Friday Spotlight: Josandal
We've got a good one this week! Today's featured runner is definitely someone I can personally relate to. In fact, reading his responses to my questions left me nodding 'YEP!' at nearly each one. Almost could have written this one about myself. Odd how much you tend to find in common with people once you get to know them. Makes you realize just how similar we all are. Anyways, I hope you're all ready for the weekend and even more excited about today's Spotlight. Show some love as I introduce the newest submission to the weekly thread! Ladies and gents.... u/josandal
Let's rock and roll!
###The Runner:
First Name?
Joshu
Age?
35
Where are you from?
I’m in Baltimore, MD but I’m from New England.
Occupation?
Education Administration
The Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
This is fairly complex for me, as I split it mentally into a few categories.
College/HS:
5k: 17:25 (a split time in an 8k training run, close enough)
8k: 32:25
Adult:
(pumpkin) 5k: 25:58
13.1: I’ve only ever ran one actual half, and my time was about 2:30. I’ve split the distance in a 20 miler I raced on a whim at around 1:43 though.
26.2: Only ever ran one marathon, 4:28
50k (road): 5:15
50k (trail): 6:23 (though I usually split that time in longer races so it’s probably off the mark)
50M: 11:24.
100k: 18:08 (full on casual mode, honestly, I got scared early in the race so I took it a lot easier than I should have)
What is your distance PR?
The 100k I ran clocked in at just over 63 miles.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
92ish? I ran that by accident one week in training for the 100k I ran. Looking back, it was more than I should have done, but I kicked myself for not tagging a few extra miles…
What’s your comfy pace?
Road (any conditions, hilliness, etc.): 8:30-9:30
Trail (assuming reasonable technicality, hilliness, and not super long): 10:00 to 12:00
How long have you been running?
As an “adult” really only for about 7 years.
Tell us why you began running?
The first time (HS XC): a friend said “hey I’m going to join the cross country team, come join.” So I did. I had no clue what that would entail, but I had nothing better to do with my time.
The second time (College XC): I’d been casually doing some doubles for a week or two thinking I’d maybe run a bit and get in better shape and a friend who was on the team heard that and said “hey you should join the team” and made it seem like they wouldn’t care that I wasn’t fast at all. So I did. I ended up lettering (barely) and dropping my 8k PR by over 15 minutes that season.
The third time (adult me): I’d gained a fair bit of weight due to lack of running and such, but a friend who didn’t really have a running background pitched the idea over a few drinks of a bunch of us training for and running the Army 10 Miler. I thought it sounded like fun, so I agreed. I took the training somewhat seriously, though agreed to run with my friends rather than run my own race. After that, a half seemed like a good idea…then a full, etc. I just kept on running and reaching for more.
Most memorable running moment?
Crossing the finish line when I ran the one marathon I’ve done. I’ve had other memorable moments but I’d trained for several years and kept getting injured and having to restart completely from scratch. I didn’t have a particularly good race, but it was such a huge moment to finally check that item off the list that I stumbled over a curb, sat down, and shed a couple tears…then found out that I couldn’t really stand back up and that sitting down had been a horrible decision. That race was really a turning point in my career as a runner as it closed one chapter of running, and served as the bridge toward the next. See, during the race someone I ran with for a few miles said he was doing a 50 miler a couple weekends later and that I should really consider running one of those. I’d never really even thought such things were possible (and sure didn’t that day), but it was the seed that moved me on toward trail and ultrarunning.
Do you have a running mantra?
No. I’ve had them here and there in the past, but they never stick around for too long. When I’m in a down spot during a race and would otherwise reach for something like that I usually just refocus on what’s going on in that moment, or how far to the next aid station, or some other thing and then just turn off some nerve endings or my head overall and go.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Afternoon into evening. I’d like to be a morning runner, but I hate getting up early. Given that it’s not too uncommon for training runs when I’m in full-on “training mode” to take a couple hours, it’s just so much easier for me to fit that in after work than get up earlier and earlier.
Any big races coming up?
Nothing set in stone. I just wrapped up my A-race for the Spring season (Tillamook Burn 50 Mile) and am recovering and trying to decide what to do in the Fall.
What are your short-term running goals?
Body and heat willing, I may run the quad-state challenge (PA to WV on the AT) sometime in the next month or so. I’m looking for some mountainy 50M-100k race for the fall, though that’d likely mean training over the summer months and heat is my absolute nemesis so it’s tough. I may join a training program to give me some accountability…we’ll see. Otherwise, I have the points to enter the CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix) race lottery for next year, so I’d like to get into that. (CCC is kind of a mid-term goal, I suppose.)
What are your long-term running goals?
Generally, the arc I am currently on is pointing toward progressively more interesting or challenging trail ultra-marathons. I’m a bit methodical in preparation for such things, so I’d like to move toward a 100 miler with moderate technicality and elevation gain, progress onward and upward toward more challenging ones, and eventually be much more of an any surface-any distance kind of runner (like Sage espouses for himself). If things come together well, I’ll probably have that first 100 be this fall. I have found that I am completely uninspired by flat and samey, or looping, or anything else like that so I really need things to stay new and interesting for me to have a good time with a race. I travel for running and feel the call of mountains, so races like Mogollon Monster, Cascade Crest, Hardrock, Tor de Geants, UTMB, Fat Dog 120, etc. are the sorts of things I’d like to be able to check off in a few years once I gain the requisite experience and mountain legs. Along those lines, chasing (though I’m too slow to capture) FKTs and other sorts of interesting but “out there” kind of running routes is something I want to do more of. As an example, I did a long run on the little-known R2R2R route at Hell’s Canyon (totally intense) in the fall, though I didn’t have time (or fitness) for the full run that day. I love adventure, so doing those sorts of things is definitely on my eventual to-do list as a runner. Tangentially related: I’m also fairly intrigued by expedition-length adventure racing, so I could see a possible pivot toward those sorts of events rather than running someday being possible (assuming I learn how to mountain bike).
