What If The Best Training Plan Is A Vacation with Carmela Dicostanzo-Corkle

A lot of people think runners are born, not made. Carmela DiCostanzo-Corkel proves the opposite with a story that starts with a best friend in grade school, turns into half marathon training that felt impossible, and grows into a life built around movement, laughter, and showing up anyway. We talk about why running with someone you trust can be more powerful than any perfect plan, and how a finish line full of strangers cheering your name can change what you believe you’re capable of. 

We also get real about what most of us learn late: hydration and fueling matter. Carmela shares the early days of long, hot runs with basically no water and no nutrition, then the major mindset shift that happened while training for Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim. We dig into practical endurance basics like salt, electrolytes, carb timing, and why heat and humidity can wreck you if you ignore them. 

Then we jump into the most fun twist: the Run For Fun Cruise. Imagine traveling the world and running an organized 5K at every port, with bibs, a final medal, and a built in community of runners, walkers, and fast movers. We also cover strength training for runners, knee friendly habits after soccer injuries, and how signing up for events can keep you consistent when motivation fades. 

If you enjoy running, trail running, half marathons, 5Ks, and fitness over 50, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

www.runforfuncruise.com

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Transcript

Welcome And Coaching Invite

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back to Over the Next Till Fitness Podcast. I'm Carla Coffee, your coach and host for today's program. I want to thank everyone who has been following me on Facebook and Instagram. I know I'm not on there much, but if you comment, I will answer you back. You can email me, Carla, at coffeecrew coaching.com. Thank you for buying me coffee. I really appreciate that. For those of you who have been doing that, that is very kind of you. And some of you have a subscription, which is just awesome. I really appreciate that. If you need a coach, uh running or a personal fitness coach, please uh email me, Carla at coffeecrew coaching.com, and I will get you on the roster and get you hooked up for any distance that you are looking to run or any lifting goals that you may have. We will get that all figured out. Today I'll be talking to Carmela DiCostanzo Corkel. Sorry for slaughtering your name. I tried. Um, but we had such a fun talk, um, a lot of fun afterwards, and didn't get all of that on the video or the recording, but it's okay. You are gonna enjoy her story so much. Um, and if you want to see us, you can also look on YouTube and see the video there. And I will look forward to seeing you at the end. Thanks. Hi, Carmela. Welcome to the show. Hi, thanks for having me. My pleasure. So we're gonna just start um by telling the audience um when and why you started

How A Friendship Started Running

SPEAKER_00 1:52

uh running.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Well, I think I can say honestly, in grade three, I met my best friend, and she you can tell was very athletic to start off with. And then from that moment, we just played every sport together. Um I played soccer in high school, so obviously we had to run then. But chasing a ball is different than running on the road. And then I had moved to the lower mainland Vancouver, BC, for several years. And when I moved back to my hometown, my best friend from grade three, she's an avid runner, so she said to me, Why don't we train for a half marathon? And I thought, There's no way. I always joke, and still to this day I say, I am a mule. I will get you up that hill, but I am not meant for speed or distance. But we trained, and it was the most fun I ever had because we would use that as our debriefing sessions. We would just talk the whole time, and it was so empowering for the two of us. And still to this day, we still use it as our moment to just vent and talk about life and everything.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

So you get to run with her regular regularly.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

We haven't ran that much lately together because she is still an amazing strong runner, whereas my knees have slowed me down a little bit. So I can't do the longer distance. Um, I could do the shorter distance or I can do the bigger hikes in the hills and everything, which I like to do. We do that. But when it comes to running, she is phenomenal. So I and she's always like, it's okay, it's okay. I just want to run. We just need to talk. But yeah, I always feel bad holding her back, but we do run still a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Yeah. Well, and if you do the short distance, you could like loop past your house and say bye, and she could keep going for the longer distance. That's right. Yeah. So was that half marathon your one and only race?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

