James Gilliard - Chicago, Achilles International

Automatic transcription

James Gilliard - Chicago, Achilless International

 James Gilliard: [00:00:01] And so it's as with every race, but even more so there you have to just put your trust in the person that's guiding you. And that's what I learned a long time ago when I started doing all this running, is that if you're not able, if you're not willing to. Trust the person that you're running with and not just, okay, "well they'll maybe keep me safe."

More along the lines of, "I have absolute total trust and faith in you " 

Joe Borchard: [00:00:28]  Welcome to the, I run because podcast, we all have a reason why we run. Each person has a unique purpose to answer their why. Your why moves you. Your why gets you across the finish line. Your why can motivate others.

I run because seeks to inspire others by exploring the why of athletes who run for charitable organizations. I'm your host Joe Bouchard, and I'm here with my cohost, my guide for life, my wife Christine. Hello. On this season of I run because we're highlighting the running club Achilles international.

It's a running club that partners guides with runners of different abilities to complete and main street running events. While the focus is on running. The truth is running as simply the tool for accomplishing their main objective. And that is to bring hope, inspiration, and the joys of achievement for all on this episode of.

I run because we have James from Chicago. James is a, an Achilles athlete from Chicago and he's been running with Achilles for quite a few years. Welcome James. 

James Gilliard: [00:01:31] Thank you, Joe. 

Joe Borchard: [00:01:31] So James wants to tell us a little bit about yourself. , let's start with, , how long have you been running? 

James Gilliard: [00:01:37] So I started running about six years ago, Joe.

And it was essentially just to show school pride at that point. I hadn't really run much for about. 20 years prior to that, or at least not consistently, and Rutgers had joined the big 10 at that point, and I decided to go ahead and just go do something, at least at that point. That was crazy to me. Just go and try to run a five K without killing myself.

I'm 

Christine Borchard: [00:02:07] sorry, James, did you say Rutgers here in New Jersey? 

James Gilliard: [00:02:09] Yes, I did. 

Christine Borchard: [00:02:10] Oh, are you a Rutgers grad? 

James Gilliard: [00:02:12] I am. I graduated in 2004. 

Joe Borchard: [00:02:15] All right. A Scarlet 

James Gilliard: [00:02:16] night. 

Joe Borchard: [00:02:16] so James, , you're a, an Achilles, , athlete, correct? 

James Gilliard: [00:02:20] That's correct. 

Joe Borchard: [00:02:21] And, . What sort of a different ability do you have that requires the need of a guide?

James Gilliard: [00:02:27] So I'm legally blind. I've been losing my vision for a long time. And,  without the guides, without their assistance, I wouldn't be able to run just simply because, especially in the larger races I do, you've got 20, 30, 40,000 plus people all running all. Going at their different paces, and then you've got all the twists and turns as well.

Trying to do that on your own without a guy just would not work. 

Joe Borchard: [00:02:55] Now, generally, when you ride a ride, when you run, do you run with one guy too, and do you use some sort of. Device to, , , to run with. 

James Gilliard: [00:03:03] I do. And it will depend on the race. For the majority of them. It's just a single guide for some of the larger ones.

. 10 Ks and half-marathons, for example. It has been with two guides and it's really been dependent on the race director, race organizer. They want to ensure that we're safe, and by we, I mean any of the athletes with disabilities, and so though provide what they think is going to lead to that best success.

I 

Christine Borchard: [00:03:35] know when I guide a visually impaired runner, , I've always been with somebody else because I have a hard time running with the Kevin just on one side. So it's easier to just to pass the tether to the person on the other side of the runner. So I, I personally like having two people when I'm running with somebody with a tether.

Sure. 

James Gilliard: [00:03:51] And to answer the other part of your question, Joe, it is tethered, have been using a waste tether for four or five years now. When I first started out running, it was, , hand tether and it just got to the point where I realized that that was just too much effort. I mean, in terms of trying to match, , strides and arms swings and everything else, it just made things far more distracting than it needed to be.

