Chris Detzel (00:00.8)
All right, welcome to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel, and today's special guest is Jeff Pels. Jeff, how are you doing?
Jeff Pels (00:09.544)
Hey Chris, I'm doing good. Happy to be on here. Big fan of the podcast and what you're doing. So yeah, happy to be chatting with you today.
Chris Detzel (00:17.336)
Well I'm I'm happy to be chatting with you and I I I can't remember you know if somebody introduced me to you or if it was just that we met. I don't did somebody introduce me to you? I forget.
Jeff Pels (00:30.812)
I think, well, you know, obviously been a fan of your podcast. I I know who you are. And I think it was just a long run or something a couple of weekends ago where we finally actually shook hands and you just came up and said, Hey, I'm Chris, hey, I'm Jeff. Yeah, nice to finally meet you. And I think we kind of left it at that. And then yeah, Dustin tossed my my information your way. And so here we are now.
Chris Detzel (00:40.184)
That's that's what it was. Yeah. That's right.
Chris Detzel (00:52.44)
Yeah, I was wondering if was Dustin or if so so I I met you, but I also met I don't know if it's David or somebody else at that same run. And I wanted to make sure that I had had a chance to interview both. So here we are today. So I'm really excited to talk to you. I know that you run with kind of the sloths and things like that. And so you know, that always piqued my interest because you know what you guys are doing is pretty amazing and and people want to hear about it. And so let's dive in. So first of all.
Jeff Pels (01:09.246)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (01:21.703)
before we do, just to make that intro of who you are and kind of what you've done, I think your best is it your best marathon at CIM this last December or
Jeff Pels (01:30.64)
Yeah, yeah. This past December at CIM, I was part of a group of like I think there's like ten to ten to twelve of us who all went out to Sacramento. And yeah, just I mean, just a banner weekend for for all of us, really. It's just, you know, a great day and tons of PRs, great course. yeah, couldn't even couldn't say, you know, better things about that weekend. Just a great weekend for all of us. but yeah, you know, you know, my running journey began, you know, much sooner than that. I've been, you know, I've been doing this thing for
Chris Detzel (01:37.196)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (01:59.336)
Well, well over half half my life now. you know, I started running competitively, you know, in in track in middle school. But really before that, I mean, I you know, I took up running this as early as like, you know, ten, eleven years old. Just I remember just my absolute origin of running. You know, I'd like to run and you know, play football with neighborhood kids and, you know,
usually a lot faster than a lot of them. So I'd go out and do like five K's with my with my dad. But I real I really remember the the very beginning of it was in fifth grade and we played this you know game outside during PE it just okay let's we're all we're gonna run around the school and every time you come every time you come around you get a little dot a little marker on your hand and you know I did the first couple laps and I was like I'm pretty good at this and then so you know as as everyone else is walking around here's me ten year ten years old just hauling butt around
of the school and you know I get like 20 or something dots in my hand and I'm just like showing it off telling my friends like you see this so that's when I kind of you just found out like hey you know running running's actually kind of fun you know especially it's a lot more fun when you know it when you're when you're good at it it it's not it's not miserable. So so yeah that was you know that was in fifth grade then went to middle school you know did middle school track and
Chris Detzel (03:04.984)
You're fast. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (03:14.237)
quickly, you know, quickly got into that in middle school. I kind of just became a middle school a an eight hundred specialist. I think I got down to like two ten as an eighth grader, which was, you know, it's it's decent time for an eighth grader, but you know, you're you're you're so young that you don't you don't know what you're doing at that time. So went to high school. then really just you know dialed in with with track, running the eight hundred, four hundred, four by four.
Chris Detzel (03:28.12)
Who cares?
Jeff Pels (03:40.53)
You know, I I was I I proclaim myself as mostly just like a track athlete. I played football, you know, also in in in the fall. so never really ran cross country. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grew up in Copel, Coppel, Texas. I went to you know, Coppel schools and I went to Dallas Jesuit for high school. So you know, I was kind of used my running skills to play football. As a running back, you know, I, you know, I'm tall and skinny, but
Chris Detzel (03:49.72)
Did you go here in Texas? Did are you from Texas or okay?
Chris Detzel (03:56.206)
Okay.
Jeff Pels (04:07.163)
Shoot, if I got if I got a hole, I could just outrun everyone to the end zones. So that's about the only way I could succeed in in football. And came to find out everyone's a lot bigger once you get into the high school years. So you can't you can't just, you know. Yeah, yeah. You can't just, you know, bounce off a linebacker. You bounce off, I'll be falling backwards. So so yeah, you know, quickly went out there, tried out for running back, saw my competition. I go, I think I'll be better off as a D B. So
Chris Detzel (04:12.238)
Have fun.
Chris Detzel (04:18.414)
It hurts it hurts a lot more probably when you get hit.
Chris Detzel (04:28.265)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (04:36.612)
well.
Jeff Pels (04:36.891)
Played football freshman year, you know, enjoyed that, did well in track freshman year. and you know, kinda after that first, you know, freshman year in football. I'm like, well, I I think it's time for me to, you know, actually go full go all in with running. And so, joined the cross country team sophomore year. And that was really my first time running anything really distance wise. You know, I consider myself, you know, still do to this day, as as more of like a middle middle distance runner, four hundred, eight hundred and eventually the fifteen hundred, but
You know, that that worked out well. you know, ran all four years of high school. got some decent enough time to start getting looked at by some Yeah.
Chris Detzel (05:13.24)
So I'm I'm curious just to high s you know, 'cause from high school to now is a lot different. How do you know? Just so I have a good Okay.
Jeff Pels (05:19.365)
I'm thirty seven years old, yeah. So I'm one of the the older sloths out there now.
Chris Detzel (05:24.204)
Yeah, you are. But, you know, that's just part of it. I mean, but I I kinda wanna see do you remember what you ran like a mile in, you know, back in high school, your best one?
Jeff Pels (05:34.696)
You know, I didn't honestly I you know, I was more of a four hundred, eight hundred guy in high school. I honestly I probably ran one mile the entire time in high school just 'cause, you know, you do the four hundred, eight hundred, you do the four by four. that's three events of one day to stacking the mile on top of that, which is I think right before the four by four. So
Chris Detzel (05:38.882)
No time.
Chris Detzel (05:52.91)
So you never raced the mile at all.
Jeff Pels (05:54.524)
I never raced a mile. I I may have done one in like a a DMR or something like that. I think I ran like a four four thirty or something, which is it's decent, but you know, nothing really to write home about even back then. so you know, I did I did the eight hundred, I did the four hundred, I got down to one fifty-four and the eight hundred in high school, which again is decent, but you know, really want to be doing well in high school, you need to be, you know, break in one fifty and
Chris Detzel (06:02.188)
Okay.
Chris Detzel (06:13.506)
Okay.
Jeff Pels (06:20.007)
But you know, good enough for me to get looked at by some D1 programs, did the whole recruitment process and end up going to TCU for a couple of reasons. one, just a, you know, decent sized school, close to home, you know, a a good program with a with a solid cross country and track program. So you know, and it's the funny thing was, you know, I was recruited by the coach the whole you know time leading up to TCU and
Chris Detzel (06:29.006)
Yes.
