Why Using Your Data Is The Best Tool To Run Faster

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Download the free full transcription pdf here

Episode Highlights (aka Why You Should Listen aka TLDR)

What about data analysis exactly is important
Why he thinks accuracy is more important than the consistency
He convinces me to use Running Power Meters moving forward!
What consistency means under the context of doing data analysis as a career (we talk about this a lot)
Why and how he tracked for 400 days straight what he ate down to the calorie
Why is a master of some and having curiosity in different disciplines works to his advantage in staying fit
Why you shouldn’t be a sourpuss when you invite your friends to your races
What a proper post-race dance-off is like
And much more!

About J Mike Remy

Haitian born now Massachusetts, USA based person that likes to sweat
6:38:26 Ironman distance ride (112 miles)
3:57:48 marathon
5:58:23 DIY 50k (I followed this and it was an epic loop around his house)
I found him through the #BlackMenRun hashtag on IG – we became fast friends and I had to get him on
Hardcore runner (wakes up very early, trains very hard, and will run in whatever weather to get it done)
Doesn’t identify as a runner or cyclist. More of an activity enthusiast who loves to get out and again – loves to sweat
He was overweight a few years and had some blood tests done that showed him a potential dangerous future. He changed most of his health and fitness habits after this event.
Fixed gear steel cyclist
Data specialist by day
Father of two at night
Vegetarian – I still have an egg and some honey here and there
Plant-based Vegan Athlete
Awarded “Spirit of Volunteerism” from City of Cambridge, MA
Aims to be a good ambassador of planet earth and represent mankind well

Episode Quotes

“No one is going to care about that race time you got. They’re going to remember how you felt & how they felt in the time together.”
“Often people think I’m kidding about having a post race dance party. I assure you I would never joke about that.”
“A good nutrition plan is boring. Tracking data allowed me to see that. I feel good when I have simple grains and lots of beans. “
“I’m gravel curious… my next bike might be a gravel bike. I might try it out a little bit”
“Becoming a plant based athlete was a natural progression after cleaning up my nutrition and diet”.

Episode Links & Learnings

Episode Original Music Here

Sponsor – MOS COACH SPONSOR

This episode is brought to you by MOS COACH. If you are struggling to perform better as you get older, hit up our one on one coaching service. Whether you’re 16 or 60, we are all ageing. Setting goals, forming habits, and organising your life isn’t easy. Let us help you because you haven’t reached your peak, yet!

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Transcription

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:00:00] Pod Paste and DLake Creates.

J. Mike Remy: [00:00:04] I give all the credit to folks with these incredible streaks and you know, all that that, you know, can go for months and never take a day off. Not me. I’m not built that way. I can see the quality in a hard 40 minute workout. I don’t need to be at the gym for two hours. You know, like show up, knock it out and get that done. Be precise about it. And that’s it. And if the plan is going to say, take tomorrow off, then damn it. Take tomorrow off.

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:00:35] That’s J. Mike Remy. If you want to learn how tracking your data can improve your training, then you should listen to this episode of Master Of Some.

Let’s go!! Welcome to the show! I’m your host, Daren so aka DLake.

Tips and tactics so you could train like a pro. This cast to help you move faster than you could go. All the PR’s you could beat em. Course records and KOMS in your upcoming season. Right?! Don’t you agree? Endurance sports’ a metaphor for life. It’s a metaphor, baby. Eating clean so you can rest and sleep all night.

Don’t master a lot. Don’t master a little. Just stay in the middle. Don’t master all. Don’t master none. Just be, just be a Master of Some.

Daren: [00:01:16] What is up?! As stated in the intro I’m Daren and sometimes go as DLake, your host of Master of Some, the Internet’s most exciting health and fitness podcast.

We tell people’s endurance sports stories so they can master some of the health, some of their fitness, and even some of their life, it’s all the same. We also want to show you how to perform better as you get older. And we do all of that through podcast conversations and stories.

A few things before we start. First, based on the intro, you could tell that we do not take ourselves too seriously.

Think audio meme or crazy YouTube explainer videos. There’s a bunch of music, sound effects, internet samples, and jokes. We also use some adult bad language . Endurance sports are fun and the podcast listening experience should be too.

Second, this was created in Sydney, Australia, because of that, we acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional custodians of this land. We pay our respects to the elders past present, and future.

Last, this show is accessible and has a transcription go to the show notes or Masterofsomepod.com/shownotes to find the transcription PDF.

A quick overview of what to expect in this episode. First, I’ll do an intro of the guest. Next we’ll move into the warm up set with some fun fast questions. Then it’s the main set based around the theme of the podcast title. Last we’ll wrap it with a cool-down section to get to know the guest more outside of health fitness,

Some episode highlights, AKA, why you should listen, AKA TLDR, we’ll be touching on what about data analysis exactly is important in running and endurance training. Why he thinks accuracy is more important than consistency. Very, very good point that he makes. Why and how he tracked for 400 days straight, what he ate down to the exact calories. Why being a master of some and having curiosity in different disciplines works to his advantage and staying fit. And much more.

A little background on Jean Mike Remy,

J. Mike Remy: [00:03:13] everybody who really knows me calls me Remy.

Daren: [00:03:16] He was born in Haiti, but he’s now Massachusetts USA based and he likes to sweat. He’s a three hour 57 marathoner and a five hour 58 minute DIY 50 K runner. I found them through the hashtag black men run on Instagram and we became fast friends and I had to get him on.

His backstory is quite interesting. He had been overweight for a few years, living a what he would say an unhealthy lifestyle. And he had some blood tests done that showed a potential dangerous future. He then promptly changed all of his health and fitness habits to put them on a much better trajectory moving forward. A data specialist by day, father of two at night, he’s a plant-based athlete. And if aliens were to come down and say, hello,

J. Mike Remy: [00:03:57] I just hope that I can represent mankind well, you know what I mean?

Daren: [00:04:02] Without further babbling, let’s get onto the conversation. We’ll get to know the guest more with a warm-up set. We call

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:04:08] the five furious, fast and furious fantasy. Up in the gym just working on my fitness facts.