Christine Borchard: [00:04:18] You know, James, you say that even when a size difference, like I, , the lady that I run with is much shorter than I am. So like I have to run with my hand further down than I normally do. So it, you're right. ,   can you explain to me what the waist one is? 

Joe Borchard: [00:04:31] I'm at the red shirt, James. I ran the, , the New York city marathon.

I guided a, a blind runner for the New York city marathon, and we ran it with hand tethered. So I'm, I'm. Curious too about hearing about this, this waist tether. 

James Gilliard: [00:04:42] I've never seen that before. So the, the waste Heather has made out of two of the normal race felts that you would have, , for, for triathlons or for, , probably used in running as well, but they're primarily for triathlons because they'll have places that you can put the bib onto because, , you've.

Come off of the bike here. Usually don't have the bib on the front. Some people do on the bike, but not everyone. And so the running tether is two of those belts connected with a piece of bungee cord. And it, it works well. It's what I've used, as I was saying for the last several years. And, . It's just become comfortable.

And something that I know works well for me. I think it works well for the people that are guiding and when it is two guides, it's just one person that's tethered to me. And then the other person is more focused on, . A specific aspect, whether it's watching the pace and the time, or watching, especially in the larger races, like the half marathons, Washington, the crowds, watching for obstacles.

, especially since. Our groups, the athletes with disability groups are at the front of the races, , or the race crowds. Even in front of the elites. One of the hazards sometimes is potentially getting rundown by people that can do four minute miles. And so that's, that's one of the places where having that second guy to sort of be a buffer bper or whatever you want to call it, comes in handy.

Christine Borchard: [00:06:19] I call it a bouncer. 

James Gilliard: [00:06:20] I come home, 

Christine Borchard: [00:06:21] I come home with bruises sometimes because I'm normally, I, the one race, I got it. I was in the back and I had my hands out, like I was flying and I was just keeping people, , you know, from not bping into my, , athlete in front of me. So I came home that day. Remember Joe?

I was like, I got beat up out there. Did I? 

Joe Borchard: [00:06:37] I'll tell you, James.  I was saying, I ran the New York city marathon this year and, , I co guided with, , another. , another guidance, we guided a blind runner and, you know, we did great. We were running through, through the whole marathon and I think we were on like mile 20, 21.

And, you know, it gets challenging sometimes. And, and as you know, sometimes you have to watch out for the people in front of you that stop or, you know, you have to watch out different obstacles. Well, unfortunately, somebody ran up from behind them and, and ran into our, , and ran into the athlete. It was another blind runner.

Their guide had a lost focus, and the other blind runner ran into our blind runner and almost took them to the ground. So it was a, it was kind of scary. 

James Gilliard: [00:07:22] Oh, wow. 

Joe Borchard: [00:07:23] So,  James , you brought up, , your triathlon belts. So are you, , you're 

James Gilliard: [00:07:27] also a triathlete. I am really great. 

Joe Borchard: [00:07:31] Congratulations on that. , how many triathlons have you, have you done?

James Gilliard: [00:07:35] I've lost count Joe. It was just supposed to be one initially and

it was just supposed to be one and now this'll be my one. Once everything reopens, I mean, this will be my fifth full year. Unfortunately, I've lost a couple of races already because of, of everything that's been going on. But you adjust. I mean, you adapt and you find. A way to just focus on that next one whenever it is.

So 

Joe Borchard: [00:08:06] talk me through that one. So I, I've guided for, , running and, and like I said, I've always used the hand tether. What sort of tethers do you use when you're swimming? That's gotta be a challenge. 

James Gilliard: [00:08:18] So the swing tether is fairly similar. And it's instead of, but instead of just being one belt, it's to one that is  smaller, that goes around the thigh, and there's, then there's a piece of bungee that goes around the waist that's connected, and they're both connected with para cord.

And that's because the traditional bungee just stretches. Too much in the water and you end up drifting with each other or drifting away from each other potentially before you, you notice that you need to sort of redirect or re focus where you're swimming at. And then on the bike you're on tandem. My pilot, the guide is up front and I'm on the back and then the run, we've got the, the tother that I was talking about earlier.