Jeff Pels (06:46.247)
Got to TCU, you know, got got all moved in, got to meet all my teammates and literally our first our first team meeting, he goes, Hey guys, I know it's probably what you want to hear, don't want to hear, but I've actually accepted a position at NAU, North Northern Arizona University. And so this whole you know, this the entire time that this coach that has recruited me just leaves day one. So it's kinda like, okay, well, what what next? But
Chris Detzel (07:07.81)
That was tough, but
Jeff Pels (07:11.335)
Can't really blame him because you know he would go on to win a couple national championships within AU. Very solid program. So yeah, yeah. So, you know, the step from T T C to N A N A U work definitely worked out for him. But it all worked out. We got a new coach in there, you know, the next day, liked him and had a had a good long career at TCU. you know, got to race all four years, cross country, indoor, outdoor.
Chris Detzel (07:17.41)
We all have to move up in our jobs, you know, so
Jeff Pels (07:39.815)
You know, like I said, I kinda I
Chris Detzel (07:40.034)
What's cross country there? Is it is it is eight K or?
Jeff Pels (07:45.327)
Yeah, it's mostly it's it I mean it varies, but for most races it's an eight K in college until you get up to like the regional meet and you do a ten K at regionals and then on the nationals, but mostly an eight K.
Chris Detzel (07:50.104)
Okay.
Chris Detzel (07:55.683)
And how were you how were you compared to the team, like top three, four, five, six? What where were you kind of in that?
Jeff Pels (08:04.386)
in the AK you mean or
Chris Detzel (08:05.996)
No, I mean just on your team. I mean there's what, seven or eight of you and
Jeff Pels (08:08.625)
yeah. On the team, I was probably like number number like three or four. We had a we had a Kenyan, so he's by default number one. And you know, we he was definitely our best player, so our best runner. So, you know, we'd have our Kenyon and then we have you know two through six. But you know, he was a na he's a NCAA qualifier and honestly just just trying to train with him made all of us better. So
Chris Detzel (08:12.961)
Okay.
Chris Detzel (08:32.717)
A bet.
Jeff Pels (08:33.263)
Yeah. So we did cross country, you know, did you know, like I said, I was I kind of tolerated cross country. It wasn't my favorite thing to go out there and and run eight K as you know, a four hundred, eight hundred guy is more of a speedy guy. You know, I I I just prefer to be on the track. So, you know, got to track season, did mostly the eight hundred.
You know, I I soon found out like, you know, going to my freshman sophomore year that I was, you know, I was a I was a decent eight hundred runner, but I never had that last gear. You know, I could I could be in the race through six hundred meters and then, you know, it's when it comes time to kick that last two hundred meters, I I I didn't have that last sprinting gear. so moved up to the fifteen hundred, saw a little bit more success than that. you know, raced the four fifteen hundred pretty much exclusively my, you know, sophomore through senior years.
Chris Detzel (09:07.768)
Can do it.
Chris Detzel (09:20.534)
Okay. Did you like that one? I mean that's quite the distance. Okay.
Jeff Pels (09:21.895)
Got down to a three. I love the fifteen. The fifteen hundred is the is the best race out there. And it's just, you know, the the strategy that goes into it. The the just the distance itself, I I loved, you know, it's the strange distance starting on a straightaway, but I I was able to mentally just break up that break up that race. and see a little bit more success in that 'cause, you know, it's the eight hundred is like a controlled sprint, honestly, for for two laps and
Chris Detzel (09:37.846)
It is kind of strange.
Jeff Pels (09:49.224)
You know, I may be biased, but I think it's the hardest race you can do you can do in track just in terms of just all out sprinting. Well not all out, but you know, it's just sustained sprinting for for less than two minutes. So that and like you three case depot. I never tried that. I I think I jumped over one water barrier and coach said, No, we're not we're we're not doing that. I'm not very coordinated, so
Chris Detzel (09:58.115)
Kind of all out. Yeah.
Chris Detzel (10:06.776)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (10:11.822)
There's a couple of guys here in Dallas that have done really good at that, you know, and really enjoyed it, you know.
Jeff Pels (10:16.187)
Yeah, yeah. yeah, not not for me though. You know, I just didn't 15. did did the 1200 in our DMR leg. you know, so got down to 354 at Texas Relays my junior year and was happy with that. And you know, senior year, a little disappointing. I I think I, you know, by the time I got to senior year, I was just, you know, I was I was I was lightly recruited and that I got a small scholarship, but I was, you know, just
really just a slight step above a walk on. So by you know, by the end of the four years, I was, you know, I I'll just say I was pretty much burnt out with, you know, track and running and just, you know, constant constantly in season. So, but you know, I was I was happy to get through my four years and still, you know, put up some good times with TCU. So was happy with my career there and you know, got out, graduated, you know, I met my wife at TCU. you know, she's not a runner, but she quickly got into running.
I don't think she really had a choice in the matter. So she got into running, you know, our senior year. She ran the, you know, the Cowtown Ken Ten K being in Fort Worth. And Cowtown's a great event. You know, her and I have been back there several times since then. So, now she's gone on to run, you know, three marathons, several halves, and you know, she gets it. She knows she you know, obviously these over these years she gets what goes into the training. So I can't I couldn't do what I'm doing with without her and
Chris Detzel (11:21.517)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (11:39.384)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (11:42.355)
you know, being able to watch our two kids. We have a a six and a four year old. So it's you know, little kids both working full time jobs. It's it's it's constant chaos. But
Chris Detzel (11:46.082)
Okay.
Chris Detzel (11:51.726)
What do you do what do you do for work, Jeff? What's your
Jeff Pels (11:54.718)
So I'm a I'm a CPA. I'm a I I'm I'm a CFO for a healthcare company, actually a hospice company. so I've been doing that for about eight years now. But you know, right after right after I got out of got out of TCU, I you know, started taking my CPA exams and was working and I think I passed my last CPA exam in December, that would have been December of twenty twelve. And you know, a lot of studying, a lot of just work going into that. And
Chris Detzel (11:57.272)
Okay.
Chris Detzel (12:02.573)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (12:21.696)
Okay. Uh-huh.
Jeff Pels (12:25.079)
so after I finished that, I was like, well, what am I gonna do now? It's like, well, you know, it's time to get back into running, I guess. So so I I signed up for the Cowtown Marathon after not training too much, really at all. So December to, you know, the races in March, two, two and a half months of training. so just to really just, you know, you know, get my feet wet with the marathon. So went out there and did it.
Chris Detzel (12:32.482)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (12:39.49)
Marathon? Just okay. Well.
Jeff Pels (12:50.161)
You know, just like anyone who's run the first marathon, that that first one's really just getting to know what twenty six point two feels like. turns out it doesn't feel very good when you don't train for it. So Well, you know, I got out there and the
Chris Detzel (12:59.784)
That's right. What what do you remember your first time that you got? You know, what and what it was like?
Jeff Pels (13:06.513)
I ran a yeah, and I I looked it up 'cause I wanted I wanted to see just 'cause I I think I've tried to block it out of my memory just 'cause it was so miserable. But I ran a I ran a three twenty eight and I'm sure like the last, you know, last eight miles were just a crawl. But you know, it was it was good to just get get in there and you know, again feel what the marathon feels like and after
Chris Detzel (13:11.918)
Yeah.
Super.
Chris Detzel (13:27.576)
Do you remember anything about it? I mean it's while back, but do you remember kind of what that first was like?
Jeff Pels (13:34.053)
I mean, I you know, I it I just remember just like, wow, this is this is a really long race. And like just like any just like I mean, just like what's that?
Chris Detzel (13:39.432)
Yeah. Does it ever end?
Does it ever end kind of thing?