Daren: [00:04:18] Five fast and furious fitness facts.

That’s five F’s too. I really liked that. AKA get to know your local corner store master of some. Cause you know, we’re just hanging out at the corner store and you’re like, I want to know more about you. This is what this podcast, segment is for.

All right, here we go. One, what does black lives matter mean in the context and lens of being an endurance athlete? so yeah, this is quick. So just, you know, a few words if possible.

J. Mike Remy: [00:04:55] Not don’t just see me, but understand me and what it took for me to get here.

Daren: [00:05:02] I like that

Someone will steal all of your bikes and throw away your running shoes if you don’t pick one right now. Bike or run? You have to pick one and why?

J. Mike Remy: [00:05:13] Easy, easy bike every day.

Daren: [00:05:16] Wow. Wow. I really want to jump in on that, but interesting. Interesting.

J. Mike Remy: [00:05:23] Yeah, the run is fun, but bike all day, man. That’s where my heart’s at.

Daren: [00:05:27] All right. Well, since you said bike, there’s a six now. so sue me, apologies listeners.

Which kind of bike, what metal or, or, sorry, what kind of a bike material? Cause they’re not all metal steel, titani aluminum or carbon. Got to pick one.

J. Mike Remy: [00:05:47] I’m good with aluminum. let’s be clear, roadie only. I don’t do that, that mountain bike off-road. I tried it. That’s a little too extreme for me.

Daren: [00:05:55] You don’t gravel. You don’t gravel.

J. Mike Remy: [00:05:57] I’m gravel curious. I think my next bike might be a gravel

Daren: [00:06:04] You’re plus, right. You’re curious. Curious. Yeah.

J. Mike Remy: [00:06:08] That’s it. That’s it. You know, I might, I might try it out a little bit.

Daren: [00:06:19] why did you become a plant-based athlete?

J. Mike Remy: [00:06:23] you know, that was just a progression, you know, I didn’t like to set out one day and say, I’m declaring I’m off meat. But as I started cleaning up, my nutrition and tightening things up, it just came to me that like, I’m only really having chicken one meal a day. If that like maybe two, three times a week. So pulling it up completely was nothing.

Daren: [00:06:52] Makes sense. Again, someone will steal all your workout equipment. You have to pick one city, Boston or Phoenix? Cause I think you’re originally from Phoenix, right?

J. Mike Remy: [00:07:03] not originally, but I did go to school out there and I left pieces of my heart out there. there’s some unfinished business out there. Oh, damn. Why did you…ahhh, Boston.

Daren: [00:07:19] Boston, Boston got some rough winters, man.

J. Mike Remy: [00:07:23] You know, it’s got some rough winters, but those rough winters make rough people. Ya know what I mean?

Daren: [00:07:26] Yeah. I liked that. Oh man. The obstacle is the way, man. Yeah. Adversity makes you stronger and better.

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:07:32] Back in the days when I wish I was younger.

Daren: [00:07:34] What five words would you tell your 20 year old self, if you could go back. Cause I think you’re close to 40. You’re closer to 40, then you are 20. so, so it, it kind of is that half age thing, so yeah, what would you say?

J. Mike Remy: [00:07:47]

Daren: [00:07:48] FIve words.

J. Mike Remy: [00:07:52] Nobody else knows what they’re doing.

Daren: [00:07:54] Mm that’s good. All right. Well, this is the setup, hopefully for, for the, for part two, which is the main part of the episode.

This is the big question of all questions. The last one to end this, what does data analysis and endurance sports mean to you?

J. Mike Remy: [00:08:11] It’s like playing a real life video game.

Daren: [00:08:15] Elaborate. I like that. Elaborate.

J. Mike Remy: [00:08:18] So I grew up gaming and, there was always a way to level up that character and get to the next level and, you know, get, get the endurance, the speed, the strength and whatever.

And sometimes you come around and, I’m going to get real nerdy in a sec here, but, you’ll be playing that game and, Oh, I got the plus five agility boots. And all this and that. Well tracking all these metrics in endurance sports, I feel gives me a way to quantify my personal level up. Right. So I may not necessarily be winning Boston, but I know by keeping all these numbers, I can track my progress and see how I’ve leveled up.

I don’t need to compare. With this and that I don’t need all the awards and accolades when I’m playing my own video game and I’m leveling up on a pretty regular basis.

Daren: [00:09:19] That’s it, man. That’s dope. That’s that’s, that’s one of the reasons why I do it and I a hundred percent agree. And I try to tell a lot of people about that. you know, this whole endurance sport game, health and fitness. It’s like, you can really only compete against yourself and it’s a beautiful thing. And you know, you’re, you only lose when you, when you don’t show up. So I’ll save that for the main interview, but thank you for your five fast, fun, fitness facts.

Congratulations warmed up completely. damn. Okay. Yeah. This is that spot, that awkward spot where most podcasts do the, if you like this episode, then you should follow us sales pitch. And while I’m usually contrarian and go left, when everyone else goes right. If you liked this episode, then you should follow us and whatever, after you listened to and hit that subscribe or follow button, like you punch hills in all of your training. Yes. Do it now, please. This is so that we can help serve the world with dope stories that help people race and train better as they get older. Oh. And after that, why not share a link to a friend of your favorite episode? Yes, right now go do it. We’ll wait.

Onto the next set based around the topic of this podcast. But right after the ad break,

Ad Break: [00:10:33] THis episode was brought to you by MOS coach. We show you as you get older, how to perform better in health, fitness, wellness, and endurance sports and life. We’re all getting older. So rather than being like most humans on the earth and declining, why not be better, stronger, smarter, faster, and more wise than the 10 years ago version of yourself.