No, that was my first one. That was oh, when was that? That was the early 2000s, I believe. Um, we went to Calgary, Alberta for that one. So that was a good one. And I feel like she knew she was gonna get me hooked because as soon as we went, I thought, okay, this is kind of neat. Look at all the people that were here. But when you she did the full marathon and I did the half. And when you finished that finish line, that sense of family and encouragement from everyone was so emotional. I get emotional thinking about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Yeah. Yeah. And there's the accomplishment to think that you actually did that.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yes, yeah. The small percentage of people that actually do that, and then you have all these strangers you have no idea who are. They're cheering you on, they're yelling your name, they're high-fiving you, and then you turn around and do it for the same group of people. And it was, it was so amazing. And it got she got me hooked. So I've done a few more half marathons. I've never done a full. I just uh I don't know if my knees would hold out just from all soccer injuries, but um, yeah, I I keep saying I'd like to train for one more, so we'll see.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, yeah, and you can walk it, you know, as long as you can finish in that time. If you get one that doesn't have like a time limit, you could could definitely walk it. That's true. Yes. Yeah, there are some in the states that don't have time limits. So if you and you let me know and I can I can find one for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Well, anytime we go traveling to do a half marathon, which is a normal thing for my sister and I, we look for the the most fun metal we can find, and then we go. So that's that's the biggest thing. My sister loves the metals. I love the metals as well, but we've traveled to many different parts just to see the metal and to get that metal.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Yeah, yeah, I agree. That the swag is always the best. It is, yeah. It's a serious motivator. I have one metal. I think it was um, I think it was little rock. It's like as big as my head. What's huge? I'm gonna have to write this one down. Yeah, yeah, I'll see if I can what is this thing?

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Yeah, little rock. I don't know if you can see it. Oh my gosh. Okay, my sister's gonna look at that and she's gonna want it. We flew down to Waco, Texas, because the the metal said badass, and we thought so. We went all the way down to Waco, Texas. Um, we were the only two Canadians there, but it was so much fun, so hot and humid. Uh but uh we got it and it said badass, and we were like, Yeah, because we're badass. That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah, yeah, that's great. I like that. I might have to go through that one myself. Yes. So now did you start right off the bat with a half, or did you do like a 5K, then a 10K, or did you just train for the half, and that's the first race you did?

SPEAKER_01 6:49

For my very first race, uh, it was a half for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

We trained, we did that. I remember three days a week. We would do the long distance on the Sunday, and then we would do the little sprints during the week, the back and forth sprints. Um, and then I can remember, and I still quote it to my friends when I run with different people. She always used to say to me, If you can run uphill, when you get a flat run, it's just gonna seem so much easier. So she would train me on hills as well, and it was really good. So I like her. Yeah, she's she's phenomenal. She's yeah, her kids, same thing. They're just so fast. I'm always like, you just run with me and I'll do your slow pace run for you.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yeah, there you go. You gotta have the slow ones. Yeah. So did you um have to learn a lot about how to fuel and how to hydrate and stuff for that? Was that all new for you too? That was new.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Um, and so my best friend's name, her name is Suk. So we laugh about it still to this day because we had no clue

Medals, Race Travel, And First Half

SPEAKER_01 7:55

how to hydrate or anything. Sometimes we would do our afternoon runs and in cam loops, it can get about plus 35, 36. Um, really, really hot here and dry. And we would run and we would run a 16 kilometer run with no water, no fuel, no nothing, and be like, and then finally her brother was like, What are you guys doing? So then we thought we were pretty smart, and we brought a little hand bottle with a little bit of Gatorade, and we'd swish our mouse, then we'd spit it out. I had no clue, no clue about nutrition or anything. And then it was, I would say last year I did the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

And we walked it, but we did that in two days, and I listened to so many podcasts about nutrition and salt intake and little carb boosts and everything. And that changed my world. So from that moment, from last year, a year and a half ago from training for that, I kept saying, we keep saying to her, I'm like, imagine how much better we would have been if we would have actually listened to people. So if I can go back in time, would I train differently? Absolutely. But what I've learned now, amazing.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Yeah. Yeah. It it isn't it crazy when you think back of how you actually finished all that with none of this. And now without it, you're like, oh my goodness, what am I gonna do without it? But yeah, you would have probably been faster, stronger, recovered better.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