Jeff Pels (13:45.34)
No, yeah, it doesn't ever end. And I think the biggest thing that goes into the marathon, at least for me, it's like, okay, yeah, this is, you know, the miles eight three eighteen through twenty-six, especially in a race Cowtown, are pretty boring. I mean, you're kinda out there by yourself and it's really just about getting over the the mental barrier of like, okay, this is boring and I'm hurting. How do you how do you push through it? So
yeah, so I I was able to do that. And you know, after that, it's just kind of like, okay, well that's you know, that's the benchmark. So obviously next next one I do is going to be better than that. So I joined the Luke's Locker running group here in Dallas with a good group of good older guys and you know that that was my first like really regimented you know training with marathon and for the marathon and so trained pretty much started that summer, that would have been twenty twenty thirteen.
Trained all summer, was ready for the Dallas Marathon, you know, that December. And I don't know if you're in Dallas that time of year, but that's the December of twenty thirteen. That's when we had that terrible ice storm. So yeah. Just yeah, disappointed. You know, I I was out what's that? They canceled it, yeah. So I was, you know, I was out of town the week leading up to it and I'm like,
Chris Detzel (14:48.152)
Yeah. Rain and cold. Yeah. the ice storm, yeah. Yep. They canceled it, right? They canceled that one, right? Yeah, that's right.
Jeff Pels (15:03.237)
It's you know, rainy, I there was snowing was wondering if I could get back into Dallas, you know, the three days three days before the race I was supposed to. And then, you know, they I was like there's talks of canceling and everything. I'm like, Can't be that bad. And you I get home in Dallas, like, my gosh, there's no way we could have run a race on this. It's like you know, everyone would got would have gotten injured. So yeah, so that you know, that can't got canceled like a couple of days before the race and so it was kind of just scrambling to find a race, right? 'Cause I've been, you know, training this whole
Chris Detzel (15:20.366)
That's right. I remember.
Jeff Pels (15:32.327)
whole time for for Dallas and then try to sign up for Houston. Houston's sold out. Can't do that. So back to the cowtown it was. So I ran the cowtown, you know, the next year again. little bit more training. still, you know, still learning the distance, still like those last six to eight miles were still brutal for me. But got under three hours, ran a two fifty eight, I believe. So, you know, back then.
Chris Detzel (15:48.099)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (15:54.35)
That's pretty awesome, your second marathon at two fifty eight.
Jeff Pels (15:58.31)
Yeah, it was yeah, I was I was happy with it. But you know, it there's still a little meat on the bone, right? Obviously, just learn how to run the race and but you know, my main goal was to get into Boston. So, you know, that accomplished that. So then I got to run Boston the next year. still around the same time. I you know, I I got into unfortunately I got into this lull of just hitting like two fifty eight, two fifty nine, just right under three hours, which
Chris Detzel (16:00.686)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (16:04.28)
Sure.
Chris Detzel (16:22.357)
Okay.
Jeff Pels (16:23.633)
You know, a lot of people would would love but like you if you know, you've been running as long as I have and you know, the talent that I had, I'd you know, I knew I knew there was more out there for me and
Chris Detzel (16:33.068)
Well, I know lot of people that that for a while, and and I one, I think it takes a while for your body to adjust to the distance. So I think that's one. And then two, I think that, you know, kind of the training, you know, you probably have to change a little bit of something if you continue to do some of the same types of training over and over. You know, I don't know if it's speed or maybe it's more distance, that kind of stuff. But I've seen a lot of people that hit like give like I know this guy named is Paul, and he would hit
Jeff Pels (16:39.899)
Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Detzel (17:00.214)
like a three twenty five marathon, three twenty marathon. I mean the that's where he was for like four or five marathons. And we're just like boom, boom, and year after year, you know, it's like but eventually I don't know what he changed, but he did something and then he got down to for him three one, three two, three whatever. You know, and and so sometimes it's just you know, I don't know, for you, what was it, you know, that kinda changed.
Jeff Pels (17:05.448)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (17:16.36)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (17:24.549)
I mean, really, I mean, I know I this is there's no secret sauce to like, you know, long distance running. It's just more miles, really. And just unfortunately, that's that's just I mean, that's the this that's the easiest way to get better, is just volume, right? So, you know, I kept plugging away, hitting around three hours in the marathon. I'd I'd signed up for Chicago because I, you know, at that point I'd I'd run Boston once. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna try and
Chris Detzel (17:31.022)
Exactly.
Jeff Pels (17:49.554)
you know, go go do all the world majors and so I signed up for Chicago for my next one and this is how I kinda like got, you know, more introduced to the DFD D FW running committee community. I'd give my wife some more credit because at that time,
my son, my six year old now and Dustin Doroxhan's son were at the same daycare here in Richardson and and my wife actually met him first and you know found out he was a runner and found out he was running Chicago and she goes, yeah my husband husband's running Chicago too. You know, y'all are you know y'all should definitely train together. And you know by then Dustin was already you know starting to crank out his marathons, run Boston and he just had this aggressive schedule and it's like okay so my wife is actually the one who
you know, introduced me to Dustin. Dustin and I are like, you know, really, really good friends now. And so star started training with Dustin. That would have been, you know, the summer of of twenty twenty two leading up to sh Chicago. And yeah, Dustin was just dropping me left and right. And honestly that's that was kind of like my my first year with like running with Dustin and then and then with the sloths is just trying to keep up with those guys. But you know, ran with him, trained with him, did long runs, workouts, met a lot of the sloths that summer.
Chris Detzel (18:38.637)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (18:50.136)
Yes.
Jeff Pels (19:04.179)
So that was my first time really training with them. did a 254 in Chicago, which was, you know, a little bit better than what I was used to with the two fifty eights, two fifty nines. So it's kinda like, okay, now I'm starting to see what's that? Yeah, small breakthrough, but you know, a breakthrough nevertheless. And it's just a
Chris Detzel (19:12.898)
Yeah. Small breakthrough. Small breakthrough. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (19:22.951)
It was it was just a lot more consistent in that race, which I was really proud of. There wasn't the the the wall at mile twenty, you know, breakdown. There was just a a good, somewhat steady one through twenty-six finish. So I was happy with that. but you know, at the same time, it's like, okay, well, you know, what can we do next? And kept training, you know, did New York the next year, tough course, you know, another close to three hour finish, but
I went to, you know, went into New York and okay, well, I'm just gonna continue to carry over this fitness and do New York and then do Houston, which would have been twenty twenty four. So did Houston and that's where, you know, it really I think it really paid off is because you know, I'd stacked enough a couple of good years at that point and got down to two forty-three in the marathon then. So yeah. So it went from, you know, over
Chris Detzel (20:09.528)
That's huge. I mean you rant from two fifty four to down to two forty three. I mean that's wow.
Jeff Pels (20:17.075)
Two forty three. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll I'll credit the flat course that Houston is. but at the same time, you know.
Chris Detzel (20:22.808)
Whatever, I mean, so what? Yeah, I always tell people like I I'm a big you know, half marathon and so you know, last year I got a PR at the age of fifty in a half, you know, and yeah, it was a downhill. I do tell people a downhill half marathon, but I still PR do you I get a one twenty six and just happy with it, you know. But it still counts. That's my time. I I agree it's not gonna be the same as what Houston or, you know, any other one went a hill or two, but it's fine.
Jeff Pels (20:34.674)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (20:39.581)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (20:43.559)
That's your time. That's what you're in. Yeah, absolutely.
Chris Detzel (20:52.29)
You know, like I just but I mean, I think Houston is an amazing course, you know. What I got a question. So, you know, when you're Dan Houston, what made you to decide to go that much faster from a two I mean, that's a lot of time per mile to go faster, you know, like I don't know what that is, but basically two fifty four to two forty-three, that's like a lot of minutes there, you know.