Our NLP trained coaching experience will help you live your best life through habits and intentional decision making. Go to masterofsomepod.com/coach. Or email us talk@dlakecreates.com. It’s spelled the normal way to book a free consultation call today.

Daren: [00:11:16] Main set. We’re onto the main set with Remiy, where we speak more in depth on data analysis and accountability through the lens of health, fitness, endurance sports and life.

So Mr. Remy, thank you for your time. I know you have a very complex in a good way, sort of background in life. And I’ll, I’ll intertwine a bit of that from a conversation we had before with this conversation, but I really thought that you were better suited for this, this kind of idea and framework around just data and accountability and, you know, fitness and health and endurance sports. So let’s kind of take the conversation a bit that way.

you, you answered, you know, what data analysis and enduring sports meant to you. I love the video game analogy leveling up. It’s always a great thing. What is your driving force? So if you were to build on that answer, so what’s your driving force to run cycle and lift?

J. Mike Remy: [00:12:10] And the driving force really, beyond just being things that I like to do. it’s really my joy, you know, there’s, there’s so much that. You absolutely have to do, right?

Like you have your responsibilities. I got to get this report done in time. I gotta make these meetings. I gotta pay the mortgage. I gotta, gotta, gotta all. What about the things I want to? Right? All of those things that I have to do. I try to bang them out, to make space for the times that I want to do. And that’s really the driving force, you know, and just carving out time to do that.

And I mean, it could’ve been any list of the list of activities who go on and on. Cause there’s just a bunch of other stuff that when the seasons, right, I want to rock climb. I want to kayak. I want to, I just like to sweat. If I’m honest, it doesn’t really matter what it is or how good or bad I am at it.

My driving force is I want that time to just let it out and sweat.

Daren: [00:13:16] That’s great. That’s very well put, I. I like it’s like watering, your curiosity is something I need to work on more because there’s a lot of things I set myself up to having to do or needing to do. And then it’s like, well, what does Daren want to do? And, you know, like I think a lot of people probably do too much of what they want to do and not enough of what they need to do. And I might fall in the bucket of the opposite. So having a good balance of the two and, and understanding that is, is a great thing.

What does consistency mean to you as a data analyst? I guess let’s, let’s back it up. Tell me a bit more about your, your job or, you know, really briefly about what, what your work is your day to day. And then like what consistency means to you being a data analyst?

J. Mike Remy: [00:14:02] So consistency is huge. as far as what I do, in a nutshell, a lot of data in operability and making sure things, seamlessly transitioned from one system to the next.

And get formatted in the right way. whether that be, for single sign on and making sure you can, use all your different platforms with one login or just making sure that. Once you enter something here, it gets formatted, converted, and spit back in the right way. That makes sense to the end user on the other side.

so with that, consistency is huge, but more than that is accuracy. And I think that kind of gets lost, especially in some of this, Endurance world. Right? Like I see a lot of folks, stress over X number of miles, or I know, especially specifically runners that are only runners will try to round out like, Oh, I can’t stop at, you know, 9.92 miles. I got around it out to 10. And, you know, That that’s, that might be what you’re thinking, but for me, that accuracy, if it’s 9.25, I want to make sure that it is exactly 9.25, because of that, that accuracy gives me something quantitative that you can work with and something that you can then break down. You know?

So if it’s 60 minutes of running, then it’s 60 minutes. If it’s 45 minutes and 38 seconds, then that’s what it is. We’re not going to round up. We’re not going to round down. And part of that in my personal world is we’re taking things out to like the sixth decimal place. There is no rounding. Right. So it needs to be accurate, but consistently getting it accurate is important, right?

Like if that merges together, it can’t just be, sometimes we’re going to take it to two decimal places. Sometimes we’re going to take it out to six. It needs to be consistently accurate day in, day out. So when something goes off, you can always go back and say like, well, this is the formula that’s been.

And this is what it’s always been. No variation, nobody deviation in that. So we can always find where the trouble parts are and what to address and fix.

Daren: [00:16:37] That I really liked that, that, accuracy over consistency, that that’s a really good way to, to kind of frame it and set it up, doing the right things. I, you know, I’d even take that step further doing the right things versus doing a lot of things or, dumbing it down. Working smart versus working hard.

J. Mike Remy: [00:16:55] There it is. Yeah. Cause you can, you can show up, right? Like you can go ahead and, I’m not, I give all the credit to folks with these incredible streaks and you know, all that that, you know, can go for months and never take a day off.

Not me. That’s not, for me. I’m not built that way. You know, like I can see the quality in a hard 30, 40 minute workout. I don’t need to be at the gym for two hours,.You know, like show up, knock it out and get that done. Be precise about it. Be sharp, know what you’re going to do, bang it out. And that’s it. Yeah. And if the plan is going to say, take tomorrow off, then damn it. Take tomorrow off.

Daren: [00:17:40] Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I could, I could go on a rant about that. tell me more about how you track your nutrition for over 400 days straight. I heard that, I did a bit of research on, you heard that in the podcast with a rambling runner.

so you track, so you got into it and you, you you’re like me. You’re obsessive. Or, you know, very, very passionate at all, like obsessive that, that has a negative connotation to it. I’m very, very passionate about my, my tracking metrics. I get excited about it a lot. I’m pretty sure you do too. So tell me more about that. And, if you could just tell me what new insights did you gain from that use of, of tracking 400 days straight and moving forward?

J. Mike Remy: [00:18:19] Man. It was like, I was meeting myself for the first time, after the first hundred days, I was like, who is this guy? So talking about, you know, on one side it was very much like this, you know, I live data that’s, that’s my day-to-day, this is how I literally pay the bills.

So now that I’m getting data on myself, there’s that much more meaning to it. Right. So. I’m excited, just having a metric to track. And that’s where it really got started for me. I didn’t even have one of these GPS watches at the time that took it to a whole other level, but logging everything that went into my mouth and then seeing how I felt, you know, like an input output, right.