Joe Borchard: [00:09:09] Ah, that's, that's amazing. So of the three, which one is your strongest discipline and which one is your, the one that needs the most improvement? We'll say. 

James Gilliard: [00:09:20] So the bike is definitely the strongest. I honestly think it's probably a tie between the other two in terms of what needs the most improvement at times, just depending on the race, but I guess I would say overall the run, that's what I've really been working on because that's, that seems to just present the most problems for me.

And I mean, there have been some races where we've passed. 75 80 people are more on the bike and then by a ton the run is done. I mean, 85% or more of those people have passed us back and finished before us, and so. As I was saying. I mean it really, that's the part that I really am focusing on for this upcoming season and that's one of the places where Achilles has been helpful over the last few years, not just in terms of providing guides for, for workouts or for me to be able to do races, but also providing different opportunities to do those races I might not have had otherwise.

Christine Borchard: [00:10:30] James,  when you did the Rutgers race, , did Achilles guide you then? Because I know New Jersey is new, so I was wondering if, , Achilles New York came in and helped you during that race. 

James Gilliard: [00:10:39] , no. So at that point, , I was back in Chicago and that was the big 10 race that's in downtown Chicago.

And so at that point I was not yet a member of Achilles. I. Became part of Achilles Chicago, , I believe in early 2018 and so at that point it was just sort of, okay, this looks like it might be fun. Let's go ahead and, and try it. And. Since that point, just continuing to look for other outlets for other ways to find different organizations that can help me, help me with guides and other support so I can do the things I want to.

And Achilles fell into the mix. , as I was saying a couple of years ago. 

Joe Borchard: [00:11:23] I just want to go back a second for training for the triathlon. And I ask selfishly because I'm a triathlete myself, or, Mmm. I'm trying to get back into triathlons, I should say. , so you're training for the pool. So I get the tether when you're in the open water.

Mmm. Do you use a tether when you're in the pool or, or how do you, how do you train in the pool? 

James Gilliard: [00:11:44] So in the pool, ,  , when I'm training, I have enough vision most of the time. And every pool is a little bit different. Some of them will have like a light blue tiles and then the lane lines on the bottom of the pool will be.

A closer shade of blue or white. So it's hard to see what they are. Some of the pools will be like a light blue or white, and then there'll be a black lane line, which is much easier for me to see. But, , regardless when I'm training, if sometimes I'll be doing it on my own and I'll just sort of have to keep track of the lane lines, whether I can see it or not.

And just sort of. Make sense of where the, the end of the pool is. When I'm with my coach, , she has a headset that I use and I mean, when needed, just tell me where the wall is. , in some of the races are indoor ones, like the indoor triathlons. I did. Earlier this year in February and early March, I'll have a guide with me in the pool.

We won't be tethered, but then he'll be tapping me on the shoulder or some part of my upper body, two, three strokes before we are about to hit the wall, so I know that we're about to get there. 

Joe Borchard: [00:13:01] Gotcha. That's pretty interesting. Really interesting. 

Christine Borchard: [00:13:04] my husband guides Joe. He guides, , just for running races.

But like he said, he's trying to get back into his, , triathlon days and he's really interested in guiding a triathlon. 

Joe Borchard: [00:13:13] I am. So Jeffrey here on, on the East coast, and you want to do a triathlon, James, let me know. I'd be happy to, to guide you. 

James Gilliard: [00:13:21] I will, Joe. That would be wonderful. 

Joe Borchard: [00:13:23] So James, tell me about, .

What's this Texas independence relay? What's that? What? What race was that about? 

James Gilliard: [00:13:32] that is a relay that goes from Gonzales to Houston, and it is a 200 mile relay. You have. Some people 

Joe Borchard: [00:13:43] do a hundred miles. 

James Gilliard: [00:13:44] Yes, 200 miles. And , you have some people at least last year that did it as a team of two, which means that literally every leg and, and they're, they're different lengths.

Some are as short as two and a half for three miles. I believe. Some are as long as just under seven miles, I think. And so, , but there were a couple of teams of two and a half. Couple of teams of three, I think, which means that either every leg or every other leg, they were just switching off. And that just has to be a mentally grueling run.