Jeff Pels (20:56.487)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (21:01.063)
Mm-hmm.
Jeff Pels (21:14.043)
Yeah, yeah.
Quite the quite the jump, probably about, you know, fifteen, twenty seconds a mile. you know, honestly, I I yeah, Houston was a flatter course. I mean, obviously Chicago's flat, but I mean, just with this race I mean, it's with this distance, it's really just you have to be patient with it. I mean, like you can't just go in there and say, Okay, you know, by the end of the year I'm be running this time. I mean, it's really just about and that's the hard part about it. It's just stacking sometimes years of, you know, just runs and just keep showing up and just consistency 'cause
And I think that's what really what really led to, you know, my breakthrough with Houston is just kept showing up. I just kept working. you know, I I I had a couple of good workouts that December. I remember I had a long run where we did, you know, we do four, four marathon pays, five tempo, and we did three sets of that. So it's, you know, it's about 15 miles of hard work. And
Which went you know, it went pretty much, you know, right on an hour faster than what I'd planned to run the marathon at at Houston. So you get you get one of those big long run workouts and you're like, Okay, wow, what can I what can I actually do on race day? So yeah, yeah. You know, long run's the most important workout of your week. So if you that's I think that's kind of really just your benchmark for how it translates over into the race. So it's a
Chris Detzel (22:20.726)
some confidence in there, right? You know.
Chris Detzel (22:32.408)
How is your training then like when you look at number of miles versus maybe number of miles previous, you know, pass? Can you kind of give us a difference between, you know, you mentioned the miles with the key, you know, but or can you talk a little bit about that?
Jeff Pels (22:44.445)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. I mean I you know, that's probably the biggest, you know, indicator of why I was just hovering around that three hour mark is really 'cause I was wasn't running enough miles. You know, I'd go out and you know, I'd do like a eighteen mile long run, a couple one or two twenty mile long runs and hovering around the fifty five to sixty mile miles per week range and
But you know, it's it's decent, but the at the if you really want to be successful in the marathon, you I mean, I think you need to be in seventies, eighties, nineties, hundreds, you know, as mu as much as you can. You know, you have you know, you know, you have two hard workouts a week and then really the rest is just volume. So
two to three hard workers a week. But but yeah, I think really just joining, you know, joining Dustin and then and then joining the slots, it's kind of just eye opening. It's like, okay. I'm I'm not doing nearly enough volume. So you kind of just see what everyone else is doing and you look at you look at everyone's straw and you're just like, okay, okay, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta pound the pavement a little bit more. So
Chris Detzel (23:36.75)
These caddies are doing way too much.
Chris Detzel (23:48.111)
Hundred percent. So I mean, what's kind of the you know, typical block for you from when you get to the the main dis you know, the the high volume? What's what's your highest volume?
Jeff Pels (24:00.078)
My highest volume, I I'm I mean I every every block I've done, I try to increase, you know, my the number of miles I just run leading up to it. So, you know, leading up to Houston, I did I think I only did like two or three weeks above eighty. the rest mostly in the seventy mile range. And then with CIM I I kinda had, you know, my baseline more in the seventy mile range, eighties, and then I got up to ninety. So ninety was the most I did leading up to that last last marathon build. And
Chris Detzel (24:14.433)
Okay.
Jeff Pels (24:28.689)
Honestly, you just, you know, you get the volume in and everything else becomes a little bit easier, a little more manageable. it's just about finding time, you know, with you know, two working parents and two kids at home. That's the hardest part is just finding time in the day and time or time during the during the day. you know, treadmill, lunch runs, things like that just to to get your mileage in. But but yeah, it's, you know, like I said, no secret sauce, just just volume.
Chris Detzel (24:53.454)
Do you ever do two a days or anything like that?
Jeff Pels (24:56.187)
I did, yeah. Interestingly enough, you know, the my highest volume week at that ninety, I didn't do a single single two a day. So just getting up and getting it done. But I I don't think I had time during the middle of the day to get it done. So but yeah, I I you know I do. I try to, you know, get your longer run in the morning, have a like a a weight room session or easy four to five miles on the treadmill or you know, outside of work just to just get your mileage in.
Chris Detzel (25:21.624)
Do you think that you know, I remember talking to Britt Woodle one time and he was like, Well, you know, two days for me kind of and you tell me if you believe this or not, you know, I don't I've never really done two days too much, you know, here and there, but but he goes, the beauty about like doing two days like on a Saturday, for example, you know, you can get a long run in and you don't have to do all 20 miles all in one time. Because you can do 10 miles and then
Jeff Pels (25:45.841)
Yeah. No, you know, yeah.
Chris Detzel (25:49.763)
Go eat lunch and do some things, you know, get ready and then go do the nother another ten miles or, you know, and he goes, Your body can rest, you don't have to take as much you know, nutrition and things like that. And I it some and and he had some science behind why you you should start doing that, you know. And I thought, I never heard that, you know, like I've I've I've just like, wow, you know, so I guess when you start getting into the nineties to hundreds plus, you might not have a choice but to do like
Jeff Pels (26:18.243)
Yeah. No, yeah, you really you really don't unless you want to be doing, you know, eighteen to twenty miles in the morning. But Yeah, but no, yeah, I remember Brent, you know, I had listened to your your your podcast with Brent and respect him a lot. So obviously whatever he's doing works for him, so
Chris Detzel (26:19.502)
Two days.
Chris Detzel (26:24.332)
Yeah, exactly.
Chris Detzel (26:36.492)
Yeah, he's forty plus now, so he's hitting some great times. But yeah, so you you did that, you're you're starting to get a lot more miles and that's already starting to pay off from Houston and and and were you do you have a coach or anything or okay?
Jeff Pels (26:38.875)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's impressive. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (26:55.205)
No, no, no. I my my my my workouts were, you know, I and here's, you know, another one of I I'd say I'm I can be critical about myself, but another one of my faults is I was like, okay, I'm gonna go out there and obviously I have a you know, background as a runner, but I'm just gonna you kind of rely on upon my talent and just kind of make up workouts that like, you know, I can do I'm you know, just make up without having to have like a structured plan and you know, getting with Dustin, I I he'd like, okay, this is you know, he has a coach and
infamous for just, you know, mooching off of him. It's like, all right, well we got Dustin. He's like, here's what I've got. He's like, sounds like what I've got too. Let's do it. So which, you know, I I always thank him like, hey, you know, I I can pay you money if you want to help me, you know, for just stealing your workouts. He's like, no, dude, you're just you're out here. We're doing this together. He's like, I I enjoy having you out here. So we're we're we're making each other better. Yeah. Yeah. So no I don't have I don't have a coach and still kind of to this day, like, you know, I'll
Chris Detzel (27:30.636)
Exactly.
Chris Detzel (27:42.146)
Yeah. I'm sure he appreciates running. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (27:52.06)
I can, you know, go look in my straw and find some old workouts that I'm doing or just kind of rely upon any other slots. Like, here's what I got today. I was like, That sounds good. That here I'll do that too. So, you know, I had track Tuesday this morning and usually with our we call it the Midwest group at in Richardson, but meeting at JJ Pierce and you know, we have like, you know, ten to twelve people every every Tuesday and it's usually a couple of good workouts. So there's you know, there's some options if you want to do some longer intervals or more speed work and
So that's, you know, kind of what just go by is just honestly just using other people's coaches and then but you know it
Chris Detzel (28:26.542)
I saw a lot of those guys out there today, this loss at Lake Highlands this morning. I mean literally they were just killing it. So, you know, I think Matt Campbell, Pope and a bunch of guys, a bunch of people. It was crazy.