I ate this. So I felt like that. And I was able to do this. Next day, ate this much of this. Felt this much better. And I was able to perform at this level. Ooh. And then I ate that and I didn’t feel so good. Let’s have less of that. And the big takeaway there was, a, I hate to use the word diet because everybody takes that the wrong way, but like a good nutrition plan is boring.

And that’s what I really found out. Right. Like as I started taking stuff away and seeing what made me feel good, what I enjoyed and talking about the things I like to do, right. Like when I get into the gym and start moving some weights, I feel good after I have simple grains and lots of greens, I feel real good.

I don’t feel so good after I’ve had a whole lot of sugar. I don’t feel so good after, and then, you know, it just like started to really get in tune with my own rhythm and my own cycle, my, my own, bio rhythm to a point where it’s like, I could, I could tell you, like, man, I’m going to eat that. And a couple of days later, I’m going to be bloated.

It’s too much sodium and I’m just not going to do that to me. I’m not going to put myself in that situation so I can. Now kind of preempt how I think I’m going to feel on this long run. I can preempt how I’m going to feel during this workout on the bike this day, doing all these other things. And really, I took it to 400 days only because it was, it got so clockwork, but after a while I was only eating like eight things, you know?

So like, that’s, that was it. And of course you season it up. It doesn’t have to be bland, but eight core things maybe plus or minus, but it, that real simple. So it was. You know, after a while I didn’t need to track it. It was just fun to keep tracking it until one day I, that membership of the app lapsed and I was like, Oh, do I want to renew for another? I think I’m good. I think I got it.

Daren: [00:21:23] Oh, that that’s what the 400 came from that that’s a, that’s great. I, I, you could even say data, the data, it’s funny. Cause there’s all these, like, I’d say pillars of, of, for lack of a better word, like, pillars of frames. But I won’t say that that’s ridiculous. So I’d say there’s, there’s these lenses that, you know, you look, you look through and it’s like, I’m going to look through this with this lens.

Look through that. And the data tracking. Turns into habit because you do, and then you start going or you start realizing, well, here’s the habit here because you’re eating the same eight things. Like you said, you know, you might vary it. I have a cheat day, every Saturday or Sunday. so you know, my cheat day usually is where I vary it, but I am perf….,I am sorry.

I am mentally lazy when it comes to food and I like cooking and creating and making the same thing. Cause I put that energy into other places. So, I just like eating the same thing. Cause I know how many calories is. I know how I feel. That’s the biggest one you said that about feeling. I know how I’ll feel.

I know that, you know, I’ll perform better. I know that it costs this much. I know that it’s like, I just know where everything is. I don’t have to all these little variables that end up becoming decision fatigue. I don’t have to worry about. but then just knowing what to do means that you don’t have to track it anymore because of consistency.

So it’s like data tracking habit. You know what to do because of the habit don’t need to track anymore because, because of consistency. So it’s almost like a perfect little virtuous cycle. I’m big on my virtuous cycles there. And, and you, you frame that for me.

J. Mike Remy: [00:22:48] Well, yeah, it’s great. Are you want to talk about that, that autopilot. cause then going to the grocery store meant that I didn’t have to look for anything. I know where everything I was looking for already is. And these things, I put them in this, the combination, you know, I get asked like, Oh, well, what’s the recipe for this? Or what’s this called like foods with specific names, throw that all out.

Like if it’s got a specific name, then you already know what’s loaded with stuff that A, you probably don’t use to cook with on a regular basis and B, you probably shouldn’t eat. Yeah, right. Like it’s, it’s not the best fuel if you’re a legit about it. And I mean, not everybody needs to do that. Right. I also, that’s not lost on me.

Not everybody needs to take it to that level. Right. Some people win the genetic lottery and they can throw whatever else in there and they’ll go, I am not that lucky. Right. I have to, I got to stay on top of this stuff. and maybe that’s part of it, right? Like I. And who I am. And prior to, taking control of my health, you know, there were, I was on a path to, pre-diabetes and hypertension.

So I did have to pay attention to the study and I did have to course correct. cause if I didn’t, it was going to go terribly. Right. So I definitely get that. That is not necessary to be, an amateur athlete, but for this amateur athlete, It keeps me A in the game and B it keeps the doctors away. So

Daren: [00:24:22] it’s a good way, really good way of putting it. I like that. what else do you specifically measure in your training and recovery? So we’ve got nutrition. We obviously talked earlier about your workout to knowing, you know, well, I need to do this long or this. This, this duration or this distance because of this, this main goal. So that the, what you’re doing, the input is going to feed the output.

what else do you, do you measure and you measure your, your sleep as, as hardcore as your measure, your, your work, your training?

J. Mike Remy: [00:24:52] Yeah. I measure and maybe too many things. so yeah. Because cycling, right. I am measuring my weight on a pretty regular basis and that’s not because I have a complex about it.

I just need to know my Watts per kilo. I got to know that STP gotta

Daren: [00:25:13] Yo the powder ratio, if you don’t know the powder ratio in cycling. Once I found out about that, I was like, Oh shit. Like I don’t. So, so just random story about that power weight ratio. So I watched the Lance documentary, the Lance Armstrong documentary, when the, give me a second listeners, I’m going to go on a quick minute to two minute rant here. So, it was the one where the, it was fucking, it was crazy meta because the director started off. It was like, Oh, this is Lance Armstrong comeback season. And he was so pro-Lance and people whispered in his ear, yo he dopes.

And the director was like, no, he doesn’t. No, he doesn’t. So this was filmed, like. 10 years before it came out or eight years before it came out, it was right when he did his second comeback after getting cancer. This is for a second time. Right? So this director was so pro-Lance and then he just was so blind.