But, , we had two teams, , the organization I was with. And so the teams of 12, which meant that we were each running, , three legs and it started off, . Really hot and hid. By the end of the first leg that I ran, it started to get cloudy and overcast. , the second leg, it was starting to cool down probably about 40 or so, and that third leg, which was in the dark, , after a huge rainstorm, it just.

Come through was probably the hardest of the three for me, just because I am . And so during that leg of the relay that I was running, I really couldn't see anything. We were running along a two lane highway somewhere in Texas. I don't know exactly where, but maybe. 30 35 miles outside of Houston. And I mean, it's just a two lane road.

There's few houses everywhere. And so it's as with every race, but even more so there you have to just put your trust in the person that's guiding you. And that's what I learned a long time ago when I started doing all this running, is that if you're not able, if you're not willing to. Trust the person that you're running with and not just, okay, well they'll maybe keep me safe.

More along the lines of, I have absolute total trust and faith in you. If something goes wrong, you're going to do everything he can to protect me, and none of this works. As I was saying, I mean, we're running down this two lane road somewhere in Texas, and the most I could see was just the dividing yo line where the headlamp was.

And I mean, just a little bit unnerving at the time. But I mean, I knew I was safe. I knew it wasn't going to be an issue. And I mean, that's just because of all the experiences that had had to that point. And knowing that, I mean, I haven't had issues with guides. I mean, even when it's come to a couple of incidents on the bike, I mean, I've had my guys be able to pull us out of something that was.

Would have been really serious to something very minor. I mean, as an example, couple of years ago, we got on gravel. We could have very clearly gone into a solid stone light post and would have shattered my knee and probably wouldn't have been running for a couple years. And instead they were able to just crack the bike.

And so instead, I just. Ended up glancing off the side of it, and I scraped my knee up pretty badly. But as I said, I mean, it could have been a lot worse, and that's just. The mentality of knowing they're going to protect you. They're going to, they've got your best interests at heart and in. That's one of the things I'm always very appreciative with the guides of whoever it is.

I mean, they're giving up their time, they're giving up their race or weekend, and they're not doing it for them. They're doing it so that myself and any of the other athletes that need guides are able to do it and able to do what they want. And that's, I'm so grateful that they do that. 

Joe Borchard: [00:17:44] So 

James Gilliard: [00:17:45] James, how, how, how 

Joe Borchard: [00:17:47] do you build trust with your guides?

, is, is it a, , do you have the same guide or different guides and, and how do you build that trust? Cause I imagine, like you said, running first of all, running down some street or some side road out in Texas in the middle of nowhere at night would be scary enough for me. , but to do it while you have, well, while you're.

You're blind has gotta be, , it's gotta be scary. So how do you build trust with 

Christine Borchard: [00:18:13] you? That just ran 200 miles, so yeah. 

James Gilliard: [00:18:16] Yeah. 

Joe Borchard: [00:18:17] Then there's, then there's that two mild thing 

Christine Borchard: [00:18:19] too.

James Gilliard: [00:18:23] Well, just to be clear, none of us ran 200 miles. I think on average we train about 16 or 17 whatever it actually was, because we were each running three different legs. But I need to answer the question. I think that it's more in terms of, at least what I've found is that. Even if I don't know the person, the fact that they're willing to step up and be a guide.

What I've found to this point is that that means that they've got makeup as a person in terms of character and desire to help people and everything else makes a good guide. , w without even having really met them or worked with them. And I think how you build trust is just having, at least for me, is having that five, 10 minute conversation, whatever it is, before we do that first run or that first race.

I mean, there have been races early on where it was, I needed a guide and I mean, I found that person as a guide. Couple days before, and it was just more along the lines of showing up and saying, Hey, okay, let's take 10 minutes to talk. Okay, we've got everything in line. Let's go race. And I mean, I think another part of it is just knowing that the people that are connected with these organizations like Achilles are a lot of the people with really good hearts.

