Just cuz you have somebody else that's starting out and they're stronger than you. Good. Let them be , it's okay to have somebody else that's stronger than you around you. Just get your reps in though, but get your reps in.
It's gotta be, doesn't have to be. But high volume of reps to me is more as, as a, to keep yourself healthy, keep yourself moving is much more important than trying to do a set of three, a set of five and trying to get stronger.
JQ's Road Trip
[00:27:15] Bertrand Newson: Okay, Thank you for that excellent advice. Let's talk about JQ's 2022 road trip.
[00:27:22] Jimmy Q: Oh, my road trip!
[00:27:23] Jimmy Q: Moved to Texas and when I moved to Texas, so I sold my house in California, for those of you that don't know. And I thought I've been working for 22 straight years. I need a break. So I sold my house, came out here, got six months. I told myself six, seven months , till the end of the year, whatever it.
But I wanted to do something epic with that time. I didn't want to just, I don't wanna say wasted because I do have a family now, and so it would not be wasting it. But I did not want to look back on these few months and think, Damn, I should've done something cool as hell. I had the time, I had the means, I had the support, I had it all.
And now I'm back on the grind and I can't do it anymore. Damn. I don't ever wanna be that guy. Right?
My original plan was to go from the Texas Capital building that's in Austin. I was gonna take all week and do this epic ride. And then I realized when I, But you need to really be able to ride, go a hundred miles. Plus 800, only seven days in a week. So that's more than a hundred miles.
So I ran out for a hundred mile ride. It was rough. I didn't change this game plan, cause tomorrow I gotta do this again. And then the next day I gotta, no, let's change the game plan.
And so I went to, me and my girl went to we went to Mexico. And while we were out there, I thought I don't know what I'm gonna do. I gotta do something , this is in July time's running out. I'm, I'm thinking, Oh, time's running out. I gotta get this, gotta gotta do something.
So we got back and immediately I was like what, where's, where's a destination marathon? Oh, Portland. Well what? Okay, let's go do Portland. Oh wait, San Jose , it's a, and it's the next weekend. Okay. And so I started putting this, this road trip together.
But before that I was, I have to, I like driving to the races and Rather than flying. So I driven to Kansas. Once I had driven to and this is all within the same time of this road trip I had driven to Kansas.
In fact, I had driven to the Colorado Rockies, in fact, ran a marathon in the Colorado Rockies, drove to Houston failed there, but it was still a good time Dallas . So I'm driving back and forth to all these races weekend after weekend.
And then it comes time for the to get going. Then I thought, okay, let's go from Austin, up to Portland, down to San Jose, back to Austin, drop off the dog. Cuz I took my dog with me for this for this trip as I did in college.
[00:29:25] Bertrand Newson: And camping. Some of those.
[00:29:27] Jimmy Q: Oh yeah. From San Jose to Portland. I camped most of, I camped three out of the five nights and then, From Portland to San Jose. There was another two outta the five nights.
So it was good five nights at camping, sleep. No comfortable. Nah. Did I smell? Absolutely, but it's nobody else around but me and my dog. So it was good to go. Mm-hmm. . And so drop off the dog in Austin and drive up to to Detroit.
And remind you, San Jose, I had to pace at one 40 half marathon. That's a 7 38 pace. Nailed that. Well this is after the Portland marathon. Nailed that one. Shout out to Penn then Detroit was , it's a little bit slower. It was a little bit slower, so I can relax a little bit. 1 45. 1 45. That's an eight minute pace. Nailed down one. Then came back. We had get two weeks off before this past.
[00:30:12] Bertrand Newson: And what was the, the culmination of this road trip? What was this past weekend for you?
[00:30:18] Jimmy Q: This past weekend should have been the one of the, I probably, let's say the second easiest a hundred mile that I've ever embarked on. But then going back to my advice for the marathon, you need to respect the distance.
You need to train some of those miles. And I had not, I'd only gotten one 50 mile run in, and that was , three, three or four weeks before this one because that was a failed hundred mile attempt. So I've had, I'm oh, for three this year and a hundred miles, for those of you that don't know because I thought I've ran him before. I'm tough as nails. I can do this.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. There are so many things that can go wrong in that distance. And you need to prepare for that distance. You need to look at the, not only the terrain, but what you are going to be running on. So I was, this past weekend, it was all crushed limestone.