So he sat on it for a few years. Then Lance went on Oprah and was like, you know, 2012, 2013 and was like, yeah. I doped. Sorry. I lied to everyone. And it was called the, the, the document is called The Lie and the director was pissed. He was like mother fucker. I fucking was like, so he’s like, you know, everyone was telling me he’s like, so then he went back to all the footage and was like, That time he did that.

Oh my God. He was doping that time. He did that. Oh my God. Why was he going in that trailer? Why didn’t he allow the cameras? And he’s like, it was all there and I didn’t fucking know it. And, there was the one scene that he goes, they were going up a mountain and he was bugging out and they showed the scene where like, He’s going through his train and he’s like, Oh my God, my Watts per kilo, fuck.

He’s like, I just hit that, you know, Watts per kilo Watts per kilos, dah, dah, dah. And he’s like, he was bugging because he’s like, Oh, he’s like, I’ve won the tour. I’ve won the tour. I’m going to win the tour because his watch per kilo was so high. He’s like, no one can touch me. And I remember being like, that’s the most absolute, like the absolute answer to winning a fucking cycling race I’ve ever heard.

So then I was like, I got to find out about this Watts per kilo shit. So three things on that one, go watch a documentary it’s genius from just a…the, the director is pissed and you hear that. So it becomes like it’s all about Lance actually. It’s about the director getting duped and being like, fuck you, Lance, you made me like an idiot.

And then you end up learning about Watts per kilos. So I ended up going down the rabbit hole of finding about Watts per kilo and how important that damn number is and why wait and cycling at the high levels, especially climbing is huge. So I ended up kind of like that. Yeah.

J. Mike Remy: [00:27:30] That’s it. Climbing is where it’s at. you know, I, no shade, but I know plenty of folks that get on a bike and I, Oh, look how far I ran. I look how far I went and was like, all right, that’s cool. But it was flat. I’m not impressed. Hey, no shade. You know, like, Hey, that was awesome. But you know, the sports really about going up, right?

Daren: [00:27:50] That’s that’s who wins the race. That’s who wins the tour.

J. Mike Remy: [00:27:53] Yeah. And you know, again, some folks are just doing it to have a good time and it’s that doesn’t have to be how everybody does it. But you know, from the moment you’re a kid playing, you know, shooting around in the backyard, you have that going. If one wins the game, right? Well, I’m on my bike and I’m having that moment as I’m going off my local, KLM segment.

Right. I’m trying to get up there and seeing how all the guys with the fastest times and their ELs, all the other KLMs, it’s all about the watts per kilos. So I’m tracking that hard, right? sleep undoubtedly, right? Like, and I haven’t been doing a great job, but like I said, I know what numbers I need to hit.

And I just can’t afford that with life. You know, I can’t afford 10 hours of sleep because who’s gonna, who’s going to do the other stuff that I need to do, and who’s going to get out the door to create. You know, it’s just hard to get that consistently. So I’m usually good with about six or eight. we hit the nutrition.

And then there are just so many other tiny metrics that. You know, I even got into power for running.

Daren: [00:29:15] Oh yeah. We talked about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Tell me, tell me a bit more about that. Cause that’s actually, I didn’t, I didn’t even know we should go down that route because I want to, I just need to justify the training behind it.

Cause I, I trained with power for, for cycling is beautiful, but I just

J. Mike Remy: [00:29:32] stop right there. Same thing.

Daren: [00:29:35] Okay.

J. Mike Remy: [00:29:35] Right. Same thing. because what I have found and I’ll admittedly say I have had access to it, but for the most of the last year, I’ve just kinda been like, okay, that’s interesting. But I really just wanted to see about my cycling power.

Uh that’s interesting and running, but yeah.

Daren: [00:29:54] And they don’t correlate. I’ve read, they don’t correlate. Yeah. So like, if it’s like, if your MTP is 300 cycling, you can’t go, Oh, I have a. a 60 minute running threshold of three. It’s totally different. Yay. Yeah.

J. Mike Remy: [00:30:07] Completely. Because not for nothing you put down. So the force from running is so much greater, so those Watts are gonna be higher. but in any case, I just let them, they have a gathering, build a baseline. And in the last, maybe two months, I’ve been looking at it a little bit more closely and. You know, trying to apply it. if you know a triathlon Taren? He’s got a YouTube channel.

Daren: [00:30:35] how do you spell it?

J. Mike Remy: [00:30:36] And he does…Taren?

Daren: [00:30:40] T-A-R-E-N?

J. Mike Remy: [00:30:41] I think so. He’s a Canadian dude. Cool dude. But, uh. He did a whole series on triathletes and how to break down each discipline. And when it came down to running, you’re already in the math Fitzgerald, 80 20 frame of mind, this takes that to the next level.

Where, yep, you’re doing the 80, 30, 80, 20 training. But now when you’re going to perform, just like on the bike, Everybody starts off, too hot. Right? If you can, even out that power, you can anticipate just how much juice you need to give, to have a consistent effort. Number one and two, that consistent effort, just like on the bike is regardless of terrain of elevation of wind, of other stimulants.

Right? So I found in myself. I would always try to blast up a hill and then coast my way down to let the heart rate recover where I am that much more effective using a consistent power curve and getting up to the top of that Hill a little bit slower. But then using that same power cause now gravity is taking hold.

I would coast and would have a decent paste paste because gravity is doing the work, but Oh my goodness. I could actually turn over a little bit faster because I was fresher. Once I hit that apex of the hill, I’m fresher and can put down more power and then move at a faster clip. Going down the hill and really leveraged that gravity on my side.

Try it out, man. Like, I it’s, it’s a lot to like say, but it’s just like you think about cycling, right? Cause you already doing that with power, same thing. You get that consistency and it’s like, Oh wait. This guy that doesn’t have power is guest. And I can hear that FreeWheel going now I’m going to get you.

I can see the gasp coming up that hill, but I’m fresh. I took it nice and easy. And then I’m going to go and, you know, deep in the race. Y’all will have it huffin and puffin. I still got it in the tank.