Really good. A bill or desire to want to help people. And I, I think, at least in my opinion, that takes a lot of the initial concern or should take a lot of the initial concern for people that may not have ever run with a guide out of that equation. Because. As I was saying, these are people that want to do it.

They want to go out and help. And I mean as well, one of the things that I've heard from some of the guys along the road is that, , yes, I love doing this. Yes, I love helping you, but also this is a great training session for me. I mean, I get to go and do this and then I don't have to do, go do my five, six, eight, whatever mile run it is by myself.

Christine Borchard: [00:20:42] Exactly. I was just going to say that. When I know I'm guiding somebody, it takes some of the pressure off myself because I said, you know, I'm going to go out and do a training run with, you know, so and so, and then we're going to run the race together. So, and then in the end, when I run my own race, I just trained and they helped me train.

So it's not just guides helping the athletes are also helping the guides as well. 

Joe Borchard: [00:21:05] And, and you know, one of the things I found, James, cause we've been involved in the organization, , in Achilles for about two years. My wife and I, and we've met just some of the most amazing people, 

Christine Borchard: [00:21:15] like lifelong friends.

Joe Borchard: [00:21:16] Yeah. And, you know, we started at as just, Hey, maybe we'll just go every Sunday, every other Sunday, and we'll just, you know, help out. And it's really blossomed into something like, like my wife said, like Christine said. We've got lifelong friends out of this, whether they be guides, athletes, and we've met so many amazing people 

Christine Borchard: [00:21:36] and family members, like some of the athletes, mothers and fathers like that, that cheer us on on the course.

They became our friends as well. So it really, it's a beautiful organization. 

James Gilliard: [00:21:45] So, 

Joe Borchard: [00:21:46] you know, speaking of that, James, so why, why Achilles? , there's a nber of different organizations out there that you could run, run with that have a similar makeup of, of. Guides. So why, , why Achilles? What draw you to Achilles?

James Gilliard: [00:22:02] I honestly don't remember anymore, Joe. One of the things that I have struggled with since I began running in 2014 has been finding guides. Mostly for just the everyday training sessions. And I mean, so that's why I'm always on the hunt for good eyes. And I mean, as, as things have progressed from those first couple of, of five K's in 2014 to more and more running, more and more racism and everything else.

I've continued to connect with different organizations and, and I think when it got to early 2018 and I was still struggling to try to find, , guides, not just for training sessions, but also for several races. I had planned for that. , smer and fall, I came upon Achilles and just after taking a very quick look at.

The information for the Chicago chapter, I mean, knew that it was going to be a good fit and that they would be able to assist me. 

Joe Borchard: [00:23:11] So how often do you, do you train? 

James Gilliard: [00:23:15] It varies. I mean, it's, it's been, , Oh, a lot. Less frequent with all of the sense, all of the coronavirus stuff happen. I mean, just trying to make the adjustment to working from home and everything else that's come with it, , has sort of halted some of the training or reduced it greatly.

. When I was at the peak, meaning more towards last smer and even coming into the fall, it was at least two or three times a week, even if they were shorter runs. And I'm just trying to keep that sort of focus. And. I plan to get back to that soon. It's just more in terms of trying to get used to this new schedule and then trying to get things started back in so I can get out and get those morning runs in because I know myself well enough that if I don't get that running in the morning, it's not going to happen.

Just trying to tell myself that, Oh, go out and run. After work or during lunch. It's just not feasible. I know it's not going to happen. 

Christine Borchard: [00:24:21] Yeah. I'm still waiting for that. I woke up this morning and Joe went running and I said, Oh, I'm going to go later in the afternoon. I don't know what time it is, but I still haven't gotten, 

Joe Borchard: [00:24:30] and , seeing that she's on her second glass of wine, I'm guessing it's not going to happen tonight either.

James Gilliard: [00:24:36] Well, let the dog run with you, and if you lose your way, he can guide you home. Right. 

Joe Borchard: [00:24:43] James, I just want to jp back in a second, , because I'm so interested in the triathlons. So what, , what distances have you done with the triathlons? 