Jeff Pels (28:30.866)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (28:38.735)
Yeah, yeah. I think yeah, they were doing some thousands. And I was I was very impressed by looking at what they were splitting those in. But yeah, I mean that's just I mean, it's just a testament to like what you know, Matt and Jennifer were able to do with the slots. I mean, like it's just like I said before, it's just incredible and more and more people are showing up every year and they're all so fast and we're all just the the long run groups are big and everyone's getting faster and everyone's just building off of each other. So it's just
Chris Detzel (28:57.678)
Pretty cool.
Jeff Pels (29:05.263)
It's just a really impressive community, you know, full of, you know, parents like me, full time workers like me who are just out there and just just working hard together. And yeah. Almost every single one of them. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's I mean, they're all, you know.
Chris Detzel (29:13.804)
Almost every single one of
Jeff Pels (29:20.187)
high positions, very important to their companies and you know, they come home to you know, come home to kids and still get their still get their runs in and still putting up crazy fast time. So yeah, I mean really the the program, you know, the club has just continued to impress year after year and it's, you know, only getting faster.
Chris Detzel (29:37.519)
One thing I do that I think of is always interesting to me is when I talk to really successful runners, or when I say successful, fast runners, 230s, 240s, even under three hours, most it does feel like a lot of those people have, you know, jobs like CFO jobs or, you know, their attorneys or, you know, just very stressful like but very high profile type of jobs, but also are very successful in almost everything they do.
You know, because they're driven, they're focused, they're, you know, you know, and and and obviously you're no different. And I think that to me that you know, you become who you hang out with a lot of times, you know, and and if you surround yourself with like you're doing and have runners that are killing it and know like you obviously had the talent and now you start hanging out with Dustin and all the sloths and you start getting better and better and better. And that's you know, kind of what it took.
Jeff Pels (30:08.092)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (30:20.104)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (30:36.79)
know, for you to get better. I think the community
Jeff Pels (30:37.361)
Yeah. I yeah, yeah.
I agree a hundred percent. Yeah. I mean, like, you know, it's a s it's a sport of discipline and you don't you don't get there without being consistent and and working hard and you know not putting up zeros is like to say you don't have to go out there and you know crush it every single day, but you just need to get out there and just be consistent and that's that's that's how you get better. And yeah, I think I agree with you one hundred percent. You know, there's doctors, there's lawyers, there's accountants, there's all making up the slaws and they all have kids and it's just you know, there's there's no there's there's no
Chris Detzel (30:54.936)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (31:03.981)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (31:10.523)
coincidence that you excel at both of them because you just I mean they they really just piggyback off of each other. You work hard running it makes you better at your job and vice versa. So yeah, I agree one hundred percent. It definitely it definitely you know opens the door and really speaks to your character for for for how you work how you work and how you approach hard work.
Chris Detzel (31:32.781)
I love driven people, man. I you know, it's it's how I like to work, it's how I, you know, and I just love talking to folks like yourself because it inspires me, you know, and it's like I don't think, you know, obviously I I can't keep up with you, but I can talk to you, I can listen to what you're saying and sometimes implement that kind of stuff into my own workouts, you know. And my hope is that, hey, look, you know, we are getting older, all of us, and at some point, you know, our bodies aren't gonna be able to do, you know, the same
Jeff Pels (31:53.809)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (32:02.088)
speed, but we can still get out there and be athletic and, you know, win our age group. Shit, you know, like I ran out this I I did this five K in, you know, this weekend and I was like, you know what? I'm my goal is to hit, you know, I wanna try to win my age group. You know, I'm not gonna hit win the whole thing. I'm not gonna run fifteen minute five K's, but you know, I ran it twenty twenty. I was happy with that, won my age group and my wife hit one her age group, you and so that's all we could ask for, you know, so
Jeff Pels (32:08.39)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (32:26.545)
That's awesome. Yeah.
That's some of my favorite favorite parts of running is like, you know, my wife and I both ran the the Cowtown half marathon back in back in February. And, you know, we we did Houston together and you know, obviously she's she's runner and she does, you know, more more halves than fools these days. But just us just, you know, me finishing the half and then getting to go stand at the finish line and seeing her come in and both of us getting to, you know, celebrate afterwards is just that's just the best. You know, it's just hey, we both we both just went out there and did that.
Chris Detzel (32:36.152)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (32:44.75)
Same.
Chris Detzel (32:58.914)
Yeah, and at the end of the day, why don't we do this? We like to compete a little bit, you know, we like to be fast, certainly, but you know, it keeps us healthy, it keeps us focused. You know, and for me, man, it helps me do better at my job, it helps me a better dad. It just really does, and and a better husband. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (33:02.897)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (33:16.127)
yeah. My wife can attest, you know, the the morning where I don't get a run in, yeah, yeah. I'm not not the happiest camper to be around. And I go run, it's like, all better now. So
Chris Detzel (33:25.172)
Exactly. Let's talk well let's talk a little bit about let's fast forward a little bit to kind of your most recent or I don't know if it's most recent but the one that I know about in twenty twenty five. Let's talk about twenty twenty five. How about that and then go for
Jeff Pels (33:37.255)
Yeah.
Yeah, but yeah, let's do it. Yeah. So 2025 was, you know, a good year for me. I started off with, you know, going with all the all the sloths around Boston in 2025. And unfortunately, that was, you know, not my my best race. I you know, I again struggled with nutrition and those late hills, so finished around, you know, around my usual time at 257, which was, you know, not not something I was too happy about with, you know, my fitness leading up to it. So but you know, I
Chris Detzel (33:49.752)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Detzel (34:07.874)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (34:09.955)
With any any race, good or bad, you'd you know, I've always tried to follow Steve Steve Magnus's law of okay, you have twenty four hours to to digest it. And then after that, just let it go. Because I mean, you know, any yeah, yeah. I mean you can't you can't get too high and you can't get too low in this sport because it'll it'll humble you humble you one way or the other. so yeah, you can you can enjoy those fast PRs, but and you can, you know, you can mourn those.
Chris Detzel (34:17.912)
Yeah.
So what my wife always says, you know.
Chris Detzel (34:30.056)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, sure.
Chris Detzel (34:37.036)
And you should.
Jeff Pels (34:38.279)
those lousy races, but you know, at the end of the day you just you put it behind you and you move on because you know it's if if you don't have the result that you want, it's not like it's not like, you know, the end of the world. You just you just learn from it. Indeed. Yeah. And then you the marit
Chris Detzel (34:49.454)
But Jeff, isn't that most of life period, you know, like, you didn't get that promotion or you didn't get whatever? Well, you know, mourn it for a minute, move on, you know, like what can you do?
Jeff Pels (34:59.793)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The marathon is a great, you know, metaphor for life, as we all know. So I mean it's so yeah, you know, I you know, Boston didn't go how I wanted. Okay. You know, I I'm just going to and again, you know, I I ran Boston knowing that I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna try and go for my main A race will be at CIM. Obviously, it's a you know
Chris Detzel (35:04.748)
It is.
Jeff Pels (35:19.987)
cooler part of the year. it's a much friendlier course than Boston, just obviously a a well-known PR PR race. So and you know, so Dustin kind of led the charge, like I'm gonna run CIM. I think I had signed up, you know, I was the second person to sign up. And after that I was just going around slots to be like, hey, let's CIM. Hey, what are you doing this fall? Let's run CIM. So, you know, slowly started to get some numbers. I think we we had like 10 or 12 people there, which was
Chris Detzel (35:40.322)
Yeah. And they did.