Daren: [00:33:07] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, you’ve convinced me, I think I’m going to move into that in the next, the next calendar year.

the last question for this kind of section segment, what’s more important. What do you think is more important: to train properly, show up and nail the workout?. So again, consistency, or accuracy, or get personal records in races.? So I know that it’s like, it’s kind of like, you know, off the cuff kind of question, but, would you think consistency is more important or personal records like to you personally? Cause this is a personal thing.

J. Mike Remy: [00:33:50] It’s a personal thing and yeah, it objectively. I feel, yeah. Objectively, how could it not be the consistency, right. Like, and I know I’m a objective driven person and others are more subjective and it’s like, Oh no, I want to smash this. And I want to have this great day that, but the records will come.

Right. They’ll come. Or they’re not meant to be for me. Right. They will come stay consistent, keep doing the work. cause that progression is not a linear, you know, process, right? Like you’re going to have some of those slide backs. It’s going to ebb and flow. But if you keep putting the work in, you’ll know that you’re still leveling up and I may not get that PR I’ll be totally transparent in the back of my mind here.

I’m thinking. I can probably hit a three 45 marathon. That’s my personal next level goal. Right? My first race was 444. My or asked my current PR is a 357. So we took a big chunk into that. But my last race was 412. It wasn’t meant to be that day. Different situations happen. That progress wasn’t going to be a straight line, but I know it keeps showing up, keep doing the work.

I’m going to chip, chip, chip away at it and I’ll get there. It doesn’t have to be at the next one, but I’ll get there.

Daren: [00:35:24] I love your confidence, man. I, it’s funny because as I asked that question, I’m like, well, I know the answer. You know, the, the, the objective answer is, you know, to show up and consistency, but in my head and I, and I am very consistent.

So, you know, like I’m not going to brag, but I’m a very consistent person. I show up for my workouts. I practice what I preach. but when I don’t hit my, my times at my time trials, that I’m going for my, you know, trying to get a record. Like it just, my, my subconscious, idiot primitive brain is like, you ain’t fit you.

Ain’t doing it. Right. And then I’m like, damn it. And I’m like, why didn’t I fucking make that time? You know, like, Oh man, what I’m doing is wrong. I got over there, you’ve raced my whole, the last 12 weeks was silly. And then funny enough, I just wrote a blog post on this. and I, I didn’t hit any of my goals this year.

Well, one of them kind of, I didn’t hit my goals, but when I sat back and thought about, so right after the race, that was like, Oh man, yo that train it didn’t work. Yo man, I might need to get a proper coach now. Like am I needing to do a whole different training plan? And then I went, hold up and it was two weeks later.

I’m like, wait, you ran the fastest workout you’ve ever ran. Like I was running times I’ve I haven’t ran even when I was 21. I ran the fastest mile I’ve ever ran. I haven’t ran. I, you know, I’m still running faster one miles while I’m training for half marathons. How the fuck am I doing that? And then it was all these things.

I figured out my nutrition, my race, nutrition. I did this. I did. I’m running. you know, 60 mile weeks, I’ve never done that or a hundred kilometers for your metrically inclined folks. weeks I’ve known I was doing 30 miles slash 60 kilometer weeks and I was like topping out and that’s something I pushed my body to.

I learned how to run commute everywhere. I learned that, you know, I learned how to take a shower before getting to a place and just pat drying off and you don’t stink. I was like, Whoa, that’s craziness. You know, everyone’s like, yeah, man. So like, I’m like, Even though I didn’t hit my personal goals. I did seven, if not 10 things in the last year, damn dude, you crushed it because I was consistent.

So I still have this inner monologue where I’m like, you didn’t do it. Right. But then I sit back and like, that’s like the immediate response, but then I sit back into deliver shifts is like, nah, you’re actually, you are doing right. Cause you’re showing up every day. So what were you gonna say?

J. Mike Remy: [00:37:28] You know what I can’t even pretend to be, you know, a Jedi master.

That’s like, Oh, well, Here are the, the positive outcomes. And here’s what we can take away from this every time. Like no, you get pissed too, but you know, you’re allowed that emotion, but also know, you know, there are so many things around it that could influence, especially a back one day, right. That one moment in time that you get up for the time trial that you lace up for that race.

So many things are out of your control, right? Like I remember watching the break into that, like, Oh no, we’re going to move that to tomorrow. Cause it’s a better day. I can’t do that. Right. I don’t have that luxury. But then the biggest thing, I forget where I heard it. But once I heard that I had one race that I was like, dang, the whole ride home.

I was like, yo, this is awful. And then it reminded me no one around you is going to care about that time. They’re just going to remember. How you felt, how they felt in the time that y’all had together. Cause they’re not all deep into the sport that they’re there to support you. And if you’re riding high and you’re celebrating, they’re going to remember that.

And they’re going to build off that and they’re going to lift you up. But if you ride in there, you know, like a sour puss, then I’ve met. Why do we even come? You know, this sucks. I never, I don’t want to come to your races again. If this is how I thought it was about to be a party. Oh, we got it. You know? So once I get that in mind, it’s like, yeah, well, whatever, man, I try to have, have a dance party at the end of each race.

And I try to stick to that because Hey, if I’m moving in groove and then you’re feeling good, it’s all positive. That’s what you’re going to remember. And hopefully you’ll come back to support me because all you’ll take away is. At the end of that race, we had some beers because I know you don’t drink, but we had a beer and then we danced and we chilled and it was cool and not like, damn he was bitching and moaning that whole time about some wall that he hit and, you know, some that didn’t go, like, I don’t even know what all these things mean. This sucks. I never want to come. I waited out here for three and a half hours waiting for your ass. And it’s a downer. Flip that let’s have a good time. Let’s celebrate. And unpack it on your own time and find all the positives, but that’s really it, man. Just keep, keep doing the work. Yeah. That’s how I look at it. I’m going to keep doing the work.