I remember we I would not eat too much the night before because I didn't want my stomach to be upset. I'd get up in the morning, I'd have a coffee, and that was it. And I would go and run, and that was it. I would barely drink any water, I would do nothing, and I'd finish the run. And then I'd be like, Oh, why does my head hurt? Why does my body ache and stuff? I had no clue. Yeah. Yeah. And then there's me on the Grand Canyon every 20 minutes, like eating something as fast as I can. It was the best thing. I was like, I can eat all the time. Yeah. That's great.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

So, how was that? I um have been looking at rim to rim and uh my husband as well, and trying to think maybe we will go do that. Is that pretty awesome?

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Oh, that was amazing. That was I we so on my run for fun cruise, we met a girl from New Brunswick, and she and her family do it every year. So after the first cruise, she's like, Why don't you come? And I thought, I haven't really trained, my knees sore, I don't think I could go. Then we said, Okay, the next year. So we trained for it, and we trained. There was four girls from Camloops that went, and uh, we trained every weekend just to get time on our feet. And I listened to so many podcasts on what to do, but what an experience. Amazing. Totally totally what I never would have expected.

unknown 10:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

What is the distance of that? I don't even know.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

So it's about 78 kilometers there and back, so say 80 kilometers. Um, but you start off at the top and you go down, and it takes about three to four hours, depending on how many times you stop to take pictures and everything like that. And you start early in the morning, you go down, and then about the three-hour mark, there's a place to go to the washroom, and their first water stops, so you have to carry everything in your pack. Then you get down to Phantom Ridge, and then you walk for about four hours in the canyon, and you can hide in certain areas of shade, and there's a little creek that goes by there. Um, and there's a lot of water stations all the way up to the other side, and then the other side is actually more shaded, so there's a lot of water stops along the way. Then you stay at a lodge where we had made reservations a year ahead because it's it gets booked up pretty fast, but unfortunately, it burnt down the year that we went, it burnt down the uh that fall. So I think I don't know if there's anywhere to stay. So I feel like you either have to start at that end and go across or go back and forth. Um, so then we stayed the night and we got up early again, and only four of us ended up going back. The rest took the bus because they just were like, no, I'm done. And going down, it was fine because there's lots of water. Going across, it's fine, it's lots of water. But then you could part up and you can go bright angel or you can go up um, I believe it's South Kybob, but bright angel was closed, and that's where there's water and there's places for shade. So we had the only choice was to go up the way we came down, and there was

Fueling Lessons And Grand Canyon Trek

SPEAKER_01 12:40

no water for that. So we took us six hours to get to the top, and you had to carry all your water, and you're in the bright sun, but it was still amazing.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Wow, that sounds great though. So 50K is just more than a marathon, about what is that, like 32. So 78K would be what another 20k, so another 15 miles. So for those of you doing math at home, yeah, so we're talking about it's probably 50 miles.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah, I guess about 50 miles. And what's that in miles? 23? 26. 26. Yeah. So yeah, so just double that, just under. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

So those of us who didn't do metrics in school here in the states, yeah, we just can't transition over.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

That's okay. And I know when I try to say plus 36, I'm like, what is it in Fahrenheit? I don't know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

I know that's that's that's pretty hot, though. I know in Fahrenheit. Yes. Very cool. Now, I understand you've done several 5Ks um and on a cruise, right? So tell us about this cruising 5Ks that you do.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