James Gilliard: [00:24:52] So to this point, Joe, it's all been sprint triathlons and, , primarily those are, , either 500 or 750 meter swim.

And then what is typically a, . 20 K bike and then a five K as I go throughout this year. At least the plan is by the end of the year to have done a half iron man, , later this fall. We'll see how that all continues. I mean, I didn't anticipate having a chunk of the season get, . Changed by all these other different changes and races getting delayed or canceled and mean, understandably so, and I've got no problem that it's happened.

It's just sort of making sure, okay, do I still have the building blocks in place to be comfortable? I'm trying to do that half iron man in October, not just from. Okay. Am I going to be physically ready for, but is it going to work out well enough that I will be okay spending the large amount of money that it costs to go and race?

I mean, and I, half Ironman race on itself isn't that cheap. And then flying with bike and guide and everything else, it all adds up. 

Christine Borchard: [00:26:15] Yeah, I'm in that situation right now. I am, I am guiding, , Chicago and I haven't booked a hotel yet, or I'm airfare just because I don't know if it's going to happen. I haven't really been training, so there's a lot of question marks over the whole travel expense.

Joe Borchard: [00:26:30] Yeah. And I'm, I'm actually in the same boat too, James. , this year I'm signed up to do Ironman a half Ironman, 70.3 main, and. You know, we're watching all these races get canceled, and I'm starting with each race that gets canceled. I'm starting to lose more and more of my motivation, but unfortunately, I just saw that Ironman 70.3 Connecticut just got canceled and they're offering everybody to register for 70.3 main.

So I'm like, Oh, I guess it's still on. And that gave me the, , the energy to start, you know, revving up my training again. However. I'm like, you were, I'm still nervous about the swim and like I didn't put in the time. I'm wondering, is it going to be worth my investment to go out there if I'm just going to the cost 

Christine Borchard: [00:27:18] and that, but you know, I'm going to really get it because Chicago's going to happen.

Cause I'm very optimistic and it's going to cost me $9,000 for a hotel room and I'm going to go, I'm not taking advantage of any of the deals right now because I'm a weary, but it's going to happen. I'm very optimistic. 

Joe Borchard: [00:27:35] I hope so. I hope so. 

James Gilliard: [00:27:37] , I think Chicago will, I mean, it's far enough out. 

Christine Borchard: [00:27:40] I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I do have to start training James. I've had a really bad three weeks. I've just been eating jelly beans and 

James Gilliard: [00:27:48] the 

Christine Borchard: [00:27:48] other working from home and her head, I haven't put on like, I've just been wearing sweatpants every day. I'm just, I, I have to get back into things. 

James Gilliard: [00:27:57] And that's, that's been one of. Sort of the little things I've been trying to do, even though the, the ability, not so much the ability, but more so motivation or whatever the right word for it is to be able to go out and, , adjust with everything and get those training sessions is to at least try to keep as much of the extra junk out of the house as possible.

And, . I've done pretty well with succeeding there. And, , I know it's Sunday being Easter. Hopefully I'll be able to continue that. , successful. See how it goes. 

Christine Borchard: [00:28:34] I totally failed. I have two boys here. One being a teenager, and it's just, the junk is here and I've, I've, I've, I've failed, 

Joe Borchard: [00:28:42] but you know, you know what's helped me, James, is that, you know, with this.

Health emergency that's going on in the world. , you know, there's a lot of anxiety built up in, , in, in everybody. And I find, , I'm at my best when I'm out there running or when I'm on my bicycle in the basement, I'm on my trainer and it just, that's my time to just kind of clear my head because it's just, it's constant anxiety.

It's constant worry about, you know. This whole Corona virus. So it's given me, it's given me purpose. So, James, I got question for you. , you're a Cubs fan, right? Living in Chicago, I think it's, it's in everyone's DNA there, right? , have you ever done the soldier field 10 miler? 

James Gilliard: [00:29:31] I haven't yet. Joe, that was one of the races on my schedule for this year, and I've already seen them start to cancel races into may.