What it was is called the Kansas rails to trails a hundred mile. They take the old railroads out, they gravel it. And so now you have then all the trees that have been planted around the the, around the railroad. They, they keep 'em there. So you're looking down this long, these long tunnels.
When I say long tunnels, I mean, Long tons of trees, man. You get done with them and you get done with one, and then you get to the next horizon. You're like, or you get to the horizon, you look and you see the next horizon. And it's just a long tube of trees. It was an out and back.
I should not have been wearing the shoes that I wore. They were, I think, zero drop and they were made for running in the the, the mountains and uphill and downhill and all that good stuff. I should have been wearing road shoes. I should have been wearing road shoes.
I did not realize that until I was talking to the race director afterwards and it's like, well, yeah, a lot of people, this is more for road runners than it is for your average ultra marathon or that likes to run the hills because it is out and back as fast as you can at fairly any elevation to it.
But I'm not making any excuses how, why I failed or what have you. It's just I did not respect the race. No, I respected the race. I did not respect the distance. The distance was, Is is something to respect. Should have wore better shoes, should not have been sick and towed the line. It was just a lot of things.
But yeah, it was just a lot of things. So this weekend, hey, take it on the chin. I'll be back at another a hundred mile next year, four Ws right now, four Ls.
[00:32:24] Bertrand Newson: And hats off to you for having the courage and the will to sign up for not one, not two, but three...
[00:32:32] Jimmy Q: In Three months.
[00:32:32] Bertrand Newson: ...ultramarathons not, And we're not, we're not ultramarathon.
The qualifying distance is a 50k, 31 miles. So you could've done that. You could've done a 50 miler. Even a hundred K , 62 plus miles 60, 62, 64 miles. But you said what, let's go big or go home.
[00:32:48] Jimmy Q: Because I wanted to.
Enduring on a Race
[00:32:49] Bertrand Newson: And you mentioned a couple of marathons sprinkled in there as well, a couple of half marathons and road tripping. All with an, a short amount of time.
So a great bucket list. I mean the, the roster of races for some people would be a roster of a lifetime, which you elected to take on on a couple of months or so.
And there's a lot of lessons that you're sharing with us and that we will learn as coach athlete as we look to toe the line at future endurance events in 2023 and beyond, so...
But I do want to get inside your head. Sure. Okay. Of course when it all goes right , it's PR day. Like you had a great day in Modesto in March of this year , great marathon effort ran strong negative split pr. Great to see. But even in that race, I'm sure there are moments where it wasn't easy.
Where you had to, to draw on your mental toughness and then rely on the things you could control, pace, taking a nutrition, et cetera, et cetera.
But more so on these ultra-marathon events at the darkest moments, because you're not surrounded in those ultra-marathons by teammates, crowd, fellow participants.
There are so extended stretches when it's just you, your thoughts, darkness cold, other ails, pain, anxiety, fatigue, and thoughts, which in many cases can be a challenge in itself.
[00:34:09] Jimmy Q: Absolutely.
[00:34:10] Bertrand Newson: How do you fight through those bouts of hunger, fatigue, weather, and then fighting against your mind and body?
[00:34:19] Jimmy Q: Edibles! I like to take edibles when I run mm-hmm. . So I'll take the edibles, they'll, they'll they'll they'll keep me focused. They put me in that flow state from mile to mile very quickly.
[00:34:28] Bertrand Newson: And what does a flow state just for our, our listeners to...
[00:34:31] Jimmy Q: To me, a flow state is just when you're running you, nothing hurts. Everything's just going so smooth. You look down, you're , let's say mile five, you look down again, you're a mile eight, and you're like, Where did those three miles go?
And each, each mile, it may not even be faster than the last. One, but it's just, you're just cruising. And it feels like it could go on for a very, very long time until you snap out of it and you're like, Oh shit. I'm , nine miles in now. I should be hurting. Oh, I am hurting now. And then it's like, I gotta get back to where I was two miles ago in my head.