Jeff Pels (35:47.537)
Which was great 'cause, you know, we all we all traveled out there together. We you know
Chris Detzel (35:50.604)
I interviewed five of or so after CIM, so
Jeff Pels (35:53.393)
Yeah, you interviewed like Maddie and and Grace and and Melanie and them, right?
Chris Detzel (35:57.933)
Yeah, Aaron and what's his name? Eric, yeah, that's right.
Jeff Pels (36:00.078)
Aaron, Aaron, Eric. Yeah. So that was, you know, that was my my main like training group was, you know, Eric and and Aaron and and Maddie and you know, we meet at Mimosa Park.
Chris Detzel (36:10.318)
Do you carry a stereo or anything, like a speaker when you're on or?
Jeff Pels (36:14.339)
Aaron is usually the music guy. I I so I've got my own we all have the little Bluetooth speakers. So I enjoy a good playlist too. So if Aaron didn't have the music, I'd have, you know, I have my music. We trade off sometimes of of who would carry the music. but yeah, so I you know, I would train with those guys. We you know, we called ourselves the Mimosa group since we meet at Mimosa Park and really, you know, just all just work together that those months leading up to CIM.
Chris Detzel (36:17.143)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (36:21.04)
you do, okay.
Jeff Pels (36:40.753)
You know, so when we got out to CIM, it's just a a nice big group. And you know, this whole time, you know, Eric and Eric and Aaron and and Jennifer were saying, Okay, we're gonna go out there around two thirty-five. And I was like, I'm there with you. And he's like, Okay, we're gonna go around two thirty-five. I like, Yep, yep, we're gonna do it. And then, you know, I had I guess it is just the rate the my my training leading up to it or, you know, I just I just had a bad feeling about going out at two thirty five just 'cause, you know, like I said, I've had several races where I just bonk at the earn and and I'm like
Chris Detzel (36:53.164)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (37:10.018)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (37:10.917)
I'm not I I I don't want to bonk. I don't want to fall apart at the end of the race. So, you know, we were standing, we were about to head to the starting line while I was with Eric and Aaron. I'm like, guys, I'm not gonna try and go out with y'all. I'm gonna try and hit, you know, a two thirty seven, two thirty eight, somewhere in that range. I wanted to break two forty. That was my that was my goal, but but I was like, guys, I don't I really don't wanna blow up this race. I really wanna go out and have a good race and so that's what I'm gonna do. And you know, they give me grave tooth to this day, but you know, I think I think I made the right decision.
Chris Detzel (37:28.301)
Yeah.
Pretty smart.
Chris Detzel (37:38.956)
I think they understand. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (37:40.518)
Yeah, they they under they understand and they, you know, obviously they had a great race and but you know, I I kind of took a different strategy of just I think they went out and just went straight into marathon pace, the goal pace, and I took that first five K to really ease into the race. It's you know, hindsight was twenty twenty 'cause my last five K was rough. The wheels didn't completely fall off, but they were they were starting to wobble so so to say. But but no, it was it was
Chris Detzel (37:54.904)
Okay.
Chris Detzel (38:04.824)
Sounds like you made the right decision.
Jeff Pels (38:06.769)
Yeah, yeah, I think I think I did too. It was a you know, I did the first 5k you know, 10 to 15 seconds off marathon pace, and then after that just just settled in and it was, you know, it was just a great day for CIM. I mean, it was, you know, perfect weather. I think it was like in the mid forties. There was like a light drizzle at the beginning of the race, and it was just nice and cool, no wind. And so yeah, just it was it was a great day. So it was good time for all of us to go for it. So race went well, you know.
just locked into it, locked into the marathon pace, got through, you know, got through the half, still feeling pretty good. with a really cool moment of the race is, you know, they had the they had the US champions championships there and they had just opened the window for for the OTQ qualifiers. So there's a you know a whole big group of men. obviously I wasn't with them, but a big group of women too that were going for it. And so they'd started, you know, up ahead of me
at the start line, but I came upon this, you know, this big group of women around like mile, you know, sixteen, seventeen and which was really cool because you know they're you know, they had pacers and everything. You could tell this whole group of women was trying to, you know, go under the two thirty seven mark to hit that time. And so you know, I ran with I got to run with them for a while, just stuck with that group and really just tried to stay out of their way. So I didn't want to be the guy that that, you know, like you know, clipped one of them or anything like that.
Chris Detzel (39:15.382)
Yeah. Hit that time. Yeah.
Chris Detzel (39:27.501)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (39:31.48)
Mess somebody up, yeah.
Jeff Pels (39:32.909)
Yeah. So I just tried to try to avoid them, which funny enough, I you know, one of them did get clipped. I heard one of them go down right behind me. So at least it wasn't me. But so yeah, I yeah, I didn't want to didn't want to be the person who ruined someone's OTQ day. So Yeah.
Chris Detzel (39:41.853)
Exactly.
Chris Detzel (39:47.266)
And it watched it be on video too, you know. Jeff Pels from D FW.
Jeff Pels (39:53.874)
Yeah, don't look at my bib number for that. have the completely sloughed across my chest, right? but no, yeah. So I ran with them for a while and yeah, yeah, okay. so yeah, I ran with them for a while and then you know, like I it's funny because I took the lead, I was feeling pretty good ahead of them at like mile twenty two, and then like I said, that last five K was pretty rough. slowed down about twenty, thirty seconds, miled that last mile. So took the lead, but then they all came and found me that last five K, which is fine.
Chris Detzel (39:59.328)
Exactly. He runs with it completely sloth.
Chris Detzel (40:22.125)
Ha ha ha.
Jeff Pels (40:23.315)
but you know, it's it's is I was able to hold it together and cross in two thirty-seven. So I was, you know, obviously really, really happy with that. And you know, I finished I finished my race and I, you know, I I I'm glad I didn't go out with, you know, Aaron and Eric and them because one one thing that happens when I get really, really tired and you know, people make fun of me for this, but this happened, you know, throughout high school, college, whatever. When I when I get really tired, my whole like back starts to tighten up. So
I do this thing where I'm just I'm just looking back and I'm just looking at the sky. So unfortunately, yeah, my last mile is kind of me just running like this, just with my head straight back. But so yeah, no, my my finishing pictures didn't look too great. So I didn't get to purchase any of those, but but you know, your time your time doesn't have like a picture of your race, it's just your you know, it's just your time, right?
Chris Detzel (40:53.046)
really?
Chris Detzel (40:57.24)
That's crazy.
Chris Detzel (41:03.085)
Wow.
Chris Detzel (41:11.746)
Well, I mean
That's right. Hardly anybody looks good after running a marathon, or even most races, you know, like especially if you're racing it really hard, we all look kind of pretty crappy, you know. So
Jeff Pels (41:26.865)
Yeah, yeah. So but no, I was obviously, you know, really, really happy with happy with that time. you know, another break break through from Houston on, you know, on a great course and it just, you know, we had the whole group there and like I said, there's like ten to twelve of us and I think like eight or nine of us pretty much everyone PR'd like pretty significantly. you know, Jennifer got her OTQ time and obviously, you know, Maddie and what's that? CIM, sorry, yeah, C I sorry, yeah, C I sorry.
Chris Detzel (41:33.656)
That's awesome.
Chris Detzel (41:50.329)
Wait, did you say Houston? Or CIM? CIM. Yeah. I thought we skipped over or went over to Houston. I was like, wait, but I get it.