Daren: [00:40:01] I like that, man. Thank you for that. I’m going to start doing the dance parties at the end of every, every race and every big, big event. That’s a fun way of putting it. .

I didn’t get a chance to ask Remy the final Master of Some focus questions that I’ve done with a few of my guests in the past. But Remy ended up actually flipping the concept around and making it about identity. Mainly the dangers around identifying as someone that does, or is only one thing.

J. Mike Remy: [00:40:28] Like I thought I’d needed to be a runner. I’m not a runner at all, I’m an athlete. And you know, I’ll say, I’ll say this, especially I get on these. On, I’m gonna get on this one soap box, but North American culture, when you talk about athletics, right? We’re talking about football, basketball, baseball, hockey, period. And you know, so I played baseball and I played football.

I couldn’t really crossover. So I got cut from the basketball team and I, you know, I can skate, but you know, I’m not skating like that. And on top of that, once you get past a certain age, you know, you’re not really playing those sports, like the participation in those sports, that goes way down. But when you look at like Olympic sports, you know, all the programs that they cut from colleges this past spring, all of those sports are lifelong sports, you know, so you can get into those and have a great time and continue this journey of, of health and fitness.

Either solo in groups with, you know, not a whole lot of, structure or, you know, I don’t need a whole lead to get out and start riding. Right. but I think people try to pigeonhole themselves into one particular sport and say, Oh no, I’m a cyclist. Oh, I’m a, I’m a strength train. I do CrossFit just cause that comes with a whole identity to it.

Right. And no, man, be multifaceted. There’s so much more. Plus just if you’re are going to take that seriously, you got to do some cross training and the more cross training I do, the more I find that I actually really liked boxing. I like kayaking. Rock climbing is dope. You know, all these other things. So to just say that I participate in this sport and everything is all about that.

Listen. No, I’m not going to qualify for the Olympics, right? Like that’s not where this all started and hats off to winning the people who do, but that’s not where my journey is. And that’s not what it’s ever been about. It’s about enjoying my life. And you know, when I’m not, competing when I’m not working out, when I’m not doing these things, you still have a regular life.

Right. Like, I still got, you know, a wife and kids and a career and everything. So to pour so much into one bucket, that what happens when you get turf, though, when you can’t run? Your identity, as a runner has been shattered. Now, when I see like so many down and out folks, it’s like, all right, well, I can’t run good thing I can chop it up on this kayak though that they, I can get on this bike and still do the thing.

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:43:15] Next section. Main set finished.

Daren: [00:43:19] Now onto the cool-down with our next segment, healthy, wealthy, creative, and wise. It helps us get to know, I guess, a bit better outside the world of endurance sport, health and fitness.

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:43:28] Health is well. You better watch your diet.

Daren: [00:43:31] So Mr. Remy, what have you done in the past week that has been healthy? Or not healthy?

J. Mike Remy: [00:43:39] Man. What haven’t I done that was healthy? It was probably the real question. I’ll tell you what I, that wasn’t healthy and this is going to sound crazy. But I, we made the bed the wrong way is the short version made the bed the wrong way, stacking my pillows the wrong way.

And you could be as fit as you think. You’re only one bad night’s sleep away from jacking up your back. And, Yeah, one bad night of sleep. last week had my back a little tweak. but that did offer a great opportunity to kind of peel back a little bit and take some recovery. It’s supposed to be an off season anyway. So kind of pealed it back to, you know, two workouts a day and not the, not the typical.

Daren: [00:44:27] Makes sense yeah, man, that back thing. I’ve done that before and, yeah, you gotta, you gotta respect that. I have some neck, sometimes I sleep in weird neck positions and then my whole neck is all and I’m like, Oh man, just one small thing can just ruin the next few days.

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:44:41] Security, comfort, rich.

Daren: [00:44:46] Wealthy. What is something you have been doing wealthy or not? A finance can be giving, can be receiving?

J. Mike Remy: [00:44:56] Man. I I’d say it’s, it’s been given. I took part in a fundraiser. raised about 3000, for the greater Boston area, food banks and completed the ride for food a couple of weeks ago. but along with that, you know, just being more intentional about my spendings, You know, you say you, you vote with your dollars every single day, so where you spend it and who you choose to support with those spendings and those contributions, go a long way. So, being more mindful of where those dollars are going.

Daren: [00:45:40] I like that. That’s that’s, that’s a good, very good point.

Creative. Have you done anything creative? I mean, I know you’re, you’re, you’re an analytic guy. Like my brain is 50. I say always say my brain is 55% creative and 45% analytic. And I’m always in this battle. but I know there’s a creative side to you, man. Cause you take some dope photos by the way. If you please, please follow his instagram. His photos of him looking, he always has the camera up and it’s like the super powerful, like you like looking up at this. And I actually, you know, it’s funny, I actually took a photo today for, for my workout and I realized I needed to do something like that and I do my arms out. So that’s my thing. So, what’s, what’s something creative that you’ve done this week.

J. Mike Remy: [00:46:21] You know, I, this, this week’s been tough. the creativity’s been been slacking, but I will tell you that, I wish I had more time to be creative because, Yes, data analytics is what pays the bills. But I love photography. I love journalism. I love all this other stuff. but what has been creative, man?

This takes it back to data, but it was creative. Nevertheless, set up, a software to process, COVID testing on campus and also get, just create a problem sobbing to get the software to one function as expected and two to. Try to get the user experience that, you know, everybody was looking to get out of it.

so it not, not creative in the typical artsy kind of way, but man, I had to move some ones and zeros to make it happen.

Daren: [00:47:25] Oh man. That’s the biggest thing. I always tell people. I’m like, yo, there’s so much creativity in life. Like everyone thinks of creative is like a painter or you know, a musician and I’m like, man, you know your creative problem.