So, well, my sister and I, we love to travel and we love to travel for for runs and vacations and stuff. And it was a good way for us to say, well, if for our husbands, if you want to come, you have to run. Well, they didn't want to run. So then it was a perfect way for us to just go on our own. So we would travel. Um, we'd find a run in New York or Texas. We went down to New Zealand for a run. Um, and then we were looking for the next adventure, and someone mentioned a run for fun cruise. And we thought, well, what is this? I've never been on a cruise. You go on this cruise ship, and the Run for Fun Club team, they set up runs at every port that you stop. So you get into a little meeting area, you all get off the boat the same or the ship the same time. You either start at that port or walk a little ways, or they'll put you on a bus and you you get a ride to where the run is. They set up a five-kilometer run, you do that, and then you if you're at the port, you can go back to the ship and do what you want, or you spend the day with the rest of the group. And it's just a great way to meet other people and see different parts of the world, and and then you don't feel as guilty eating all those extra treats. That's the best part. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

So um, do they have medals and swag and stuff at the 5Ks? And are the locals doing the 5K, or is it just the people from the ship?

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah, so it's just the people from the Run for Fun Club uh team. Um, when you start, so you you book the cruise through them, and then there is a fee of I believe $399 US per person. That includes you get a bib for every port you're at. Uh you get a medal at the end. They give you a run for fun shirt. Uh, so it's like a dry, one of those dry we dry fit shirts. Um, they usually give you a bag and a couple other little like water bottles and fun things in there as well. And then that includes also if you have to take a ride to where you have where the run starts, that includes all that as well. Um, yeah, it's it's pretty cool. And the metals I've gotten are pretty fun, like we just did the Hawaii one in September, and it was a little hula girl. I should have brought it down, a little hula girl, and it actually moved. It was super cute. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. That sounds like it. And it's just so great, great way to meet new people.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Okay. So, for instance, with your Hawaii um cruise, where where were some of the ports that you stopped at? And um, do you usually do more than one 5k over the duration? Or tell tell us about that.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

Yes. So we started in Waikiki. I can never get the islands proper name, uh, the the islands, but we started in Waikiki, we sailed, uh, I can't remember the island. Um, I'm sorry, I'm really bad for that. Um, and then you get there, and then you get off the port and you go and do the run, and we ended up staying overnight there. So that way, if you wanted to explore the island, and then you get back on the ship, you go overnight, you sail to the next island, you go and do a run. So every port that you stop, they have a run set up for you. When we did the Caribbean one, there was, I believe, six stops. So instead of doing six runs, they gave us one free day in Antigua. So then you could just do whatever you want. They they usually will set up something like a big fun catamaran thing that might cost a little extra, but my sister and I decided to do something else just to try something. But yeah, every port is a new run.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

What were some of your favorite ports that you've been to overall?

SPEAKER_01 17:31

I want to say I think it was Tortola. That was the very first one off the Caribbean. We get off. First, it was a theme run, so we were all dressed as Barbie. That was so much fun. There was about 120 of us people, and there was about 90 people dressed up in Barbie outfits and people had wigs. They all went out for it. And we get into a bus, they drive us to this remote area about a half an hour away. We go and do the run. It was so much fun. And then when we were done the run, they had live music, they had set up a lunch. We were in a beautiful bay of this water, and it was perfect weather. And just that's when you started to meet people because everyone was still getting out of their costumes and stuff. It was that was probably my best one. And that was the very first one we ever did, and I still compare it to that one.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

So when you go on the cruise, you have to get yourself to the starting point, I'm assuming, to the starting port where the ship is going to be. And is right?

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yes. So if you if you book the cruise, they'll usually have setups where they'll say, We're going to be staying at this hotel the night before, but it's up to you to figure out how to get onto the ship yourself. Then they'll say, Okay, on this, on the first day you're there, we're having a group dinner. So we all meet at one restaurant, and then that's when they'll introduce themselves, and they'll give everybody their bag with their bibs, and then an itinerary of everything that's in there. And then um, we all keep our rooms all in the same area. And then if you have any questions, we just we can message them, text them, ask any questions. But usually you see everyone, you see, you see, you start to see the same faces all the time. So it's actually pretty neat.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Other crazy runners that like to do that same thing.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

So what how many, like what is the the most 5Ks you have done on one cruise?