And a lot of people , they deal with demons when they run. We all do. The hunger, all that good stuff. It's, it's, it's, it's there. The edibles do add to it , the hunger. I do want to eat a little bit more. But, which is good because when you're out there, you're able to take in those calories that you need that are vital when you're running these long distance, long distances.
And you touched on being by yourself. There have been numerous, countless numbers of times that I've looked ahead of me have been able to see the trail for a good one, two, maybe three miles, especially on how, how the terrain is if it drops down or it sweeps back up and you can see off in the distance where that line is on that mountain.
You're like, There's nobody, I got really good vision with my contacts. There's nobody there. Then you turn, you look, there's nobody behind me.
And so if you twist an ankle, if you hurt yourself in any anyway, if you're depleted on nutrients, you're depleted on hydration, you're depleted on anything or you're just in, in this funky state where you're starting to panic, Hey, guess what? Only you can save you.
And I love that. I absolutely love that. I mean, there have been times, there have been times where I called you up, Help me, help me. I know there have been.
[00:36:04] Bertrand Newson: Just a conversation. Just conversation.
[00:36:05] Jimmy Q: Yeah. And you've talked me through the you've unlocked , through the, through the phone. You handed me the key. I took that key, unlocked the door to the pain cave and stepped out.
And a lot of times it's just a mental thing. You got so many miles to go and you're hurting this bad. I, you're this tired. I don't wanna do this thing. All you gotta do is quit.
All you have to do is stop, and it all goes away. But you don't wanna stop because you want that buckle. You want that metal, You want it, you want it, you want it. This is what you signed up for. It's like, how tough are you ?
This is what it's about. You put in all those models, you put in that training. You did all this, you did all that. You did the research. You bought the shoes, you bought the plane ticket, you put the gas in, you drove there, you showed up. Show out, let's go.
[00:36:38] Bertrand Newson: Yeah, admirable. Courageous. And again, you could have made the choice after running Portland, running San Jose rock and roll, half marathon, driving all the way to Detroit, running, doing that half marathon, getting back to your family in Texas saying , what do I want to drive out of state again and tow the line for another ultra effort at the a hundred mile mark?
You did. You made that choice. And and it test our spirit, it test our soul. But you also realize that JQ was not defined by a buckle. Are there more buckles and medals out there for you? Of course. But it's those life lessons we learn for ourself that we're able to share with other runners, in some cases, members of our family, young and old, and the people that see you putting yourself out there and going for it.
Because for some of us just getting outdoors JQ and showing up for a workout is our ultra-marathon because some people have so much shit going on in their life. And it hasn't been easy for you. Okay.
You, you, when you lived here in California, you didn't have a part-time job. You worked your ass off. 10, 12, 14 plus hours a day, five, six, some cases more than that, days a week, and found a way to put in the work.
I was very fortunate along with our good mutual friend, Nando Gonzalez, to be there when you first completed your, your first hundred miler. Yes, sir. And there, let's see that, I think Way Too Cool was one of them. And then the rendezvous in San Martin, California.
And certainly at rendezvous, I mean, there were moments where it's like, man, I looked at ourselves. I was like, Man, does our, does our boy have it in him? , should we have a bit of intervention? Can he downgrade and just get credit for a 100K?
Because it was hot as hell. It was super Healy. Probably you were dehydrated, at a prominent calorie deficit, but you were so driven and motivated.
Your pups came up. You got north of 70 plus miles, woke up to the final day, the second half of the race with high temperatures, and you managed to get a second wind and to see you cross that finish line running. Running! Was great, man. It was great. And you crushed the rendezvou race.
Animal Accountability Buddies
[00:38:47] Bertrand Newson: We have to talk about accountability buddies, running buddies, but for you, you've had the best running buddies of all in your pups, man.
It's been great to see , I want you to be able to pay homage and have they helped make you the runner, the, in the, the athlete that you have been.
[00:39:06] Jimmy Q: Yeah, man. Uh, My first dog, you know, Dirks man.
[00:39:09] Bertrand Newson: Yep. Deep breath.
[00:39:10] Jimmy Q: No. So he was yeah, he, I had to run him. It started out as it started out as having to run him. Then I wanted to run with him.