Jeff Pels (41:57.108)
yeah. Nah, nah. Jennifer Gyarotq, you know, obviously, you know, Eric, Aaron ran fast. Maddie, Grace, Melanie, they all ran fast too. So it was just a you know, we went and got drinks afterwards and it was just like a you know, it just a great celebration for all of us for all the hard work.
Chris Detzel (42:13.674)
Any story besides running like on that trip or that you know stands out that that was interesting to you or that you can think of?
Jeff Pels (42:23.675)
I mean, it was just I mean, I just remember just like, you know, it's just the the brunch leading up to it and just you know, the the the drinks afterwards were great and just everyone just being so happy, just like that the race went so well for all of us and that, you know, it was a it was a is a tough fall, it was a warm fall, so we didn't get to really do as many marathon, you know, long marathon pace long runs as we wanted to. But everyone's just, you know, pumped up that the race went well.
it was great for you know great for me. My wife and I had delayed our ten year anniversary until after that race. So you know we finished the race in Sacramento, drove only an hour and a half to Napa. So I got to spend like, you know, three or four days in in Napa after the race, which I don't know if you've ever been to Napa. Drink some water, yeah. Yeah, drink some more, yeah, yeah. Drink drank plenty of great wine and honestly that's just how I wanna, you know
Chris Detzel (43:07.724)
And drink some more.
No, I just said and drink some more.
Jeff Pels (43:20.179)
It's like every marathon marathon should be like this. You go out and, you know, have a cool vacation afterwards. So I I want to run Berlin next year. So that's kind of the the plan with that as well, because you know, it's so perfectly situated with at the end of September, go to Berlin, go to Oktoberfest. So trying to make, you know, it's for these out of state trips, trying to make try and make a vacation out of it where I can.
Chris Detzel (43:22.744)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (43:26.094)
That's cool.
Chris Detzel (43:42.457)
Yeah, you know, my wife and I like to do some of those. Like we're going on we're going to Iceland in a couple weeks and there'll be a half marathon the day, you know, basically the day after we get there, you know, and then we start the trip kind of thing. You know, and so we we love to do more kind of running trips. Like next year we'll go to Japan and do we'll do a trail running tour thing.
Jeff Pels (43:58.728)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (44:09.676)
where we go into the mountains and we'll run for five or six days straight. You know, we'll stay at different hotels and stuff like that. We've been to the the Alps, you know, in France and Swi the Swiss Alps, we'd spend five or six days there and did kind of a running trail running thing and then we've done Colorado where we did like 120 miles in six days, you know, and and 20,000 feet of gain on the mountains and we actually have tents. I mean, so we've done a lot of that too, you know, and I think that to me running vacations are the best.
You know, I mean so
Jeff Pels (44:40.369)
Yeah. It's it's yeah, I think it's just so cool. Yeah, yeah, you just get you get to go out there and it's just shows you what a you know universal sport it is. It's you know, you're all we're all lining up to do this race together and it's just you know, it just transcends what you have in your, you know, your small community. It's like, wow, it's just you know, we're all just you know, just all dr all all just gathering here to enjoy this celebration together. Cause that's what it is.
Chris Detzel (44:51.81)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (45:04.184)
Hundred percent. And one question I didn't ask you because I'm always interested in, you know, as as fast as you are, you know, when you go I don't know if you do local races, but you know, do you get how like I was listening to or I was talking to Steven Fahie, you know, whenever he won the Dallas Marathon, and then I spoke spoke to Casey Novello, you know, and some others. And it's it was kind of fun because when you're in like first place, second, third, fourth, you know.
really close to being able to win, there's some strategy going on in your mind or, you know, that you take and you know, and and obviously at CIM you're not gonna win because, you know, there's a lot of faster people. I mean you're fast, but when you do some of these local races, you always have the opportunity, you know, to potentially win it, whether it's a half or full or whatever, depending on the day. I'm not there's always somebody faster. I get that. But you know
What's kinda your philosophy and going into some of these local races? I mean, are you a very competitive person, which I assume you are, just by the things that you do, but you know, don't know.
Jeff Pels (46:09.511)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I I've been doing a lot of those or several of those Irving races. mostly I do the I've done the Oktoberfest one a couple of times. That's that one's nice because it's, you know, really the beginning of, you know, the fall season for running. so you know, with those I can actually place pretty high, which is fun. you know. honestly it's it's just a matter of who who shows up. You know, I was able to I was able to win the Oktoberfest half marathon, you know.
Chris Detzel (46:17.027)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (46:39.319)
guess that would have been twenty twenty three and you know, I ran a decent time, it was like a one seventeen, but it you know, that and then, you know, I think K C ended up winning it like in sixty eight this last year. So it's just like it's it's just it just depends on who shows up, right? So, you know, I like to go in into any local race, think I have a chance to win. At le Yeah, just that was a warm day that day too. It was just like my goodness. But
Chris Detzel (46:39.501)
Nice.
Chris Detzel (46:50.52)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (46:55.23)
Yeah, exactly. Sixty eight. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (47:04.945)
But yeah, I I like to, you know, with with the local ones, you know, I I always think, okay, I I I should have a chance, but you know, you know, you don't you don't really know until you get, you know, 5k into the race and everything kind of shakes out. But but no, I like those I'd like to use those local races, like, you know, all those the Irving races as like a tune up. I, you know, for any marathon about a month out, I like to try to do a half marathon or something, something close to it just to kind of one break up, you know, break up the the long run monotony of every
week, but two just to really benchmark where you think you're at, you know, about a month out. really just to kind of help you. Yeah. Yeah. The half the half's, I mean I love the half. The half is a is a distance I feel like I can race in instead of just trying to survive like the marathon. But but yeah, it's just a a great race, lots of strategy, you know, over over in a little over an hour. So you can, you know,
Chris Detzel (47:38.334)
Yeah. I think a app is great to do that, you know. I mean
Chris Detzel (47:52.248)
Hundred percent.
Jeff Pels (47:59.186)
finish it and still feel somewhat productive afterwards. But but yeah, I love the I love the half and I love, you know, trying to get that benchmark race before about a month out from the marathon. So, you know, my next steps, I'll be doing the the Dallas half marathon in December. A like a lot of the sloths are and then doing the Houston full in January. So that'll work out kind of with that mindset. Just, you know, the half and then a month later do the full. and I'll and I'll get some local races in there. I'll probably do the Irving Oktoberfest or
Chris Detzel (48:14.669)
Okay.
Jeff Pels (48:28.549)
one of those again and then do the do the turkey trot on on Thanksgiving. So so that's kind of my my fall schedule. But you know, no no real time goals really with the half and full. I think I, you know, I can I I think I'm due for a a good half marathon PR, but hopefully, you know, the weather works out with that and just see how my training goes and see how it, you know, carries over into Houston. there's there'll be a big group of slaws running there. So I should have some some people to run with.
Chris Detzel (48:42.849)
No.
Jeff Pels (48:57.559)
you know, talks of people trying to go sub two sub two thirty. So I don't know if I'll be one of those guys, but you know, the very least I can just benefit from them trying to go for it with training and try to get as as fast as I can leading up to it.
Chris Detzel (49:02.178)
Yeah, I hope so.
Chris Detzel (49:10.978)
Anybody in specific that you kind of think you might run with in Houston, like in the sloss?
Jeff Pels (49:18.631)
That's a good question. They're all around the, you know, like five to six minutes, you know, faster than you know, kind of what I think I'd be at. But we'll see. I mean I can we'll see who ends up going.