My problem solving is creativity. Like that the basis of creativity is just problem-solving and, you know, you, you, you could be a mom at home and it’s like, Oh man, these kids are going crazy, but I gotta get this thing done. Like, you gotta be mad creative, you know, to figure that out. So, you can be creative in the, in the analytics, to, you have to be like, programmers are constantly, you know, computer, computer programmers and.

And software developers. They have to, they have the tools and have to creatively problem solve how to put all the tools together. And it’s just like, that’s the same exact brain. As, as an artist sitting there, you know, drawing a painting.

J. Mike Remy: [00:48:10] That’s why there’s so much different software. You know, if, if, if it were all the same than, you know, game over, right?

Like there’d be one operating system. They’d be one platform that everybody uses. Forget about your Android and iPhone. It just be one. Right? So there’s plenty of creativity. Once you stop pigeonholing yourself into this is how it has to be.

Daren: [00:48:31] Yeah. That’s that, that, that can be applied to, a lot of life.

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:48:34] Here is the reason why.

Daren: [00:48:38] All right, last one is wise. Some wisdom, have you, what, what’s some things amazingly smart that you did where you’re like damn, or just something stupid? We can go both ways. It’s a polarised.

J. Mike Remy: [00:48:51] Man. I’m sure I did something real stupid. yeah,

Daren: [00:48:54] That’s how you learn and get smart. I always tell people. I was telling young young kids, even though I’m not that old, but I’m like, your wisdom is just experience. Like, it’s just, it’s just doing shit and then going damn, I shouldn’t have done that. And at time it’s all right. It’s experience and time. That’s what wisdom is.

J. Mike Remy: [00:49:09] No legit. I changed the tire, set up my indoor trainer for swift and, I had a thought to myself. It’s like, well, I have this jump tire. I don’t, so I don’t need to buy a specific indoor.

tire. Cause you know, you don’t, you know that game.

Daren: [00:49:27] Yeah. $80, $80 trainer tire is stupid. It’s just a piece of rubber.

J. Mike Remy: [00:49:31] Well, I, I was, riding, it was a group ride, nothing competitive, but I ended up flatting on my indoor trainer. And that’s like the stupidest thing in the world to like, have a flat while you’re in door and try to explain to everybody why you fell back on the virtual group ride.

Cause I had to stop and pump up my tire. Like bro, how’d you get a flat on a virtual like that. Doesn’t. I thought you were the smart one. How’d you get a flat inside.

Daren: [00:50:05] So you ripped a hole through it then basically?

J. Mike Remy: [00:50:08] Yeah, Just lost pressure. Yeah. it lost pressure while I was riding. So we were like hour and a half in and I’m like, that’s not enough Watts what’s going on.

Oh. Oh, okay. It’s. Low pressure.

Daren: [00:50:18] Okay. Got you. Well, there you go. You can take that for the future of Remy and learn, learn to spend the $80 on the, on the trainer tyre. ANd it also won’t like have all the debris, the black debris. It’s not as much. that’s the other thing I found out about the train.

J. Mike Remy: [00:50:36] I did make a mess in here. That’s for sure.

Daren: [00:50:38] Oh yeah. It’s just like it’s residue, black residue everywhere. Alright, man. Well, thank you so much for your time today, good, sir. And, I’m glad we got off Instagram direct message. And, it sounds so sexual, whenever you like, yo, you slid into my DMS. We’ve been DM-ing each other. It’s like, it’s like two dudes.

Can’t DM each other about like, you know, just, just cool shit. So I’m glad we did this in virtual life, where we see each other and, we can talk, man. you know, if, if it works out, man, I’d love to have you on, we can go deep on something else. I’ll probably direct everyone. Do you want to say anything to, to, to anyone, listening?

J. Mike Remy: [00:51:14] Man, I never know who’s listening and when, so just be good to each other y’all. Like be easy and be good.

Daren: [00:51:23] Like it. Thank you very much, Mr. Remy, enjoy your day.

J. Mike Remy: [00:51:26] I appreciate you.

Daren: [00:51:27] Make sure to go check him out on Instagram. He is the definition of commitment and discipline. Also go to the show notes because there’s a link to an article that we wrote that goes a bit more in depth on data, accountability and consistency in the scope of endurance sports to make you a better athlete.

And as always, if you want to perform better as you age?

Music/SFX/Sonic Branding: [00:51:47] Don’t master a lot. Don’t master a little. Just stay in the middle. Don’t master all. Don’t master none. Just be a Master of Some

Ad Break: [00:51:56] Ad break. Is the health and fitness internet too much sometimes? Too many conflicting articles and videos that confuse you on how to train and eat, right? Or you don’t have time to just read and watch everything about, I don’t know, the new trends on carb cycling for trail running. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of all that for you. Sign up for our free email newsletter, Three Thing Thursday. We’ll put three perfectly curated and creative things in your inbox for better living and training.

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Daren: [00:53:06] Time time, time, time, time is a resource. No one can make more of, so we appreciate you taking your precious time out of your day to listen. This far, our goal is to show the world how to live better through enduring sports, health, and fitness. If you liked this episode, we’d really appreciate for you to go on whatever app you listen to and make sure to subscribe or follow Master of Some endurance podcast.

Just type that in we’re on all the major podcast players, Apple podcast, Spotify, Google, Amazon, and more. If you’re feeling a little extra saucy, a rating review or share of the episodes to anyone, you know, that would be into something like this would be amazing and more people that hear about us, the dopest stuff we could do to then help other people.

And if that virtuous cycle continues, we’ll always be grateful to you. So share a link to someone you know. If you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, or hell, you want to be on the show, hit us up the best way is to email talk@dlakecreates.com. We’re also on all the socials, mainly Instagram at DLakecreates spelled the normal way, or you can hit us up wherever you can find us.

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Thank you again for listening. Peace.

Why Using Your Data Is The Best Tool To Run Faster | J. Mike Remy