And I trained my dogs so that they're off leash and on voice command, not just , Come here, come here, come here, come here. No, no, no, no, no. I say it once and you are here.
I do this one time, I give one command and you better be on your Ps and Qs cuz if not, and you're not here, we're gonna have some issues. I don't beat my dogs or anything like that, but there is discipline actions that you can take.
So I was running with him. Yeah, just, I just, it became a love to run with him, just having a dog off leash, running the streets of San Jose all around. And now it's the same with Murphy. It was back, back in Cali now here in Texas, now that it's cooled off, off-leash running on my hip.
Wheat like Los Gatos Creek Trail. It's a very popular trail out there in near San Jose, Los Gatos. Off leash. Weaving in and out of dogs, people's strollers and him being them, being so focused on what I want them to do, which is running my side and forget everything else is going around. You don't run ahead of me, you don't drop back. You're at my side.
It helped uncover this passion for running these dogs, helped uncover the passion for running. I must have been a runner at heart, or I always enjoyed being disciplined with running whatever was a little s and m was a weird, I don't know, but I always enjoyed it and now I love it.
I love running and they helped me discover that love for running.
Community
[00:40:36] Bertrand Newson: Had to talk about it because The connection and the passion is very clear. And anyone who knows you that you are all about your pups now pup.
And in that same vein, being part of a running community, a running group club tribe we've been very fortunate over since 2015 to be part of a, of a barrier running group that you've been very instrumental in helping people find their love of running. You've paid it forward on multiple occasions by pacing events, being part of people's longest distance, first race distance, first half marathon.
People have learned by your example when their own toughness and grit has been questioned internally. Like I said, Well, heck, this dude has done X, Y, and Z. I can do this. I can take a little bit of JQ and use that, get after it attitude to help them along their journey.
How has being part of, I mean, of a, of a fitness family helped you as a runner?
[00:41:27] Jimmy Q: Just being involved in the community of runners signing up for races, knowing that I'm gonna see a few of them has motivated me to sign up for even more races because I'll see more people.
And with my job or my, my last job running and being around too legit was my social hours, right?
That those were the times when I could be social because I didn't have time at the end of the day to have regular non-running friends and regular non running friends are great, but when I wanna go for a run and there's a group going or these guys, these people are just gonna be , let's go hang out. No, no, no, no, I wanna go for that run.
And so being a part of a community really it helps, and a team, it really helps. It really has really helped me be more social because I get so locked in to work in fitness and work in fitness and work in fitness, and I get in my own little bubble and it's like, Well, wait a second, there's other people that you can be doing this with. Go be with them for a little bit. You know,
it's
the same thing that we, when people go to CrossFit, you notice a lot of people that go to CrossFit, they'll end up their, their best friends at that time will end up being the CrossFitters that they go with because they're doing it's , like-minded , all that good stuff.
And so it's just really help, it's helped me become more social. It's helped me add more miles to to my weeks. But it also has helped me. It's helped me with toughness in a way that I, I don't really think I need it because there are days when, Yeah, I don't wanna run. No, no, no, no. I wanna relax.
Well, guess what? It's day 12. It's February 12th. And guess what I gotta do today? And then guess what I gotta do tomorrow? And then guess what? I gotta , reach by the end of the end of the month, which is the Taji 100. And so I'm tired of beat up from work and this and that, but everybody else is still running.
So it's like , that's in our group. They're completing these a hundred miles in February and I gotta do the same thing too. And so, it Doesn't matter who's tougher. We're all tough, so let's go get it done.
And and it also helped me realize that you can run every single day. Cuz there are people in our group doesn't run every single fucking day.
This whole thing about taking time off. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen to your body. Good. But you can still listen to your body and get the miles in on a daily basis. Depends on intensity levels .
Plans and Next Races
[00:43:27] Bertrand Newson: Yep. Well said. What's next for you, JQ bucket list. Taking off next month or two. Still staying on top of your strength game and lifting, pulling back on longer runs and endurance. Pulling back on the volume and fine tuning as you look at kind of first quarter 2023, from a fitness perspective, what's on the horizon for you?