And so it's something I'm watching in terms of racism. And one night I had planned to do. But I honestly don't know if it's going to happen or not because I mean, they've already started cancel races through at least the first weekend, maybe the first two weekends, , within the city and with as large of a crowd as that race draws, it's, I wouldn't be surprised if it gets canceled or at least postponed.

Joe Borchard: [00:30:14] Yeah. That's a, unfortunately. I think that's, that seems to be a, a lot of the races. So, James, , so we talked a lot about your triathlons. , the, the 200 mile Texas independence, , relay. , we talked about some of the guides and, and one of the questions I want to know is, 

James Gilliard: [00:30:34] is why do you run. So in the beginning, Joe, it was, , just something crazy to do and it was just, okay, let's see if I can do this now.

Two, two different answers to that. One is I run for beer. Two is because I love it, James. Two is because I have to, I mean, so you can't complete triathlons without running, but I mean is painful as it is sometimes. Almost every race site I do, whether it's running or triathlons, there's beer at the NGO. So I mean, I get to satisfy both of those reasons for running.

And I mean, on another serious note, I mean, it does. It does also help. It enables me to get out there and do things I wouldn't have otherwise. I mean, I've had the opportunity to do so many different things just because. I took that first step roughly six years ago and decided, okay, let's, let's try this.

And then, , just kept going with it. And there've been some very painful times along the way, but I mean, the way that I've looked at it is. I'm having so much fun doing this, I'm going to continue to do it, and so I'm going to continue to run because it brings me such happiness. I mean, even if in that moment, at times, my body is like, where the heck is that finish line?

Why? Why aren't you there at it yet? Or 

Joe Borchard: [00:32:17] where's that beer? 

James Gilliard: [00:32:20] What did I do to you this morning to get you this upset that you're doing this to me? Tell me so I won't do it again. Great. But regardless, Joe, I mean, I do continue to do it even when it's a challenge, even when it is painful, because I do get such enjoyment out of it, and I do.

Get to meet and work with. As you both were saying earlier, some of the most amazing people. I mean, people that I met along the way have become lifelong friends and I mean, these are people I didn't know that I'd never met five, six years ago. 

Christine Borchard: [00:33:00] You know, James, I could be somewhat of a slacker. So when this first happened, we thought it was going to be two weeks.

And we do a lot of, , my husband does a lot with Achilles as far as, , . Like administrative type of things. So when we go and we run, it's once a week. So what had happened, I said, Oh, I could take a week off. And I sat on the couch and I didn't miss it. And then the next week I was like, you know, and then I, I miss it and I missed the, I missed the people.

Most of all, not just the running. I miss, . I miss. I miss seeing my friends. I really do. And now we're on week four now, and we've been doing some zoom meetings to see, we drove by one of the houses of one of the gentlemen that I guide. , I do. I miss everybody. I miss the social piece. . 

James Gilliard: [00:33:39] It is such a big component and even when you end up having a bad race or, or things go wrong.

I mean, I've unfortunately had a few of those. I mean, you still have that social component. They still help you to make it through. And even when you have a bad race. I mean, even when I've had some of the most painful races I've had. I can't say looking back on them that they've been entirely bad because even when I've had a couple of minor injuries along the way, it was still good to be spending all that time with the guides along the, along the way.

Joe Borchard: [00:34:23] That's awesome. That's awesome. And what each race, you learn something new, you, you come back, you reflect, and you make adjustments. And we go out and we do it again and we just keep at it. That's great. 

Christine Borchard: [00:34:38] Are we ready for our finish line? 

Joe Borchard: [00:34:39] Yeah. James, is there anything that we, , we didn't ask you that you wanted to talk about.

James Gilliard: [00:34:44] Not that I can think of. I mean, I just want to express again how grateful I am to Achilles and J just for how many different opportunities they've provided to me over the past. Roughly two and a half years. Joe, that's great. 

Christine Borchard: [00:34:58] Achilles for me. It's been life changing. 

Joe Borchard: [00:35:00] Yeah. Really hasn't been. It's, , like, like you said, it's, it's changed our life.

, my wife and I, Christine and I were, you know, we're married couple, it's changed our. Change our lives. 

