Interviewer- So, I’m sitting down with Scott Fauble, runner for Northern Arizona Elite and Hoka One One ahead of the New York City ½ Marathon. Scott, welcome to New York, how’s it going?
Scott Fauble- It’s going great, thanks for having me!
Int- Well, technically you’re having yourself on this interview because I am a fake personality you created because you weren’t asked to do any real interviews but still want attention.
SF-…
Int- So, let’s dive right in, this past week it was announced that NAZ Elite and Hoka One One have extended their partnership into the future. Does that business stuff impact your day to day life? And if so, what were the feelings that you had when you heard that the deal had been finalized.
SF- It’s super exciting to have the support of Hoka One One continue going forward. They’ve been a great sponsor for the past 2 and a half years. In fact, in the past year, the Hoka One One innovation team has come to Flagstaff a few times and we’ve been able to preview and contribute to the process of creating some of the new shoes that Hoka is working on. So, that’s cool and exciting that they value our opinions and want to include us in the trajectory of the brand.
To answer the second half of the question, the business stuff isn’t something I worry about on a daily basis, I try to put my head down and just work hard and race well and if you do that it will work itself out, especially if you have a good agent like Josh Cox who represents me. But, it was still really great when we heard that the deal between NAZ Elite and Hoka One One was finalized because at the end of the day, this is a job and it’s super cool and important to get paid for my skill so I can buy things and pay my rent. So, I’m very grateful to have the stability that Hoka as our title sponsor provides.
And the timing couldn’t be better since Hoka just came out with their new Fly Line with the Cavu, the Mach, and the Evelon. All of which I like very much.
Int- Similarly, you recently partnered with GU Energy Labs, how has GU helped in your preparation for this race.
Well, I have been using GU products for a while, particularly the Roctane Energy Gels and the Recovery Drink Mix. So, I guess, not a ton has changed, except now I have to hold myself back from binging on the many boxes of delicious Stroopwafels in my pantry that they’ve been sending me. I live a very rough life.
Int- Are you done promoting your sponsors or is there anymore promotion you want to jam into this interview.
SF- I think I’m good now. But please buy Hoka shoes and GU foods everyone!
Int- Ok, now onto the race, how has training been? Are you fit?
SF- Yeah, I am. I’ve had some big workouts in the last few weeks that I’ve handled well and recovered from relatively easily.
Int- Let’s explore that a little bit. What have some of those workouts been?
SF- Well, I’ll give you the top 3 because I can’t remember every workout and also, we did a lot of them so it would be boring to list all of them. But, if you’re interested you can find all my training online through Final Surge here: www.finalsurge.com/NazEliteLog/ScottFauble
So, here are the highlights. The first workout was 10x 1 mile. We’ve done this workout a number of times and it’s always hard, but this time Ben Rosario, my coach, cranked it up a little bit. So, we went down to Camp Verde at 3,100 feet elevation for this one and when we’ve done this workout in the past, it’s always been just one steady pace, 10x 1 mile at 4:45 with 1 minute rest. But, this time we added some faster reps while keeping the rest the same, so on reps number 3, 6, and 10, I ran 4:40, 4:41, 4:38 respectively. So that was really hard, but good to prepare us for the change of pace we might experience in the race this weekend.
The next really good workout we did was 12x 1k, 3x mile. Usually we just do 15-20x 1k to get ready for a half marathon. But, to keep with the pattern of Ben cranking our shit up to 11 lately, he replaced those last ks with some fast miles to practice closing hard. So, again in Camp Verde, we went 12x 1k averaging like 2:57, then went 4:40, 4:36, 4:28.
And the last workout that really sticks out was a 14 mile steady state that we did up here in Flagstaff at 7000 feet. Ben kind of gave us the green light to progress if we felt good in the second half of this workout, which he doesn’t normally do. I averaged like 5:15s for the first 7 miles, then squeezed the pace down and averaged closer to 5:10 pace in the second half. I ended up averaging 5:12 pace for the full 14 miles, which is the fastest steady state that I have ever run.
So, that’s all to say that I am in very good shape and also to brag a little bit because I am pretty proud of this last training block.
Int- It seems like the pattern here is your coach, Ben Rosario, taking old workouts that sound pretty hard and making them harder. Is that accurate?
SF- Yeah, definitely. As a team, we’ve really shot ourselves in the foot by crushing workouts in the past, because when Ben does that it really makes my job and life hard for a little while.
We’ve had some really good runners get really fit and run really good workouts over the last few years, and I think Ben has looked at that and thought, “well, I wonder how fast these guys can go?” and so he has been looking for workouts to push a little bit and try to kind of find the line between getting the most out of ourselves and over doing it. And the thing about that line, is that it really hurts to ride it.
Int- You’ve talked a lot about the physical progressions that you’ve made in this block. Have you also made some progress in other aspects of your life and training that have contributed to you being able to handle this training load?
SF- Yeah, definitely. I’ve been practicing mindfulness for like 8 or 9 months now, and I think this past month, I have been able to bring some of the skills that I have learned through that process into training in meaningful way.
Int- Can you give us an example of that?
SF- Yeah, I can, thank you for asking that. I-
Int- (interrupting) Technically, you asked yourself that, Scott. So, just say what you want to say.
SF- Ok, well first of all, it’s rude to interrupt someone you’re interviewing. But I guess I can forgive you.
I think that I’ve gotten better recently about not telling myself stories about how I’m feeling that eventually go on to dictate my workout. So, like, in the past I’ve had a tendency to think something like, “man, I feel bad today.” early in a workout. And while that may be true at that moment, I would let that thought dictate the rest of my session. But, this block I have done a better job of embracing the impermanence of how my legs feel and I think that’s been really helpful because sometimes you can go from feeling like a hot plie of garbage to feeling half way decent to feeling great within a few miles or even a few minutes. So, I have done a better job not letting one bad patch dictate the entire workout and, relatedly, I think, I have been making an effort to not label the feelings I experience in workouts. So, if I check in with my legs, my natural tendency is to make a judgment about what those sensations mean. But those sensations are usually negative because doing workouts hurts. But, when I don’t indulge that urge to label everything going on in my body, I don’t create those story lines like “this hurts, I don’t feel good, I don’t know if I can do this.” I’ve just kinda been noticing my feelings without letting them take control of the workout.
Int- I think that’s a good place to end because you’ve exceeded your intended word count by like 500 words. Good luck, I hope all of your shameless bragging about your killer workouts and attempts at being zen doesn’t backfire.
SF-…