SPEAKER_01 19:28

The Caribbean one. I think there was five on that one. Five. Yeah. And then the Hawaiian one, there was four. Um, and they range sometimes. Uh on the Caribbean one, one ended up being a little bit shorter, but then one ended up being a little bit longer. So I would say they range from about 4.5 to about six. Oh and a total range of rares. You got the fast ones, you got the slow ones, you got the walkers. It it yeah, it doesn't matter. Everyone just does their own thing and it's just so much fun.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yeah. Yeah. Do they give um like first in place, uh, first, second, third place medals or anything like that, any age group medals, or is just the overall?

SPEAKER_01 20:09

So on the Hawaiian cruise, um, they do. They give it, usually they'll say, okay, for the fastest female runner or the fastest male runner. So in Hawaii, they gave it to the first two fastest female, which I actually got, which I was so surprised. Yes. And it's just a fun little toy. So I got this little, you know, one of those little solar lights where the little hula thing goes, I got that and I have it at my desk at work. So every time I look at them, like, hey, that was me. And then that's great.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

Thank you. Yeah, it was fun. It was good.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

Yeah,

How The Run For Fun Cruise Works

SPEAKER_00 20:45

I bet. Wow. I am uh not a fast 5k. Um, but I I mean, you know, I don't that fast is relative, of course. But uh 5Ks are nice, it's a good way to start, you know, of any any run journey.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

It is a perfect distance for this cruise, too, because it's like I said, you have people of all ages. We had a friend come on the Hawaii cruise with us and she brought her mom, and I believe her mom was 74. She was like the fastest walker I've ever seen. She was no problem. Yeah. But it was just amazing for her because she just got to see the beautiful area. She was walking and running and did her own thing, and everyone was there at the end to cheer her on. And yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Yeah, it's a good way to see a a town or whatever, too.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Yeah, yeah. I was um helping a friend of mine finish her marathon um about a month ago, I guess. And so I had I had only run the half and she was doing the full, and it got really hot. And so I've I found out where she was, and I went to go meet her to come back. And you know, she was walking and she was walking so fast. I felt like a little kid running beside her because I couldn't walk that fast.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

So I made it. Face to keep, yes, that's what I do too. It's better on my knees.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

I was like, How are you walking this fast? I mean, I'm a pretty fast walker, but she was just killing it. And I was, I was doing a little jog beside her, going, I can't, I felt like a kid. I really did, like trying to keep up with mom. I couldn't keep up with her. So that's so funny that she you that lady was doing that fast walk. Some people walk so fast, they do walk almost as fast as my easy jog.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Yeah, that's me for sure too. Yeah, I'm a slower walker. Slow, I can walk at a good pace, but yeah, if I have if someone's walking fast, I'll do a slow jog.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah, crazy. So for your running things, um, for part of your training, do you do weight training as well or are you strictly run?

SPEAKER_01 22:42

I try to do weight training. Um, I love to do some boot camps and hit classes. I feel at over 50, I'm just more trying to keep my stability moving, like where we have to do burpees, because let's be honest, if I have to do burpees at home, I'm not gonna do them. But if I go to a class and they tell me to do 10, I'm gonna do 10. Right. So try to do the weight training. I have little dumbbells all over my house that if I see them, I'm like, oh yeah, okay, let's just do these real quick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Smart. Yeah, good. Did you find that that has helped you with your running at all to keep you from being more injured?