Christine Borchard: [00:35:09] Well, I started before, , Joe, and then I would come home and tell him about all the great people. , yeah, I'd like to throw up and I would talk about all the great people. And then Joe wasn't running at the time.

And then I said, you know, there are some people that walk, and so he showed up and now he's all in and we have yellow Achilles shirts and sweatshirts. And I have a hat and race. And I mean, our whole wardrobe is. 

Joe Borchard: [00:35:28] And we're doing a podcast. We're spending our Friday night with James. 

Christine Borchard: [00:35:35] We are all in with Achilles.

It's a great organization. 

James Gilliard: [00:35:38] Truly is 

Joe Borchard: [00:35:39] James for this next sex, , session. , Christine has a couple of questions for you. It's called our finish line questions and they're going to be rapid fire. So, , are you ready for him? 

James Gilliard: [00:35:47] Yup. 

Joe Borchard: [00:35:48] All right, Christine. It's all yours. 

 Christine Borchard: [00:35:55] All right, James. Favorite distance and if you can include your triathlon in that, 

James Gilliard: [00:36:00] I would say five K 

Christine Borchard: [00:36:03] favorite race that you've run so far.

James Gilliard: [00:36:05] Definitely the Shamrock shuffle. 

Christine Borchard: [00:36:07] What about your dream race?

James Gilliard: [00:36:09] I think that the answer to that would be the half arm, and I'm hopefully going to be able to do this October. 

Christine Borchard: [00:36:18] Is there a song that gets you jazzed up before or while you're, , working out? Is there anything that gets you excited to get running a song out there that inspires you? 

James Gilliard: [00:36:26] There are a lot of different ones.

I don't have a specific one.  

Christine Borchard: [00:36:29] post race meal. 

James Gilliard: [00:36:31] Oh, beer here. 

Joe Borchard: [00:36:33] I could have answered that one. I knew that one. That's awesome. 

James Gilliard: [00:36:37] Question. I think that's all of them. Yeah. 

Joe Borchard: [00:36:39] You know, James, I just want to backtrack again. , which, , which half Ironman are you looking to? , try to complete in October? 

James Gilliard: [00:36:46] , Arizona. 

Joe Borchard: [00:36:47] Oh, I hear.

That's a great course. A flattened fast. 

James Gilliard: [00:36:51] Yup. Hopefully it will all come together. I 

Joe Borchard: [00:36:53] hope so. We're going to be pulling for you. All right. , so there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. , this was another episode of I run because, and we got to speak with James from Chicago and we learned a little bit more about why he runs and why he runs for Achilles.

, James, thank you so much for being with us tonight. We really appreciate it. It's 

Christine Borchard: [00:37:13] great talking to you, James. 

James Gilliard: [00:37:14] Thank you both. Have a good evening.   

Joe Borchard: [00:37:19] All right. Time to connect with hella and get an update on the run everyday challenge. 

We are here for week six. So for week six, let's see if we can get a higher mileage in, in between the week. So with these high mileage, I want you guys to focus on, on a slow day where you're focusing on your slow pace, conversational pace, and then you're going to have a steady day.

Where you're kind of cruising and you're going to have a fast day. So that fast, that is your 5k speed. Like how fast you run a 3.1 mile. So you want to do that, try to maintain that speed for as long as you can. So from five miles in weeks in week six, I want you guys to see if you can push it anywhere between five to seven miles within those runs, you gotta make sure you do one of them conversational pace, the other.

With a little more steady pace where you're very comfortable and then the other one could be a speed, one as fast as you can. How, how long can you hold that for that fi , five to seven miles. So week six, we're going to push it again and then we're going to get better as we get to week seven. 

Joe Borchard: [00:38:23] thanks everyone for listening. We really hope you enjoyed those amazing stories. They are truly inspiring people. We get to talk to here and are forever grateful. Make sure to share this episode with your friends via social networks. We need these athletes and guides stories to get out there.

So until next time, I'm Joe 

Christine Borchard: [00:38:41] and 

I'm Christine. Thank you for listening.