[00:43:46] Jimmy Q: So from now to the end of the year I've tracked all my calories, all my, all my protein intake, calorie or carb intake on all. I've done it for years. And so I want to gain a little bit of size. I want, I don't want to do very many long distance runs and I wanna say longer distance runs. I mean eight up.
I don't wanna do that, that right now , cuz I, all this traveling, all these races that I've done recently, it's taken a toll on me. And that's probably why I got so sick. Because I'm just not resting enough.
And so goals would be to gain a little bit weight, get my strength back because I have lost some strength.
I want to, I wanna get back to a 300 pound squad. I wanna get back to , 200 plus pound bench and push pressing another 200 pounds and stuff like that , Cause I'm not a big guy, but I'm strong. Show me how many ultra marathoners can , squat 300 pounds. Not very many. Right? And I, I love being in that, that small group. So I wanna get back to that cuz I've gotten away from that.
So I will be doing those workouts that I that I talked about earlier , the lower reps heavier weight workouts. And then come the first of the year, see, see how much I've ran in these past couple of months.
And then pick the miles back up because I have the Austin Marathon in February, The Austin Marathon in February. I'm also hoping to do a 50K that month. So, and that'd be two nice solid races to start the year at you know, a marathon and a uh, 50k to start the year. In February.
[00:45:03] Bertrand Newson: Well, we are thankful and grateful that you have taken time to share a little bit about yourself personally, fitness-wise, and we're all gonna stay tuned to how the rest of the year and 2023 unfolds for JQ.
You are great follow on Instagram. We'll have your handles embedded in the show notes. Anything else parting comments you'd like to share with our audience, JQ?
Parting Comments
[00:45:26] Jimmy Q: Yeah, I do. There's one in particular and it's a, it's a pet peeve of mine. And I want to get this out there. Pain, run through it. You can run through pain, you can run through pain. You're hurt, you can run through it. There's a lot of people.
You're smart though. You're smart. Of course. There's a lot of people that feel a little bit and they stop and they're on this journey. They wanna lose the weight. They want to do this, they want to do that. They're a lot of talk, right? And they start, but they're waiting for an excuse to stop. They're waiting for an excuse to stop.
So, Oh, my knee, it's a little, it hurts. I, I, I got it, I got a reason right here. Run model. Your knee hurts. Okay, Run the next day. How's the pain? Is the pain getting better? If the pain's getting better, you can run on it. You're, you're okay.
Like, you don't, you're not made of porcelain. The human body can adapt. It's, it's so crazy what the human body can do.
So if you're running through pain, it's okay to run through pain. Don't run through an injury, of course. Be mindful.
And I don't expect everybody to listen to me, but there are people out there that need to hear this.
You can run through pain, you can run through a little bit of a tweak. You can run through a little, and even if it means just dial it back just a little bit. But keep pushing forward. Right? Don't look for a reason to stop your training, cuz that's what it, And a lot of times that's what it comes down to.
[00:46:39] Bertrand Newson: You clarified that we don't wanna run through injury, and from my perspective here, this is good way to close or to leave something more for round, two of our conversation, cuz we'll definitely have you back in the future if that's a town hall q and a or video that we'll share via YouTube.
But we'll definitely want to continue the conversation as we're following your journey. Run through soreness, soreness, pain that we feel is injury that's altering our gait the way we move. We wanna be mindful of that.
You can run through being sore. You're going to be sore when you're being active, especially as you start incorporating strength training. We all know what , delayed muscle doms.
And we are stronger than we think we are. We are more resilient than we think we are. And can we get comfortable being uncomfortable? Can we grow from resistance? Can we grow from stress? Can we grow from adversity?
And if any, if we've learned anything over the last two plus years , through this pandemic, is that we can get stronger as we work through some adversity and Learn a lot about ourselves in the process.
So with that said, jq, thank you again. Continue. Thank you. And wellness. We're gonna stay tuned. Big things for you, fitness-wise and other on the horizon. So proud of you and grateful for your time.
[00:47:48] Jimmy Q: Indeed, "B. I appreciate it. And everybody , thank you for listening and everybody have a nice day.
[00:47:52] Kevin Chang: well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the RaceMob Podcast. Check out all of the show notes or find a running buddy online at RaceMob dot com. Please subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcast and leave us a review. Until next time, keep on moving.