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. I feel like even just the like the boot camps for the HIC classes to be able to recover on your breathing really fast was that helped me a lot. Because when you go up the hill and you're out of breath, I'm like, okay, what did I do in class? I just took deep breaths, I slow it down, and then all of a sudden I'm good to go again, right? So for sure. And just less injuries, right? Because my knees, I've been trying to do more squats and stuff, lightweights on my knees just to strengthen them because they've been so bad, but for sure it has helped. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

Yeah, I heard soccer can be really hard on you, and especially if you're like running and somebody kicks your feet out from under you or whatever. That's gotta be terrible.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Yeah, that's not the worst, it's the knees. Most women I know that I've played soccer with, we all suffer from knee injuries. So I was fortunate enough to play till I was about pre-COVID year. So that was what, six years ago? Seven so long ago already. So that was my last season, and then I just realized, yeah, I can't do it anymore. If I can't walk up the stairs without pain, it's not gonna happen. So I had to make a decision. Do I stop playing the sport I love? Which I love the social aspect of it and the sport, so I can continue to run straight, hike, do all those fun things I still can do, or do I continue playing soccer, injure myself, and then not be able to do those things? Yeah. So yeah. Yeah, big decision. Yeah. I'm thankful I can still go straight and I can still hike and do all those things. That's perfect.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah, for sure. So, what do you have coming up next?

SPEAKER_01 25:06

Uh well, I think we uh well, we're gonna do the run for fun cruise. It's in February, it leaves out of Fort Lauderdale. Um, and that one's in the Caribbean, and there's the one that I was telling you about that we were in the Barbie, that's gonna be on the the one of the stops as well. So I'm really looking forward to that one. Okay. Um, but I think my one friend that I run with in the morning, uh, we keep saying that we want to sign up for something just so we keep running, right? Because if we have, I feel like if I have something to sign up for, then I will continue to run. But if I don't have anything signed up for, I'm like, eh, I can miss this week.

unknown 25:45

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

I think that's all of us.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Yeah. There's a few local ones close by. There's some dirty feet trails, they call them here in Camlips, where um you can sign up. They pretty much have them every month. They have them in Camlips where I live. We uh we're in a valley and it's very much like Arizona, the mountains and the dry hills. So you can climb up, like you can be in a mountain very close where I live. So they have these dirty feet trails where they'll do five, ten, twenty-one kilometer runs that you can sign up, and it's all in the trail. So you go all the way up and then all the way down and around the hill and back. So those are good ones to do.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

And that's in British Columbia, correct?

SPEAKER_01 26:28

Yes, yep.

unknown 26:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Well, we'll put a link for that in the show notes as well as a link for the cruise in case anybody wants to do the cruise. Um, and if there's any other recommendations of uh trail runs or anything in your area, uh, we'll put those links in too, and then maybe we can come and visit you and uh and meet you in person and do some runs. Sounds like sounds like you come to the states quite a bit, so we'll have to find something where we can come to you.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Oh, yeah, there's a lot of good runs around here. We did one uh last year in Chilliwack, which is just outside of Vancouver, and it was called uh Give or Take 30, Give or Take 30, and it was in the mountains up in Chilliwack. So you go as a team, you can go as a team or you can go as a solo. So I went with my friend Trish that I run in the mornings with close to my house, and I had to do 18 kilometers, and it was all the way up and all the way across, cross the hills, mountains, and then back down. So you're in this trail, and it was so wet and and rainy, but then we tag off and then we high five, and then she runs the last 13 kilometers, but hers was a little bit steeper up, and then at the end it ends up right by the lake by Caltis Lake. It was it was amazing. That one's in the fall. That one's a really fun one to do.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

So where do you go from because it it sounds like it's a point-to-point, right? It's not coming back around. So when you meet her, where do you go from there to get where you guys at the end together? Do you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 28:07

Right. So we we went from point A to point B. She had to drive to point B, leave the car, and then um when we high five, she usually just leaves a bag or just left them in the car or something, and then the car was parked right there. And then once I'm done, I usually leave uh leave the area to open up the space for someone else. But it was a pretty big space and they had lots of security and stuff, so it was pretty neat. And then she runs, yeah, she runs from point A to point B, and then I drive to point B and meet her at the finish line.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

Okay, so you took the car at that point because I'm I'm thinking it's all on foot. I'm like, you did a little extra, but okay, I got it now. It was pretty neat. That's sounds fun.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