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Don’t stop, and don’t compromise. I was very off and on as a runner between high school and when I picked it up for good as an adult. I truly wish I had made time rather than found time, and kept with it as opposed to stopping and having to completely start from scratch over and over. I’m a completely different runner than I was when I was in college (in pace, motivation, and more), but I can only imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t lost so much time and if I spent more time chasing the types of running I really enjoy.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
Four things: speed work, rest, weight, and supplementary strength training. I’ve got plenty of motivation to put in the time pounding the pavement or the trails, but it’s those other bits and pieces that I feel really hold me back a significant amount. I’m not sure of the right route to truly solve them given that inertia is hard in those areas for me, though more and more I feel like trying things like coaching would go a fair ways to help and I’ve been considering trying that out. A lot of the related pieces from Angela Shartel’s interview on Ginger Runner Live really resonate with me as a good approach, but the cost of entry is just so high.
What is your current shoe choice?
Shoes are purpose built machines, people!
Road where I want to go short and zippy? Altra Escalante.
Road where I want to go longer, maybe having it be easier on me? Hoka Clifton 3.
Trail where I want to go short and zippy? Probably the Altra Lone Peak 3.0.
Trail where I’m running for hours and hours? Hoka Challenger ATR 3.
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
Trail, all day (literally) every day (if only I was so lucky). As the Trail Monster Running club in Maine says: The road to hell is paved, run trails. I also hate the dreadmill, and harbor a secret love of the track, but I’m so embarrassingly slow in compared to the college folks I always see out there that I rarely will go to the local track for a workout. Also, speed work is hard.
What is your ideal running weather?
45-55F, off and on sun/drizzle (enough to tamp down dust and keep things together and cool you off, but not so much to soak everything and create a total muddageddon).
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
Folks can follow along on Strava here: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1195656 and see (mostly trail) running pictures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/josandal/.
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
The moose! Large, mostly lumbering around eating things, but like the Incredible Hulk of the animal world it is quick to anger, moves speedily, and can crush cars.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Cycling, backpacking, video games, reading, coffee, cooking.
Biggest pet peeve?
Repeating myself or people who generally don’t put effort into doing their job.
Dream job! What would it be?
Probably something in the trail race directing sphere. It’d need to have outdoors, running, and yet still some element of working with people and doing something for them.
Favorite Quote or Poem?
A few things come to mind here, perhaps:
“Shut up, legs!” – Jens Voigt
“The mountains are calling and I must go, and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly.” – The full sentence from John Muir’s famous quote. The older I get in life, the more I hear the siren song of the west, of the towering peaks, and of the alpine lakes.
What is your favorite movie?
A New Hope. As a student of anthropology and mythology (and a sci-fi/fantasy fan) I haven’t really ever seen a movie I liked more as a window into the Hero’s Journey. Also, lightsabers. I mean really.
What is your biggest character flaw?
Inertia is hard. Getting started on things or making changes is tricky. Once going, no problem.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
Not much of anything. Whatever comes on the radio when driving if it’s not NPR. I mostly listen to audiobooks while running.
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
r/dataisbeautiful, r/cyclocross, r/trashpandas, r/gifrecipes, and r/wildernessbackpacking or r/campingandhiking are some of the ones I enjoy, though I don’t contribute basically anywhere but here.
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
See above re: actual name. Pronunciation for the second syllable is like “shoe” so just replace that with other items that one might wear on one’s feet and you get lots of childhood nicknames.
That's it folks! Have a great weekend and enjoy the miles.
####Thanks for reading everyone!
#Please tag u/Josandal when asking a question in this thread.
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
ATTENTION READERS!
I've been getting some more messages recently from a lot of people asking to be featured in the Friday Spotlight Thread. My response to them is the same every time. I do not get to personally choose who is chosen for each thread. With exception to Palindrome27 (which I randomly chose to get this started), every runner thus far has been selected by the person before them. It's one of the perks of getting nominated. There is no list of names. No spreadsheet with columns of people. Nothing. So for those confused, users like Philpips was chosen by Despoena. Despoena was chosen by Craigster38. So on and so on. You get the idea. Doing it this way eliminates the hassle of having to personally pick someone every week. This keeps me neutral. Some of you have expressed your opinion (via PM) on who's been featured this far claiming that I have only chosen runners who are fast, have been running for a while, or compete in longer distance races. Quite frankly, you're wrong. Just browse the table of previous athletes above and you'll see that a wide variety of runners have been on display. Being chosen is simply luck of the draw. There is zero favoritism here. Each featured runner gets to personally pick someone they find interesting. I apply no pressure to the runners to pick a particular skill level of runner. This is the beauty of the process. If you want to be featured, you can up your chances of being chosen by being an active member of the subreddit. Comment as much as possible. Submit quality content. Provide as much as you can as a runner to help keep this community growing and I'm certain your efforts will not go unnoticed. Just keep tuning in and making friends and eventually it'll pay off if you want to be featured. Thank you.
Posted May 19, 2017, 1:18 PM UTC