Chris Detzel (49:28.68)
All of I mean, you think all of can run five or six like all ten or eleven? I guess yeah, it depends who's goes.
Jeff Pels (49:33.883)
we'll see. I mean we'll see. They you know they keep getting faster and just seeing you know what they're putting up with their times. I won't I won't I won't completely rule it out, but you I I don't wanna just I'm not as brave as a lot of them to just throw out a super fast time like I'm gonna run this at Houston. We'll s we'll see how my training goes this this fall though.
Chris Detzel (49:40.366)
So do you, man. So do you so
Chris Detzel (49:56.207)
Yeah, I'll be at Houston as well for for the half. My wife and I now are just hooked on Houston for every year just doing the half marathon, or at least I am. and so I'll definitely see you out there. is there anything that we missed that, you know, maybe some advice that you'd give to s others or thoughts kind of at the end or you know?
Jeff Pels (50:18.875)
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's you know, it's I know a a lot of other runners that come on here and said it, but obviously, you know, community is the biggest I think benefit and fun part about this is, you know, finding a group that will get out there and suffer with you on a on a Saturday morning or a Tuesday morning at the track. And I think there's just some, you know, it's just poetic and kind of a way, just being able to say, Okay, we're all gonna go out here and this is how we're going to spend our, you know, Tuesday morning at five o'clock just pounding around the track. And that's that's really what I
have grown to love about, you know, this club and this sport is just the community and the friendships that are made and just, you know, the conversations that happen and everything. So, you know, advice I'd give is just, you know, find a community. Obviously there's, you know, so many running clubs out in DFW right now, more and more by the day. and really, I mean, like I said before, it's just, you know, it's it's not a sport that you can just come into and expect immediate success. Even like even on someone like me who's been running their whole life, you know, it's it took me
several, you know, several marathons before I and I'm still learning I'm still learning the distance, but it hopefully I keep that coming.
Chris Detzel (51:22.264)
You're still PRing. No, I'm serious. Yeah, no, I'm just saying like you've been running for a really long time and you just PR'd in last year, like December, you know, and it's August right now. So it's amazing, you know.
Jeff Pels (51:35.666)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (51:39.336)
And that's what's that's what's fun about it. Like, you know, it's a sport that like, you know, your your shelf life is pretty long. I mean, you can be you can be successful late late into your forties. I mean, like you know, if you s if you stay healthy and you you know, stay disciplined. So luckily, you know, these last five years running with the sloss, I've been, you know
Chris Detzel (51:45.356)
Yeah.
Chris Detzel (51:49.645)
That's right.
Jeff Pels (51:57.822)
fairly injury free. And so like, you know, as long as you can continue to not put up any zeros and continue just to show up. I mean, that's that's that's the key to success. So I mean, yeah, that's that'd be my biggest, you know, advice is just, you know, be patient and just like don't expect like, you know, it it's it's not a linear linear growth with running. It's more like a spiral. Sometimes you, you know, go backwards and sometimes you make small increments, but you know, you keep showing up and it's an upward, upper trajectory nevertheless.
Chris Detzel (52:26.382)
To me that's the b best advice that I've heard ever, you know, is is that marathon is a journey, you know, and and it and it doesn't it's not that you can't run fast your first marathon. I mean, you did pretty darn well for your first marathon, but I mean, you know, you're not gonna do your best in general. If you continue on the journey, you've got a lot long ways to improve. I mean, look, you ran your first marathon at three twenty, your last marathon that you ran, or at least the one in
your PR was not that long ago at, you 237. That's crazy awesome. But it took you a long time at the three hour mark. You know, even go from three hour to three thirty-seven is crazy awesome. But there's probably in your mind you running 301s, 258s, 250, whatever you're running, so many times you're like, man, I'm not gonna get that much. You probably never thought, especially after a few of those, you'd never even get that fast, you know? And look at you now. Like
Jeff Pels (53:03.154)
It did.
Jeff Pels (53:08.978)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (53:22.651)
Yeah. It's all about you know, it's all about learning.
Chris Detzel (53:23.336)
It's a perfect example. Yeah.
Jeff Pels (53:25.307)
Learning from your mistakes, keep working on everything. Keep I mean, it's it's the little things. It's not I mean, like I said, it's it's simple with mileage, but at the other time at the other, you know, you have to take care of your sleep, you have to take care of your fueling, you have to stretch, you have to lift. It's it's all the little things and it's it's about investing time in the little things to just really just keep yourself running, keep yourself healthy. so yeah, I mean, yeah, it's just it's I learned a lot over, you know, those those those finishes around three hours, but
at at the same time I just, you know, just kept putting the work in and the results definitely showed up. So I'm you know, I'm happy with it, but you know, it's it's I I think the biggest thing that I I enjoy is just it's just falling in love with the process and the work and, you know, if and not putting so much stock in the results 'cause the result those r the results will come if you just do the work. But if you just really love the grind and the day in, day out, that's
That's what I really have have fallen in love with these past few years, just putting the work in and enjoying the process. And yeah, I'm lucky enough that the results have started to finally show because of that. But it's really just about, you know, putting the work and being consistent.
Chris Detzel (54:32.866)
I think that's a hundred percent true. And I I also think the piece of community, you know, running with people that are a little bit better, a lot better than you, and just knowing that, you know, if you kinda start doing what Dustin did, you know, he's shown some success and you start hanging out with him, running with him, and then this loss and you I mean, even Maddie has said this, you know, like I just run with them, I know I'm slower than them and I'll be back behind them. But my hope is that, you know, even if I don't ever catch them.
You know, that I get faster. And she does. She's she's seeing some of the same results that you are, you know, just in a different thing, you know, and so
Jeff Pels (55:04.411)
Yeah. Yeah. I'm very impressed with Maddie and you know, any of the moms out there. It's just even more impressive what they're doing. Yeah, it's but yeah, kind of the same thing, just running with other runners who are just slightly, slightly faster than me. And that's, you know, that's what you need. You need someone to chase, you need someone to push you through that last rep or the last five miles of a long run. That's you know, that's how you get better.
Chris Detzel (55:09.654)
Area of them.
Chris Detzel (55:25.058)
And the last thing I'll say, because I do think what you said was very important, is give yourself twenty-four hours to either celebrate or be depressed or whatever you want about you know a race and then move on to the next one because that to me is what gets you next to the next thing. Because there's always another race potentially to to do. So, you know, go out and do it. So well, Jeff, this has been great, man.
Jeff Pels (55:37.725)
Yeah.
Jeff Pels (55:46.833)
Yeah. Yeah, I've really enjoyed this, Chris. Thanks for having me. You know, thank you for everything you've done for the DFW running community. I mean, it's you know, you you begin to interview all these athletes and you know, like I said, they're popping up left and right. And so I really think you have you've done a good job of just highlighting their stories because there's so many good ones out there. So yeah, really appreciate what you're doing here.
Chris Detzel (56:05.912)
There is. And I I appreciate that. Well, thanks everyone for tuning in to another DFW Running Talk. don't forget to rate and review us. Remember, we do have I do have a new website out there, DFW Running Talk.com. That website has a lot of different things on it. The podcast, we have resources that you can go find your race. And there's over 450 races within 150 miles of the DFW Metroplex. I have running plans, you know, whether it's from a marathon to a half marathon to a 5K, just
pick it pick that and it's pretty good running plan but also make sure you go to s our newsletter which is dfwrunytalk dot substack dot com and make sure you subscribe to that. Until then, Jeff, thanks so much.
Jeff Pels (56:50.356)
Thanks, Chris.