That was a fun one, yeah. Except it was in the rain, it was so much rain. Oh, there was one part of the water that we were running, and I remember the guy looking at me and I said, Where do I run? He goes, just stay in the middle. There's no rocks in the middle, and the water was up to my high calves. My feet were soaked. I was just like, Oh, I'm running in water. This is crazy.

unknown 29:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

I'm getting ready to do a race this coming weekend, and they let us know. They didn't tell us last year, but this year they let us know that there is 150 yards of uh knee-deep water, and that's how it was last year. And then when you get to the other side, you you just you run on dry land again, but your shoes are wet, so you gotta either bring dry socks because you can't see your crew for like another 25 miles. So my god, and that's a full marathon? Uh it's gonna be a hundred miler, but um yeah. So last time yeah, I didn't know about it, and so I ran for 20 miles with wet shoes and socks until I finally saw my crew. But this year I know, so I'm gonna carry dry socks and change my socks when I get on the other side of the water.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

So how long does it take you to run a hundred miles?

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Well, it depends. Hopefully, I'm my goal this year for this race because I didn't do well last year, but my goal is under 27 hours. So I'm hoping for 26 and a half, really. But under anything under 27, I'll be happy.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

That is amazing. Here I'm giving myself a pat on the back for running 5k in the morning.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

Oh no, I didn't run 5K this morning. I walked a mile, but but no, hey, same with pace. Uh, distance is relative. We all do what you know we're crazy enough to do. That's true. Yeah, we're all crazy. We all got crazy goals. Yes, love it. Yeah. Uh uh well, we'll put that link for that uh rainy one. Not everybody wants to run through the rain, but some of us are crazy enough to want to come do that.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

So it doesn't rain all the time.

Strength Training, Knees, And Staying Motivated

SPEAKER_01 30:55

It was just that one weekend they had this big storm coming and they didn't close it, so it was just massive rainstorm, but it was it was good. It was warm though. It wasn't windy, it was just wet. Good. So that was a good day.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

Yeah. So being in British Columbia, what do you consider warm?

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Well, in Kamloops, uh, where I'm from, which is about three hours away from Vancouver, we are very seasonal. So winter is winter, it gets cold. Um, but as long as you are covered up, you're fine. So you can still run in the winter, and then we get some snow, but this year we didn't get very much snow, so our our running continued through the winter. And summer gets really hot, like very desert-like.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Now, if you go to the lower mainland, it's more wet, rainy, but it's throughout the winter it rains, very little snow there.

SPEAKER_00 31:49

It's interesting because like Minnesota is you know, south of Canada, and it's so cold there, in my opinion. Like, and even here in Wisconsin, we get some hot days, but um I guess last year we had some high higher heat days, but I I didn't think that you all got that warm because I feel like Minnesota really doesn't get summer, in my opinion. They get like two months of warm weather, and then they're back to cold weather again. So that's impressive.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

Yeah, I was in Lower Mainland for training for work last week, and my husband was home on thir Thursday night, I think it was, and my girls had a ball practice, and they were saying it was so hot it was plus 36, and that's in May, so that's hot.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Yeah, yeah, we had 80 last week here, yeah, which is unusual for May. Yeah, so today is gorgeous, it's about 75 degrees, and there's a light breeze, yeah. Snyny skies, it's perfect out today. If we can, and no humidity, if we could have today every day, yeah. Ideal.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

That's one thing I will say about campus that it's definitely not humid, it's dry, so it's I feel like when we went to Texas and it was so humid, oh, that was hard to run.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

Yeah, the air is so thick. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

I had I remember people warning me about it. I was like, Yeah, whatever, I'll be fine, I'll be fine. And again, no water, no snacks, no nothing. And I remember about the 18 kilometers, I was like, why are my legs cramping? So then every once in a while I would have a couple sips of water, but then yeah. No, yeah, if it wasn't for the Grand Canyon to teach me, now I know. Yeah, you know, yeah, now I know, yes.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Do you drink? Do you drink pickle juice?

SPEAKER_01 33:34

No, but when we were in Texas, I remember they were telling us about that, and then we tried a little bit afterwards because my legs were cramping and it seemed to help. But yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:42

That that's I don't really like to eat pickles, but I love to drink pickle juice during a hot day for a run.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

So do you drink it before or after?

SPEAKER_00 33:52

Usually during. I'll have it have it in a water bottle, you know, that I carry. And I use what I like to is it the salt?

SPEAKER_01 33:59

Is it the salt?

SPEAKER_00 34:00

Yeah, salt and vinegar. Yeah, yep. And um, so usually what I like to do is fill the bottle up, put it in the freezer overnight, and then by the time I'm ready for it, it will have melted, but it'll still be good and cold. Yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

I don't know if I can do that. Yeah, that's another crazy thing. Yeah, when we did the Grand Canyon, we had the salt tablet, so we've just chewed on those, and that was the most.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

Yeah, yeah. I like those too. I I I usually start with those, and then if there's pickle juice on it, like I won't take any for this run because they'll have it at the aid stations. Um, and I'll drink that, and it's really good. So yeah. Do you have any other words of wisdom or anything you would like the um listeners to know about you, to know uh about the cruise, about any other races in your area? Is there anything else that I haven't asked you that you'd like to tell us?

SPEAKER_01 34:56

Uh the only thing I can say is Camloops is known for Boogie the Bridge. It's a half marathon, but that has already passed in April, and that's actually a fun run for a

Heat, Salt, Pickle Juice, And Final Advice

SPEAKER_01 35:05

lot of people. Um the Run for Fun Cruise is definitely a great way to meet people, and it's of all ages. I am in my early 50s, and I feel like I'm the average age that goes on there, and it's from you got a few younger, faster people, but you got a good average people that just want to be there for fun, because that's why it's run for fun. Um, and I just say as we age, just keep moving, keep doing what you can. And like you said, it's it's your run, it's your race. And when you finish, you're gonna feel accomplished and feel good about yourself, and that's what matters.

SPEAKER_00 35:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

Don't compare it to other people, just do your run and enjoy it. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 35:52

Yeah, that it sounds like a fun thing to do, those uh uh the cruise, because then you get to see different things, and yes, not only while you're cruising, but while you're running, you get to tour the cities. So that sounds great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

I find a lot of uh a lot of my friends or a lot of older friends that I have, um, their partners don't want to travel. So they're always like, where can I go? What can I do? And it's such a perfect way. So if just one person wants to go, to meet so many like-minded people that we have met so many people that now that that got us to do the Grand Canyon, that has got us to go out east, to go do a run out east with the friends that we met, right? So it opens the doors to a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00 36:35

Yeah, could you take your spouse even if they didn't want to run and they could just do the cruise?

SPEAKER_01 36:39

Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

The only thing if you take your spouse and they have um the bus that takes you to the other place, you either have to message them and ask if there's a spot on the bus to pay for that, or if you just pay for the run package as well, then you automatically get all that stuff as well. On the very first cruise, we had a lady that didn't like to run, but she wanted to be there with her friends, and she bought the package and she showed up at the very last day, got her medal, and celebrated. And it was so funny. So, yeah. For her, yeah, she's like, I'm here, I'm here to support everyone. She came to the runs and she would see people, but she never participated in any of them, she just wanted to be around everybody.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:24

And you never know. Down the road, she might do it. So exactly, yeah. All right, Camilla, thank you so much for being with us today. Uh, we've really enjoyed your story, and we'll put all the links in the show notes, and maybe you'll see some of us at your next cruise. I hope so. Come look for me. Thank you. Thanks, bye-bye. Bye. All right, friends. Thank you so much for staying to the end. Hopefully, you enjoyed our conversation. You can check out the show notes for all of the links to the different races that um Carmela mentioned, as well as the link to the cruise if you're interested in going on a cruise and running as well. Um, that might be something for you. So give that a shot if you'd like. And again, please rate me five stars. It really helps me to grow and share this podcast with somebody you think would enjoy it. Have a great day.